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628 m · Birkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Rough Crag (Riggindale)

Rough Crag at 628m (2,060ft) is a Birkett top on the ridge above the Riggindale valley leading to Haweswater's southern end, giving fine views across the reservoir and towards the High Street ridge.

628 m
Height
+4
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →
628 mBirkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)+4 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 628 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 13°C, gusts to 38 mph, 15.1 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
15° / 13°
💨 38 mph
🌧 15.1 mm (98%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
15° / 12°
💨 29 mph
🌧 2.8 mm (98%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
13° / 5°
💨 28 mph
🌧 0.6 mm (63%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 2°
💨 26 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (82%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 3°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.3 mm (31%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 4°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (25%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
16° / 6°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (24%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 628 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

About the walk

Key information

Rough Crag (Riggindale)

Rough Crag at 628m (2,060ft) is a Birkett top on the ridge above the Riggindale valley leading to Haweswater's southern end, giving fine views across the reservoir and towards the High Street ridge. Part of the classic Riggindale approach to High Street. The valley below is home to England's last golden eagle breeding site, and the rocky ridge gives dramatic views of this remote hanging valley.

Routes up Rough Crag (Riggindale)

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
Nuttall
628 m
Height
2,060 ft
In feet
NY 4542 1124
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Mardale Head, Haweswater (free), about 1.6 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Rough Crag (Riggindale) (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

2.1 km NECastle Crag (Mardale)395 m · Far Eastern
2.3 km SELittle Harter Fell681 m · Far Eastern
2.5 km NLow Raise754 m · Far Eastern
2.7 km SEAdam Seat666 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Rough Crag (Riggindale)

17.48 km · ~1099 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Best parking to hike Rough Crag (Riggindale)

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Mardale Head, Haweswater (free) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)
Free but small and fills very early — High Street, Harter Fell, Kidsty Pike, Branstree.
Directions (opens in new tab)
Hartsop village (free, donation) — 4.8 km from summit (straight line)
For Hartsop Dodd, Gray Crag, High Street via Hayeswater, Brock Crags.
Directions (opens in new tab)

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Buses to Rough Crag (Riggindale) from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over Rough Crag (Riggindale) (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Maps & guidebooks for Rough Crag (Riggindale)

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