Sail Hiking Guide & Routes

773 mWainwright — North Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+10 bonus Birketts within 3 km

📖 Key Information

Sail at 773m (2,536ft) is an elegant, pointed summit on the Coledale Horseshoe between Eel Crag and Causey Pike, its attractive profile one of the defining features of the skyline above Braithwaite. Wainwright noted its fine position on a ridge of great interest, the Sail Pass below being one of the major Lakeland crossings connecting Coledale and the Newlands valley. The views across Coledale to Grisedale Pike are excellent from the summit. An essential part of the classic Coledale Horseshoe — one of the finest circuit walks in the North Western Fells.

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

🎯 Bonus Birketts 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.

0.9 km WNWEel Crag (Birkett)807 m · North Western

1.1 km SIll Crag (Newlands) (Knott Rigg North Top)546 m · North Western

1.6 km WSWThirdgill Head Man734 m · North Western

1.8 km NNWHobcarton Crag (Hobcarton Head)738 m · North Western

1.9 km NWSand Hill756 m · North Western

2.8 km NWGasgale Crags703 m · North Western

2.8 km NEStile End447 m · North Western

2.8 km WSWLad Hows426 m · North Western

2.8 km NNWLadyside Pike704 m · North Western

2.9 km NWWhiteside East Top (Whiteside) (Gasgale Crags)719 m · North Western

⚠️ Hazard & Incident Information

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🦶 My hikes over Sail (Strava)

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🅿️ Potential parking

Little Town, Newlands (paid, small) — 3.4 km from summit (straight line)

Newlands valley — Catbells, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth, Robinson.

Directions ↗

Buttermere village (NT, paid) — 4.0 km from summit (straight line)

For Red Pike, High Stile, Robinson, Rannerdale Knotts.

Directions ↗

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

🚌 Buses from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawse End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)

Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)

Seasonal (roughly Easter–October). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

🌦️ 7-day summit forecast

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