Wainwright — North Western FellsAlso a Birkett

Sale Fell

Sale Fell at 359m (1,178ft) is a pleasant little summit above Bassenthwaite Lake, its low summit giving fine views of the lake and across to Skiddaw above.

359 m

Height

~1.5–2 h

Typical time

Bonus Birketts

See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Sale Fell

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

359 mWainwright — North Western Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 359 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 16° to 8°C, gusts to 46 mph, 16.6 mm of rain forecast.

Sat 12 Sep

🌧️

16° / 8°

💨 46 mph

🌧 16.6 mm (100%)

Sun 13 Sep

☁️

15° / 10°

💨 11 mph

🌧 0.0 mm (10%)

Mon 14 Sep

🌦️

17° / 13°

💨 36 mph

🌧 2.7 mm (92%)

Tue 15 Sep

🌧️

16° / 10°

💨 36 mph

🌧 11.7 mm (96%)

Wed 16 Sep

🌧️

12° / 9°

💨 27 mph

🌧 4.1 mm (62%)

Thu 17 Sep

🌧️

12° / 9°

💨 34 mph

🌧 17.1 mm (84%)

Fri 18 Sep

🌦️

13° / 9°

💨 36 mph

🌧 8.0 mm (75%)

Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 15:36 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 359 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Sale Fell at a glance

Sale Fell

Sale Fell at 359m (1,178ft) is a pleasant little summit above Bassenthwaite Lake, its low summit giving fine views of the lake and across to Skiddaw above. Wainwright described it as an excellent evening walk from Keswick — the views of Bassenthwaite and the Skiddaw group are very fine for such a modest height. The ascent from Wythop Mill is short and enjoyable. Combined naturally with Ling Fell for a gentle half-day outing.

Routes up Sale Fell

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

Ling Fell & Sale Fell

5 km · ~1.7 hr

Two small grassy tops near Wythop — 5 km and 417 m, and the only route in this group rated easy on every axis but steepness. A stage averages 16%. Well under two hours.

Rivings and Lothwaite

4.4 km · ~1.3 hr

A short, steep little round above Wythop — Rivings, Lothwaite and Sale Fell in 4.4 km, but with 271 m of climbing packed into it and a stage averaging 12%. Easy for length and exposure; a little over an hour.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright

North Western

Birkett

Fellranger

Synge

HuMP

359 m

Height

1,178 ft

In feet

NY 1944 2966

Grid ref

The short answers

How hard is Sale Fell?

The shortest way up we hold is Rivings and Lothwaite — 4.4 km, 271 m of ascent, about 1.3 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.

All axes: steepness: Hard · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · exposure: Easy · length: Easy.

My hikes over Sale Fell (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Ling Fell & Sale Fell: Won't be rushing to do these again (opens in new tab) — 4.9 km · 408 m ascent · 1h 23m moving · 27 Jul 2024

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

Parking & buses for Sale Fell

Best parking to hike Sale Fell

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

Roadside parking for Sale Fell (free) — 0.6 km from summit (straight line)

0.6 km from Sale Fell. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.

Directions Something changed here?

Ling Fell, north-east (layby) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Ling Fell, Sale Fell, Rivings and Lothwaite — the 'Ling Fell & Sale Fell' route starts 80 m away. Also serves 'Rivings and Lothwaite'. Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Burthwaite Heights (layby) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Burthwaite Heights (0.5 km), Ling Fell (1.0 km), Sale Fell (1.0 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Lothwaite, north (layby) — 1.0 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Lothwaite (0.8 km), Sale Fell (1.0 km), Rivings (1.1 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Lothwaite, north (layby 5) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Lothwaite (1.1 km), Sale Fell (1.2 km), Rivings (1.3 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.

Directions Something changed here?

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.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Sale Fell by bus

The X4 stops at Embleton Close Barn (near). From there it is 2.7 km and 151 m of ascent to the start of Rivings and Lothwaite — a walk in before the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 21:35 towards Keswick (X5); Saturday 23:50 towards Keswick (X5); Sunday 17:55 towards Keswick (X5). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach X4 / X5

Penrith – Rheged – Threlkeld – Keswick – Braithwaite – Cockermouth – Workington

Catch it from: Penrith

Year-round, every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday between Penrith and Keswick and hourly on Sundays, from outside Penrith station. One ticket from any station on the West Coast Main Line to Keswick includes this bus: search for ‘Keswick Bus (KWK)’ when you book the train. From Penrith this is your way into Keswick and the Northern fells — Threlkeld/Scales stops serve Blencathra directly, Braithwaite serves the Coledale fells.

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

Hazards on Sale Fell

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Navigating Sale Fell in cloud

Straightforward

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Sale Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Roadside parking for Sale Fell (free), about 0.6 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Sale Fell (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.

0.4 km ESERivings335 m · North Western

0.9 km ELothwaite345 m · North Western

1.5 km SSWBurthwaite Heights318 m · North Western

Routes over Sale Fell

Ling Fell & Sale FellLive

4.98 km · ~417 m ascent · loop · ~1.5–2.5 h

Summits: Ling FellSale Fell

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

Rivings and LothwaitePlanned

4.38 km · ~271 m ascent · loop · ~1–1.5 h

Summits: Rivings LothwaiteSale Fell

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

The view from Sale Fell

The 360° skyline from Sale Fell

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys

What you can see from Sale Fell, by direction

North-east: Little Sca Fell (10 km), Great Sca Fell (11 km), Brae Fell (11 km)
East: Long Side (6 km), Skiddaw (7 km), Skiddaw North Top (7 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (7 km), Skiddaw South Top (7 km), Broad End (7 km), Skiddaw Little Man (8 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (8 km), Little Calva (9 km), Frozen Fell (10 km), Knott (11 km)
South-east: High Seat (15 km), Clough Head (16 km), Little Dodd (17 km), Great Dodd (17 km), Watson's Dodd (17 km), Randerside (18 km), Stybarrow Dodd (18 km), Raise (19 km), White Side (19 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (20 km), Catstye Cam (21 km), Nethermost Pike (22 km), High Crag (22 km), Dollywaggon Pike (22 km), Seat Sandal (24 km), Great Rigg (25 km)
South: Lord's Seat (3 km), Ladyside Pike (7 km), Grisedale Pike (7 km), Hopegill Head (8 km), Sand Hill (8 km), Whiteside East Top (8 km), Whiteside (8 km), Grasmoor (10 km), Iron Crag (19 km)
South-west: Blake Fell (13 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (181 km, Ireland), Merrick (95 km, Scotland), Snaefell (90 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (91 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (79 km, Scotland), Corserine (90 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (90 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (88 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Sale Fell

Sale Fell waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at the March equinox, when the sun is up for 36 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 06:52 against an almanac sunrise of 06:16. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east from here (96.5°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 4.82°.

Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.

Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
	First light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	04:34 BST ±5.0 min	04:36	-2 min
Equinox	06:52 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	+36 min
Midwinter	08:50 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	+16 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.09°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Sale Fell

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 January) last light is only 3 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Sale Fell.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:57 BST ±5.0 min	21:54	+3 min
Equinox	18:31 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	+4 min
Midwinter	15:47 GMT ±5.0 min	15:49	-2 min

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Sale Fell. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Sale Fell

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

41Wainwrights in view+1 marginal

96 kmFurthest sightlineMerrick

2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Far horizons

Merrick ScotlandNW · 96 km clear
Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 90 km clear
Criffel ScotlandNW · 41 km distant
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNW · 30 km in view
Irish Sea open waterW · 27 km in view

All 41 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Ling Fell, Broom Fell, Lord's Seat, Barf, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Ullock Pike, Dodd (Skiddaw), Long Side, Carl Side, Skiddaw, Binsey, Grisedale Pike, Skiddaw Little Man, Hopegill Head, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Great Cockup, Grasmoor, Meal Fell, Latrigg, Longlands Fell, Great Sca Fell, Knott, Brae Fell, Walla Crag, Burnbank Fell, Blake Fell, Bleaberry Fell, High Rigg (Naddle Fell), Clough Head, Great Dodd, Watson's Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, White Side, Catstye Cam, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike, Seat Sandal, Great Rigg

How Sale Fell’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Places to stay near this fell

Embleton Spa Hotel (opens in new tab) hotel

about 1.6 km from the start, in a straight line

The nearest property to the start by a clear margin, and the only one in the ring that answers a walking family's whole evening in one place: a family ensuite bedroom plus four self-contained family apartments, breakfast included in the room rate, and its own bar and evening menu so nobody gets back in the car. It is also the one property here that a car-free party can reach.

An 18th-century Lakeland farmhouse that now runs a pool and gym its guests use free, and it sits on the Penrith-Keswick-Workington bus route with the stop 50 yards from the door.

Family rooms “We offer four Ensuite Double Bedrooms and one Family Ensuite Bedroom, located on the first and second floors of the hotel.”
Evening meal “Bar/restaurant with breakfast, drop-in lunch menu and evening menu.”

Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre (opens in new tab) hostel

about 4.7 km from the start, in a straight line

It holds the only drying room within three miles of this start, and the only ground-floor bedroom with an en-suite described as suitable for restricted mobility. For a party that comes off Sale Fell soaked, or one carrying a bad knee, nothing else in the ring answers either question at all. Ranked sixth rather than higher only because its calendar is dominated by group hire and named holiday weeks, so a passing family's availability is not established.

A charity-run manor whose dining room seats 75 under a panorama of Bassenthwaite Lake, and which runs its own September walking week with a slower 'Strollers' option alongside the high ridges.

Drying room “Drying Room and Laundry Space to dry wet coats and shoes.”
Family rooms “68 Bed spaces in 19 Bedrooms on 3 floors. Rooms range from twin/double up to 6 people each with en-suite or a private bathroom.”
Evening meal “Friendly relaxed atmosphere, comfy accommodation, great food, and quality leadership are the hallmarks of our holiday weeks.”
Parking “Parking Car park space for up to 21 cars.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Sale Fell

How long does it take to walk Sale Fell?

Around an hour up and down, or 1.5–2 hours as a gentle circuit — at 359 m (1,178 ft) it's one of the smallest and kindest Wainwrights, on grassy paths the whole way with no rough ground.

Where do you park for Sale Fell?

The classic start is near the Pheasant Inn at the foot of Bassenthwaite Lake, or from the lane by Wythop church (St Margaret's) on the fell's south side — both informal and limited, so park considerately and don't block the lane or gateways.

Is Sale Fell a Wainwright?

Yes — one of the gentlest in the book, in the North Western Fells above the Wythop valley. Wainwright wrote of it with real affection as an evening stroll of a fell. Its natural partner is Ling Fell, the matching heather dome just across the valley — baggers usually take both in an afternoon — and both count towards more than one Lakeland list.

Is Sale Fell good for families and dogs?

One of the best: short, grassy, safe underfoot and full of interest, with lovely views over Bassenthwaite Lake. It's sheep country end to end, so dogs on leads — and lambing time deserves extra care.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-07-27 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Sale Fell

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

Sale Fell at a glance

Sale Fell

Routes up Sale Fell

Classifications & hill data

The short answers

How hard is Sale Fell?

My hikes over Sale Fell (Strava)

Parking & buses for Sale Fell

Best parking to hike Sale Fell

Getting to Sale Fell by bus

Hazards on Sale Fell

Navigating Sale Fell in cloud

Map & nearby Birketts

Birketts near Sale Fell (within 3 km)

Routes over Sale Fell

The view from Sale Fell

The 360° skyline from Sale Fell

Sunrise and sunset on Sale Fell

Last light — when the sun leaves Sale Fell

What you can see from Sale Fell

Places to stay near this fell

Embleton Spa Hotel (opens in new tab) hotel

Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre (opens in new tab) hostel

Frequently asked questions about Sale Fell

Other fells near Sale Fell