Sale How
Sale How at 666m (2,185ft) is a Birkett top in the Back o' Skiddaw country on the broad eastern flanks of the Skiddaw massif, giving views across the Caldbeck Fells and north towards the Solway. Part of the moorland east of Skiddaw's main summit.
Summit conditions on Sale How
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 61 mph, 16.0 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up Sale How
Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section | Birketts North of Skiddaw |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Keswick | Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) (free) |
| Distance and climb | 18.15 km, 971 m of climb | 23.02 km, 1,472 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~5¼–7 h | ~7–9½ h |
| Scrambling | Not mentioned in the route’s notes | Not mentioned in the route’s notes |
| Exposure | Not assessed | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Moderate | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Climb of about 32% at 1.7 km (Hard) | Descent of about 31% at 19.8 km (Hard) |
| After the summit | No further tops | Over Hare Crag, Great Calva, Frozen Fell and Little Calva |
| Walked or planned | Planned: drawn, not yet walked | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Keswick Old Station, hotel car park (paid) | Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) (free) |
| Bus to the start | 509, 450 m walk from Keswick, at Greta Bank | X4, 2.5 km walk from Bassenthwaite, opposite High Side Farm |
Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.
Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →
How hard is Sale How?
The shortest way up we hold is Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section — 18.15 km, 971 m of ascent, ~5¼–7 h. On our scale its hardest axes are distance and steepness — Hard.
All axes: length: Hard · steepness: Hard · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Not assessed · exposure: Not assessed.
These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →
Conditions and 7-day summit forecast
Modelled for the 666 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Sale How
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
4 more places to park near Sale How
Positions are approximate.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
Buses
The 509, 555, X4 and X5 stop at Keswick, at Greta Bank, a 450 m walk from the start of Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and steepness). We haven’t published last buses, Sunday or winter service yet, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Hazards on Sale How
Notes from a planned route, not walked: Birketts North of Skiddaw
- The middle third (Hare Crag to Little Calva and beyond) is trackless deep heather — some of the roughest going in the Northern Fells. Budget far more time than the distance suggests.
If you need to get off (the leg from Skiddaw South Top): Retreat: No escape from this descent has been checked for this guide; the way back is the way you came, up to the South Top.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches Sale How.
We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.
If you need Mountain Rescue
Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.
Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.
If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.
From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).
Map, GPX and nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Sale How
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Sale How
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Route guide: Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section →
Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Sale How
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Birketts North of Skiddaw route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Sale How
Classifications & hill data
Is Sale How a Wainwright?
Sale How is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Nuttall list.
Selected lists
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →
Places to stay near this fell
- Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre (opens in new tab) hostelabout 3.1 km
- Puddleduck Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.9 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).