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655 m · Wainwright — Far Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Wainwright — Far Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Selside Pike

Selside Pike is a quiet, grassy Wainwright on the high watershed between Haweswater and Swindale, in the lonely Far Eastern Fells.

655 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+6
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Selside Pike

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

655 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+6 bonus Birketts within 3 km Care needed in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 655 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°
💨 31 mph
🌧 2.0 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 655 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

About the walk

Key information

Selside Pike

Selside Pike is a quiet, grassy Wainwright on the high watershed between Haweswater and Swindale, in the lonely Far Eastern Fells. Its broad summit carries a large, well-built wind shelter and looks out over Haweswater to the High Street range. The fell's chief interest is the Old Corpse Road that crosses its northern flank — the centuries-old route along which the dead of Mardale were once carried out of the valley for burial. Most walkers reach it from Mardale Head or Swindale and pair it with neighbouring Branstree. The going is boggy in places, but the solitude is the reward — this is one of the emptiest corners of Lakeland.

Routes up Selside Pike

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

Mardale circuit
17.5 km · ~5.3 hr
Two Birketts from Mardale Head
9.6 km · ~2.8 hr
West of Wet Sleddale - Birketts
23.8 km · ~6.2 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Far Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
655 m
Height
2,149 ft
In feet
NY 4906 1114
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Mardale Head, Haweswater (free), about 2.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Selside Pike (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 SSWBranstree NE Top (Branstree East Top) (High Howes (Mardale))673 m · Far Eastern
1.1 km NNWBrown Howe (Mardale)529 m · Far Eastern
2.7 km NWCastle Crag (Mardale)395 m · Far Eastern
2.7 km SWLittle Harter Fell681 m · Far Eastern
2.8 km NNEPowleys Hill465 m · Far Eastern
2.8 km SWAdam Seat666 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Selside Pike

Mardale circuitRevised
17.48 km · ~1099 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h
Summits: Rough Crag (Riggindale)High StreetMardale Ill BellHarter Fell (Mardale)Little Harter FellBranstreeSelside Pike

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

Two Birketts from Mardale HeadPlanned
9.6 km · ~512 m ascent · loop · ~2.5–3.5 h
Summits: BranstreeBranstree NE Top (Branstree East Top) (High Howes (Mardale))Selside PikeBrown Howe (Mardale)

⬇️ 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.

West of Wet Sleddale - BirkettsPlanned
23.82 km · ~856 m ascent · loop · ~6–8 h
Summits: Seat RobertHigh Wether HoweNabs MoorSelside PikeHare ShawPowleys HillHarper HillsScalebarrow KnottGlede Howe

⬇️ 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.

The View from Selside Pike

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
Computed 360-degree skyline from Selside Pike34 labelled tops shown (6 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWNethermost Pike · 15 kmHigh Street · 5 kmHigh Raise · 5 kmRampsgill Head · 5 kmThornthwaite Crag · 6 kmHarter Fell · 4 kmLow Raise · 4 kmBranstree · 2 kmWether Hill · 7 kmLoadpot Hill · 8 kmTarn Crag · 3 kmCross Fell · 30 km · clear daysGrey Crag · 4 kmHarrop Pike · 4 kmBranstree NE Top · 1 kmIngleborough · 44 km · clear daysWhernside · 39 km · clear daysThe Calf · 23 kmLow Kop · 6 kmWasdale Pike · 5 kmHigh Wether Howe · 2 kmWild Boar Fell · 30 kmThe Forest · 8 kmSeat Robert · 4 kmFewling Stones · 2 kmHare Shaw · 2 kmBampton Fell · 5 kmPowleys Hill · 3 kmNaddle High Forest · 3 kmWallow Crag · 4 kmLanghowe Pike North Top · 4 kmMickle Fell · 34 km · clear daysRogan's Seat · 44 km · clear daysAye Gill Pike · 32 km · clear daysMardale Ill Bell · 4 kmGreat Saddle Crag · 4 kmSleddale Pike · 5 kmNabs Moor · 1 kmPen-y-ghent · 51 km · clear daysHugh's Laithes Pike · 4 kmHeughscar Hill · 12 kmKnipescar Common · 9 kmScalebarrow Knott · 5 kmGreat Coum · 35 km · clear daysWhite Hill · 56 km · clear daysDufton Pike · 26 kmBroad Law · 118 km · a rare clear dayPendle Hill · 76 km · a rare clear daySighty Crag · 71 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 89 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 85 km · a rare clear dayGreatmoor Hill · 90 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Selside Pike, by direction
  • North: Hare Shaw (2 km), Bampton Fell (5 km), Low Kop (6 km)
  • North-east: Cross Fell (30 km)
  • East: Nabs Moor (1 km), Fewling Stones (2 km), High Wether Howe (2 km), Glede Howe (3 km), Seat Robert (4 km), Sleddale Pike (5 km)
  • South-east: Howes (1 km), Ulthwaite Rigg (3 km), Great Saddle Crag (4 km), Great Yarlside (5 km), Wasdale Pike (5 km), The Forest (8 km), The Calf (23 km), Wild Boar Fell (30 km), Calf Top (31 km), Whernside (39 km), Ingleborough (44 km)
  • South: Branstree NE Top (1 km), Tarn Crag (3 km), Harrop Pike (4 km), Grey Crag (4 km), Ward's Stone (53 km)
  • South-west: Branstree (2 km), Harter Fell (4 km)
  • West: Rough Crag (4 km), Mardale Ill Bell (4 km), Kidsty Pike (5 km), High Street (5 km), Rampsgill Head (5 km), Thornthwaite Crag (6 km), St Sunday Crag (12 km), Nethermost Pike (15 km)
  • North-west: Low Raise (4 km), High Raise (5 km), Wether Hill (7 km), Loadpot Hill (8 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (118 km, Scotland), Pendle Hill (76 km, England), White Coomb (109 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (101 km, Scotland), Sighty Crag (71 km, England), Wisp Hill (89 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (82 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (90 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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Selside Pike

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
10Wainwrights in view+6 marginal
45 kmFurthest sightlineIngleborough
—Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSSE · 45 km clear
  • Whernside Yorkshire DalesSE · 38 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesNE · 30 km clear
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesNE · 30 km clear
All 10 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Branstree, Harter Fell (Mardale), Mardale Ill Bell, Kidsty Pike, High Raise (High Street), High Street, Rampsgill Head, Thornthwaite Crag, St Sunday Crag, Nethermost Pike

How Selside Pike’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.

Best parking to hike Selside Pike

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

Mardale Head, Haweswater (free) — 2.3 km from summit (straight line)
Free but small and fills very early — High Street, Harter Fell, Kidsty Pike, Branstree.
Directions
Wet Sleddale dam (free) — 4.7 km from summit (straight line)
For the quiet Shap-side fells: Seat Robert, Sleddale fells.
Directions

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 Selside Pike 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 or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over Selside Pike (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Navigating Selside Pike in cloud

Care needed

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Take care in poor visibility — carry map and compass, and know how to use them.

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

Other fells near Selside Pike

Maps & guidebooks for Selside Pike

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