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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 → Parking & buses →
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 (Fri 11 Sep): 12° to 8°C, gusts to 21 mph, 1.3 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 21 mph
🌧 1.3 mm (98%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 8°
💨 45 mph
🌧 28.5 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.5 mm (26%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 7°
💨 34 mph
🌧 9.7 mm (94%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
13° / 8°
💨 34 mph
🌧 2.0 mm (77%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 1.3 mm (59%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 36 mph
🌧 1.4 mm (76%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 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.

Selside Pike at a glance

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.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Far Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
655 m
Height
2,149 ft
In feet
NY 4906 1114
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Selside Pike a Wainwright?

Selside Pike is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Selside Pike?

The nearest car park we hold is Brown Howe (layby), about 1.4 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Branstree, north (layby), 1.5 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

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.

Parking & buses for Selside Pike

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).

Brown Howe (layby) — 1.4 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Brown Howe (Mardale) (0.8 km), Castle Crag (Mardale) (1.3 km), Selside Pike (1.4 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Branstree, north (layby) — 1.5 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Branstree (1.2 km), Branstree NE Top (Branstree East Top) (High Howes (Mardale)) (1.5 km), Selside Pike (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Brown Howe, north-west (layby) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Brown Howe (Mardale) (0.9 km), Castle Crag (Mardale) (1.0 km), Hare Shaw (1.9 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Branstree (layby) — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Rough Crag (Riggindale), High Street, Mardale Ill Bell and Harter Fell (Mardale) — the 'Mardale circuit' route starts 166 m away. Also serves 'Mardale Ill Bell, High Street, The Knott, Rampsgill Head, High Raise and Kidsty Pike'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Mardale Head, Haweswater (free) — 2.1 km from summit (straight line)
Free but small and fills very early — High Street, Harter Fell, Kidsty Pike, Branstree. Fees: Free parking; donation cairn with suggested £2 contribution (cash only - no mobile signal) plus a Mountain Rescue donation cairn (wildhaweswater.co.uk) (United Utilities, checked Aug 2026). Open at all times, but a Public Space Protection Order prohibits overnight parking (wildhaweswater.co.uk, checked Aug 2026). Open 24/7 (United Utilities, checked Aug 2026).
Directions (opens in new tab)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 Selside Pike by bus

The nearest bus stop we hold is the 508 at Hartsop, adjacent to road end, 8.6 km of walking from the start — not realistically reachable without a car.

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

Hazards on Selside Pike

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 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.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Brown Howe (layby), about 1.4 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.

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

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. How to use this guide.

9.6 km · ~512 m ascent · loop · ~2.5–3.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: The link over Brown Howe and the Selside slopes is faint-trod grass with stretches of no path — straightforward in clear weather, compass work in cloud.

Full route guide ↗

🥾 Walked in part — Lee walked this ground in February 2025; km 0.0–1.5, km 2.8–3.4 of this line are from the map.

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

23.82 km · ~856 m ascent · loop · ~6–8 h

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: Classic Shap-fells going: faint trods, tussock and peat with long pathless stretches. The straight sections of the plotted line are bearings, not paths — carry map and compass and expect to weave.

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 Selside Pike

The 360° skyline 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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Selside Pike

Selside Pike sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 July) first light is only 2 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

30°40°50°60°04:37
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 lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:37 BST ±5.0 min04:36+1 min
Equinox06:11 GMT ±5.0 min06:14-3 min
Midwinter08:29 GMT ±5.0 min08:32-3 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.15°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Selside Pike

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (at midwinter) last light is only 18 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Selside Pike.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:42 BST ±5.0 min21:51-9 min
Equinox18:10 GMT ±5.0 min18:25-15 min
Midwinter15:30 GMT ±5.0 min15:48-18 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 Selside Pike. 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 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)

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.

Places to stay near this fell

Other places nearby

New Ing Lodge (opens in new tab)

about 4.2 km from the start, in a straight line

The only property in this cluster that answers the family questions from its own copy: family ensuite rooms, free parking, overnight laundry, an EV charger, a play area and a licensed bar, all in Shap village where the shop and the chippy are. It also scales down to camping from GBP 8 a night, so a party arriving late off Wet Sleddale without a room booked still has something. Ranked first on that, not on distance - it is 0.49 km further from the start than the Bothy but is the one that can take a family with a car and wet kit.

The whole lodge can be taken over on exclusive hire from GBP 500 a night, sleeping up to 30, with a sauna and hot tub, games room and firepit - a running club from Marsden books it for the same annual weekend every year.

  • Dogs “Stayed for 3 nights as a family with a German shephard in a family room, spotless, large and comfortable to say the least.”
  • Family rooms “Family Ensuite Rooms Double Ensuite Rooms FULLY LICENSED BAR Overnight Laundry Free Parking”
  • Evening meal “The staff can't help enough and the food is perfect!Log burner in the common room hits the spot every night.”
  • Parking “FULLY LICENSED BAR Overnight Laundry Free Parking GARDEN AREA PLAY AREA”

Shap Fell Bothy (opens in new tab)

about 4.7 km from the start, in a straight line

It is the only bed on this side of the start - on Shap Fell by the A6 rather than in the village - and it is the one place here that states a dog policy outright, in one sentence. It suits a self-sufficient pair or a group taking the whole building; it is emphatically not a wet-arrival option, because there is no running water, the toilet is a Portaloo in the side yard and the sleeping floor is upstairs. Ranked second not on distance but because the family who cannot cook for themselves cannot use it.

The bothy is a converted telephone repeater station, standing at 1,390 ft on Shap Fell with no neighbours for miles; the roof windows are there for star-gazing because the horizon is exceptionally low and wide and there is almost no light pollution.

  • Dogs “Dogs are welcome.”
  • Family rooms “The Bothy accommodates up to 8 people. In the upstairs there are 4 futon mattresses for the first 4 people to sleep on; additional guests can make use of the upstairs seating cushions or bring their own lilos, carrymats etc.”
  • Parking “Two very large lay-bys for ample parking within 70 yards.”
  • Children “The property is completely off-grid i.e. it is not connected to the electricity grid and has no running water.”

Other places nearby

Haweswater Hotel (opens in new tab) hotel

about 3.4 km from the start, in a straight line

It is the only hotel in the valley these five routes start in, and by its own account "The only building in 100 square miles of nature reserve" - so if it is full there is nothing else inside the radius but a bothy. It answers exactly one family question, and answers it with unusual precision: twelve named rooms take dogs, and you can ask for a non-dog room instead. Two things on it should be settled by phone or email before anyone drives up. Its nav sells an "Exclusive Use" page, so whole-hotel bookings are a product here and your dates can be closed to you with no second option within three miles. And the only line in the whole cache bearing on children is a positioning line - "No crowds or ice-cream parlours" - which is not a policy and must not be read as one; children_welcome is empty because they never say.

Built in 1937 as part of the Haweswater dam scheme, to replace the Dun Bull Inn that the rising reservoir drowned - and the coping stones in its garden were salvaged from the Mardale walls now under the water the five routes start beside.

  • Dogs “Dogs are allowed in the following rooms: Wainwright, Mardale, Lonsdale, Westmorland, Artle Crag, Lakeside, Measand, Whelter Crag, Swindale, Cawdale, Rosgil, Wet Sleddle. Please let us know if you prefer to stay in a non-dog friendly room.”
  • Evening meal “THE HAWESWATER RESTAURANT Our restaurant was awarded Two Rosettes in 2024”

Mosedale Cottage (opens in new tab) hut

about 2.8 km from the start, in a straight line

The nearest roof to the start at 2.82 km and the only thing inside the radius that is not the hotel - but it is an unlocked MBA bothy, so it belongs on a walker's plan, not on a family's booking list, and it is here for completeness rather than as an alternative to a bed. Its own page holds four usable things and no more: the grid reference NY 495 095, the fact that it has a stove but "No local fuel", the MBA's restriction on party size, and - as of the 13 Aug 2026 fetch - its absence from the MBA closure news that on the same day named Ryvoan, Craig, Haughton Green and Dubs Hut. That last is the only availability check this property has, and it is worth re-reading the same page before setting out, because it changes week by week.

Its two-line feature list pairs a multi-fuel stove with "No local fuel" - the stove works, but everything burnt in it is carried in over the tops.

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 Selside Pike

Is Selside Pike a hard walk?

There is no difficulty in the climbing — it is a broad grassy top on the quiet eastern rim above Haweswater, and our short round from Mardale Head is 9.6 km with 512 m of ascent.

We grade that round’s navigation hard, which is the honest warning. This is featureless boggy moorland with few paths, and the old corpse road that crosses it is easier to find on a map than on the ground. Not a fell to be uncertain on in cloud.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Selside Pike