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736 m · Wainwright — Central Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Sergeant Man - hazy layered fells fading into the distance, a tarn and winding beck in the valley far below
Wainwright — Central FellsAlso a Birkett

Sergeant Man

Sergeant Man at 736m (2,415ft) is the subsidiary summit of High Raise above Langdale, a rocky outcrop on the rim of the plateau with outstanding views of the Langdale valley and the Pikes below.

736 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+5
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Sergeant Man

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

736 mWainwright — Central Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km Severe in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 736 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 12°C, gusts to 38 mph, 11.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 12°
💨 38 mph
🌧 11.8 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
14° / 10°
💨 27 mph
🌧 5.0 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
12° / 4°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.3 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
14° / 1°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 3°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.6 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
🌫️
15° / 5°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 736 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

Sergeant Man

Sergeant Man - hazy layered fells fading into the distance, a tarn and winding beck in the valley far below
© Lee McCoy

Sergeant Man at 736m (2,415ft) is the subsidiary summit of High Raise above Langdale, a rocky outcrop on the rim of the plateau with outstanding views of the Langdale valley and the Pikes below. Wainwright noted it as a fine viewpoint that many walkers visit on the way to or from High Raise, the rocky crest giving a better sense of the Langdale view than the flat summit plateau of the main fell. The views across to Harrison Stickle, Pavey Ark and the full Langdale cirque are excellent. Most naturally reached from New Dungeon Ghyll via Stickle Tarn and the Langdale Pikes.

Routes up Sergeant Man

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

Langdale Pikes Round
12.3 km · ~3.9 hr · Moderate
A grand round of the Langdale Pikes and the fells behind them. From Great Langdale it climbs past Stickle Tarn to take in Pavey Ark (by the walkers' line, not Jack's Rake), Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle and Loft Crag, then loops over Thunacar Knott, High Raise and Sergeant Man before dropping back to the valley. It's a simpler line than my previous version, which added Blea Rigg — boggy on the approach from Sergeant Man. Handily, there are toilets at the car park at the end.
West of Grasmere
15.4 km · ~4.4 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Central
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
736 m
Height
2,415 ft
In feet
NY 2864 0889
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Stickle Ghyll / New Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid), about 2.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Sergeant Man (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.

0.3 km NECodale Head732 m · Central
1.2 km NNWLow White Stones731 m · Central
1.9 km SSWThorn Crag644 m · Central
2.3 km NLining Crag542 m · Central
2.5 km ESECastle How (Raw Pike)498 m · Central

Routes over Sergeant Man

Langdale Pikes RoundRevised
12.34 km · ~830 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h · Clockwise · Moderate
Summits: Sergeant ManHigh Raise (High White Stones)Thunacar KnottPavey ArkHarrison SticklePike of StickleLoft CragThorn Crag

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Any season in good conditions; the plateau behind the Pikes is featureless in cloud.

⚠️ Warnings: Avoid Jack's Rake on Pavey Ark unless you're a confident scrambler — the walkers' route reaches the same summit.; Boggy ground and confusing navigation on the High Raise and Sergeant Man plateau in mist.; Steep, rocky ground around the Pikes.

Full route guide ↗

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

West of GrasmereRevised
15.44 km · ~806 m ascent · loop · ~4–6 h
Summits: Tarn Crag (Easedale)Codale HeadSergeant ManBlea RiggSwinescar PikeSilver How

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View from Sergeant Man

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 Sergeant Man36 labelled tops shown (5 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 7 kmHelvellyn · 8 kmSkiddaw · 20 kmGreat End · 6 kmGreat Gable · 8 kmHigh Crag · 7 kmRaise · 10 kmFairfield · 8 kmBlencathra · 19 kmCrinkle Crags · 6 kmGreat Dodd · 13 kmSt Sunday Crag · 9 kmHigh Street · 16 kmHart Crag · 8 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 11 kmGlaramara · 4 kmHarter Fell · 17 kmGrey Friar · 9 kmWetherlam · 8 kmHigh Raise · 1 kmIll Bell · 15 kmLittle Stand · 7 kmClough Head · 14 kmLonscale Fell · 18 kmKnott · 24 kmCold Pike · 6 kmBowfell · 5 kmHigh House Tarn Top · 5 kmRossett Pike · 4 kmIngleborough · 57 km · clear daysWhernside · 53 km · clear daysWard's Stone · 59 km · clear daysThe Calf · 40 km · clear daysWhite Howe · 24 kmBirk Fell Man · 7 kmWansfell Pike · 12 kmScafell · 8 kmHelvellyn Lower Man · 8 kmPillar · 12 kmNethermost Pike · 8 kmDollywaggon Pike · 7 kmStybarrow Dodd · 12 kmRed Pike · 12 kmShelter Crags · 5 kmKnowe Crags · 18 kmThornthwaite Crag · 15 kmDow Crag · 11 kmGreat Rigg · 7 kmBlack Sails · 8 kmJenkin Hill · 19 kmLong Side · 20 kmYoke · 15 kmGreat Knott · 5 kmCrinkle Crags South Top · 6 kmThe Tongue · 22 kmSeat Sandal · 6 kmThunacar Knott · 1 kmLoft Crag · 2 kmLingmoor Fell · 5 kmHawk Rigg · 8 kmGreat Intake · 7 kmBaugh Fell · 49 km · clear daysFair Snape Fell · 69 km · clear daysBlack Fell · 9 kmYarlside · 41 km · clear daysHigh Knott · 19 kmClaife Heights · 15 kmnameless · 19 kmNewton Fell North · 27 kmBigland Barrow · 26 kmBrant Fell · 18 kmSnowdon · 169 km · a handful of days a yearBoulsworth Hill · 98 km · a rare clear dayGreat Whernside · 80 km · a rare clear dayWinter Hill · 101 km · a rare clear dayBillinge Hill · 110 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Sergeant Man, by direction
  • North: Knowe Crags (18 km), Gategill Fell Top (19 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (19 km), Skiddaw Little Man (19 km), Blencathra (19 km), Skiddaw South Top (20 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (20 km), Skiddaw (20 km), Skiddaw North Top (20 km)
  • North-east: Dollywaggon Pike (7 km), High Crag (7 km), Nethermost Pike (8 km), Cofa Pike (8 km), Helvellyn (8 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (8 km), St Sunday Crag (9 km), Raise (10 km), Stybarrow Dodd (12 km), Great Dodd (13 km)
  • East: Fairfield (8 km), Hart Crag (8 km), High Street (16 km), Rampsgill Head (16 km)
  • South: Swirl How (8 km), Brim Fell (10 km), The Old Man of Coniston (11 km)
  • South-west: Shelter Crags (5 km), Crinkle Crags (5 km), Crinkle Crags (6 km)
  • West: Esk Pike (5 km), Great End (6 km), Ill Crag (6 km), Broad Crag (7 km), Scafell Pike (7 km), Green Gable (7 km), Great Gable (8 km), Scafell (8 km), Pillar (12 km), Red Pike (12 km), Black Crag (12 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (169 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (157 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (165 km, Wales), Craig Cwm Silyn (176 km, Wales), Boulsworth Hill (98 km, England), Great Whernside (80 km, England), Creigiau Gleision (158 km, Wales), Moel Eilio (168 km, Wales).

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 Sergeant Man

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
70Wainwrights in view+11 marginal
153 kmFurthest sightlineCarnedd Llewelyn · possible under favourable refraction
1Sea in viewMorecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales.

Far horizons
  • Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 153 km clear
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 58 km clear
  • Whernside Yorkshire DalesESE · 52 km clear
  • Morecambe Bay bay/estuaryS · 37 km in view
All 70 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Pavey Ark, Thunacar Knott, Harrison Stickle, Blea Rigg, Ullscarf, Rossett Pike, Helm Crag, Silver How, Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Bowfell, Allen Crags, Esk Pike, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Cold Pike, Great End, Stone Arthur, Seat Sandal, Heron Pike (Rydal), Great Rigg, Nab Scar, Loughrigg Fell, Scafell Pike, Dollywaggon Pike, Green Gable, Great Gable, Nethermost Pike, Fairfield, Wetherlam, Great Carrs, Scafell, Helvellyn, Swirl How, Hart Crag, High Pike (Scandale), Holme Fell, Dove Crag, Grey Friar, Black Fell, High Seat, St Sunday Crag, Raise, Brim Fell, Bleaberry Fell, Red Screes, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Dow Crag, Stybarrow Dodd, Watson's Dodd, Pillar, Red Pike (Wasdale), Baystones (Wansfell), Great Dodd, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Clough Head, Thornthwaite Crag, Ill Bell, Sour Howes, Yoke, High Street, Sallows, Harter Fell (Mardale), Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Little Man, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw, Bannerdale Crags, Great Calva, Knott

How Sergeant Man’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 Sergeant Man

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

Stickle Ghyll / New Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid) — 2.8 km from summit (straight line)
Direct start up Stickle Ghyll for the Langdale Pikes.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (640m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (770m) — Free
Old Dungeon Ghyll (NT, paid) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)
Head of Great Langdale — Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco, the Langdale Pikes.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (510m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (649m) — Free🍺 Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel🍺 Sticklebarn

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.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Langdale Pikes Round route:

💧 possible water source (7 m)🛖 map (6 m)🚌 New Dungeon Ghyll (110 m)

On the West of Grasmere route:

🛖 map (44 m)🚌 Heaton Cooper Studio (227 m)🚌 School (266 m)🚌 Stock Lane at School (301 m)⛺ map (486 m)

💧 Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is usually a tap or public supply, but never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock or a carcass upstream and leave you seriously ill. Run it through a filter or purifier (a LifeStraw, Sawyer Squeeze or HydraPak) or bring it to a rolling boil first.

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

Buses to Sergeant Man from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 516 “Langdale Rambler”
Ambleside – Skelwith Bridge – Elterwater – New Dungeon Ghyll – Old Dungeon Ghyll
Catch it from: Ambleside · Windermere (change at Ambleside)
The Langdale bus — Pikes, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco all walkable from the Dungeon Ghyll stops. Seasonal frequency varies; check before relying on the last bus back.

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

My hikes over Sergeant Man (Strava)

2 logged hikes pass over this summit:

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

Hazard & Incident Information for Sergeant Man

Hazard: Moderate

A rocky little cone perched at the edge of High Raise's great plateau above Langdale, where gentle grassy ground meets steep drops toward Stickle Tarn and Dungeon Ghyll. The summit itself is small, but it sits amid indistinct, boggy paths and a featureless plateau that make this a genuine navigation fell — hard to follow in cloud or snow. Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

  • Steep ground to Stickle Tarn / Dungeon Ghyll: Steep slopes fall away south to Bright Beck and Stickle Tarn, and one approach runs alongside a steep drop into Dungeon Ghyll with an awkward rocky section. Keep back from these edges, especially in wind or cloud, and take the rocky step carefully.
  • Indistinct paths & navigation (Codale Tarn / High Raise): The grassy paths around Codale Tarn and up from Stickle Tarn are boggy, narrow and faint, and the link onto High Raise's featureless dome offers few landmarks. In mist or snow the route is hard to follow — take and trust compass bearings to gain and leave the summit.
  • Exposure on the open plateau: Up here there is little shelter and the ground is exposed; in poor weather it is easy to become disorientated between Sergeant Man, High Raise and the Langdale Pikes. Don't rely on following trodden ground.
Who should attempt this fell: Sergeant Man is a charming rocky top, but it earns its 'moderate' through navigation rather than difficulty: the paths are faint and boggy and the plateau is featureless, so be confident with map and compass and set bearings before moving between summits. Keep clear of the steep edges to Stickle Tarn and Dungeon Ghyll, and treat it as serious ground in cloud, snow or strong wind.

Most common causes: Navigation errors on faint, boggy paths and the featureless plateau in cloud or snow · Slips on the steep ground toward Stickle Tarn and Dungeon Ghyll · Difficulty on the awkward rocky section of the Dungeon Ghyll-side path · Disorientation between Sergeant Man, High Raise and the Langdale Pikes

Local Mountain Rescue: Langdale Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team · Reviewed 14 Jun 2026

Safety: Hazard guidance compiled from published Mountain Rescue reports and well-documented accident history - editorial background, not a live feed of callouts. Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information

Navigating Sergeant Man in cloud

Severe

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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 Sergeant Man 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 Sergeant Man

Maps & guidebooks for Sergeant Man

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