Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Sheffield Pike

676 m

Height

~3–4 h

Typical time

Bonus Birketts

See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Sheffield Pike

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

676 mWainwright — 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 676 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 11° to 8°C, gusts to 30 mph, 1.3 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep

🌦️

11° / 8°

💨 30 mph

🌧 1.3 mm (100%)

Sat 12 Sep

🌧️

13° / 8°

💨 50 mph

🌧 17.7 mm (100%)

Sun 13 Sep

🌦️

12° / 7°

💨 26 mph

🌧 0.2 mm (62%)

Mon 14 Sep

🌧️

14° / 8°

💨 32 mph

🌧 7.0 mm (100%)

Tue 15 Sep

🌦️

14° / 7°

💨 35 mph

🌧 4.4 mm (89%)

Wed 16 Sep

🌦️

10° / 8°

💨 32 mph

🌧 1.0 mm (78%)

Thu 17 Sep

🌦️

10° / 8°

💨 37 mph

🌧 4.2 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 676 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

Sheffield Pike at a glance

Sheffield Pike

Sheffield Pike at 675m (2,215ft) is a craggy, satisfying summit above Glenridding with outstanding views of Ullswater — Wainwright considered it one of the best Ullswater viewpoints in the Eastern Fells. The summit gives a perfect bird's-eye view of the lake's southern reach and across to Place Fell on the opposite shore. The ascent from Glenridding via Greenside or from Patterdale is straightforward and rewarding. Often combined with Hart Side for a fine round above the Glenridding valley. The views of Ullswater from the summit ridge are among the finest in the district.

Routes up Sheffield Pike

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

Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor

15.6 km · ~5.1 hr

A hard round above Glenridding by every measure the site records — 1,209 m of ascent in 15.6 km. A steep pull straight out of the valley leads over Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike, then the notoriously wet ground at Nick Head, the fine cone of Catstye Cam, and a long 554 m descent that tells on tired knees.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright

Eastern

Birkett

Fellranger

Synge

Nuttall

676 m

Height

2,218 ft

In feet

NY 3691 1818

Grid ref

The short answers

Is Sheffield Pike a Wainwright?

Sheffield 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 Sheffield Pike?

The nearest car park we hold is Glenridding Dodd, north-east (layby), about 1.8 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Glencoyne Bay (NT, paid), 1.8 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 Sheffield Pike (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

A great, quiet walk until it wasn't. (opens in new tab) — 15.4 km · 1217 m ascent · 4h 19m moving · 2 Sep 2023

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

Parking & buses for Sheffield Pike

Best parking to hike Sheffield Pike

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

Glenridding Dodd, north-east (layby) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (0.9 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.4 km), Brown Hills (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Glencoyne Bay (NT, paid) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (0.8 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.4 km), Birk Fell (Bleaberry Knott - Birk Fell) (1.6 km). Fees: £6 for 2 hours; £8 for 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked Aug 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

Stybarrow Crag layby (free) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (0.7 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.4 km), Birk Fell (Bleaberry Knott - Birk Fell) (1.6 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Glenridding Dodd (layby) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Glenridding Dodd (1.1 km), Brown Hills (1.5 km), Heron Pike (Glenridding) (1.5 km). Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Glencoyne (NT, paid) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Brown Hills (1.0 km), Swineside Knott (1.1 km), Glenridding Dodd (1.5 km). Fees: pay and display - the machine takes coins only, (LDNPA, checked Aug 2026).

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 Sheffield Pike by bus

The 508 stops at Glenridding, at Bus Shelter, 140 m from the start of Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor. The last bus is 19:41 towards Windermere (508) and 17:55 towards Penrith (508) and 17:45 towards Grasmere (559) and 17:29 towards Patterdale (509) and 16:00 towards Keswick (509) and 15:04 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”

Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)

Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)

The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

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

Hazards on Sheffield 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 Sheffield Pike in cloud

Care needed

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. 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 Sheffield 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: Glenridding Dodd, north-east (layby), about 1.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Sheffield 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.

0.6 km SEHeron Pike (Glenridding)612 m · Eastern

1.5 km NNEBrown Hills551 m · Eastern

1.7 km NNWBirkett Fell725 m · Eastern

1.7 km WNWGreen Side (White Stones)794 m · Eastern

1.8 km NNESwineside Knott553 m · Eastern

2.6 km NNECommon Fell552 m · Eastern

Routes over Sheffield Pike

Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse MoorRevised

15.58 km · ~1209 m ascent · loop · ~5–7 h

Summits: Glenridding Dodd Heron Pike (Glenridding)Sheffield PikeCatstye Cam Birkhouse Moor

⬇️ 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.

On the hill: terrain and water on Sheffield Pike

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Catstye Cam, Birkhouse Moor route:

🛖 map (51 m)🚺 map (71 m)🚌 Glenridding, at Bus Shelter (51 m)

The view from Sheffield Pike

The 360° skyline from Sheffield 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

What you can see from Sheffield Pike, by direction

North: Birkett Fell (2 km)
North-east: Cross Fell (36 km)
East: Place Fell (4 km), Red Crag (9 km), Loadpot Hill (9 km), Wether Hill (9 km)
South-east: Hartsop Dodd (8 km), Rest Dodd (8 km), The Knott (9 km), Gray Crag (9 km), Rampsgill Head (9 km), High Raise (9 km), Caudale Moor (9 km), Stony Cove Pike (10 km), Low Raise (10 km), High Street (10 km), Thornthwaite Crag (10 km), Froswick (12 km), Ill Bell (12 km)
South: Birkhouse Moor (2 km), Birks (4 km), St Sunday Crag (5 km), Gavel Pike (5 km), Cofa Pike (6 km), Fairfield (6 km), Little Hart Crag (8 km), Middle Dodd (9 km), Red Screes (10 km), St Raven's Edge (10 km)
South-west: Catstye Cam (3 km), White Side (4 km), Helvellyn (4 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (4 km), Nethermost Pike (5 km), Dollywaggon Pike (6 km)
West: Green Side (2 km), Raise (3 km), Stybarrow Dodd (3 km)
North-west: Hart Side (2 km), Great Dodd (4 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: The Cheviot (116 km, England), Wisp Hill (81 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (83 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (75 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (114 km, Scotland), Pikethaw Hill (80 km, Scotland), Peel Fell (86 km, England), Blackwood Hill (80 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 Sheffield Pike

Sheffield Pike sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (at midwinter) first light is only 8 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

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	06:14 GMT ±5.0 min	06:15	-1 min
Midwinter	08:41 GMT ±5.0 min	08:33	+8 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.47°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Sheffield Pike

Sheffield Pike loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 January, when last light is 40 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:18 against 15:58. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (221.2°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.68°.

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	21:25 BST ±5.0 min	21:52	-27 min
Equinox	18:14 GMT ±5.0 min	18:26	-12 min
Midwinter	15:09 GMT ±5.0 min	15:48	-39 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 Sheffield 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 Sheffield Pike

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

41Wainwrights in view+2 marginal

37 kmFurthest sightlineGreat Dun Fell

—Sea in viewnone from here

Far horizons

Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 37 km clear
Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 35 km clear

All 41 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Hart Side, Birkhouse Moor, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Catstye Cam, White Side, Great Dodd, Place Fell, Birks, Arnison Crag, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, St Sunday Crag, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Dollywaggon Pike, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Fairfield, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), The Nab, Hartsop Dodd, Great Mell Fell, Rest Dodd, Little Mell Fell, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Bonscale Pike, The Knott (High Street), Gray Crag, Loadpot Hill, Wether Hill, Rampsgill Head, Middle Dodd, High Raise (High Street), Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Arthur's Pike, Red Screes, High Street, Thornthwaite Crag, Froswick, Ill Bell

How Sheffield 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

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

about 2.5 km from the start, in a straight line

The only property in this radius that answers the whole evening for a family off Striding Edge in one page: a three-person family room, an evening meal from £14, a £6 packed lunch ordered for tomorrow, and somewhere to dry kit — all four stated by the property itself and priced. That is why it outranks nearer B&Bs at 0.5 km whose pages answer nothing. Book knowing the bathroom is shared, not en-suite.

A working sheep farm B&B directly below Arnison Crag, run by Beverley and Peter Iredale, looking across to Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes; the guest sitting room has a log burner and there are only three rooms sharing one bathroom.

Drying room “We also have drying facilities and a large patio and garden to enjoy the view.”
Family rooms “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”
Evening meal “We offer hearty home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals as well as packed lunches if required.”
Packed lunch “Packed Lunches £6.00 Evening Meals From £14.00”

YHA Helvellyn (opens in new tab) hostel

about 2.0 km from the start, in a straight line

Under-12s cannot take a dorm bunk (book a private room instead — a cot is available and ground-floor rooms exist), and dogs are barred from everything except the Landpods. With that understood it is the strongest wet-boots answer in the radius: a shared drying room, breakfast from 07:30, meals until 20:00, free on-site parking and reception open 17:00-22:00 for a late arrival — and it is already 963 ft up the hill you are climbing. Filed as a recommendation, not a refusal, because the same page says "People of all ages are welcome at YHA" and "A cot is available": the dorm rule rules out a bunk bed, not the family.

Worth knowing: “Pets are not permitted at YHA Helvellyn, except in our Camping & Cabins accommodation or when hiring the whole hostel through YHA Exclusive Hire.”

The hostel is the old Greenside lead mine site 963 ft up the fellside, 17 bedrooms sleeping 64, and in winter there is a ski slope with a drag lift about forty minutes' walk from the door.

Drying room “Shared drying room”
Family rooms “A cot is available.”
Evening meal “Meals are also available from 17:00 - 20:00”
Packed lunch “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something delicious to eat at YHA Helvellyn”
Parking “The property has a free car park on-site for guests and patrons. This car park is controlled by an ANPR parking system.”
Children “Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms.”

YHA Patterdale (and Patterdale Youth Hostel camp site) (opens in new tab) hostel

about 1.8 km from the start, in a straight line

This row exists for two reasons only: it is the nearest hostel to the start at 1.83 km (its campsite 1.87 km), and it publishes a direct address. Nothing else here has been verified, because the fetch of its hostel page returned YHA's generic national search page instead of the hostel's own — the word "Patterdale" does not appear once in 154,598 characters of cached text. Assume nothing about its drying room, rooms or meals from the YHA Helvellyn row above; the two hostels are separate buildings. YHA's site-wide policy that under-12s cannot take dorm beds does apply, but it is a chain policy and not evidence about this building.

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 Sheffield Pike

Is Sheffield Pike hard?

Steeper than most people expect, and rougher underfoot than its neighbours across Glenridding. There is no scrambling on the usual lines, but the pull up from the valley is sustained and the ground around the old mine workings is broken and loose in places.

Our round over it with Glenridding Dodd, Catstye Cam and Birkhouse Moor is 15.6 km with 1209 m of ascent, and we grade both its steepness severe and its navigation hard. The top is a broad moor with several false summits, so it is easy to walk off the wrong side of it.

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)

Sheffield Pike

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

Sheffield Pike at a glance

Sheffield Pike

Routes up Sheffield Pike

Classifications & hill data

The short answers

Is Sheffield Pike a Wainwright?

Where do you park for Sheffield Pike?

My hikes over Sheffield Pike (Strava)

Parking & buses for Sheffield Pike

Best parking to hike Sheffield Pike

Getting to Sheffield Pike by bus

Hazards on Sheffield Pike

Navigating Sheffield Pike in cloud

Map & nearby Birketts

Birketts near Sheffield Pike (within 3 km)

Routes over Sheffield Pike

On the hill: terrain and water on Sheffield Pike

Water & shelter on the way up

The view from Sheffield Pike

The 360° skyline from Sheffield Pike

Sunrise and sunset on Sheffield Pike

Last light — when the sun leaves Sheffield Pike

What you can see from Sheffield Pike

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

YHA Helvellyn (opens in new tab) hostel

YHA Patterdale (and Patterdale Youth Hostel camp site) (opens in new tab) hostel

Frequently asked questions about Sheffield Pike

Other fells near Sheffield Pike