Side Pike
Side Pike at 362m (1,188ft) is a small, rocky knoll above the head of Great Langdale beside Blea Tarn, its craggy top giving outstanding views of both Great and Little Langdale and the Langdale Pikes.
Summit conditions on Side Pike
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 13° to 7°C, gusts to 49 mph, 7.1 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 Side Pike
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →
How hard is Side Pike?
The shortest way up we hold is Side Pike and Brown How from Blea Tarn — 4.6 km, 311 m of ascent, ~1¼–2 h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.
All axes: steepness: Hard · navigation: Moderate · length: Easy · 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 362 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Side Pike
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
3 more places to park near Side Pike
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 516 stops at Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. From there it is 2.4 km and 190 m of ascent to the start of Side Pike and Brown How from Blea Tarn — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 9.5 km in all, with the walk. Last bus: Monday to Thursday 21:10 towards Ambleside (516) and 20:10 towards Kendal (516); Friday 22:30 towards Kendal (516); Saturday 22:30 towards Kendal (516); Sunday 21:10 towards Ambleside (516) and 20:10 towards Kendal (516). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 23 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
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 Side Pike
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 Side Pike
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Side Pike
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
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.
About Side Pike
My Strava hikes over Side Pike
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Cloudy Climb with Steady Pulse - apart from any interaction with the kids (opens in new tab) — 9.5 km · 487 m ascent · 2h 53m moving · 5 May 2024
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Side Pike a Wainwright?
Side Pike is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge 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 →