Steel Knotts - the rocky tor of Pikeawassa on the summit, with the grassy ridges of the far eastern fells rising beyond in strong sunshine

Wainwright — Far Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Steel Knotts at 432m (1,417ft) is a small, rocky summit above Martindale with excellent views of Ullswater from its craggy top.

432 m

Height

~2–2.5 h

Typical time

Bonus Birketts

See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →

Home › Fells › Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy

432 mWainwright — Far Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 432 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 13° to 10°C, gusts to 21 mph, 1.4 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep

🌦️

13° / 10°

💨 21 mph

🌧 1.4 mm (98%)

Sat 12 Sep

🌧️

16° / 10°

💨 44 mph

🌧 9.8 mm (100%)

Sun 13 Sep

☁️

14° / 8°

💨 14 mph

🌧 0.0 mm (26%)

Mon 14 Sep

🌦️

16° / 8°

💨 29 mph

🌧 4.6 mm (94%)

Tue 15 Sep

🌦️

15° / 9°

💨 33 mph

🌧 0.8 mm (77%)

Wed 16 Sep

☁️

13° / 9°

💨 27 mph

🌧 0.0 mm (59%)

Thu 17 Sep

🌦️

13° / 9°

💨 34 mph

🌧 0.6 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 432 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

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) at a glance

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Steel Knotts at 432m (1,417ft) is a small, rocky summit above Martindale with excellent views of Ullswater from its craggy top. Wainwright praised it for its diminutive size but outstanding position — the views north across Ullswater to Pooley Bridge are among the finest from any low-level Lakeland fell. The ascent from Howtown or Martindale is short and rewarding. Often overlooked, it is a gem of a fell for Ullswater views.

Routes up Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

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

Fusedale Circuit

14.7 km · ~4.4 hr

A quiet ~15 km circuit of the Far Eastern fells from Howtown on Ullswater — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike — broad grassy tops with grandstand views over the lake. A fine Steamer-and-walk outing.

Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill

9.7 km · ~2.9 hr

Four far-eastern tops above Ullswater — Swarth Fell, Loadpot Hill, Brownthwaite Crag and Steel Knotts — in 9.7 km with 568 m of climbing. Severe for steepness, hard for navigation and exposure; under three hours.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright

Far Eastern

Birkett

Fellranger

Synge

432 m

Height

1,417 ft

In feet

NY 4403 1812

Grid ref

The short answers

Is Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) a Wainwright?

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)?

The nearest car park we hold is Steel Knotts (layby), about 0.7 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Martindale, St Peter's church (free, limited), 1.1 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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Fusedale Circuit - absolutely stunning weather. Could see for miles. (opens in new tab) — 15.5 km · 999 m ascent · 4h 10m moving · 6 Sep 2024

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

Parking & buses for Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Best parking to hike Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

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

Steel Knotts (layby) — 0.7 km from summit (straight line)

Nearest fells: Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) (0.7 km), Sleet Fell (1.2 km), Beda Fell (Beda Head) (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Martindale, St Peter's church (free, limited) — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)

Quiet side of Ullswater — Hallin Fell, Steel Knotts, Beda Fell, Pikeawassa.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Aira Force, High Cascades (NT, paid) (3.6 km); Aira Force (NT, paid) (3.9 km)

Hallin Fell, south-east car park (free) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Hallin Fell, Sleet Fell, Low Birk Fell and Birk Fell (Bleaberry Knott - Birk Fell) — the 'Hallin Fell' route starts 8 m away. Also serves 'Birketts to the South of Ullswater'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Hallin Fell car park (free) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Swarth Fell (Ullswater), Loadpot Hill, Brownthwaite Crag and Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) — the 'Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill' route starts 6 m away. Also serves 'Hallin Fell'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Hallin Fell (layby) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Swarth Fell (Ullswater), Loadpot Hill, Brownthwaite Crag and Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts) — the 'Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill' route starts 421 m away. Also serves 'Hallin Fell'. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) by bus

The UB1 stops at Martindale Cattle Grid (near), 530 m and 74 m of ascent from the start of Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill. This looks like a seasonal service. Our timetable data has the UB1 stopping on 1 November 2026, but we haven’t confirmed that with the operator — so treat it as a reason to check rather than a date to plan around. We haven’t published its last bus times, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back — times here are a guide, not a promise.

Ullswater Hopper UB1

Troutbeck (Basecamp North Lakes) – Aira Force – Watermillock – Pooley Bridge – Askham

Catch it from: Pooley Bridge · Penrith (change to the 508 or 509)

The community hopper run for SITU by Stagecoach: 28 March to 1 November 2026 at weekends and bank holidays, and every day from 25 to 29 May and throughout July, August and September. Calls at the steamer piers, the campsites and the hotels around the northern half of the lake, and the driver will stop anywhere safe on request. £3 single, dogs welcome, no bike trailer in 2026. With the 508 it gives Gowbarrow, Little Mell Fell and the Pooley Bridge end of the High Street ridge a second option.

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

Hazards on Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) in cloud

Straightforward

Walkable ground sits close to a lethal drop — in cloud it’s easy to walk straight onto steep ground. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) 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: Steel Knotts (layby), about 0.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) (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.

0.8 km SSEBrownthwaite Crag444 m · Far Eastern

1.5 km SSEGowk Hill471 m · Far Eastern

1.9 km WNWSleet Fell378 m · Far Eastern

2.0 km NESwarth Fell (Ullswater)545 m · Far Eastern

2.5 km WHigh Dodd501 m · Far Eastern

Routes over Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Fusedale CircuitRevised

14.68 km · ~856 m ascent · loop · ~4–6 h

Summits: Hallin Fell Bonscale Pike Arthur's Pike Loadpot Hill Wether Hill Brownthwaite CragSteel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)

✎️ Come by boat if you can. Howtown has almost nowhere to park and the eastern-shore lane is long and narrow, but the Ullswater Steamer pier is a few minutes from this start — sail in, walk the round, sail back, and the car never comes down the lane at all. Take the outward sailing first and walk afterwards, so an unhurried day on the tops can’t turn into a missed last boat. Sailings are seasonal, so check the timetable before you build a day around it. (Checked 4 Aug 2026; we don’t publish times here because a stale one would be worse than none.)

⬇️ Download GPX

⚠️ Warnings: Steep crag edges above Ullswater: Bonscale Tower and the western drops off Arthur's Pike and Bonscale Pike are serious — keep well back, especially in cloud or wind. Boggy, featureless plateau: the Loadpot Hill saddle is peat-hagged and wet, and the broad grassy tops give little to aim for in mist — a compass day if the cloud is down. Summer bracken + a washed-out descent: the Brock Crag short-cut and the steep drop off Bonscale to Mellguards can be thick, navigation-sapping bracken, with one eroded section underfoot — walking poles help. Easy-to-miss summits: Wether Hill and Loadpot Hill both have their true top just off the obvious path — step the few metres across to be sure you've actually bagged them.

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.

Swarth Fell and Loadpot HillPlanned

9.69 km · ~568 m ascent · loop · ~2.5–4 h

Summits: Swarth Fell (Ullswater)Loadpot Hill Brownthwaite CragSteel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts)

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

🥾 Walked in part — Lee walked this ground in September 2024; km 0.3–0.8, km 2.3–3.5, km 4.6–5.5 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.

On the hill: terrain and water on Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Fusedale Circuit route:

💧 possible water source (99 m)🛖 map (89 m)🚺 map (95 m)🚺 map (99 m)🚌 Hause Farm (166 m)

On the Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill route:

🚌 Hause Farm (183 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.

The view from Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

The 360° skyline from Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), by direction

South: Rest Dodd (4 km), High Raise (5 km), Rampsgill Head (5 km), The Knott (5 km), Thornthwaite Crag (8 km), Caudale Moor (8 km)
South-west: Gavel Pike (8 km), St Sunday Crag (8 km), Hart Crag (10 km), Dove Crag (10 km), Cofa Pike (10 km), Red Screes (10 km), Fairfield (10 km), Dollywaggon Pike (11 km)
West: Sheffield Pike (7 km), Birkett Fell (8 km), Hart Side (8 km), Green Side (9 km), Randerside (10 km), Raise (10 km), Stybarrow Dodd (10 km), Great Dodd (10 km), White Side (10 km), Clough Head (12 km)
North-west: Blencathra (15 km), Bannerdale Crags (15 km), Gategill Fell Top (15 km), Atkinson Pike (15 km), Knowe Crags (16 km), Tarn Crags Top (16 km), Bowscale Fell (16 km), Carrock Fell (18 km), Round Knott (19 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (20 km), Skiddaw Little Man (20 km), Skiddaw South Top (21 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (21 km), Skiddaw (21 km), Skiddaw North Top (21 km), Broad End (21 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Tinto (126 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (81 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (75 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (83 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (115 km, Scotland), Calkin Rig (71 km, Scotland), Pikethaw Hill (80 km, Scotland), Peel Fell (84 km, England).

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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midwinter, when the sun is up for 67 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:39 against an almanac sunrise of 08:32. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (145.8°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 5.95°.

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	05:20 BST ±5.0 min	04:36	+44 min
Equinox	07:13 GMT ±5.0 min	06:15	+58 min
Midwinter	09:39 GMT ±5.0 min	08:32	+67 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.45°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 March, when last light is 25 minutes before almanac sunset — 17:23 against 17:48. The sun goes down to the west-south-west from here (253.4°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.17°.

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	21:42 BST ±5.0 min	21:52	-10 min
Equinox	18:09 GMT ±5.0 min	18:25	-16 min
Midwinter	15:29 GMT ±5.0 min	15:48	-19 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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa). 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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

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

34Wainwrights in view+5 marginal

—Sea in viewnone from here

All 34 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Beda Fell (Beda Head), Hallin Fell, The Nab, Place Fell, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), Rest Dodd, High Raise (High Street), Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Brock Crags (Wainwright), Rampsgill Head, The Knott (High Street), Little Mell Fell, Hartsop Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Thornthwaite Crag, Hart Side, St Sunday Crag, Great Mell Fell, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Hart Crag, Great Dodd, Dove Crag, Red Screes, Dollywaggon Pike, Clough Head, Souther Fell, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Bannerdale Crags, Bowscale Fell, Lonscale Fell, Carrock Fell, Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw

How Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)’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

Low Gale (opens in new tab) self-catering

about 0.9 km from the start, in a straight line

The most complete answer in the cluster and the one physically tied to these routes: it sleeps 7 in four bedrooms, has a cot, off-road parking, drying facilities, its own washing machine, is dog friendly, is single storey, and prepared meals can be had from the owners' hotel kitchen without getting back in the car. It also states its minimum stay, which nothing else at Howtown does.

The cottage stands right beside Fusedale Beck - the beck the Fusedale Circuit follows out of Howtown - and the steamer jetty is reachable on foot without a car.

Dogs “Low Gale Ullswater is an elevated single storey, dog friendly holiday cottage located just beside Fusedale Beck and can easily accomodate 7 people.”
Family rooms “2 bathrooms 1 double bedroom 2 twin rooms 1 single room Ample storage and drying facilites”
Parking “Free Superfast Broadband Dog friendly Off road parking Smoke-free Garden / Patios Cot available Dishwasher *Washing Machine”
Children “Free Superfast Broadband Dog friendly Off road parking Smoke-free Garden / Patios Cot available Dishwasher *Washing Machine”

Howtown Cottages (opens in new tab) self-catering

about 0.8 km from the start, in a straight line

Four cottages 200 yards from the lake and under a kilometre from the start, every one of them dog friendly with parking, a cot and drying facilities. Cottage No4 is the one to ask for with a bad knee or a buggy: it puts a shower room AND a triple room on the ground floor, which nothing else at Howtown does.

There is no booking engine. You email David at the Howtown Hotel, and he confirms the cottage and the dates himself.

Dogs “Competitively priced, warm, cosy, functional and comfortable holiday homes for 4 to 7 visitors + dogs, 200yds from Ullswater”
Family rooms “Howtown Cottage No 4: Sleeps seven people with one double and one twin on the first floor and a triple room on the ground flo or.”
Parking “Facilities: Howtown Cottage No1 Free Superfast Broadband Dog friendly Parking Smoke-free Garden / Patios”
Children “1 Shower room on ground floor 1 bathroom 1 double bedroom 1 twin room 1 triple room on ground floor Dishwasher Cot available”

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 Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Is Steel Knotts a hard walk?

It is one of the smallest Wainwrights at 432 m, and the climbing is short. The summit rock, Pikeawassa, is a proper little top rather than a rounded hump — a nice objective for an evening rather than a serious undertaking.

What the height does not tell you is the ground around it. Our shorter round over it, with Swarth Fell and Loadpot Hill, is 9.7 km with 568 m of ascent, and we grade its navigation hard: this is quiet, pathless, rolling country above Martindale where it is easy to end up in the wrong valley.

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)

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

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

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) at a glance

Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Routes up Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Classifications & hill data

The short answers

Is Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) a Wainwright?

Where do you park for Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)?

My hikes over Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) (Strava)

Parking & buses for Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Best parking to hike Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Getting to Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) by bus

Hazards on Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Navigating Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) in cloud

Map & nearby Birketts

Birketts near Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa) (within 3 km)

Routes over Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

On the hill: terrain and water on Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Water & shelter on the way up

The view from Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

The 360° skyline from Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Sunrise and sunset on Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Last light — when the sun leaves Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

What you can see from Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Places to stay near this fell

Low Gale (opens in new tab) self-catering

Howtown Cottages (opens in new tab) self-catering

Frequently asked questions about Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)

Other fells near Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa)