Steeple
Steeple at 819m (2,687ft) is a pointed, dramatic summit on the ridge between Scoat Fell and Red Pike (Wasdale), its crags dropping steeply into Mirk Cove above Ennerdale.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 819 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 13° to 12°C, gusts to 36 mph, 3.5 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 819 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
About the walk
Steeple
Routes up Steeple
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Gatesgarth Farm, Buttermere (paid), about 4.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Steeple (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.
Routes over Steeple
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View from Steeple
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.
What you can see from Steeple, by direction
- North: High Stile (3 km), Grasmoor (9 km), Crag Hill (9 km), Eel Crag (10 km)
- North-east: Sail (10 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (19 km), Skiddaw Little Man (20 km), Skiddaw South Top (20 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (20 km), Skiddaw (20 km), Skiddaw North Top (20 km), Broad End (21 km), Knowe Crags (22 km), Gategill Fell Top (22 km), Blencathra (23 km), Atkinson Pike (24 km)
- East: Pillar (1 km), Kirk Fell (4 km), Great Gable (6 km), Green Gable (6 km), Allen Crags (8 km), Glaramara (9 km), High Crag (19 km), Nethermost Pike (19 km), Dollywaggon Pike (19 km), Fairfield (20 km), Cofa Pike (20 km), St Sunday Crag (21 km), Dove Crag (22 km), Red Screes (24 km), Thornthwaite Crag (27 km), Rampsgill Head (29 km), Kidsty Pike (29 km), Harter Fell (30 km)
- South-east: Scafell Pike (7 km), Broad Crag (7 km), Great End (8 km), Ill Crag (8 km), Esk Pike (9 km)
- South-west: Haycock (2 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (174 km, Ireland), Merrick (104 km, Scotland), Broad Law (112 km, Scotland), Snaefell (80 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (103 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (86 km, Scotland), Corserine (100 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (97 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.
What you can see from Steeple
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland and the Isle of Man.
- Merrick Scotland
- Snaefell Isle of Man
- Criffel Scotland
- Solway Firth bay/estuary
- Irish Sea open water
All 57 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Pillar, Haycock, Caw Fell, High Stile, High Crag (Buttermere), Red Pike (Buttermere), Kirk Fell, Starling Dodd, Great Gable, Brandreth, Green Gable, Great Borne, Lingmell, Lank Rigg, Crag Fell, Robinson, Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), Scafell Pike, Hindscarth, Grike, Great End, Knott Rigg, Allen Crags, Grasmoor, Esk Pike, Glaramara, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Blake Fell, Sail, Ard Crags, Scar Crags, Causey Pike, Low Fell, Cat Bells (Catbells), Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Harrison Stickle, Ullscarf, Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike, Carl Side, Long Side, Ullock Pike, Skiddaw Little Man, Great Rigg, Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw, Clough Head, St Sunday Crag, Dove Crag, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Red Screes, Bowscale Fell, The Knott (High Street), Ill Bell, Rampsgill Head, Kidsty Pike
How Steeple’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 Steeple
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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 Extended Mosedale Horseshoe route:
💧 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 Steeple from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Hazard & Incident Information for Steeple
A sharp, airy summit thrown out from Little Scoat Fell on a short, narrow arête high above Ennerdale — one of the most remote and shapely tops in the Western Fells. The connecting ridge is exposed, with steep ground falling away into Mirk Cove and Mirklin Cove on either side, and it has a fatal accident record. Deep in committing country, far from any road, it is covered by Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team. The hazards are the narrow ridge, the steep drops and the sheer remoteness.
- The arête between Steeple and Little Scoat Fell: The link to the main ridge is a short, narrow crest with steep, rocky drops on both sides. A walker slipped and fell around 260ft from this ridge and was killed. It is straightforward in dry, calm conditions but genuinely exposed — take care with foot placement, and treat it with great caution in wind, wet or cloud.
- Steep flanks into Mirk Cove / Mirklin Cove: The summit and its ridge are flanked by steep coves dropping toward Ennerdale. A trip near the edge runs into serious ground. Keep to the crest and don't stray onto the steep grass and rock above the coves.
- Remoteness and access: Steeple is a long way in from any direction, with rough approaches and long walk-outs. Low cloud here has grounded rescue helicopters. A minor mishap becomes serious simply because of how far you are from help — carry full kit, navigation and a way to call for assistance, and allow generous time.
Most common causes: Slips and falls from the narrow arête, including a fatal fall · Trips onto the steep ground above Mirk Cove and Mirklin Cove · Navigation difficulty and exposure in cloud on the remote ridge · Problems compounded by the long distance from any road or help
Local Mountain Rescue: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab) · Reviewed 13 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.
Navigating Steeple in cloud
StraightforwardA broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. 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 Steeple 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 Steeple
- Base Brown
- Blake Fell
- Brandreth
- Buckbarrow
- Burnbank Fell
- Caw Fell
- Crag Fell
- Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell
- Fleetwith Pike
- Gavel Fell
- Great Borne
- Great Gable
- Green Gable
- Grey Knotts
- Grike
- Haycock
- Haystacks (Buttermere)
- Hen Comb
- High Crag (Buttermere)
- High Stile
- Kirk Fell
- Lank Rigg
- Low Fell
- Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)
- Middle Fell
- Pillar
- Red Pike (Buttermere)
- Red Pike (Wasdale)
- Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)
- Seatallan
- Starling Dodd
- Yewbarrow
Maps & guidebooks for Steeple
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