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819 mWainwright — Western Fells+5 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Steeple at 819m (2,687ft) is a pointed, dramatic summit on a short spur off Scoat Fell, its crags dropping steeply into Mirk Cove above Ennerdale.

Summit conditions on Steeple

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 10° to 4°C, gusts to 61 mph, 7.3 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

62 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 49 mph times our exposure factor of 1.28. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 61 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

7.3 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like −1 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 29 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Routes up Steeple

Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

Very Long Day OutExtended Mosedale Horseshoe
Starts fromOverbeck BridgeWasdale Head
Distance and climb26.63 km, 1,810 m of climb17.75 km, 1,236 m of climb
Time, fast to steady~8¼–11¼ h~5½–7½ h
ScramblingGraded scramble: Stirrup Crag, at Yewbarrow's north end (km 2.9–3.2). Yewbarrow: The north end drops in a steep set of ledges and chimneys — a genuine scramble that catches people out, especially as a descent.Graded scramble: Stirrup Crag, at Yewbarrow's north end (km 11.8–12.1). Yewbarrow: The north end drops in a steep set of ledges and chimneys — a genuine scramble that catches people out, especially as a descent.
ExposureModerateHard
NavigationHardModerate
Steepest stretchClimb of about 49% at 1.2 km (Severe)Descent of about 47% at 13.8 km (Severe)
After the summitOver Haycock, Little Gowder Crag, Caw Fell, Middle Fell, Seatallan, Glade How and BuckbarrowOver Red Pike (Wasdale), Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag) and Yewbarrow
Walked or plannedPlanned: drawn, not yet walkedNot yet personally walked
Car park at the startOverbeck Bridge, Wastwater (NT, paid)Wasdale Head village green car park (free)
Bus to the startNot measuredNot measured

Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.

Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →

How hard is Steeple?

The shortest way up we hold is Extended Mosedale Horseshoe — 17.75 km, 1236 m of ascent, ~5½–7½ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.

All axes: steepness: Severe · length: Hard · terrain: Hard · exposure: Hard · navigation: Moderate.

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 819 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
10° / 4°
61 mph
7.3 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
8° / 5°
43 mph
5.3 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
8° / 6°
27 mph
1.2 mm (26%)
Fri 30 Oct
7° / 5°
27 mph
0.1 mm (31%)
Sat 31 Oct
8° / 0°
9 mph
0.0 mm (25%)
Sun 1 Nov
7° / -1°
7 mph
0.0 mm (12%)
Mon 2 Nov
6° / -1°
15 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Steeple

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Overbeck Bridge, Wastwater (NT, paid) — 0.1 km from the start of Very Long Day Out (straight line)
Approx 20 spaces. By Overbeck Bridge on the lakeshore road. 'Very Long Day Out' and 'Wastwater Shore (the Screes view)' start here. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review. Small NT pay-and-display car park at the foot of Yewbarrow on the lakeshore road. Fees: £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Charges apply at all times (NT, checked August 2026). Free for NT members (checked August 2026). No overnight parking (National Trust, checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
Wasdale Head village green car park (free) — at the start of Extended Mosedale Horseshoe
At Wasdale Head, about 0.3 km south of the Wasdale Head Inn; the National Trust's Pillar trail starts here and calls it the Wasdale Head Village Green car park (grid ref NY 1868 0852, read 17 October 2026). The 'Round Kirk Fell from Wasdale Head' and 'Extended Mosedale Horseshoe' routes start here; the Great Gable and Scafell Pike routes start at Lake Head, 1.3 km on foot. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions Something changed here?
Lake Head, Wasdale (NT, paid) — 4.9 km from summit (straight line)
Walking base for Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Scafell Pike — the 'Great Gable & Kirk Fell' route starts 10 m away. Also serves 'Scafell Pike from Wasdale, by Lingmell Col'. National Trust's access statement records a pay-and-display machine here (National Trust, January 2024) but does not say which payment methods it takes; the same document notes mobile reception is poor across Wasdale, so carry coins as well as a card. Compacted surface (OSM-tagged). Toilets on site. National Trust, pay & display (free for members). The classic base for Scafell Pike, Great Gable, Kirk Fell, Yewbarrow. Fills very early. Fees: £7 up to 2 hours; £8.50 up to 4 hours; £10 all day. Charges apply at all times (NT, checked August 2026). Free for NT members (checked August 2026).
Directions Something changed here?
If it is full: Overbeck Bridge, Wastwater (NT, paid) (1.8 km, 110 m up); Greendale, Nether Wasdale (roadside, free) (4.9 km, 197 m up)
Wasdale Head Inn

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

We don’t know yet. Wasdale Explorer (seasonal) serves this area, but we don’t hold its stop positions, so we can’t measure the walk from it — and we won’t tell you to drive on the strength of a gap in our own data. The Wasdale Action Group lists it as running Saturdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays from the start of May to the end of August (read 30 September 2026): check before you travel.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Steeple

Hazard & Incident Information for Steeple

Checked by Lee McCoy, . Draws on published material from Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

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 a fall here can be fatal. 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 fall here can be fatal. 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.
Who should attempt this fell: Steeple is a wonderful, exposed little summit, but respect the narrow ridge that reaches it — a fall here can be fatal. Cross it carefully, and avoid it in strong wind or when the rock is wet or iced. Above all, plan for the remoteness: this is deep Western Fells country where help is hours away and bad weather can ground aircraft. Strong navigation, full kit and a sensible turnaround time are essential.

What to watch for: Slips and falls from the narrow arête, where a fall can be fatal · 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

Safety: 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 in cloud

Not graded by the model

Our terrain model finds nothing to grade on this summit, so it gives no cloud grade here — that is not a sign of easy navigation. Read this fell’s hazard notes and the route pages before a day in cloud. 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 Steeple compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).

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 (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Steeple

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

0.8 km EBlack Crag828 m · Western
1.6 km ENEPillar Rock780 m · Western
1.9 km WSWLittle Gowder Crag735 m · Western
2.2 km NWLingmell (Ennerdale)427 m · Western
2.9 km ELooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western

Routes over Steeple

Extended Mosedale Horseshoe
Summits: PillarBlack CragScoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)SteepleRed Pike (Wasdale)Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)Yewbarrow

Download GPX Not yet personally walked

Warnings: The ground here is broad and confusingly similar, and the path forks on the ascent of Red Pike; walkers have taken the wrong line in mist. The link between Red Pike, Little Scoat Fell and Pillar is easy to misjudge. Navigate deliberately by compass and account for the steep drops to the east. Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell): The short ridge out to Steeple is narrow and exposed, with a steep drop, and becomes serious when banked with snow or iced. Cross it carefully and avoid it in fierce wind; it is the spot most likely to catch you out here. Steeple: The link to the main ridge is a short, narrow crest with steep, rocky drops on both sides. A fall here can be fatal. 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. Red Pike (Wasdale): The summit and the ridge northward run along the lip of steep crags dropping into Mosedale. In wind or cloud a slip near the edge is serious. Keep to the western side of the crest and well back from the brink. Yewbarrow: The north end drops in a steep set of ledges and chimneys — a genuine scramble that catches people out, especially as a descent. Walkers regularly become cragfast here unable to climb down, and falls have caused head and leg injuries. Tackle it only if you are comfortable scrambling on steep rock; if in doubt, avoid the traverse and return the way you came. The steep scree slope off Dore Head (toward Mosedale) is severely eroded, loose and unpleasant — once a scree run, now a notorious leg-breaker. The steep ground beside it has left walkers cragfast. Avoid it as a descent; safer ground exists, and the screes are best left alone.

From the hazard notes for Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) · Steeple · Red Pike (Wasdale) · Yewbarrow, each with its sources.

Route guide →

Very Long Day Out
Summits: YewbarrowYewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)Red Pike (Wasdale)Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell)SteepleHaycockLittle Gowder CragCaw FellMiddle FellSeatallanGlade HowBuckbarrow

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Picked for its light in: May, July

Warnings: Middle Fell: The Wast Water-facing side falls away in tiers of crag. Don't be tempted to drop straight off the ridge — descend by the established lines at the ends. In cloud keep to the ridge crest and well back from the eastern edge. The ground here is broad and confusingly similar, and the path forks on the ascent of Red Pike; walkers have taken the wrong line in mist. The link between Red Pike, Little Scoat Fell and Pillar is easy to misjudge. Navigate deliberately by compass and account for the steep drops to the east. Yewbarrow: The north end drops in a steep set of ledges and chimneys — a genuine scramble that catches people out, especially as a descent. Walkers regularly become cragfast here unable to climb down, and falls have caused head and leg injuries. Tackle it only if you are comfortable scrambling on steep rock; if in doubt, avoid the traverse and return the way you came. Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell): The short ridge out to Steeple is narrow and exposed, with a steep drop, and becomes serious when banked with snow or iced. Cross it carefully and avoid it in fierce wind; it is the spot most likely to catch you out here. Caw Fell is a long way from any road or car park (Blengdale or Bowness Knott are the usual, distant, starts). A minor injury, navigation slip or late finish becomes serious because you are a long way from a road, and any rescue takes time to reach you. Carry full kit, food, water and a means of calling for help, and leave a generous time margin. Caw Fell: The wide, flat top has little to fix on and the connecting ground (e.g. toward Lank Rigg) is pathless and boggy in places. In cloud, navigate by compass — the ridge wall is a useful handrail, but don't rely on finding a trodden path. Seatallan: The way up is not obvious from below and the path is faint and indistinct in places; the wide, flat summit gives little to navigate by. In cloud, take a compass bearing to find the top and to choose the right line down. Haycock is a long, rough walk from any direction, with narrow paths. A minor injury, navigation error or late finish turns serious here because you are a long way from a road, and any rescue takes time to reach you. Carry full kit, food and water, a means of calling for help, and allow generous daylight. Steeple: The link to the main ridge is a short, narrow crest with steep, rocky drops on both sides. A fall here can be fatal. 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. The steep scree slope off Dore Head (toward Mosedale) is severely eroded, loose and unpleasant — once a scree run, now a notorious leg-breaker. The steep ground beside it has left walkers cragfast. Avoid it as a descent; safer ground exists, and the screes are best left alone. Red Pike (Wasdale): The summit and the ridge northward run along the lip of steep crags dropping into Mosedale. In wind or cloud a slip near the edge is serious. Keep to the western side of the crest and well back from the brink. Steeple: 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. Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell): The summit slopes gently to the south but breaks into impressive crags on its northern side, above the Ennerdale coves. In cloud or wind keep well back from the northern edge — the easy boulder top gives little warning before the drop.

From the hazard notes for Yewbarrow · Red Pike (Wasdale) · Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell) · Steeple · Caw Fell · Middle Fell · Seatallan, each with its sources.

Route guide →

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.

On the hill: terrain and water on Steeple

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Extended Mosedale Horseshoe route:

possible water source (3 m off the line) shelter (weather shelter, mapped, not checked; 15 m off the line) Wasdale Head Green (12 m from the start, straight line) Wasdale Head Campsite (163 m from the start, straight line)

Treat water from the fell before you drink it. A mapped point is not proof the water is drinkable, so carry your own or use a supply you know is safe. Never drink untreated from a beck, stream or tarn — even clear-looking hill water can carry giardia or cryptosporidium from livestock upstream and leave you seriously ill. Use a treatment method suited to what might be in the water, and follow the device’s own instructions. Boiling and ordinary filters do not make water with dissolved metals or chemicals safe: where that is possible, choose another source.

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

About Steeple

Steeple, a Lake District fell
Photo: Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Wainwright was clearly excited by Steeple's dramatic character — the craggy summit and the deep Ennerdale views below make it one of the most striking summits in the Western Fells. The short detour from Scoat Fell is highly recommended. The views down into Ennerdale and south to the Scafells are outstanding from this pointed, exposed top.

Classifications & hill data

Is Steeple a Wainwright?

Steeple is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Nuttall list and the Fellranger list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Western
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
819 m
Height
2,687 ft
In feet
NY 1575 1167
Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is also a Birkett.

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 →

The view from Steeple

The 360° skyline 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.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Steeple29 labelled tops shown (16 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 7 kmSkiddaw · 20 kmGreat End · 8 kmGreat Gable · 6 kmPillar · 1 kmNethermost Pike · 19 kmFairfield · 20 kmBlencathra · 23 kmGrasmoor · 9 kmCrag Hill · 9 kmHaycock · 2 kmGlaramara · 9 kmJenkin Hill · 20 kmClough Head · 21 kmScoat Fell · 0 kmRed Pike · 4 kmLittle Gowder Crag · 2 kmCriffel · 54 km · clear daysCaw Fell · 3 kmIron Crag · 3 kmGreat Borne · 6 kmLittle Dodd · 4 kmBlake Fell · 9 kmCrag Fell · 7 kmGrike · 8 kmLingmell · 2 kmBlakeley Raise · 9 kmBengairn · 58 km · clear daysWatch Hill · 20 kmBroad Crag · 7 kmDollywaggon Pike · 19 kmHigh Stile · 3 kmKirk Fell · 4 kmDove Crag · 22 kmAllen Crags · 8 kmSail · 10 kmLonscale Fell · 20 kmBowscale Fell · 26 kmHindscarth · 8 kmCausey Pike · 11 kmCarling Knott · 10 kmMellbreak · 7 kmBrown How · 6 kmClints Crags · 24 kmSlieve Donard · 174 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 104 km · a rare clear dayBroad Law · 112 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 80 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 103 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 124 km · a handful of days a yearSlieve Croob · 174 km · a handful of days a yearDivis · 176 km · a handful of days a yearWhite Coomb · 103 km · a rare clear dayCairn Table · 121 km · a handful of days a yearBeneraird · 122 km · a handful of days a yearAgnew's Hill · 174 km · a handful of days a yearColt Hill · 99 km · a rare clear dayBuckden Pike · 87 km · a rare clear dayTurner Cleuch Law · 110 km · a rare clear dayMull Hill · 106 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, 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 Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Steeple

Steeple sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 September) first light is only 14 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

0°30°40°50°60°04:37
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 lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:37 BST ±5.0 min04:38-1 min
Equinox06:15 GMT ±5.0 min06:16-1 min
Midwinter08:34 GMT ±5.0 min08:34—

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.4°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Steeple

Steeple holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 5 minutes after the valley has lost it.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:58 BST ±5.0 min21:53+5 min
Equinox18:33 GMT ±5.0 min18:27+6 min
Midwinter15:58 GMT ±5.0 min15:50+8 min

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 Steeple

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
57Wainwrights in view+16 marginal
179 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

Far horizons
  • Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandW · 179 km clear
  • Slieve Donard Northern IrelandW · 174 km clear
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 105 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 80 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNNW · 55 km clear
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 44 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterWNW · 27 km in view
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 the view from Steeple compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

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 Steeple. 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.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. 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

We have not verified an independent place near this fell — these are the chains and charities that serve it.

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

Other fells near Steeple