The Tongue
The Tongue at 553m (1,814ft) is a Birkett top in the Back o' Skiddaw country, 1.5 km east-south-east of Bowscale Fell and 1.6 km west of Mungrisdale, its moorland summit giving views across the Caldbeck Fells and north towards the Solway.
Summit conditions on The Tongue
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 52 mph, 17.0 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 The Tongue
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
The Tongue and Bowscale Fell from the Mungrisdale side — 9.4 km with 629 m of climbing and a steepest sustained pull of about 46%, which is what earns it a severe steepness rating. About 2¾–4 hours.
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 The Tongue?
The shortest way up we hold is The Tongue Birkett — 9.4 km, 629 m of ascent, ~2¾–4 h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · navigation: Hard · length: Moderate · 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 553 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for The Tongue
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near The Tongue
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 509, X4 and X5 stop at Mungrisdale, adjacent to Road End. From there it is 3.2 km and 77 m of ascent to the start of The Tongue Birkett — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 15.9 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Hartsop road end (509): Tuesday to Sunday 17:07 to Patterdale Hotel, 14:42 to Hartsop road end. Towards Penrith (X5): Tuesday to Saturday 22:11; Sunday 18:38. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 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 The Tongue
Notes from a planned route, not walked: The Tongue Birkett
- Part of the way back is closed until 17 January 2027. The National Park Authority has closed public footpath 348 013 in Bannerdale between Bannerdale Beck and its junction with footpath 348 012, where riverbank erosion and landslips have left the path extremely narrow. This route walks that section after the stepping stones (about 7.2 to 8.2 km). The Authority's notice shows a waymarked alternative on its plan: follow the signs on the day (National Park Authority notice, checked 30 September 2026).
- The climb to The Tongue is largely pathless — rough grass and bracken with only intermittent sheep-trods. The plotted line is a guide, not a path; navigation needs care in mist.
If you need to get off (the leg from the start): Retreat: Reversing back down the eastern spur to the main valley path returns you to Mungrisdale.
Quoted from the route page of a planned route, drawn from the map and not yet walked: its warnings and the note for the leg that reaches The Tongue.
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 The Tongue
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over The Tongue
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 The Tongue
Classifications & hill data
Is The Tongue a Wainwright?
The Tongue 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 →
Places to stay near this fell
- Mosedale End Farm B&B (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 2.3 km
- Scales Farm Country Guest House (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 3.9 km
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 (opens in new tab).