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484 m · Birkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Wansfell Pike

Wansfell at 484m (1,588ft) rises sharply above Ambleside, its summit giving one of the best views of Windermere from any fell in the district.

484 m
Height
+0
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Wansfell Pike

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

484 mBirkett — Far Eastern (not a Wainwright summit)+0 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 484 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 34 mph, 11.6 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
16° / 14°
💨 34 mph
🌧 11.6 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌦️
16° / 13°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.2 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 27 mph
🌧 0.9 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 3°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
17° / 5°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
17° / 6°
💨 11 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 484 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

About the walk

Key information

Wansfell Pike

Wansfell at 484m (1,588ft) rises sharply above Ambleside, its summit giving one of the best views of Windermere from any fell in the district. Wainwright noted the excellent prospect of the lake from the Pike top, with the wooded Furness Fells beyond. The steep ascent from Ambleside via Stock Ghyll Force is a classic short route — waterfall, woodland and open fell in quick succession. Excellent for combining with the Waterhead path for a circular walk above Ambleside.

Routes up Wansfell Pike

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

Ambleside to the Old Post Office Tea Room, Troutbeck (over Wansfell)
9.9 km · ~2.9 hr · Moderate
A proper half-day loop with a reward built in: climb out of Ambleside over Wansfell Pike for a huge view down Windermere, drop into pretty Troutbeck for tea and cake at the Old Post Office Tea Room, then circle back. Around 550 m of up and down — and dog-friendly throughout.
Wansfell Pike and Baystones
11.9 km · ~3.3 hr
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
Synge
484 m
Height
1,588 ft
In feet
NY 3941 0417
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Ambleside (various paid), about 1.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Wansfell Pike (within 3 km)

No bonus Birketts within 3 km — every Birkett near here is already a Wainwright summit, so just enjoy the walk.

Routes over Wansfell Pike

Ambleside to the Old Post Office Tea Room, Troutbeck (over Wansfell)Planned
9.89 km · ~546 m ascent · loop · ~2.5–4 h · Moderate
Summits: Wansfell Pike

✎️ A hill day rather than a stroll (546 m ascent) — it tops Wansfell Pike — with a tea-room halfway; grand with a dog.

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: Year-round, best in clear weather for the Windermere view. Wansfell’s shoulder is open and can be windy; paths get muddy.

⚠️ Warnings: The climb over Wansfell is open and exposed to wind on top.; A sustained descent into Troutbeck — jarring on tired knees.; Lanes and a road crossing in Troutbeck; livestock on the fell.; Check the tea room’s opening before relying on it.

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Wansfell Pike and BaystonesRevised
11.92 km · ~534 m ascent · linear · ~3–4.5 h
Summits: Wansfell PikeBaystones (Wansfell)

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Wansfell Pike is one of our picked Lake District viewpoints — what you can see from it, when the light is best, and where to park.

Best parking to hike Wansfell Pike

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

Ambleside (various paid) — 1.7 km from summit (straight line)
Town car parks — Fairfield Horseshoe, Wansfell, Loughrigg from the door.
Directions
🚺 Ambleside Library (142m) — Free · Accessible🚺 Public toilets (316m) — Free☕ Sheila's Cottage☕ The Schelly☕ Costa🍺 Royal Oak🍺 The White Lion🍺 The Ambleside Inn🏪 Rohan🏪 Trespass🏪 F. W. Tyson🏪 Go Outdoors Express
Church Bridge, Troutbeck (limited) — 2.3 km from summit (straight line)
For Wansfell, Troutbeck Tongue and the Ill Bell ridge via Garburn Pass.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (423m) — Free🚺 Public toilets (1904m) — Free☕ The Old Post Office

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 Ambleside to the Old Post Office Tea Room, Troutbeck (over Wansfell) route:

🚌 Hayes Garden Centre (18 m)🚌 Loughrigg Avenue (180 m)🚌 Riverside Lodge (378 m)⛺ Ambleside Backpackers (153 m)

On the Wansfell Pike and Baystones route:

🛖 map (62 m)🛖 map (75 m)🚺 map (94 m)🚌 Hayes Garden Centre (92 m)🚌 Loughrigg Avenue (207 m)🚌 Riverside Lodge (405 m)⛺ Ambleside Backpackers (139 m)

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

Buses to Wansfell Pike from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 555
Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.
Stagecoach 505 “Coniston Rambler”
Windermere – Ambleside – Skelwith Bridge – Hawkshead – Coniston
Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside
Daily in season (reduced winter service). Best access for the Coniston fells (Old Man, Wetherlam group).
Stagecoach 516 “Langdale Rambler”
Ambleside – Skelwith Bridge – Elterwater – New Dungeon Ghyll – Old Dungeon Ghyll
Catch it from: Ambleside · Windermere (change at Ambleside)
The Langdale bus — Pikes, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Pike o' Blisco all walkable from the Dungeon Ghyll stops. Seasonal frequency varies; check before relying on the last bus back.
Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over Wansfell Pike (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Other fells near Wansfell Pike

Maps & guidebooks for Wansfell Pike

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