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490 m · Outlying Fell — Pennines · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Outlying Fell — PenninesAlso a Birkett

Whatshaw Common

Whatshaw Common at 490m (1,608ft) is an Outlying Fell on the limestone plateau east of Shap, giving views across the Shap Fells and the Bannisdale valley.

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

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490 mOutlying Fell — Pennines✓ summit is also a Birkett+0 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 490 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, 11.0 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
16° / 14°
💨 34 mph
🌧 11.0 mm (98%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌦️
16° / 13°
💨 34 mph
🌧 1.3 mm (98%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
15° / 7°
💨 29 mph
🌧 0.3 mm (63%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
16° / 3°
💨 26 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (82%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
16° / 4°
💨 14 mph
🌧 3.9 mm (31%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
17° / 5°
💨 19 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (25%)
Mon 3 Aug
☁️
17° / 7°
💨 13 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 490 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

Whatshaw Common

Whatshaw Common at 490m (1,608ft) is an Outlying Fell on the limestone plateau east of Shap, giving views across the Shap Fells and the Bannisdale valley. Wainwright included it in his Outlying Fells guide as part of the Pennines group. A quiet, open moorland fell on the limestone upland.

Classifications & hill data
Outlying Fell
Pennines
Birkett
Synge
490 m
Height
1,608 ft
In feet
NY 5419 0619
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: A6 Shap summit (layby), about 1.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Whatshaw Common (within 3 km)

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

Best parking to hike Whatshaw Common

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

A6 Shap summit (layby) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
High laybys on the old A6 — Wasdale Pike, Crookdale and Borrowdale (Westmorland) fells.
Directions
Wet Sleddale dam (free) — 5.0 km from summit (straight line)
For the quiet Shap-side fells: Seat Robert, Sleddale fells.
Directions

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.

Buses to Whatshaw Common from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).

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

Other fells near Whatshaw Common

Maps & guidebooks for Whatshaw Common

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