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

Birkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

Yewbarrow North Top at 617m (2,024ft) is a high Birkett top on the Yewbarrow ridge above Wasdale Head, forming the dramatic rocky crest of Stirrup Crag at the northern end of the fell.

617 m
Height
+3
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
617 mBirkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit)+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 617 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 11° to 9°C, gusts to 28 mph, 3.2 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
11° / 9°
💨 28 mph
🌧 3.2 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 9°
💨 46 mph
🌧 54.2 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (74%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 7°
💨 33 mph
🌧 18.7 mm (96%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌧️
13° / 8°
💨 32 mph
🌧 13.2 mm (100%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 34 mph
🌧 6.0 mm (96%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 38 mph
🌧 11.6 mm (98%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 617 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag) at a glance

Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

Yewbarrow North Top at 617m (2,024ft) is a high Birkett top on the Yewbarrow ridge above Wasdale Head, forming the dramatic rocky crest of Stirrup Crag at the northern end of the fell. The summit gives outstanding views across Wast Water — England's deepest lake — and towards Great Gable and the Scafell group. Part of one of Wasdale's most exciting ridge walks.

Routes up Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

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

Classifications & hill data

Birkett
Synge
Nuttall
617 m
Height
2,024 ft
In feet
NY 1757 0919
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag) a Wainwright?

Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag) is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Nuttall list.

Where do you park for Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)?

The nearest car park we hold is Car park for Yewbarrow (free), about 1.3 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Lake Head, Wasdale (NT, paid), 1.8 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

How hard is Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)?

The shortest way up we hold is Extended Mosedale Horseshoe — 16.6 km, 1303 m of ascent, about 5.5 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.

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

Parking & buses for Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

Best parking to hike Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

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

Car park for Yewbarrow (free) — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)
1.3 km from Yewbarrow. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Lake Head, Wasdale (NT, paid) — 1.8 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.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Wasdale Head (NT car park) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)
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 Aug 2026). Free for NT members (checked Aug 2026).
🕑 Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 2026-08-09.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
If it is full: Overbeck Bridge, Wastwater (NT, paid) (2.0 km); Greendale, Nether Wasdale (roadside, free) (4.3 km)
Car park for Middle Fell (paid) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)
Approx 20 spaces. 1.7 km from Middle Fell. Added from the 5 Aug 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Overbeck Bridge, Wastwater (NT, paid) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)
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 Aug 2026). Free for NT members (checked Aug 2026). No overnight parking (National Trust, checked Aug 2026).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag) by bus

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. Check the operator’s timetable.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Car park for Yewbarrow (free), about 1.3 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag) (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.

2.7 km NNWBlack Crag828 m · Western
2.8 km NNELooking Stead (Pillar)628 m · Western

Routes over Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

16.55 km · ~1303 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

26.76 km · ~1743 m ascent · loop · ~8–11 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

On the hill: terrain and water on Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)

Water & shelter on the way up

💧 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.

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.

YHA Wasdale Hall (opens in new tab) hostel

about 3.3 km from the start, in a straight line

Ranked above the nearer campsite on usefulness, per rule 2. For a party coming off Scafell Pike wet at 6pm this is the only bed within 3 miles of this start that its own page proves has a drying room, parking, a cot, a highchair, a served breakfast from 07:30 and evening meals until 20:00 - the campsite 1.7 km closer has none of drying, breakfast or any food service. Reception is open 17:00-22:00 so a late arrival is expected rather than a problem. Dogs are the one hard no for an ordinary booking.

Worth knowing: “Pets - including dogs - are not permitted in our hostels when staying in a dorm or a private room.”

The lounge fire surround was salvaged from York Minster. The hall was built in 1829 for Stansfield Rawson, a Yorkshire banker, was a lakeside summer home before the National Trust took it on, and only became a hostel in 1969 - it was called YHA Wastwater until 2015.

  • Drying room “Shared drying room”
  • Family rooms “What our private rooms offer Bed linen Central heating Cot available Heating Hot water Lock on doors”
  • Evening meal “Meals are also available from 17:00”
  • Packed lunch “With tasty breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals, groups are sure to find something tasty to eat at YHA Wasdale Hall”
  • Parking “Parking: There is parking at the hostel.”
  • Children “Under 12s are not permitted in dorm rooms. Children under 3 can stay with us for free.”

YHA Black Sail (opens in new tab) hostel

about 3.9 km from the start, in a straight line

Included because it is genuinely on this walk's ground - Black Sail sits over the pass at the head of Ennerdale and the page names the peaks the Mosedale horseshoe crosses: "superb access to nearby peaks including Great Gable, Pillar, Red Pike and Steeple". For a walker it answers the 6pm questions properly: an evening menu, breakfast from 07:30, a licensed bar, a self-catering kitchen, ground-floor rooms and a cot. But the 3.93 km on this row is straight-line over the ridge and must never be read as an approach: by their own statement the nearest road is 2.5 miles away and cars stop at Bowness Knott, six miles down the valley. No dogs unless you take the whole building, no phone signal, no WiFi, and no way for us to contact them - emails[] is empty and no contact form was found.

Worth knowing: “Pets are not permitted at YHA Black Sail, except when hiring the whole hostel through YHA Exclusive Hire.”

It is a former shepherds' bothy at the head of Ennerdale, and its two toilets and single shower are outside the building - YHA's own page tells guests to bring a torch for the walk out at night. There is no mains-fed arrival at all: the nearest road is 2.5 miles away.

  • Family rooms “One room that sleeps up to 8 people. It includes 4 sets of bunk beds. A cot is available.”
  • Evening meal “Evening menu at YHA Black Sail Take your pick from today's selection of hearty classics and delicious desserts.”
  • Packed lunch “This hostel offers group catering for pre-booked groups of 16 people or more.”
  • Parking “YHA Black Sail is only accessible by foot or bike. The nearest road is 2.5 miles away in the Buttermere valley, accessing the hostel via 'Scarth Gap pass'.”
  • Children “Guests under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or over to stay at YHA.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Other fells near Yewbarrow North Top (Stirrup Crag)