Birketts North of Thirlmere
Key facts
Difficulty profile
Five independent axes, not one score. “Desk” ratings come from maps and guidebooks, not yet walked — treat them as a guide, not a survey.
☀️ Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
Why this matters: 78% of Mountain Rescue call-outs come after midday — the day runs out on the way home, not on the way up. See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
1 Castle Rock2 Wren Crag3 High Rigg (High Rigg South Top)4 The Benn (Sippling Crag)5 Castle Crag (Shoulthwalte)6 Great How (Thirlmere)
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 13.83 km with around 910 m of ascent, taking in 6 summits. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route? A quick read from the gates and stiles mapped along the way.
- Dog: 2 ladder/squeeze stile(s) a dog can’t get through.
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~42% drop around the 0.6 km mark — hard on the knees.
On the line: 26 gates · 2 ladder stiles · 3 step-over stiles
These are mapped barriers, from OpenStreetMap — coverage in the Lakes is good but not guaranteed complete. Spotted a stile or gate we’ve missed? Tell us (opens in new tab) and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-26. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Rock | 0.5 km | 139 m | 0:20–0:27 |
| Wren Crag | 2.2 km | 323 m | 0:59–1:19 |
| High Rigg (High Rigg South Top) | 4.0 km | 377 m | 1:26–1:54 |
| The Benn (Sippling Crag) | 8.1 km | 666 m | 2:43–3:37 |
| Castle Crag (Shoulthwalte) | 8.6 km | 668 m | 2:51–3:47 |
| Great How (Thirlmere) | 11.6 km | 837 m | 3:43–4:57 |
| Finish | 13.8 km | 910 m | 4:17–5:42 |
Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary.
The walk, stage by stage
Start → Castle Rock (0.5 km, 139 m)
Climb of about 139 m over 0.5 km (around 28% average).
Castle Rock → Wren Crag (1.7 km, 184 m)
Climb of about 184 m over 1.7 km (around 11% average).
Wren Crag → High Rigg (High Rigg South Top) (1.8 km, 54 m)
Undulating section of about 1.8 km.
High Rigg (High Rigg South Top) → The Benn (Sippling Crag) (4.1 km, 289 m)
Climb of about 289 m over 4.1 km (around 7% average).
The Benn (Sippling Crag) → Castle Crag (Shoulthwalte) (0.6 km, 2 m)
Undulating section of about 0.6 km.
Castle Crag (Shoulthwalte) → Great How (Thirlmere) (3.0 km, 169 m)
Climb of about 169 m over 3.0 km (around 6% average).
Great How (Thirlmere) → Finish (2.2 km, 73 m)
Climb of about 73 m over 2.2 km (around 3% average).
Stage-by-stage field notes coming soon.
Summits bagged (6)
- Castle Rock 339 m · Eastern · Birkett, Synge
- Wren Crag 311 m · Eastern · Birkett
- High Rigg (High Rigg South Top) 343 m · Eastern · Birkett, Synge
- The Benn (Sippling Crag) 446 m · Eastern · Birkett, Synge
- Castle Crag (Shoulthwalte) 404 m · Eastern · Birkett, Synge
- Great How (Thirlmere) 333 m · Eastern · Birkett, Synge, HuMP
🅿️ Getting there & parking
Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.
💧 Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
🚌 Buses
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
⚠️ Safety & conditions
- Access: The summits of The Benn (Sippling Crag), Castle Crag (Shoulthwalte) and Great How (Thirlmere) lie outside mapped CRoW open-access land. That records no statutory right of access — it is not a statement that access is forbidden, and permissive access is not recorded in that layer. This ground is above Thirlmere, a working reservoir managed by United Utilities, whose car parks at Legburthwaite and Swirls we list under parking. This line is computed rather than walked, so treat the access as unchecked and look for the courteous way through — how we work this out.
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Make it easier or harder
Short version: turn back at about 5.9 km (drop to Start) — roughly half the distance.
📚 Maps & guidebooks for Birketts North of Thirlmere
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