Scafell Pike
978 m
United Kingdom
Also known as Scawfell Pike, Скофелл-ПайкAlso known as
Scawfell Pike · Скофелл-Пайк
- Elevation
- 978 m
- Prominence
- 912 m
- Difficulty
- 3/10
- Mountain hike
- Best Season
- May–Jun
- Routes
- 2
Routes
2Sources differ: Challenging (National Trust)
The shortest and busiest way up England's highest mountain: from the National Trust car park at the head of Wast Water along Lingmell Gill, up the pitched path of Brown Tongue into the boulders of Hollow Stones, to Lingmell Col and over a cairned, stony slope to the 978 m summit cairn and war memorial. About 9–10 km return with 900 m of ascent; 4½–6 hours.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 4.6 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +943 m
- start → summit
- High Point
- 978 m
- Time Up
- 3h 47m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 2h 34m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Start at the Lake Head National Trust car park beside the Wasdale campsite (about 80 m; pay and display, free for NT members). From the back of the car park follow the waymarked path upstream with Lingmell Gill on your right to the river crossing at about 300 m. In spate the gill can be impassable, possibly only on the way down, so turn back if heavy rain is forecast. Across the beck a stone-pitched path climbs steeply up Brown Tongue. At a fork at about 500 m (NY 201 072) take the left branch through the boulders of Hollow Stones; straight on leads to Mickledore, a steeper and trickier line. The path zigzags up to the junction just above Lingmell Col (about 777 m, NY 210 076). Note this junction for the descent. From here the path is less defined, a rough slope of scattered stones with large cairns (and misleading extra ones) up to the summit plateau and the 3 m summit cairn, trig point and war memorial plaque. Descend the same way. In mist the plateau is disorientating: the National Trust advises a bearing of 310° for 100 m from the trig point to a cairn, then 290° following the cairns. At the Lingmell Col junction keep left/straight on to the north-west; missing it leads to the steep ground above the Piers Gill ravine, where there have been fatal falls.
Start
Lake Head Car Park69 m
- Very limited. The nearest station is Seascale on the Cumbrian Coast line, about 15 km away; there is no regular bus up Wasdale.
- Parking at the trailhead
Stages
| Day | Stage | km | m ascent | m descent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Head Car Park → Scafell Pike | 4.6 | 943 | 33 | 3h 47m |
Waypoints
- Parking: Lake Head Car Park69 m
National Trust pay and display, postcode CA20 1EX, beside Wasdale campsite
- Feature: Brown Tongue362 m
- Feature: Hollow Stones583 m
Path fork at about 504 m (NY 201 072): keep left
- Col: Lingmell Col737 m
Critical junction for the descent just above the col (about 777 m)
- Summit: Scafell Pike978 m
Key Passages
- Lingmell Gill crossing (impassable in spate)
- Brown Tongue pitched path
- Hollow Stones fork (keep left)
- Lingmell Col junction
- Stony summit plateau, confusing in mist
Equipment
0/5 packedDownloads
Route confidence 85%Overview
England's highest mountain (978 m), a stony volcanic dome at the head of Wasdale in the Lake District, with a 3 m summit cairn and a First World War memorial. The usual walk from Wasdale Head is short but steep, rough and notoriously easy to get lost on in mist.
Scafell Pike is the high point of the Scafell massif, part of an extinct Ordovician volcano in the western Lake District. It stands on the ridge between Wasdale and Eskdale, with Scafell to the south across the gap of Mickledore and Great End to the north. Its summit plateau is England's highest boulder field, shattered rock fringed by crags on all sides, and it is the highest ground for more than 140 km in any direction.
It is one of the most-climbed mountains in Britain: the National Trust estimates about 250,000 summit visits a year, many by people on the National Three Peaks Challenge. Most come from Wasdale Head on the west, the shortest route; others start from Seathwaite in Borrowdale (via the Corridor Route or Esk Hause), Great Langdale or Eskdale.
There is nothing technical on the walking routes, but this is a serious hill in bad weather. Cloud, wind and rain are the norm on top, the plateau is featureless and littered with misleading cairns, and the ravine of Piers Gill below Lingmell Col has claimed several lives. Heavy foot traffic causes rapid path erosion, which National Trust and Fix the Fells rangers repair every year.
Climbing Notes
Fitness for about 900 m of steep ascent over rough ground is the main physical requirement; from Wasdale allow 4½–6 hours return, from Seathwaite 6–8 hours. Carry a map and compass and know how to use them: the most common call-outs are walkers lost on the summit plateau in mist or descending towards Piers Gill or the wrong valley. The National Trust advises photographing the junction above Lingmell Col on the way up and gives compass bearings for the descent. Check the mountain weather forecast (MWIS or the Met Office), turn back if Lingmell Gill is in spate, and start early: the Wasdale car park fills before 08:00 on summer weekends.
In winter the upper mountain is often snow-covered or icy and needs an ice axe, crampons and winter navigation skills; daylight is short. Three Peaks Challenge groups are asked to follow the Wasdale best-practice guidelines: park only in the Lake Head car park, keep noise down at night and leave Wasdale Head by midnight.
History
The name originally belonged to neighbouring Scafell, which looks higher from many angles; Scafell Pike and its neighbours were 'the Pikes of Scawfell' until the name 'Scawfell Pikes' was adopted shortly before 1830, and the Ordnance Survey printed 'Scafell Pike' from 1865. The mountain was used in 1826 as a station of the Principal Triangulation of Britain, sighted from Snowdon and Slieve Donard. In 1919 Lord Leconfield gave the summit to the National Trust in memory of the men of the Lake District who died in the First World War; it remains a war memorial. The Wasdale Head Inn at the foot of the mountain was made popular by Victorian rock climbers such as Owen Glynne Jones.
Season
Best May–Jun- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Possible
- April: Good
- May: Best (best window)
- June: Best (best window)
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best
- October: Good
- November: Possible
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Winter conditions likely on top; ice axe and crampons; short days
- Feb
- Winter conditions; short days
- Mar
- Snow and ice possible on the summit plateau
- Apr
- Lingering snow possible; longer days
- May
- Often the driest month; long days
- Jun
- Long days; busy with Three Peaks groups
- Jul
- Very busy; car park full early; rain common
- Aug
- Very busy; rain common
- Sep
- Often settled; fewer people midweek
- Oct
- Autumn storms; shorter days
- Nov
- Wet and windy; early winter conditions possible
- Dec
- Winter conditions; about seven hours of daylight
Access & Permits
- Hut Booking
- No hut is needed. Overnight options include the National Trust Wasdale campsite (open most of the year), the Wasdale Head Inn, and campsites and hostels in Borrowdale.
- Fees
- Lake Head National Trust car park at Wasdale is pay and display (about GBP 10 a day in 2026 according to visitor reports), free for National Trust members
- Rules
- Much of the upper mountain is a Site of Special Scientific Interest: keep to the paths and do not build cairns
- Do not park in passing places, rescue access points, gateways, verges or on the village green at Wasdale Head
- Dogs must be on a short lead in Wasdale because of grazing livestock
- Night-time Three Peaks groups should use the permissive path on the north side of Lingmell Gill and leave Wasdale Head by midnight
- Getting There
Gosforth and Seascale (Wasdale side); Keswick (Borrowdale side)
Manchester (MAN) or Newcastle (NCL), both about 3 hours by road
- Wasdale: by car from the A595 at Gosforth (Wasdale is about 5 miles / 8 km east of the A595) to Lake Head car park (CA20 1EX); no regular bus; nearest station Seascale
- Borrowdale: bus 78 from Keswick to Seatoller, then walk to Seathwaite; limited roadside parking at Seathwaite (CA12 5XJ)
- Rail: Penrith or Windermere on the main line, then bus to Keswick; the Cumbrian Coast line serves Seascale
Hazards
- Weather
- Exposure
- River crossing