Birks: Height, Walks and Views in the Eastern Fells

Birks is the broad, grassy fell rising above Patterdale on the north-eastern ridge of St Sunday Crag. At 624m, it can seem a modest companion to the higher ground behind it, but that position is part of its appeal. Walkers gain an open outlook towards Ullswater and a close view of the surrounding Eastern Fells without needing to treat the summit as merely a stop on the way elsewhere.

A grassy shoulder above Patterdale

Birks belongs to the ridge descending north-east from St Sunday Crag towards Patterdale. Its summit stands at 624m (2,047ft), at grid reference NY380143. The rounded upper ground contrasts with the more pronounced outline of St Sunday Crag, making Birks look like a substantial shoulder rather than a sharply defined peak. It is nevertheless a separate Wainwright, with a summit and outlook worth considering in their own right.

Grass is the dominant feature of the summit area. There is no dramatic summit tower: the character comes from the breadth of the ridge and the valleys falling away on either side. Grisedale lies to the north-west and Deepdale to the south-east. That position gives Birks a clear place in the landscape, linking the lower ground around Patterdale with the higher ridge beyond.

Views towards Ullswater and the higher fells

The outlook towards Ullswater is one of the main reasons to linger. From this elevated position above Patterdale, the lake sits within a landscape of valley fields, wooded lower slopes and enclosing fells. Place Fell rises across the valley, while the Helvellyn range forms part of the higher skyline to the west, beyond Grisedale.

Looking back along the ridge brings St Sunday Crag into prominence. The contrast between Birks's grassy top and the higher fell helps explain their relationship more clearly than a summit height alone. Birks offers both kinds of Lakeland view: out towards the settled valley and lake, and inward towards the higher, rougher ground. Visibility naturally determines how much of that wider setting can be picked out.

Birks in the Eastern Fells

Alfred Wainwright included Birks in The Eastern Fells, the first book of his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. It ranks 124th by height among the 214 Wainwrights. Nearby Wainwright summits include St Sunday Crag and Arnison Crag, placing it within a compact group of fells readily associated with Patterdale.

Walks visiting Birks are often combined with St Sunday Crag, though the lower summit can also be an objective in itself. Its appeal is not a celebrated scramble or an unusual summit feature, but its position: a distinct grassy fell between two dales, close to Ullswater and backed by higher ground. For anyone learning the Eastern Fells, it is a useful place to understand how these ridges and valleys fit together.

Where Birks stands

Summit at grid reference NY380143 · open full map

The real Birks

Walking Birks

We make artwork, not route guides — these are the guides we'd point a friend to:

• Guide links to be curated.

Weather on Birks

Conditions estimated at summit height (624 m) via Open-Meteo. For a walker's forecast, use the Mountain Weather Information Service.

Birks on your wall

A painting of Birks can bring home the quieter side of the Eastern Fells: a grassy ridge, the weight of St Sunday Crag behind it, and changing light towards Ullswater. It is a familiar landscape worth keeping in view long after the boots have dried.

Own “Sunlit Ridge on Birks Fell” — our painting of Birks → or browse all Fells & Mountains artwork

Neighbouring Wainwrights in The Eastern Fells

• St Sunday Crag 841 m
• Arnison Crag 433 m
• Hartsop Above How 586 m
• Glenridding Dodd 442 m

Part of our guide to all 214 Wainwrights — see the full index.