Wainwrights with the best views

The Wainwrights with the best views are not always the highest. Latrigg, Catbells and Hallin Fell put a whole lake at your feet for an hour's effort. For the full panorama, Scafell Pike, Skiddaw and Blencathra see out to Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and, on exceptional days, the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.

How we picked

This list is the Great Views collection in the Upfell app. A fell is on it when its summit, or a spot a few steps from it, gives a view worth the walk on its own: a lake laid out below, a ring of higher fells close by, or a long view out of the district. That covers most of the high fells and a lot of the small ones. We checked every fell against its write-up, and added two the original list had missed: Bannerdale Crags, which looks across at Blencathra and on a clear day as far south as the Coniston fells, and High Pike above Caldbeck, which looks over the Solway Firth to the Scottish Border hills.

Big views for a short walk

• Latrigg, 368 m. Keswick directly below, Derwentwater running down to Borrowdale, Skiddaw and Blencathra behind you. The bench is on the best viewpoint, a little short of the top.
• Walla Crag, 379 m. All of Derwentwater from the cliff top, with Grisedale Pike and the Newlands fells across the water. A loop from Great Wood is under 5 km.
• Catbells, 451 m. Derwentwater fills the view, with Skiddaw to the north, Newlands to the west and Borrowdale to the south.
• Hallin Fell, 388 m. Ullswater spread out below, with High Street, the Helvellyn range and Blencathra all round. From St Peter's Church on Martindale Hause the top is less than a kilometre away. Stay for sunset, when the sun goes down behind the Helvellyn range.
• Castle Crag, 290 m. The lowest Wainwright, looking north down Derwentwater to Skiddaw and south to Great Gable and the Scafells.
• Binsey, 447 m. Nothing close by, so the view is wide open: Skiddaw across the valley, the Solway Firth, the hills of Dumfries and Galloway, and on a very clear day Snaefell on the Isle of Man and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland, about 115 miles away.

For more low tops with a view, see the easiest Wainwrights, and for children, the Wainwrights for kids.

The great panoramas

• Scafell Pike, 978 m. England's highest point. Snowdonia, the Isle of Man and the Mourne Mountains on a clear day. Start from the National Trust car park at Brackenclose in Wasdale, up Brown Tongue.
• Great Gable, 899 m. Ennerdale, Buttermere and the Scafells from the top. About 100 yards south west, the Westmorland Cairn stands on the edge above the Napes. Two brothers built it in 1876 to mark what they judged the finest view in the district, straight down to Wast Water. Start at Honister Pass or Seathwaite.
• Skiddaw, 931 m. From High Man the view reaches the Mourne Mountains, the Isle of Man and Goat Fell on Arran. Start at the Gale Road car park.
• Blencathra, 868 m. The Vale of Keswick and the central fells below the south face, and the Mournes on exceptional days. Start at Threlkeld for the southern ridges or Scales for the Glenderamackin.
• Bowfell, 903 m. It stands in the middle of the high fells, so nearly every group in the district is in view, with Scafell Pike filling the skyline across the head of Eskdale. Start at the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Great Langdale.
• Grasmoor, 852 m. Every major range except the Far Eastern Fells is in view. Walk to the western edge for High Stile across Crummock Water. Park at Lanthwaite Green.
• Dale Head, 753 m. The cairn stands on the brink of the north face, looking straight down the Newlands valley to Skiddaw. On a clear day you can pick out every major Lakeland group except the High Street range. The quickest start is the car park at the top of Honister Pass.

Blencathra's Sharp Edge and Hall's Fell ridge are scrambles, but it has walkers' routes too; the scrambles guide sorts out which is which.

Views across a valley

Some fells are best for what stands opposite them.

• Place Fell, 657 m, faces the Helvellyn range across Ullswater, with the eastern coves and ridges side on. Start in Patterdale.
• Haystacks, 597 m, looks across to Gable Crag, down Ennerdale and along Buttermere to Crummock Water. Wainwright's ashes were scattered at Innominate Tarn, just east of the summit. Start at Gatesgarth.
• High Stile, 806 m, has Ennerdale Water and Crummock Water both in view, with the North Western Fells across Buttermere. Start in Buttermere village and climb by Sourmilk Gill and Bleaberry Tarn.
• Coniston Old Man, 802 m, reaches Morecambe Bay, Blackpool Tower and the Isle of Man, but the best of it is close: the cliffs of Dow Crag across Goat's Water. Start at the Walna Scar Road car park.
• Helm Crag, 405 m, looks over Easedale to the Langdale Pikes, the Coniston fells and the Eastern Fells. Walk from Grasmere.
• Silver How, 395 m, looks straight down on Grasmere village and its lake, with the Fairfield Horseshoe behind and the Langdale Pikes side on.

By area

Every area has its share, and the list above sorts them highest first. For a base, try the Keswick, Buttermere, Borrowdale, Wasdale, Grasmere and Glenridding and Patterdale guides. Ridge days give you the view for hours at a time: the Fairfield Horseshoe, the Newlands Horseshoe and the other Wainwright ridge walks. For a tarn in the foreground, see Wainwrights with summit tarns.

When to go

A view needs clear air and a cloud base above the summit. Check the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) forecast, which gives the cloud height on the tops, rather than the forecast for the town. When the high fells are in cloud, Latrigg and Whinlatter are good fallbacks. For the long views to Scotland, Wales and Ireland, wait for an exceptionally clear day, and carry a map to name what you see. The high fells are serious in poor weather, so take a map, compass and warm layers even when the forecast looks good, and see the Wainwrights to avoid in bad weather before a marginal day.