Binsey

No Wainwright lies further north than Binsey, and it sits apart from the rest of the district. A slight ridge links it to Great Cockup two miles to the south east, but from most directions it looks like an isolated rounded hill of grass and heather, with woodland on its eastern side. Unlike the slate fells nearby, it is built of lavas from the Eycott Volcanic Group. West Crag is its only real outcrop.

There is room for a couple of cars on the minor road beside Binsey Lodge, on the north side. From there a gate leads to a wide grass path that zigzags gently to the top. The out and back walk is about 3 km with 190 metres of climbing, and there is no scrambling or awkward ground. Other ways up start from a lane off the A591 north of Bewaldeth and from High Ireby.

The summit has a trig point, a cairn and several stone windshelters. The highest point is an ancient burial mound, and some of its stones have been rebuilt into shelters.

People come for the view. With nothing close by, Binsey looks straight across at Skiddaw, Ullock Pike and Longside Edge, and across the Whinlatter hills towards Buttermere. North and west you look over the coastal plain and the Solway Firth to the hills of Dumfries and Galloway. On a very clear day you can pick out Snaefell on the Isle of Man and even Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland, about 115 miles away. The line from Binsey to Coniston Old Man, about 23.6 miles, is the longest sight line between any two Wainwrights.