Lake District
Birk Fell Man - Birk Fell
528M
1732FT
About Birk Fell Man - Birk Fell
Tucked away on the eastern flank of the Coniston massif, this rocky Birkett offers a quiet, craggy alternative to the busier neighbouring summits. It provides a superb perspective on the industrial heritage of the Copper Mines Valley and looks directly across the deep bowl containing the still waters of Levers Water.
Key Statistics
Rank
365th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Southern Fells
Prominence
?
13.6m
Nearest Town
Little Langdale
Geology
You are walking on ancient layers of hardened volcanic ash and stony debris. These rocky foundations were forged by massive explosive eruptions that shaped this fell.
Find It
Latitude
54.4058°N
Longitude
3.0874°W
Did You Know?
- •The name derives from the Old Norse 'birki', indicating an area once populated by birch trees, while 'Man' is the traditional Lakeland dialect term for a prominent summit cairn.
- •While Alfred Wainwright omitted this summit from his primary pictorial guides, Bill Birkett included it in his list of Lakeland peaks, praising its position as a fine vantage point for the higher Coniston fells.
- •From the summit cairn, walkers are rewarded with a dramatic view of the Great How crags and the steep eastern face of the Old Man of Coniston rising sharply above the valley floor.
- •The ascent from the south-west passes through the remains of the Coniston Copper Mines, where the landscape is still heavily shaped by 19th-century spoil heaps, wheel pits, and old levels.
- •Despite 'Birk Fell Man' sounding like the name of a prehistoric bog body or a local eccentric, it simply refers to the specific pile of stones marking the highest point of the Birk Fell ridge.