Lake District
Side Pike
362M
1187FT
About Side Pike
Rising between Great and Little Langdale, this rugged outlier punches far above its weight. A characterful Birkett, its craggy summit offers an intimate perspective of the Langdale Pikes. The terrain is notably rocky, featuring 'The Squeeze'—a narrow rock chimney on the ridge from Lingmoor Fell that requires a slim profile to navigate.
Key Statistics
Rank
665th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Southern Fells
Prominence
?
57
Nearest Town
Elterwater
Geology
You are walking over layers of hardened volcanic ash and rock. This landscape is built from compressed volcanic sand and rubble created during powerful eruptions.
Find It
Latitude
54.4388°N
Longitude
3.0915°W
Did You Know?
- •The name likely derives from the Old Norse 'síða', meaning a hillside or slope, describing its position as a distinctive rocky protrusion on the southern flank of the Lingmoor Fell ridge.
- •The hill is famous for 'The Squeeze', a narrow vertical crack in the rock on the path leading from Lingmoor Fell. It is the only way through the crag without a significant detour, often forcing walkers to remove their backpacks to shimmy through the gap.
- •From the summit, the view of the Langdale Pikes is unparalleled; Pike o’ Stickle and Harrison Stickle appear as towering, near-vertical walls of rock rising directly across the floor of Great Langdale.
- •Side Pike is recorded as a summit by both Bill Birkett and Tim Synge, and it is a popular 'add-on' for those walking the ridge over Lingmoor Fell from Blea Tarn.
- •The 'Squeeze' serves as an effective, if somewhat heartless, biological filter for any walker who may have indulged too heavily in a celebratory pub lunch at the Old Dungeon Ghyll before attempting the ridge.