Three Pikes

About Three Pikes

Sitting on the edge of the Warcop range above Appleby-in-Westmorland, this Hewitt offers a quintessential North Pennines experience of high, peat-hushed moorland. Its broad summit provides a vast perspective across the Eden Valley, with a clear line of sight to the distinctive profiles of Blencathra and the Helvellyn range.

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Did You Know?

• •The name 'Three Pikes' refers to the trio of distinct rises along the ridge line. The term 'pike' is common across Northern England, derived from the Old Norse 'pík', denoting a pointed hill, though these summits are characteristically rounded Pennine domes.
• •The hill sits on the western boundary of the Warcop Training Area. While the summit is accessible, the land immediately to the east is a live-firing range used by the Ministry of Defence, meaning walkers must stay strictly to the western approaches unless it is a designated non-firing day.
• •It is frequently climbed in tandem with the lower but more visually striking Murton Pike. The traverse between the two involves navigating classic Pennine peat hags, which can be exceptionally heavy going after sustained rainfall.
• •The summit offers an excellent vantage point for viewing High Cup Nick to the south-east. From this angle, you can clearly see the 'U' shaped glacial valley cutting deep into the Whin Sill escarpment.
• •Despite the name promising three distinct peaks, most visitors spend a significant amount of time at the top squinting at their map to decide which three specific bumps on the plateau were deemed worthy of the collective title.