The Northern Fells

Binsey

The cairn, stone-built Ordnance Survey triangulation column (S5707) and wind shelter at Binsey summit, looking west to the viewpoint cairn (right).
Photograph taken: 28th April 2023

The cairn, stone-built Ordnance Survey triangulation column (S5707) and wind shelter at Binsey summit, looking west to the viewpoint cairn (right).
Photograph taken: 28th April 2023
The OS triangulation column (S5707) at Binsey summit. The plaque is dated 1999 and indicates that the column forms part of the OS National GPS Network.
Photograph taken: 28th April 2023
Binsey as seen from the summit of Barf, 9km to the south, with Bassenthwaite Lake prominent in the view.
Photograph taken: 23rd June 2024

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Location map for Binsey

Wainwright top at Binsey

Context

Binsey is a Wainwright in The Northern Fells area of the Lake District National Park.

Location

Grid Ref: NY 22512 35528
BNG e,n: 322512,535528
Lat/long: 54.708775,-3.204164
GeoJSON: [-3.204164,54.708775]
///W3W: repayment.relished.member
Feature: OS trig column (S5707), wind shelter and cairn

Elevation

Height: 447m / 1,467ft
Drop: 242.0m
Rank: 192 / 214

Details: Locating Wainwright tops

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that the Wainwright top is at the true summit of a fell. For many fells in the 214, this is not the case. Wainwright often chose a top because of its aspect or view rather than its height. This is what sometimes makes finding the Wainwright tops so confusing.

Locating a top is also complicated by the fact that features change over time. Cairns come and go, some grow and some shrink, fence posts are added or removed. Although the summit sketches in Wainwright's guides and the photographs in this guide are useful aids for identification, the features shown are subject to change, especially on popular fells. See Fleetwith Pike for an example of how cairns change.

Important: The accuracy of GPS on smartphones is ±5m at best but could be as much as 8m out. Please bear this in mind when using the location data.

Route planning

Fells

There are no viable routes from Binsey

Notes

Binsey is one of the few fells in the 214 that cannot reasonably be linked to other fells in a single walk. Stuart Marshall, and Karen & Dan Parker have combined it with the Ulldale Fells in their books, but in both cases they recommend using a car between Binsey and the other fells on the walk.

Wainwright: “Binsey is the odd man out. This gentle hill rises beyond the circular perimeter of the Northern Fells, detached and solitary…”. It's probably best to save Binsey for a spare morning or afternoon.

Classification

DoBIH No

2351

Local

Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Wainwright

Birkett: Lake District hills over 1,000ft listed in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells. There are 541 Birketts, 211 are also Wainwrights.
Fellranger: Lake District hills included in Mark Richards' Fellranger walking series, a set of eight volumes inspired by the Wainwright guides. There are 230 Fellrangers, 209 are also Wainwrights. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.
Synge: Lake District hills over 300m listed in Tim Synge's The Lakeland Summits. The book aims to list every significant summit over 300m in height within the National Park, 646 in total. It includes all 214 fells in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, including Castle Crag at 290m.
Wainwright: Lake District hills included in volumes 1-7 of Wainwright's A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 Wainwrights in all. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.

National

400-499m TUMP, Marylin

400-499m TUMP: British hills that are 400-499m in height with at least 30m of drop. There are 19 Wainwrights in this class.
Marylin: British and Irish hills of any height with a drop of at least 150m on all sides. There are 39 Wainwrights in this class.

Geology

Bedrock

Eycott Volcanic Group

BGS code

EVG

Type

Igneous (extrusive)

Age

449.0 – 458.4 Ma

Period

Ordovician

Parent

none

Details

Members, formations and groups

Member: A smaller unit of rock that shares common charateristics and features, often used in geology to describe specific layers within a formation.
Formation: A larger unit of rock that is distinct from other formations above and below. A formation may include two or more members.
Group: A stratigraphic unit that includes two or more associated formations that are usually contiguous or contain significant features in common.
Suite: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of the same type, lacking discernable stratification.
Complex: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of different types, lacking discernable stratification.

Notes

These igneous rocks are volcanic in origin. Poor in silica, they form fluid flows of lava with feeder dykes and sills. They comprise basalt, andesite, and dacite lava flows and sills with interbedded deposits, comprising tuff, lapilli-tuff, breccia, conglomerate and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks.

Daylight

Tuesday, 9th June 2026

Daylight

17 hours 14 minutes

Dawn