| Birks - Route One |
| Start - Patterdale NY 395 159 | Distance - 1.8 miles | Ascent - 1,590 feet | Time - 1 hour : 30 minutes |
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| The Patterdale Hotel, the starting point of this walk |
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| Opposite the hotel is a small car park which is very popular and tends to fill up quite early in the day |
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| At the rear of the hotel a signpost indicates the footpath through Mill Moss |
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| A handgate at the west side of the moss enclosure gives access to a well worn path leading towards Grisedale |
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| Looking back along the path from Mill Moss |
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| In a few hundred yards the path goes through a gate to enter Glemara Park (although it is shown on new maps as Glenamara Park) |
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| Birks from Glemara Park, Thornhow End the route of ascent rises from the right |
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| Looking over to Ullswater from the path through Glemara Park |
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| Birks from where the path descends to ford Hag Beck |
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| Across the beck and approaching the foot of Thornhow End seen here rising beyond the trees in centre foreground |
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| The ascent path begins near a couple of trees, the main path carries on into Grisedale |
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| Looking to Sheffield Pike which has been prominent during the walk through Glemara Park |
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| Beginning the steep ascent of Thornhow End, the lower part of the path is well used as it is a popular route to St.Sunday Crag |
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| Looking down the lower part of the ridge |
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| About a third of the way up the ridge a stile crosses the Glemara Park boundary wall |
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| Over the stile and Catstycam appears beyond the Hole in the Wall on the ridge to Striding Edge |
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| Beginning the climb of the upper ridge, the main path soon veers right to make a more gradual ascent along the western flank of Birks to the col under the north-east ridge of St Sunday Crag. Continue straight on up the ridge on a much fainter path |
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| Looking down the upper part of Thornhow End to the Glemara Park wall, the St, Sunday Crag path can be seen making a sensible escape to the left, this section is much steeper than the lower part |
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| Looking across Grisedale to Nethermost Pike, Helvellyn and Catstycam |
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| Looking across Patterdale to Place Fell |
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| Nearing the top of Thornhow End |
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| The slope eventually eases as St.Sunday Crag comes into view |
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| Ullswater from the top of Thornhow End |
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| The wide curving summit ridge of Birks from Thornhow End |
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| Dollywaggon Pike and Nethermost Pike from Thornhow End |
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| On the climb to the summit, a look back along the ridge to Thornhow End |
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| The upper part of the summit ridge |
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| Looking back to Place Fell, the top of Thornhow End can be seen on the extreme left edge of the photo |
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| Approaching the summit |
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| The summit of Birks, at least the one usually accepted to be the top although the point further along the ridge directly above the cairn has a spot height of 2,040ft, nevertheless this is the one AW sketched Birks - page 5 |
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| The north-east ridge of St.Sunday Crag rises on the left with Dollywaggon Pike on its right |
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| Nethermost Pike and Helvellyn across Grisedale |
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| Catstycam above the Hole in the Wall with White Side and the ridge leading on to Raise |
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| Sheffield Pike |
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| Ullswater with Great and Little Mell Fell beyond Gowbarrow Fell |
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| Place Fell |
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| The twin tops of Angletarn Pikes |
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| High Raise and Rampsgill Head on the horizon |
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| The village of Hartsop |
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| Red Screes seen across the ridges of Hartsop-above-How and Little Hart Crag |
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| Gavel Pike in the foreground across Cold Cove, Hart Crag and Scrubby Crag connected by Link Hause on the left |
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