Walk 83 - Skiddaw - 6th September 2023
 

Wainwright's Walking Guide to the Lake District Fells - Book 5 The Northern Fells
 

#190 Ullock Pike 2231ft
#191 Long Side 2408 ft
#192 Carl Side 2448 ft
#2 Skiddaw 3054 ft (revisit)
#3 Skiddaw Little Man 2838 ft (revisit)
Distance
8.6 miles
Time
8.5 hrs
Lowest Point

257 ft (end)
(start 342ft)

Highest Point
3054 ft
Total Ascent
3338 ft
 
Walk Rating - tough
 

Mini Route Map
(larger map at the bottom)

Go to start on OS map

Go to start on Google

   
   
 
 
 

10.46 Just off the bus at the Ravenstone Manor Hotel. The path is off the road on the south side of the hotel.

 
 
 
 

11.00 Walking up through the woods - enjoying the only shade we had all day.

 
 
 
  11.13 Having cleared the woods there is a short walk along the fence line before turning up onto the fell.  
   
  11.28 Panorama 857 Turning the corner for the ridge and wishing we were in Bassethwaite rather than looking at it.  
 
 
  11.42 Looking over Watches towards Binsey.  
 
 
  11.45 Looking up the ridge Ullock Pike looks particularly fearsome in today's heat.  
 
 
  12.38 The steepest part of the ridge starts here quite close to the summit.  
 
 
  12.42 There is a little minor scrambling at one point.  
 
 
  12.53 A distant figure on the top of Long Side. Carl Side is on the left.  
 
 
  13.05 On the summit of Ullock Pike at last. This guy said he had come down the left hand path from Skiddaw but wouldn't recommend it. Not sure I would in those shoes.  
   
  13.09 Panorama 858 Ullock Pike summit (Wainwright #190 2231 ft). The first of three Wainwrights in an hour.  
       
   

The praises of some lakeland views are sung to excess, but here is one rarely mentioned yet ranking with the best.
True, Skiddaw looms very large nearby but in other directions the prospect is superb,
ranging from the exciting skyline across the southern horizon to the distant hills
of Galloway beyond the wide coastal plain of Cumbria and the Solway Firth.

  
   
Alfred Wainwright - The Northern Fells. Ullock Pike. The view.
  
       
 
 
  13.29 Ullock Pike with its false summit visible to the right.  
 
 
  13.32 Dodd, Derwentwater and pretty much everything else as well.  
   
  13.40 Panorama 859 Long Side summit (Wainwright #191 2408 ft). The first of three Wainwrights in an hour.  
 
 
  13.52 The climb up Carl Side was so easy.  
 
 
  13.55 Early cairn repairs.  
 
 
  14.01 We saw 7 paragliders from here. Most seemed to be launching off the side of Little Man.  
   
  14.04 Panorama 860 Carl Side summit (Wainwright #192 2448 ft).  
 
 
  14.11 The two paths up Skiddaw from Carl Side. We took the right hand path. On the path near the bottom of the zig-zags are two youngsters who had overtaken us on Ullock Pike. They missed out Carl Side and seemed to be going well but as we climbed up they stopped maybe only 30mins from the top. When we met them we chatted and I considered helping them up - they seemed short of water and possibly no map - but they were parked in Dodd Wood and were nervous about coming down the scree path again. Since we were heading down a different way they continued down over Carl Side.  
   
  14.38 Panorama 861 On the scree path climbing Skiddaw.  
       
   

The steep slope of screes rising beyond Carlside Tarn looks formidable, but, although toilsome (and longer than it appears to be), there are no difficulties.

  
   
Alfred Wainwright - The Northern Fells. Carl Side. Ridge Routes.
  
       
 
 
  14.57 Paraglider over Carsleddam.  
 
 
  15.02 Looking back at our ridge route.  
 
 
  15.14 A nearly deserted Skiddaw summit. We only saw 3 other people up there - too hot for most although the summit had a slight breeze and was cooler than lower down.  
 
 
  15.20 Long Side and Ullock Pike from the summit.  
   
  15.22 Panorama 862 Skiddaw summit - the fourth highest mountain in England. This was a revisit from my walk when I was 14 but a rather stiller day this time - I remember it was very windy when we got to the top on that day. (Wainwright #2 3054 ft)  
   
  15.53 Panorama 863 From the cairn at the north end of the Skiddaw summit looking over Broad End and Bakestall. Looking at this view I am now fairly sure that this was the route we came up, which means that I had already walked Bakestall before I did it earlier this year.  
   
 

16.25 Panorama 864 From the south end of the Skiddaw summit looking over Little Man and Keswick.

 
 
 
  16.47 Looking back as we ascend Skiddaw Little Man.  
 
 
  17.14 From Lower Man the view of Keswick was rather hazy today.  
 
 
  17.18 The junction with the path around Little Man, across from Lonscale Fell and up from Latrigg.  
 
 
  17.23 Lower Man, Little Man and Skiddaw are all visible from the gate.  
 
 
  17.42 Latrigg  
 
 
  18.00 This path is a long slog even going down and it gradually started getting warmer as we descended. We also passed one of the paragliders carrying his kit up, a marine, he was certainly hotter than we were.  
 
 
  18.14 We finally reached Keswick town centre around quarter past 7.  

 

 
   
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