Skiddaw

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Skiddaw
Skiddaw from Borrowdale
Elevation	931 m (3,054 ft)
Location	Cumbria, England
Range	Lake District Northern Fells
Prominence	912 m
Topo map	OS Landrangers 89, 90, Explorer OL4
OS grid reference	NY260290
Listing	Marilyn, Hewitt, Wainwright, Nuttall

Name	Grid ref	Height	Status
Listed summits of Skiddaw
Sale How	NY276286	666 m (2,185 ft)	Nuttall

Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in the United Kingdom. With a summit at 931 m (3,054 feet) above sea level it is the fourth highest mountain in England (the third highest if Scafell Pike and Sca Fell are regarded as one mountain), and the lowest above 3000 feet. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the simplest of the Lake District mountains of this height to ascend (as there is a well-trodden tourist track from a car park to the north-east of Keswick, near the summit of Latrigg) and, as such, many walking guides recommend it to the occasional walker wishing to climb a mountain.

The mountain lends its name to the surrounding areas of "Skiddaw Forest", and "Back o' Skidda'" and to the isolated "Skiddaw House", situated to the east, formerly a shooting lodge and subsequently a youth hostel. It also provides the name for the slate derived from that region: Skiddaw Slate. Tuned percussion musical instruments or lithophones exist which are made from the slate, such as the Musical Stones of Skiddaw held at Keswick Museum and Art Gallery.

1 Topography
2 Geology
3 Summit and View
4 Ascents
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Topography

The Northern Fells comprise a roughly circular upland area with a diameter approaching 10 miles. At the centre is the marshy depression of Skiddaw Forest— a treeless plateau at an altitude of 1,300 ft— and flowing outward from here are the rivers which divide the area into three sectors. The south western sector, between the Glenderaterra Beck and Dash Beck, contains Skiddaw and its satellites.^[1]

Skiddaw itself takes the form of a north-south ridge about half a mile long, with steep slopes to east and west. The ridge continues northward over Broad End to Bakestall, a fell overlooking the Whitewater Dash waterfall. Further ridges fan out east and west from the southern end of Skiddaw. To the south east are Skiddaw Little Man, Lonscale Fell and Latrigg, an easily accessible viewpoint for Keswick and Derwentwater. Beyond these fells are the Glenderaterra Beck and the Blencathra group. The south western ridge curves round through 180 degrees to run north above the shore of Bassenthwaite Lake. This gives Skiddaw an 'outer wall', comprised of Carl Side, Long Side and Ullock Pike, collectively referred to as 'Longside Edge'. The final member of the Skiddaw Group is Dodd, a satellite of Carl Side.

sketch map of the Skiddaw massif

Between Skiddaw and Longside Edge are the quiet valleys of Southerndale and Barkbethdale, separated by the spur of Buzzard Knott. These drain the western flanks of the fell to Bassenthwaite Lake. The eastern side of Skiddaw drains into Skiddaw Forest, much of the water reaching Candleseaves Bog. This marsh is the source of both the Dash Beck flowing north west to Bassenthwaite and the River Caldew, beginning its long journey north eastward to the Solway Firth via Carlisle. Two smooth spurs on this eastern flank of Skiddaw, Sale How and Hare Crag, are listed in separate tops in some guidebooks^[2]. Sale How is also a Nuttall

Below Sale How is Skiddaw House, a stone building which has variously served as a shooting lodge, shepherd's bothy and Youth Hostel. It's windbreak is comprised of the only trees in Skiddaw Forest, and it is reached via a long access track up the Dash Valley.

Skiddaw's slopes are generally rounded and convex, looking from a distance as though a thick velvet blanket has been draped over a supporting frame. On the ridges the general terrain is of loose stones, but elsewhere all is grass and heather. Wainwright noted that "Its lines are smooth, its curves graceful; but because the slopes are steep everywhere, the quick build-up of the massif from valley levels to central summit is apreciated at a glance- and it should be an appreciative glance, for such massive strength and such beauty of outline rarely go together."^[1]

[edit] Geology

The bedrock of Skiddaw, commonly known as Skiddaw Slate, is the Kirkstile Formation. This Ordovician rock is composed of laminated mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone. At the summit this is overlain by scree and to the south are areas where the underlying Loweswater Formation surfaces.

[edit] Summit and View

The summit ridge bears a number of tops, which from north to south are known ^[1]^[2] as North Top, High Man (the summit), Middle Top and South Top. All now bear cairns and a number of stone windshelters have been erected. Given the prevailing conditions these have a predominantly psychological value. Skiddaw has a subsidiary summit, Little Man, which lies about 1.5 km south-south-east of the main peak. Despite its limited independence, Wainwright listed it as a separate fell in his influential Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, a convention which is often followed.

The view is as panoramic as might be expected, given Skiddaw's topographic prominence. From High Man the north east quadrant is filled by the quiet fells of Back o'Skiddaw, with the Pennines behind them. To the south east are Blencathra, the Far Eastern Fells and the Helvellyn range. On the other side of South Top is a fine view of the Scafells, Western and North Western Fells, while the final quarter is taken up by the coastal plain and the distant Solway Firth. By moving to South Top a superb view of Borrowdale can be brought into sight.^[1]

[edit] Ascents

Many routes of ascent have been devised for Skiddaw. The most popular ("tourist route") starts from Keswick and first ascends behind Latrigg, before the climb continues over the slopes of Little Man to the summit. This walk can be made considerably easier by driving to the top of Gale road and beginning from the public carpark just behind the summit of Latrigg.

Another popular route is to follow Longside Edge, first ascending Ullock Pike, Long Side and Carl Side before making the steep climb up from Carlside Col.

From the south west at Millbeck, Carlside Col can be reached direct. A start from nearby Applethwaite can also be used to provide a variation to the tourist route. From the northwest ascents can be made via Southerndale, or via the northern end of the Skiddaw ridge. Finally on the west the walker can first make for Skiddaw House, a fair step from either Keswick, Threlkeld or Peter House. Once Skiddaw House is reached a direct line is possible, climbing over either Sale How or Hare Crag.^[1]