Skiddaw

Skiddaw

Route: Carl Side, Skiddaw and Skiddaw Little Man 

Area: Northern Lake District

Date of walk: 26th April 2017

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 7.7 miles

Weather: Mostly sunny, cold on top

It was a glorious morning as we parked in small car park of the Underskiddaw Vilage Hall in the attractive village of Millbeck in the north of the Lake District. After walking out of the village we turned off the road to embark on the long climb up to Skiddaw, which is the 4th highest lakeland fell at 3,053 feet. The first part of the climb was up the steep slopes of Doups, though much of the steepness was ironed out by a succession of zigzags in the path

The collar work started just beyond the summit of Carl Side, where a steep and loose path leads up the final slopes of Skiddaw. Seen from a distance, the path looks to be impossibly steep and dangerous, but the perspective is misleading and there are no dangers despite the steepness. We’d planned this walk in a clockwise direction so as to avoid descending this way, which would have been an unpleasant affair

We emerged huffing and puffing on the summit ridge and walked across to the summit. The air was clear and we could see the Isle of Man and Scotland in the distance. From here we made the easy down and up to Skiddaw Little Man, which boasts superb views over Derwent Water and the North West fells

We followed the ‘tourist path’ down the easy slopes of Skiddaw and from there we walked along the lane back to the start, enjoying more wonderful views along the way. It was a superb walk and we felt fortunate to have been out on the fells in such conditions

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