Route Map
The map below shows the usual line in red with known variations in either blue or green. Those points on this page marked up as GeoLocations are marked on the map: summits - red marker; water sources - blue; other waypoints - yellow.
Skiddaw Section
This page pulls together the main information for the Skiddaw section. Click on the appropriate tab to show that particular data.
Route Notes
Sections are marked by either light (semi-darkness) or dark (night) grey bars on the right-hand side according to your schedule. If a peak name has magnifying glass icon to its side then hovering over the name will show a popup with schedule details.
You may edit the description by clicking on the text. Once in edit mode you can save your edits or restore the default description.
Leave the Moot Hall and cut through one of the ginnels to the central car park. Cross to the main road and take the road to the left of Keswick Cycles. About 50m along this there is a footpath to the left. This leads to the footbridge over the river Greta. From here go diagonally left across the park and through the wood by the path.
At the road turn right and in 100m turn left onto a bridleway. Follow his around Latrigg to join the road to the carpark at (GR-280253).
From the car-park at Latrigg, follow the motorway of a path to the summit of Skiddaw. Continue in the same line to (GR263296) then cut down right and cross the fence to gain a path that joins a set of quad-bike tracks. When these begin to bear left, cut to the right on a prominent path which leads over Hare Crag to the Skiddaw House track at a small bridge (GR283303). From the road crossing follow the beck on the righthand side for a hundred metres or so:
- Option 1
- Continue directly towards the summit of Great Calva from the head of the beck via a path through the heather. This bears rightwards as the ground steepens to join the path on the ridge.
- Option 2
- Bear right along a faint track to gain the main path on the ridge. There is a solitary fence post on the ridge at this point. Follow this to the summit of Great Calva (MB-050).
From the south end of the summit plateau follow a bearing of (MB-147) through increasingly high heather to gain the bridleway/track. (Alternative) A couple of hundred metres of very rough ground leads to the River Caldew at around (GR296297) at the big bend in the river. There is a sheepfold on the other bank about 200m from the river (not marked on the OS map). If the river is in spate, then head upstream until the fence crosses the river and use this.
Now strike up onto Mungrisedale Common aiming for the cairn marked on the map. The ground is steep at first but eases to provide a steady ascent. You are likely to miss the cairn if your navigation is not accurate. There is a path leading towards Blencathra from the cairn but this fades as the ground begins to rise.
Take care not to veer too far to the right, you need to aim for the left end of the summit skyline (MB-117). Just before the ground steepens there is another sheepfold on the left (again not marked on OS map) and the path fades away. About 200m after the fold, bear right finding the best way through the screes, then in the same line to the summit of Blencathra at the top of Hall’s Fell Ridge.
- Hall’s Fell
- Descend this (MB-154), there is some exposed scrambling after a couple of hundred metres. Follow the path down the broader lower slopes before bearing right to the fell gate.
- Doddick Fell
- This provides a less exposed but longer descent. Preferable if conditions are poor when Hall’s Fell can be time consuming. Head East from the summit and descend on a good path to a small cairn just after the second set of zig-zags. Now follow the path down to the valley and traverse back west to the fell gate.
- The Gully and Middle Tongue
- The gully to the west of Hall’s Fell may be descended, but should definitely be recconoitred first as it is not well marked on the ground and the route finding is quite involved.
From the fell gate at (GR325263) go straight down the bridleway, past a farmyard, to the minor road, follow this down to the A66.
Training Logistics
- Parking
- Parking in Keswick costs money and be prepared to be out for longer than any of the cheap options. No parking problems at the Threlkeld end at the moment. An alternative place to park is at the car park on Latrigg but this does mean that the initial climb out of/descent into Keswick is missed out.
- Getting Back
- The best way, avoiding the A66, is to head up towards the Blencathra Centre then drop down on paths to cross the beck before either climbing back up to Latrigg or skirting down through the woods into Keswick. Alternatively the old railway is now a cycle route and is easy running (if boring).
Water Sources
GR283303 A largish beck by the side of the track to Skiddaw House.
GR296297 The River Caldew between Great Calva and Blencathra.
Summit Descriptions
| No. | Name of Top | Height (m) | Summit description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skiddaw | 931 | The summit area is in the shape of an upturned boat with the actual summit at the Northern end. There is a cairn and an OS trig point at the highest point. |
| 2 | Great Calva | 690 | Despite being a heathery fell, the summit area is quite rocky. There are two summits about 100m apart and linked by a wire fence with the Northern one being the higher |
| 3 | Blencathra | 868 | The summit area is grassy and gently sloping to the north. The summit is marked by a small cairn at the top of Hall's Fell Ridge. |
Dynamic Trace
Clicking on the "play" button below will cause the map to move over the route of the leg. The map moves in constant time though this may mean that on steep ascents the clock appears to speed up.
The "+" & "-" buttons will speed up or slow down the speed at which the animation moves.
The clock shows the current time according to your chosen schedule of and start time of . Note that the timings are only approximate.
- Play
- Back
- Fwd
- -
- +
- Reset