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747 m · Wainwright — Northern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Carl Side - a low slate cairn on a flat stony summit, a long line of distant fells under cloudy sky
Wainwright — Northern FellsAlso a Birkett

Carl Side

Carl Side at 746m (2,447ft) is the prominent shoulder of Skiddaw above Millbeck, its summit giving excellent views across Bassenthwaite Lake and north to Scotland on clear days.

747 m
Height
~3.5–4.5 h
Typical time
+8
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Carl Side

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

747 mWainwright — Northern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+8 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 747 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 14° to 13°C, gusts to 34 mph, 5.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
14° / 13°
💨 34 mph
🌧 5.8 mm (77%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
13° / 10°
💨 26 mph
🌧 14.3 mm (79%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌧️
12° / 4°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.9 mm (76%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
13° / 1°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (69%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
13° / 2°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (63%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
14° / 2°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (25%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 16 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (20%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 747 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Carl Side

Carl Side - a low slate cairn on a flat stony summit, a long line of distant fells under cloudy sky
© Lee McCoy

Carl Side at 746m (2,447ft) is the prominent shoulder of Skiddaw above Millbeck, its summit giving excellent views across Bassenthwaite Lake and north to Scotland on clear days. Wainwright described the ridge from Ullock Pike over Long Side and Carl Side as the finest approach to Skiddaw — an excellent horseshoe returning via the main summit and Skiddaw Little Man. The Carl Side tarn below the summit on the descent to Millbeck is a pleasant spot. The views of Bassenthwaite from this western ridge are consistently excellent.

🗒️ My notes
This is a fell that most will probably either have their head down as they traverse their way to or from Blencathra, the summit cairn isn't much of a feature. The terrain is relatively flat and grassy. But if you do have your head up and blessed with fine weather you'll have grand views to the south to Keswick and east to Bassenthwaite Lake and beyond. To the north you'll be looking at the scree track up to the parent summit - hopefully you would have done that already and not have it to go.

Routes up Carl Side

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd
12.4 km · ~4.3 hr · Hard
A grand horseshoe of the northern Skiddaw group from the forest at Dodd Wood. The walk climbs the clean, shapely ridge over Ullock Pike and along airy Longside Edge to Long Side, then drops to the col by Carl Side before the stiff, loose scree pull onto Skiddaw itself — and one of the great Lakeland summit views, out across the Solway Firth to Scotland. The return crosses back over Carl Side and takes a careful, GPS-checked line down to the wooded little top of Dodd before the drop home through the trees. Five Skiddaw-group Wainwrights — Ullock Pike, Long Side, Carl Side, Skiddaw and Dodd — on a satisfying, varied loop: clean ridge, real summit, quiet forest to finish.
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Northern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Nuttall
747 m
Height
2,451 ft
In feet
NY 2549 2809
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Dodd Wood (paid), about 2.2 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Carl Side (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

0.8 km NESkiddaw South Top926 m · Northern
0.9 km NESkiddaw Middle Top929 m · Northern
1.5 km ESESkiddaw Lesser Man824 m · Northern
1.9 km NNEBroad End832 m · Northern
2.0 km ESEJenkin Hill735 m · Northern
2.2 km ENESale How666 m · Northern
2.7 km NNWWatches333 m · Northern
2.9 km NEHare Crag538 m · Northern

Routes over Carl Side

Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and DoddRevised
12.41 km · ~1081 m ascent · loop · ~4–5.5 h · Loop · Hard
Summits: Ullock PikeLong SideSkiddaw Middle TopSkiddawCarl SideDodd (Skiddaw)

✎️ Start from the pay-and-display forestry car park at Dodd Wood (Mirehouse), on the A591 by the east shore of Bassenthwaite Lake — the path heads up through the trees, over a brook, and north past Sand Beds.

⬇️ Download GPX

Best season: A popular route walkable in most seasons. Save Longside Edge for a day without a gale, and expect the loose scree onto Skiddaw to be the one real effort. In winter the scree and the high, open ridge need proper care and kit.

⚠️ Warnings: Longside Edge is an airy ridge — fine in calm weather and nothing like Striding Edge, but it can feel daunting in a high wind.; The pull onto Skiddaw is loose scree, with a navigation trap: don't bear left too soon or you'll pass under the summit and miss it — aim straight up the scree.; The descent from Carl Side to Dodd needs care with the GPS: turn right down towards the road — the 'direct' line straight up to the left is almost impassable — then immediately left to pick up the clear path to Dodd.; Off Dodd, a clearing to the left looks like a short-cut but isn't: it leads through branches and moss to a sharp drop. Head back to the road and follow the track home.

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

The View from Carl Side

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Carl Side36 labelled tops shown (18 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 21 kmHelvellyn · 16 kmSkiddaw · 1 kmBowfell · 22 kmPillar · 18 kmRaise · 14 kmGreat Dodd · 12 kmGrasmoor · 11 kmCrag Hill · 10 kmHigh Stile · 16 kmSwirl How · 28 kmKirk Fell · 19 kmLow Raise · 25 kmSeat Sandal · 19 kmSergeant Man · 20 kmWhiteside East Top · 10 kmWether Hill · 23 kmSkiddaw South Top · 1 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 1 kmBlake Fell · 17 kmSteel Fell · 18 kmSkiddaw Lesser Man · 2 kmLong Side · 1 kmCriffel · 45 km · clear daysLord's Seat · 5 kmUllister Hill · 5 kmWatendlath Fell · 14 kmBroom Fell · 6 kmBinsey · 8 kmLing Fell · 8 kmSale Fell · 6 kmCalkin Rig · 60 km · clear daysCaermote Hill · 11 kmClints Crags · 12 kmWatch Hill · 11 kmGrange Fell · 54 km · clear daysGreat Gable · 18 kmStybarrow Dodd · 13 kmSteeple · 19 kmGrey Friar · 28 kmSail · 10 kmHopegill Head · 9 kmYewbarrow · 21 kmAllen Crags · 20 kmHigh Seat · 10 kmSergeant's Crag · 17 kmSourfoot Fell · 13 kmBishop Forest Hill · 66 km · clear daysWhitbarrow · 45 km · clear daysSlieve Donard · 187 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 101 km · a rare clear dayBroad Law · 96 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 95 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 96 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 85 km · a rare clear dayWindlestraw Law · 116 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 110 km · a rare clear daySlieve Croob · 186 km · a handful of days a yearGreen Lowther · 91 km · a rare clear dayWard's Stone · 77 km · a rare clear dayDivis · 185 km · a handful of days a yearCairn Table · 110 km · a rare clear dayCairnharrow · 77 km · a rare clear dayColt Hill · 90 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 104 km · a rare clear dayWinter Hill · 120 km · a handful of days a yearWard Law · 88 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Carl Side, by direction
  • North-east: Skiddaw (1 km)
  • South-east: Little Dodd (11 km), Great Dodd (12 km), Stybarrow Dodd (13 km), Green Side (14 km), Raise (14 km), White Side (14 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (15 km), Catstye Cam (15 km), Helvellyn (16 km), High Crag (17 km), High Raise (24 km)
  • South: Great Gable (18 km), Kirk Fell East Top (18 km), Kirk Fell (19 km), Great End (20 km), Esk Pike (21 km), Broad Crag (21 km), Ill Crag (21 km), Scafell Pike (21 km), Bowfell (22 km), Scafell (22 km), Shelter Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (24 km), Swirl How (28 km), Brim Fell (30 km), The Old Man of Coniston (30 km)
  • South-west: Eel Crag (10 km), Crag Hill (10 km), Grasmoor (11 km), High Stile (16 km), High Stile (16 km), Pillar (18 km), Steeple (19 km), Scoat Fell (19 km), Haycock (21 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (187 km, Ireland), Merrick (101 km, Scotland), Broad Law (96 km, Scotland), Snaefell (95 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (96 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (85 km, Scotland), Corserine (96 km, Scotland), Windlestraw Law (116 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Carl Side

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
89Wainwrights in view+10 marginal
102 kmFurthest sightlineMerrick · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland and the Isle of Man.

Far horizons
  • Merrick ScotlandNW · 102 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 95 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNW · 46 km distant
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 34 km in view
  • Irish Sea open waterW · 33 km in view
All 89 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Long Side, Skiddaw, Skiddaw Little Man, Latrigg, Barf, Lord's Seat, Broom Fell, Sale Fell, Barrow, Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter), Walla Crag, Ling Fell, Grisedale Pike, Outerside, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Binsey, Causey Pike, High Rigg (Naddle Fell), Cat Bells (Catbells), Scar Crags, Hopegill Head, Bleaberry Fell, Sail, Clough Head, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Maiden Moor, High Seat, Raven Crag, Grasmoor, Great Dodd, Watson's Dodd, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), High Spy, Hindscarth, Castle Crag, Stybarrow Dodd, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Low Fell, Dale Head, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), Raise, White Side, Catstye Cam, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Helvellyn, Red Pike (Buttermere), High Stile, High Crag (Buttermere), Eagle Crag, Haystacks (Buttermere), Burnbank Fell, Blake Fell, Sergeant's Crag, Base Brown, Glaramara, Green Gable, Pillar, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Great Gable, Kirk Fell, High Raise (High White Stones), Seat Sandal, Steeple, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Allen Crags, Great End, Thunacar Knott, Lingmell, Haycock, Esk Pike, Pike of Stickle, Harrison Stickle, Scafell Pike, Yewbarrow, Bowfell, Scafell, Wether Hill, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Pike of Blisco, High Raise (High Street), Cold Pike, Great Carrs, Wetherlam, Swirl How, Grey Friar, Brim Fell, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Dow Crag

How Carl Side’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Best parking to hike Carl Side

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Dodd Wood (paid) — 2.2 km from summit (straight line)
Forestry car park for Dodd, Carl Side and the Ullock Pike ridge onto Skiddaw.
Directions
🚺 Dodd Wood Car Park (79m) — Free☕ The Old Sawmill Tearoom
Gale Road / Latrigg top (free) — 3.8 km from summit (straight line)
Free car park at the road end behind Latrigg — shortest way up Skiddaw via Jenkin Hill.
Directions

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd route:

🛖 map (5 m)🚌 Mirehouse (S bound) (55 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

Buses to Carl Side from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over Carl Side (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Navigating Carl Side in cloud

Straightforward

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Carl Side compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Carl Side

Maps & guidebooks for Carl Side

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