Jenkin Hill
Jenkin Hill at 735m (2,411ft) is the broad saddle on the main tourist path to Skiddaw from Keswick, a Birkett fell giving the first wide views of the Skiddaw ridge above.
Summit conditions on Jenkin Hill
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 10° to 5°C, gusts to 62 mph, 14.1 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.
The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →
Routes up Jenkin Hill
Both start from Latrigg car park (free); the last two rows give its parking and bus. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! | Up to Skiddaw Round Trip |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Latrigg car park (free) | Latrigg car park (free) |
| Distance and climb | 19.25 km, 1,118 m of climb | 12.01 km, 849 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~5½–7¾ h | ~3¾–5¼ h |
| Scrambling | Not mentioned in the route’s notes | Not mentioned in the route’s notes |
| Exposure | Easy | Moderate |
| Navigation | Moderate | Moderate |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 29% at 10.3 km (Hard) | Climb of about 30% at 1.3 km (Hard) |
| After the summit | Over Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw South Top, Skiddaw Middle Top, Skiddaw, Broad End and Bakestall | Over Skiddaw Middle Top, Skiddaw, Skiddaw South Top, Skiddaw Little Man and Skiddaw Lesser Man |
| Walked or planned | Walked by Lee, June 2025 | Walked in part; km 5.1–5.8, km 9.4–10.2 from the map |
| Car park at the start | Latrigg car park (free) | Latrigg car park (free) |
| Bus to the start | 554, 2.5 km walk from Keswick, opposite The Pheasant | 555, 2.6 km walk from Keswick, at Latrigg Close |
Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.
Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →
How hard is Jenkin Hill?
The shortest way up we hold is Up to Skiddaw Round Trip — 12.01 km, 849 m of ascent, ~3¾–5¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.
All axes: steepness: Hard · length: Moderate · terrain: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · exposure: Moderate.
These are the route page’s grades, set by the rules on how we grade: length and steepness measured from its GPX track, the others set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap. The route page says which. How we check →
Conditions and 7-day summit forecast
Modelled for the 735 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
Full 7-day forecast
Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)
Parking & buses for Jenkin Hill
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
2 more places to park near Jenkin Hill
Positions are approximate.
Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.
Buses
The 509, 555, X4 and X5 stop at Keswick, at Latrigg Close. From there it is 2.6 km and 330 m of ascent to the start of Up to Skiddaw Round Trip — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: steepness) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 17.1 km in all, with the walk. Last bus: Monday to Friday 21:15 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 21:15 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 19:06 towards Keswick (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 8 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Hazards on Jenkin Hill
Notes from the Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! route
If you need to get off (the leg from Lonscale Pike): Once on the main Jenkin Hill path, turning left (south) gives a fast, heavily trodden descent back to Gale Road.
Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Jenkin Hill.
We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.
If you need Mountain Rescue
Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.
Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.
If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.
From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).
Map, GPX and nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.
Birketts within 3 km of Jenkin Hill
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Jenkin Hill
Download GPX Walked by Lee, June 2025
Route guide: Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! →
Download GPX Walked in part, June 2025 · km 5.1–5.8, km 9.4–10.2 from the map
Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Jenkin Hill
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! route:
On the Up to Skiddaw Round Trip route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
About Jenkin Hill
Field notes
I don't think anyone starts their day purposefully wanting to bag Jenkin Hill, but they end up doing on their way up to Skiddaw from the Latrigg car park and as a result of bagging Lonscale Fell. There's no feature here to make a meaningful detour for. The only reason to be here is part of a bagging exercise.— Lee McCoy, who walked it on 2 of our routes
My Strava hikes over Jenkin Hill
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! (opens in new tab) — 19.2 km · 980 m ascent · 4h 56m moving · 29 June 2025
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Jenkin Hill a Wainwright?
Jenkin Hill is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.
Selected lists
This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.
Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →
Places to stay near this fell
From Underscar: 10 places in Keswick