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A modest cairn on a grassy top, with the ridge fading into mist beyond

Little Sca Fell

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633 mBirkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit)+9 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Little Sca Fell at 633m (2,077ft) is the companion summit to Great Sca Fell in the Back o' Skiddaw country, its broad top giving views across the northern moorlands and to the Solway. A Birkett fell on the open plateau north of Skiddaw.

Summit conditions on Little Sca Fell

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 6°C, gusts to 54 mph, 16.0 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

The forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Routes up Little Sca Fell

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

North of Skiddaw Walked by Lee
13.22 km · ~729 m ascent · ~3¾–5¼ h · loop · 8 summits
Moderate effort Hard: steepness
Park: Longlands Fell car park

Eight tops in the grassy country north of Skiddaw — Longlands Fell, Brae Fell, the two Sca Fells, Meal Fell and Great Cockup among them.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

How hard is Little Sca Fell?

The shortest way up we hold is North of Skiddaw — 13.22 km, 729 m of ascent, ~3¾–5¼ h. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Hard.

All axes: steepness: Hard · length: Moderate · terrain: Easy · navigation: Easy · exposure: Easy.

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 633 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
11° / 6°
54 mph
16.0 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
8° / 6°
45 mph
5.2 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
9° / 6°
22 mph
1.8 mm (10%)
Fri 30 Oct
9° / 6°
22 mph
0.0 mm (6%)
Sat 31 Oct
8° / 2°
8 mph
0.0 mm (13%)
Sun 1 Nov
7° / 0°
14 mph
2.1 mm (4%)
Mon 2 Nov
6° / -3°
6 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

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 Little Sca Fell

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Longlands Fell car park — at the start of North of Skiddaw
Walking base for Longlands Fell, Lowthwaite Fell, Brae Fell and Little Sca Fell — the 'North of Skiddaw' route starts 1 m away. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Roadside parking for Longlands Fell (free) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)
1.1 km from Longlands Fell. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Fell Side car park (free) — 3.5 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest published walking: 4.1 km from the 'North of Skiddaw' route start; 2.7 km from Brae Fell. Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
2 more places to park near Little Sca Fell
Little Cockup car park — 3.6 km from summit (straight line)
1.8 km from Little Cockup.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Orthwaite Bank (layby) — 3.9 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Orthwaite Bank (0.7 km), Little Cockup (1.2 km), Cockup (1.8 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

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 nearest bus stop we hold is the 553, 554 and X4 stop at Bassenthwaite, at Village turn, 6.4 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Little Sca Fell

Notes from the North of Skiddaw route

If you need to get off (the leg from Brae Fell): Retrace your steps back to Brae Fell.

Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Little Sca Fell.

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

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Little Sca Fell

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

1.0 km SFrozen Fell625 m · Northern
1.2 km WNWLowthwaite Fell509 m · Northern
1.4 km ESEMiller Moss (Little Lingy Hill)610 m · Northern
1.5 km SSWBurn Tod595 m · Northern
2.1 km EGreat Lingy Hill616 m · Northern
2.6 km EHare Stones627 m · Northern
2.6 km SECoomb Height627 m · Northern
2.8 km WLittle Cockup399 m · Northern
2.8 km SSWLittle Calva642 m · Northern

Routes over Little Sca Fell

13.22 km · ~729 m ascent · loop · ~3¾–5¼ h
Moderate effort Hard: steepness

Download GPX Walked by Lee, August 2024

Route guide: North of Skiddaw →

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.

About Little Sca Fell

A modest cairn on a grassy top, with the ridge fading into mist beyond
© Lee McCoy

Our North of Skiddaw round takes it in with Great Sca Fell (0.4 km SSE) and Brae Fell (1.0 km N). Remote fell country at its most characteristic.

My Strava hikes over Little Sca Fell

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Little Sca Fell a Wainwright?

Little Sca Fell is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.

Selected lists

633 m
Height
2,077 ft
In feet
NY 2894 3421
Grid ref

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

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Other fells near Little Sca Fell