Skiddaw Lesser Man
Skiddaw Lesser Man at 824m (2,702ft) is a high Birkett top on the Skiddaw massif, the south-east shoulder of Skiddaw Little Man (0.3 km NW) above Jenkin Hill (0.6 km E), its broad ridge giving views across the northern fell country and the Solway Firth.
Summit conditions on Skiddaw Lesser Man
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 10° to 4°C, gusts to 61 mph, 16.0 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 Skiddaw Lesser Man
Choose the way up before the car park: these three routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.
| Compared | Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! | Up to Skiddaw Round Trip | Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Latrigg car park (free) | Latrigg car park (free) | Keswick |
| Distance and climb | 19.25 km, 1,118 m of climb | 12.01 km, 849 m of climb | 18.15 km, 971 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~5½–7¾ h | ~3¾–5¼ h | ~5¼–7 h |
| Scrambling | Not mentioned in the route’s notes | Not mentioned in the route’s notes | Not mentioned in the route’s notes |
| Exposure | Easy | Moderate | Not assessed |
| Navigation | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 29% at 10.3 km (Hard) | Climb of about 30% at 1.3 km (Hard) | Climb of about 32% at 1.7 km (Hard) |
| After the summit | Over Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw South Top, Skiddaw Middle Top, Skiddaw, Broad End and Bakestall | No further tops | Over Skiddaw Little Man and Sale How |
| Walked or planned | Walked by Lee, June 2025 | Walked in part; km 5.1–5.8, km 9.4–10.2 from the map | Planned: drawn, not yet walked |
| Car park at the start | Latrigg car park (free) | Latrigg car park (free) | Keswick Old Station, hotel car park (paid) |
| Bus to the start | 554, 2.5 km walk from Keswick, opposite The Pheasant | 555, 2.6 km walk from Keswick, at Latrigg Close | 509, 450 m walk from Keswick, at Greta Bank |
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 Skiddaw Lesser Man?
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 824 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 Skiddaw Lesser Man
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
3 more places to park near Skiddaw Lesser Man
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 Greta Bank, a 450 m walk from the start of Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section — a route we rate Hard overall (hardest: distance and steepness). We haven’t published last buses, Sunday or winter service yet, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back.
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 Skiddaw Lesser Man
Notes from the Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! route
If you need to get off (the leg from Jenkin Hill): Drop back down the short grassy slope to rejoin the Jenkin Hill path.
Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Skiddaw Lesser Man.
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 Skiddaw Lesser Man
These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.
Routes over Skiddaw Lesser Man
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
Route guide: Latrigg, Little Man, Sale & Cumbria Way Section →
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 Skiddaw Lesser Man
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 Skiddaw Lesser Man
My Strava hikes over Skiddaw Lesser Man
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 Skiddaw Lesser Man a Wainwright?
Skiddaw Lesser Man is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett 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