Skiddaw Little Man
Skiddaw Little Man at 865m (2,838ft) is the subsidiary summit on the Skiddaw ridge south of the main top, often climbed with Skiddaw but a separate fell in its own right.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 865 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 12° to 6°C, gusts to 43 mph, 18.4 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 15:36 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 865 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Skiddaw Little Man at a glance
Skiddaw Little Man
Field notes
Very few people would bag Little Man without bagging the parent fell too of Skiddaw itself - unless you're filling gaps because you've visited that fell having done one of the various other routes. And this is what I did having summited from the west over Ullock. The Little Man route includes an interesting summit cairn that features what can only be described as destructive modern art as it has combination of what seems as metal posts sticking up in contorted shapes which makes it a great photo opportunity, as well a good spot to catch your breath before you complete the last pull up to the primary summit.Routes up Skiddaw Little Man
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Classifications & hill data
My hikes over Skiddaw Little Man (Strava)
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 Jun 2025
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Parking & buses for Skiddaw Little Man
Best parking to hike Skiddaw Little Man
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
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.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Getting to Skiddaw Little Man by bus
The 509 stops 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 walk in before 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. 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.
Hazards on Skiddaw Little Man
No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.
Navigating Skiddaw Little Man in cloud
StraightforwardA broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. 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 Skiddaw Little Man compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Dodd car park (free), about 2.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Skiddaw Little Man (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.
Routes over Skiddaw Little Man
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
On the hill: terrain and water on Skiddaw Little 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.
The view from Skiddaw Little Man
The 360° skyline from Skiddaw Little Man
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.
What you can see from Skiddaw Little Man, by direction
- East: Blencathra (6 km), Atkinson Pike (6 km)
- South-east: Great Dodd (10 km), Stybarrow Dodd (12 km), Green Side (12 km), Raise (13 km), White Side (13 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (14 km), Catstye Cam (14 km), Helvellyn (15 km), High Crag (16 km), High Raise (23 km)
- South: Green Gable (18 km), Great Gable (18 km), Kirk Fell (19 km), Great End (20 km), Esk Pike (20 km), Broad Crag (21 km), Ill Crag (21 km), Scafell Pike (21 km), Bowfell (22 km), Scafell (22 km), Shelter Crags (22 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags (23 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (23 km), Swirl How (27 km), Brim Fell (29 km), The Old Man of Coniston (30 km)
- South-west: Eel Crag (10 km), Crag Hill (10 km), Grasmoor (12 km), High Stile (16 km), High Stile (16 km), Pillar (18 km), Steeple (20 km), Scoat Fell (20 km), Haycock (21 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (188 km, Ireland), Carnedd Llewelyn (174 km, Wales), Merrick (102 km, Scotland), Broad Law (96 km, Scotland), Snaefell (96 km, Isle of Man), The Cheviot (113 km, England), Cairnsmore of Fleet (86 km, Scotland), Corserine (97 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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
Sunrise and sunset on Skiddaw Little Man
Skiddaw Little Man catches the sun before the valley does. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does this summit wait for first light — the eastern horizon falls away rather than standing over you, and at midsummer the light reaches it 7 minutes before almanac sunrise.
| First light | Almanac sunrise | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 04:29 BST ±5.0 min | 04:36 | -7 min |
| Equinox | 06:13 GMT ±5.0 min | 06:16 | -3 min |
| Midwinter | 08:31 GMT ±5.0 min | 08:34 | -3 min |
A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.26°).
Last light — when the sun leaves Skiddaw Little Man
The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (at midsummer) last light is only 5 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Skiddaw Little Man.
| Last light | Almanac sunset | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsummer | 21:49 BST ±5.0 min | 21:54 | -5 min |
| Equinox | 18:32 GMT ±5.0 min | 18:27 | +5 min |
| Midwinter | 15:51 GMT ±5.0 min | 15:48 | +3 min |
Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Skiddaw Little Man. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.
What you can see from Skiddaw Little Man
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland and the Isle of Man.
- Merrick Scotland
- Snaefell Isle of Man
- Great Dun Fell North Pennines
- Cross Fell North Pennines
- Irish Sea open water
All 121 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Carl Side, Skiddaw, Long Side, Lonscale Fell, Dodd (Skiddaw), Ullock Pike, Bakestall, Latrigg, Great Calva, Mungrisdale Common, Barf, Great Cockup, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Knott, Meal Fell, Lord's Seat, Great Sca Fell, Walla Crag, High Rigg (Naddle Fell), Bowscale Fell, Broom Fell, Barrow, Sale Fell, Brae Fell, Longlands Fell, Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter), Cat Bells (Catbells), Causey Pike, Bleaberry Fell, Outerside, Clough Head, Grisedale Pike, Ling Fell, High Pike (Caldbeck), Graystones (Graystones North Top), Scar Crags, Carrock Fell, Raven Crag, Hopegill Head, High Seat, Ard Crags, Maiden Moor, Sail, Great Dodd, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Watson's Dodd, Knott Rigg, Grange Fell (Brund Fell), High Spy, Castle Crag, Hart Side, Hindscarth, Robinson, Raise, Great Crag (Stonethwaite), White Side, Dale Head, Low Fell, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Catstye Cam, Helvellyn, Rosthwaite Fell - Bessyboot, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Eagle Crag, Grey Knotts, Little Mell Fell, Red Pike (Buttermere), High Crag (Buttermere), High Stile, Haystacks (Buttermere), Sergeant's Crag, Base Brown, Burnbank Fell, Glaramara, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Place Fell, Blake Fell, Green Gable, Seat Sandal, Seathwaite Fell (Wainwright summit), Great Gable, High Raise (High White Stones), Pillar, Hallin Fell, Kirk Fell, Sergeant Man, Beda Fell (Beda Head), Steeple, Allen Crags, Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Great End, Thunacar Knott, Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), Bonscale Pike, Lingmell, Pike of Stickle, Esk Pike, Arthur's Pike, Haycock, Scafell Pike, Bowfell, Caw Fell, Yewbarrow, Rest Dodd, Wether Hill, Scafell, The Knott (High Street), Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), High Raise (High Street), Rampsgill Head, Pike of Blisco, Loughrigg Fell, Cold Pike, Great Carrs, Wetherlam, Whin Rigg (Wasdale), Swirl How, Black Fell, Grey Friar, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Dow Crag
How Skiddaw Little Man’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.
Places to stay near this fell
From Underscar: 10 places in Keswick
Frequently asked questions about Skiddaw Little Man
Is Skiddaw Little Man hard?
It's the steepest-feeling part of the standard Skiddaw walk — at 865 m (2,838 ft) a big fell in its own right, and the direct pull onto it from the Jenkin Hill path is sharper than anything on Skiddaw's own summit slopes. On a made path throughout, no scrambling — the difficulty is effort and, in poor weather, exposure to wind.
Most people take it in passing on the tourist route; skipping it saves the steepest section, and the main path bypasses it deliberately.
Is Skiddaw Little Man a separate Wainwright?
Yes — its own chapter in the Northern Fells, not just a bump on Skiddaw. Many reckon its summit view better than Skiddaw's: it looks straight down the length of Derwentwater with the whole district arranged behind.
How do you climb Skiddaw Little Man?
Almost everyone takes it on the way up Skiddaw from the Latrigg (Gale Road) car park — our walked Skiddaw round crosses it, and our longer Lonscale–Skiddaw–Bakestall round takes in the Lesser Man too. Both walked in July 2026.
Does Skiddaw Little Man add much to a Skiddaw walk?
This is the question people are really asking, and the honest answer is yes, but not much — and it is worth it. The Little Man sits right beside the tourist path up Skiddaw; taking it in costs roughly 20–30 minutes and around 100 m of extra climbing over walking straight past on the main path. In exchange you get what many rate the better summit view of the two — straight down Derwentwater, with the whole district arranged behind. If you are already walking Skiddaw, it is one of the best-value detours in the Lake District.
Where do you park for Skiddaw Little Man?
The Gale Road car park behind Latrigg is the standard start and cuts out a long, dull climb out of Keswick — it is small, free and full early on any fine day. From there it is the made path over Jenkin Hill, with the Little Man a short pull off to the left. If it is full, walking up from Keswick via Spoony Green Lane adds around 250 m of ascent and turns a half-day into a full one, so an early arrival genuinely changes the walk.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-03 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)