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929 m · Birkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Birkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit)Birkett top

Skiddaw Middle Top

The south top of Skiddaw at 926m (3,038ft) is the subsidiary summit south of Skiddaw's main summit, a broad top on the smooth slate ridges giving excellent views south to the Helvellyn range and across Derwent Water.

929 m
Height
+8
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Skiddaw Middle Top

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

929 mBirkett — Northern (not a Wainwright summit)+8 bonus Birketts within 3 km

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

Modelled guidance for the 929 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 13° to 11°C, gusts to 34 mph, 5.8 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
13° / 11°
💨 34 mph
🌧 5.8 mm (77%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
12° / 9°
💨 26 mph
🌧 14.3 mm (79%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌧️
11° / 3°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.9 mm (76%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
12° / 0°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (69%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
12° / 1°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (63%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
13° / 1°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (25%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
13° / 4°
💨 15 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 929 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

Skiddaw Middle Top

The south top of Skiddaw at 926m (3,038ft) is the subsidiary summit south of Skiddaw's main summit, a broad top on the smooth slate ridges giving excellent views south to the Helvellyn range and across Derwent Water. Most walkers pass over it on the descent from the main summit via Jenkin Hill. The views of the Borrowdale fells and Bassenthwaite Lake are fine from this high point on the southern ridge.

Routes up Skiddaw Middle Top

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

Birketts North of Skiddaw
23 km · ~7 hr
Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun!
19.3 km · ~5.7 hr
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.
Up to Skiddaw Round Trip
12 km · ~3.7 hr
Classifications & hill data
Birkett
929 m
Height
3,048 ft
In feet
NY 2606 2883
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Dodd Wood (paid), about 3.0 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Skiddaw Middle Top (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.

0.2 km SSkiddaw South Top926 m · Northern
1.0 km NBroad End832 m · Northern
1.5 km SSESkiddaw Lesser Man824 m · Northern
1.6 km ESale How666 m · Northern
1.9 km SEJenkin Hill735 m · Northern
2.0 km ENEHare Crag538 m · Northern
2.5 km NWWatches333 m · Northern
2.6 km NCockup505 m · Northern

Routes over Skiddaw Middle Top

Birketts North of SkiddawPlanned
23.02 km · ~1434 m ascent · loop · ~7–9.5 h
Summits: BakestallSkiddawSkiddaw Middle TopSkiddaw South TopSale HowHare CragGreat CalvaFrozen FellLittle Calva

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.

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

Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun!Revised
19.25 km · ~1116 m ascent · loop · ~5.5–7.5 h
Summits: Lonscale FellLonscale Pike (Lonscale Fell East Top)Jenkin HillSkiddaw Lesser ManSkiddaw Little ManSkiddaw South TopSkiddaw Middle TopSkiddawBroad EndBakestall

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

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.

Up to Skiddaw Round TripRevised
12.01 km · ~799 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h
Summits: Lonscale FellJenkin HillSkiddaw Middle TopSkiddawSkiddaw South TopSkiddaw Little ManSkiddaw Lesser Man

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

Best parking to hike Skiddaw Middle Top

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

Dodd Wood (paid) — 3.0 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
Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Dash Falls track — Bakestall, Great Calva, Skiddaw the quiet way.
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 Birketts North of Skiddaw route:

🛖 map (4 m)

On the Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! route:

🛖 map (8 m)

On the Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd route:

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

On the Up to Skiddaw Round Trip route:

🛖 map (5 m)

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

Buses to Skiddaw Middle Top 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 Skiddaw Middle Top (Strava)

2 logged hikes pass over this summit:

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

Other fells near Skiddaw Middle Top

Maps & guidebooks for Skiddaw Middle Top

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