Skiddaw South Top
Skiddaw South Top at 926m (3,036ft) is the southern subsidiary summit of Skiddaw, one of England's highest mountains, giving panoramic views across the northern Lake District, Derwent Water, and the Solway Firth. Part of the broad Skiddaw ridge south of the main summit.
Summit conditions on Skiddaw South Top
On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 9° to 3°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 South Top
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 | Birketts North of Skiddaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Latrigg car park (free) | Latrigg car park (free) | Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) (free) |
| Distance and climb | 19.25 km, 1,118 m of climb | 12.01 km, 849 m of climb | 23.02 km, 1,472 m of climb |
| Time, fast to steady | ~5½–7¾ h | ~3¾–5¼ h | ~7–9½ 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 | Hard |
| Steepest stretch | Descent of about 29% at 10.3 km (Hard) | Climb of about 30% at 1.3 km (Hard) | Descent of about 31% at 19.8 km (Hard) |
| After the summit | Over Skiddaw Middle Top, Skiddaw, Broad End and Bakestall | Over Skiddaw Little Man and Skiddaw Lesser Man | Over Sale How, Hare Crag, Great Calva, Frozen Fell and Little Calva |
| 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) | Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) (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 | X4, 2.5 km walk from Bassenthwaite, opposite High Side Farm |
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 South Top?
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 926 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 South Top
Parking
Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.
4 more places to park near Skiddaw South Top
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 553, 554 and X4 stop at Bassenthwaite, opposite High Side Farm. From there it is 2.5 km and 142 m of ascent to the start of Birketts North of Skiddaw — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: distance) — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 28.1 km in all, with the walk. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Carlisle (553): Saturday and Sunday 18:24 only. Towards Wigton (554): Tuesday to Friday 18:13; Saturday 20:43; Sunday 16:23. Towards Workington (X4): Tuesday to Saturday 20:28 only. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 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.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Hazards on Skiddaw South Top
Notes from the Lonscale Fell, Skiddaw Lesser Man, Skiddaw and Bakestall in the sun! route
If you need to get off (the leg from Skiddaw Little Man): Retrace steps to the hause and drop south-east to pick up the main tourist path back to Latrigg.
Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Skiddaw South Top.
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 South Top
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 South Top
Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked
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 South Top
Water & shelter on the way up
On the Birketts North of Skiddaw route:
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 South Top
My Strava hikes over Skiddaw South Top
2 logged hikes 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
- 102nd Wainwright including Ullock and Skiddaw (opens in new tab) — 13.7 km · 1152 m ascent · 3h 43m moving · 15 June 2025
Data from Strava.
Classifications & hill data
Is Skiddaw South Top a Wainwright?
Skiddaw South Top 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: 8 places in Keswick