Home / Routes / Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Walked June 2025 · Route guide updated 13 October 2026: ascent and time changed · 171 of 214 Wainwrights with a Strava-matched summit

Skiddaw - the stone-built trig point on the slaty summit plateau, with Bassenthwaite Lake and the Solway plain beyond in hazy morning sun

Hard steepnessLoop

Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd

12.41 km

Distance

~4¼–6 h

Typical time

~1123 m

Ascent

Summits

Photo: © Lee McCoy

A grand horseshoe of the northern Skiddaw group from the forest at Dodd Wood.

Start Dodd Wood / Mirehouse forestry car park

Getting here Parking: Dodd Wood (paid), 0.1 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 553, 554 and X4 stop at Skiddaw, outside Osprey View Point, a 60 m walk from this start. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓

Hardest part Hard steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 33% around the 8.2 km mark. Hard navigation: Broad or featureless ground where navigation is serious in cloud — map and compass needed. Hard – graded by Lee on the ground Hands for a few steps: the Ullock Pike ridge, up to its top (about km 3.7).

Direction Loop

Before you choose

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. From the col at Carlside Tarn the path climbs the scree north-east to the summit ridge; drifting north (left) too early takes you beneath the summit, so keep on the line that heads straight up the slope.
The descent from Carl Side to Dodd needs care with the GPS: turn right at White Stones down towards the road — the 'direct' line straight up to the left near the bottom is almost impassable — then right along the road and immediately left, back on yourself, 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.

Hazard & incident notes: Skiddaw

A route line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

Download GPX →Walked by Lee, June 2025

Conditions on this route

We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 5 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.

Hardest partHands for a few steps

Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →

Daylight & turnaround

Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.

Route map

OpenTopoMap

Elevation profile, shaded by steepness

1 Ullock Pike2 Long Side3 Skiddaw Middle Top4 Skiddaw5 Carl Side6 Dodd (Skiddaw)

escape route

Dodd Wood

Easy 51%Moderate 30%Hard 18%Severe

951 m

High point

131 m

Start height

Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.

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

The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.

The walk, stage by stage

1
Dodd Wood / Mirehouse forestry car park → Ullock Pike (3.7 km, 573 m)
Climb of about 573 m over 3.7 km (around 15% average).
Decision point
Past Sand Beds, leave the forest path through a gate at about 1.6 km for the footpath climbing north-east. At the crest (about 2.1 km) take a very sharp right and follow the gravel-like path up the ridge to Ullock Pike: clear and popular, with the odd bit of easy semi-scrambling; the main thing is the ridge-like nature.
© Lee McCoy · 2 photographs
2
Ullock Pike → Long Side (0.6 km, 53 m)
About 0.6 km with 53 m of ascent.
Decision point
Continue along Longside Edge towards Long Side. Despite the name it's nothing like Striding Edge — a clean, airy ridge with a fine sense of height. Long Side's summit is barren and featureless, more a breather than a stop.
Easy to get wrong
The ridge is open to the wind — in a gale it can feel daunting even though it's broad enough underfoot.
© Lee McCoy
3
Long Side → Skiddaw Middle Top (1.5 km, 227 m)
Climb of about 227 m over 1.5 km (around 15% average).
Decision point
Drop off Long Side towards Carl Side. This is the first bail point — branch right for the short Carl Side / Dodd loop if you want to skip Skiddaw (see Escape routes). To continue, carry on (essentially straight on) down into the col beside Carl Side, where a small tarn sits — the last bail before the climb — then up the loose scree, over Skiddaw's broad Middle Top on the summit ridge.
Easy to get wrong
The crux navigation trap: aim straight up the scree. Bear left too soon and you'll pass under Skiddaw and miss the summit, then have to turn back. Don't miss the scree.
If you need to get off
At about 4.3 km, shortly after Long Side, branch right to Carl Side, then right again at its summit and down the north side of Dodd to the car park on a visible track: the short loop that skips Skiddaw. The last chance is at about 4.8 km, at the col by the small tarn: turn right and climb back up to Carl Side, then down to Dodd, saving the Skiddaw scree out-and-back. Once you are on the scree, the way off is back down it to the tarn, the way the walk itself returns.
© Lee McCoy
4
Skiddaw Middle Top → Skiddaw (0.3 km, 28 m)
Undulating section of about 0.3 km.
Decision point
A short step along the summit ridge from the Middle Top to Skiddaw's main summit — the famous cairn and shelter, and the view stretching out to the Solway Firth and Scotland beyond.
Easy to get wrong
In cloud the broad summit plateau is disorientating — keep to the line of cairns along the ridge.
© Lee McCoy
5
Skiddaw → Carl Side (1.2 km, 65 m)
Descent of about 207 m, with about 65 m of climbing, over 1.2 km.
Decision point
To return, backtrack down the scree to the small tarn and climb back up to Carl Side — not difficult in clear or claggy weather.
Easy to get wrong
Re-ascending Carl Side is short but comes after the Skiddaw pull — pace it.
© Lee McCoy
6
Carl Side → Dodd (Skiddaw) (2.4 km, 124 m)
Descent of about 363 m, then a climb of about 124 m, over 2.4 km.
Decision point
From Carl Side keep a close eye on the GPS. There are two ways down; the 'direct' line is too challenging, so take the steadier back-and-forth on the right (some significant steps down). Turn right at White Stones (about 8.2 km) and head down towards the road — near the bottom, do NOT take the direct line straight up to the left, which is almost impassable. At the road (a forest track, over a stile at about 8.6 km) turn right, then immediately take the left, back-tracking on yourself, onto the clear path that climbs to Dodd's wooded summit.
Easy to get wrong
The route's real navigation test: right (not left) down to the road, right along it, then left to double back. The 'direct' left line where the path meets the road is almost impassable — trust the GPS, not the apparent shortcut.
On this walk · km 8.9 to 12.4 of 12.4
Dodd Wood
Red squirrels live in Dodd Wood throughout the year.
Source: Forestry England (opens in new tab)
Where
8.9 km in, about 3 h 15 to 4 h 20 at this walk's pace; 384 m above sea level, 907 m climbed so far. The path stays in the wood to the finish. Measuredthe walk's own GPX against the OpenStreetMap outline of Dodd Wood (where the walk enters it); times by Naismith fast to steady, as in the pacing table
Gates before it
One gate and one step-over stile. The stiles matter if you are lifting a dog. Measuredthe Stile & Gate Census on this walk (OpenStreetMap, items as of 2026-09-25), each placed on the track
Lee’s evidence
Lee walked this ground in June 2025. Measuredthe walk’s walked status
© Lee McCoy
Dodd (Skiddaw) → Finish (2.7 km, 53 m)
Descent of about 361 m, with about 53 m of climbing, over 2.7 km.
Decision point
From Dodd, turn around and head back down to the road, then follow the track home through the forest to the car park.
Easy to get wrong
Back on the road below Dodd (about 10.4 km), a clearing to the left looks like a short-cut but isn't: it leads through branches and moss to a sharp drop. Stick to the road and the GPX.

Download GPX

GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, June 2025

Escape routes

At about 4.3 km: descend to Carl Side, then down Dodd's north side to the car park — Shortly after Long Side, branch right to Carl Side, then right again at its summit and down the north side of Dodd to the car park on a visible track — the short loop that skips Skiddaw.
At about 4.8 km: descend to Carl Side, then down to Dodd — The last chance before the scree: at the col by the small tarn, turn right and climb back up to Carl Side, then down to Dodd — saving the Skiddaw scree out-and-back.

Escape lines chosen from the map by someone who has walked this route; not every descent has been walked. In poor visibility a marked descent can be safer than retracing a ridge.

Make it easier or harder

Easier: Skip Skiddaw for a shorter Carl Side / Dodd loop: bail either just after Long Side (branch right to Carl Side) or at the col by the small tarn (right, back up to Carl Side), then down to Dodd and the car park. You still bag Ullock Pike, Long Side, Carl Side and Dodd without the scree.

Why this direction: Walked as a loop from Dodd Wood, up the Ullock Pike / Longside Edge ridge first: you take the clean, airy ridge as an ascent while fresh, hit Skiddaw and the Solway view at the high point, then return over Carl Side and finish on the gentle wooded top of Dodd — keeping the tricky GPS-checked descent for when you're warmed up to it.

Summits bagged (6)

1Ullock Pike690 mNorthern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge
2Long Side734 mNorthern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Hewitt
3Skiddaw Middle Top929 mNorthern · Birkett
4Skiddaw930 mNorthern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall, Marilyn, Hewitt
5Carl Side747 mNorthern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Nuttall
6Dodd (Skiddaw)502 mNorthern · Wainwright, Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, HuMP

In the order you walk them — the same numbers the elevation profile, the stage notes and the pacing table use.

More about this walk

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, forest to finish.

Start from the 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.

Conditions and timing

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.

Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.

When the sun reaches the tops

Not sunrise — the moment the sun clears the skyline from that summit, which on a fell with high ground to its east can be a good deal later.

Ullock Pike — in late March the sun reaches it around 07:15, about an hour later. In late September, about 08:00. It waits longest in late September — about an hour after sunrise. In late December, not until about 08:45.
Long Side — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in midsummer — about an hour after sunrise.
Skiddaw — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:15, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:00.
Carl Side — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in midsummer — well over an hour after sunrise.
Dodd (Skiddaw) — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:45, about half an hour later. In late September, about 07:30. It waits longest in midsummer — well over an hour after sunrise. In late December, not until about 08:45.

How to read these times

The two equinoxes are shown because they fall in the walking season, and late December too wherever a top keeps you waiting then; the clock gap between the equinoxes is British Summer Time, not the hill. Rounded to the nearest quarter hour and meant as a general idea, not a schedule.

Modelled from a 30 m elevation model against each summit’s own skyline — the same figures the fell pages carry, never observed. Cloud is not in it.

Getting there and back

Parking

Dodd Wood (paid) — 0.1 km from the start (straight line)

Forestry car park for Dodd, Carl Side and the Ullock Pike ridge onto Skiddaw. Fees: First 20 min free; first hour £2.10; then £0.55 per 15 min; all-day max £13. ANPR pay-on-exit, one pay station beside the toilet block; blue badge holders not exempt; card or Park with Ease online within 48h; no charge if arriving car-free (Forestry England, checked August 2026). Open 24/7 (Forestry England, checked August 2026). Free for Forestry England members (checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

Dodd (layby) — 1.0 km from the start (straight line)

Nearest fells: Dodd (Skiddaw) (0.8 km), Long Side (1.7 km), Ullock Pike (1.7 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Ullock Pike car park (free) — 1.1 km from the start (straight line)

On the A591 below Ullock Pike, about 40 m from the Long Side Plantation bus stop and about 1.1 km east of the lake. The 'Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd' route starts at Dodd Wood, 1.2 km south on foot. Free (OSM-tagged). Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

1 more place to park near the start

Watches, south-west (layby) — 1.3 km from the start (straight line)

Beside the A591 about 290 m north of the Ullock Pike car park. The 'Skiddaw via Ullock Pike and Dodd' route starts at Dodd Wood, 1.5 km south on foot. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions 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.

Every option near this start, on the parking map →

If the parking is full

There is no real plan B by car here. Every place we know beside this route serves the same walks and sits close together, so expect them to fill on the same mornings. Worth starting early, or having a different walk in mind before you set off. The bus below is the exception: it is not limited by car-park space, though it runs to a timetable and can be full.

Dodd Wood (paid) — at the start
Watches, south-west (layby) — joins the loop at about km 1.7 of 12.4: a 310 m walk to the line, climbing about 70 m, and you walk the round from there
Ullock Pike car park (free) — joins the loop at about km 1.2 of 12.4: a 170 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
By bus: buses stop at Skiddaw, outside Osprey View Point, a 60 m walk from the start. A bus is not affected by a full car park. Its return times are under Buses.

We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.

No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.

Buses

The 553, 554 and X4 stop at Skiddaw, outside Osprey View Point, a 60 m walk from this start. As timetabled from 27 October to 1 November. Towards Keswick (554): Tuesday to Friday, Sunday 17:39; Saturday 20:09. Towards Keswick (X4): Tuesday to Saturday 18:37 only. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 24 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

The 554 passes this route at 0.0 km (Skiddaw, outside Osprey View Point, 50 m off the line). It passes again at 12.0 km.

Stagecoach X4 / X5

Penrith – Rheged – Threlkeld – Keswick – Braithwaite – Cockermouth – Workington

Catch it from: Penrith

Year-round, every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday between Penrith and Keswick and hourly on Sundays, from outside Penrith station. One ticket from any station on the West Coast Main Line to Keswick includes this bus: search for ‘Keswick Bus (KWK)’ when you book the train. From Penrith this is your way into Keswick and the Northern fells — Threlkeld/Scales stops serve Blencathra directly, Braithwaite serves the Coledale fells.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.

Toilets and refreshments

The essentials

Arrival Dodd Wood car park, about 85 m from the start: pay on exit, up to 20 minutes free, £2.10 the first hour, £13.00 at most for the day; free for Forestry England members. 86 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (Forestry England, Dodd Wood, checked 28 September 2026)
Toilets Toilets are mapped in the car park, about 20 m from the start. 20 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
Refreshments The Old Sawmill Tearoom is mapped about 30 m from the start. Opening hours are not recorded here. 29 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
Limitation The pull onto Skiddaw from Carlside Tarn is loose scree: keep on the line straight up the slope, because drifting left takes you beneath the summit. (our route notes (this route's own warnings), checked 28 September 2026)

Everything mapped near the start

At Dodd Wood (paid), the closest parking we hold to where this route starts:

Dodd Wood Car Park (~76 m straight line) — Free The Old Sawmill Tearoom

Distances are straight lines from the car park, not walking routes. Opening hours change; none of this is checked daily.

Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap too, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of the start and not already listed above:

Also mapped within reach: an information board.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.

Water, shelter & getting away

shelter (weather shelter, mapped, not checked; 5 m off the line) Mirehouse (S bound) (55 m from the start, straight line)

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

Planning detail

How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.

Difficulty profile

Hard overall — hardest: Steepness and navigation (graded by Lee on the ground)

LengthModerate12.41 km round.

SteepnessHardSteepest sustained descent about 33% around the 8.2 km mark.

TerrainModerateMostly clear, popular tracks, with the odd bit of easy semi-scrambling on the Ullock Pike ridge and a loose scree pull onto Skiddaw. Moderate – graded by Lee on the ground

NavigationHardBroad or featureless ground where navigation is serious in cloud — map and compass needed. Hard – graded by Lee on the ground

ExposureModerateLongside Edge is an airy ridge — broad and nothing like Striding Edge, but daunting in a high wind — plus the loose scree onto Skiddaw. Moderate – graded by Lee on the ground

HandsHands for a few stepsThe Ullock Pike ridge, up to its top (about km 3.7).

Five independent axes, not one score. Three of the five were set on the ground; the rest are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.

How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.

Pacing

Summit	Cumulative	Ascent	Time (fast–steady)
1Ullock Pike	3.7 km	573 m	1:42–2:15
2Long Side	4.2 km	625 m	1:54–2:31
3Skiddaw Middle Top	5.8 km	853 m	2:34–3:25
4Skiddaw	6.0 km	880 m	2:40–3:33
5Carl Side	7.3 km	946 m	3:02–4:02
6Dodd (Skiddaw)	9.7 km	1070 m	3:43–4:57
Finish	12.4 km	1123 m	4:21–5:47

A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.

Access & barriers

Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?

Dog

Stiles on the line

Buggy

Not buggy-able

Knees

Tough descent

Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
Knees: A long, steep ~37% drop over 250 m around the 8.2 km mark — hard on the knees.

With a dog

Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates. The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 33% around the 8.2 km mark.

Stiles and gates: A step-over stile at 8.6 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 9 July 2026)
Drops and exposed ground: Moderate – graded by Lee on the ground. Longside Edge is an airy ridge — broad and nothing like Striding Edge, but daunting in a high wind — plus the loose scree onto Skiddaw.
Rock and scrambling: Hands for a few steps: the Ullock Pike ridge, up to its top (about km 3.7). Ground underfoot: Moderate – graded by Lee on the ground. Mostly clear, popular tracks, with the odd bit of easy semi-scrambling on the Ullock Pike ridge and a loose scree pull onto Skiddaw.
Ways off early: Marked on this route at about 4.3 km: Carl Side, then down Dodd's north side to the car park; at about 4.8 km: Carl Side, then down to Dodd. The escape routes section below has the detail.
Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.

On the line: 1 gate · 1 step-over stile

Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 9 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).

Places to stay near this start

Dancing Gate Cottage (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 2.1 km
Croftlands Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 2.9 km
Puddleduck Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 4.2 km
Bristowe Hill (opens in new tab) self-cateringabout 4.8 km

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

Walks from places nearby

Walks from Braithwaite — 4.4 km from this start
Walks from Whinlatter Forest — 4.6 km from this start

Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.

All routes →