Hills: Ullock Pike, Long Side, Carl Side, Skiddaw Little Man and Skiddaw
Date: Sunday 18th November 2012
Company: Just myself
Distance: 11.5km, Ascent: 1000m

On looking out the window this morning the weather looked fairly good, so I set off to ascend Skiddaw. Prior to coming to the Lakes, I had been advised that the nicest ascent of Skiddaw was via Ullock Pike.

A bit of research on the internet found me the ideal starting point for an ascent via Ullock Pike – a large lay-by at NY236310 located next to an access path. I was a bit worried that all the spaces would be taken by the time I got there but was happy to find that I was the first car there .

Click here to see a map of the route undertaken

Lay-by parking:


From the lay-by, I set off along a very muddy track through a field of sheep.

Looking back towards Bassenthwaite and Bassenthwaite Lake:


After passing through a couple of gates, I followed an excellent grassy track towards Ullock Pike.

Looking towards Skiddaw and Ullock Pike:


Heading for Ullock Pike:


The good track made for fast progress - it didn’t take long to reach the base of Ullock Pike. During the initial ascent there were a number of rainbows due to the mix of sun and rain.

Rainbow above Bassenthwaite Lake:


During the ascent I met another couple of walkers going in the same direction.

Ascending Ullock Pike:


I pretty much stuck to the ridge of Ullock Pike during the ascent. There are bypass paths around some of the rockier sections but the rockier sections are all quite straight-forward.

Ascending Ullock Pike:


Looking across to Skiddaw from Ullock Pike:


I thought Bassenthwaite Lake looked quite nice.

Bassenthwaite Lake:


It was difficult to see where I was going during the final ascent owing to walking into strong sunlight.

Bassenthwaite Lake from the summit of Ullock Pike:


Photos taken into the sunlight, with the camera set on automatic, were not coming out well. So I switched the camera to manual and with a bit of trial and error took the odd photo into the sunlight. I should learn to use the camera properly!

Keswick and Derwent Water from summit of Ullock Pike:


From Ullock Pike, I made my way along the ridge to Long Side.

Heading from Ullock Pike to Long Side:


Looking back along Longside Edge to Ullock Pike:


It couldn’t have taken more than five to ten minutes to reach Long Side from Ullock Pike as these Wainwrights are fairly close together.

Skiddaw and Skiddaw Little Man from summit of Long Side:


From Long Side, I descended to the col and then left the main path to ascend Carl Side.

Derwent Water:


Looking towards Skiddaw Little Man from summit of Carl Side:


From Carl Side, I descended back to the main path and then began the steep ascent towards the summit of Skiddaw.

Ascent towards Skiddaw:


Looking back towards Long Side and Ullock Pike:


I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath during the ascent. I blame having a cold .

Looking towards Skiddaw summit:


On reaching the summit plateau, I stopped to put on more layers. Despite the summit of Skiddaw only being a few hundred metres away, I decided to head for Skiddaw Little Man first.

Heading for Skiddaw Little Man:


Ascending Skiddaw Little Man:


I was also tempted to ascend Lonscale Fell but decided that it was a peak too far today.

Blencathra and Lonscale Fell from summit of Skiddaw Little Man:


From Skiddaw Little Man, I retraced my steps back towards Skiddaw.

Skiddaw from Skiddaw Little Man:


Back on the ridge leading to Skiddaw:


It was fairly cold up on the plateau, so I didn’t spend too long up there. After a quick look at the toposcope and a check of the map in the shelter, I was on my way.

Skiddaw summit shelter and trig point:


Summit toposcope:


I descended Skiddaw towards Broad End and then followed the path to Bassenthwaite Common.

Descent from Skiddaw:


Looking back towards Skiddaw:


Looking across to Longside Edge:


During the descent, I ended up following a direct path down the hillside that was not marked on the map. It was fairly steep but much shorter than the path marked on the map.

Looking back at descent:


I eventually arrived back to the track that I had used that morning and followed it back out to the car.

Looking back to Skiddaw and Ullock Pike:


A really enjoyable day out .