Back 'O' Skidda

This route devised by Frank Yates takes in some of the less frequented areas in Northern Lakeland.

The total map mileage is some 28 with approximately 7600 feet of ascent. There is no time limit on the walk.

The route starts and finishes in the little hamlet of Mosedale. An anticlockwise circuit is recommended, giving the better views and an easier end to the day.

Probably the easiest start is from the old mines road, heading straight up Carrock Fell. On some maps a path is shown but this hardly appears on the ground. From the old fort the way to High Pike is straightforward and you should have no need to use the seat provided on the summit.

There is a good track past the shooting hut (a good place to have a stop and to sign the visitors book) on Great Lingy Hill, but not over the wetness of Miller Moss. The summit of Knott comes as a dry relief. After Great Calva and Whitewater Dash comes the long, long climb over Skiddaw and lunch! Follow the ridge downhill with all of Lakeland before you, finally turning away to Lonscale Fell and Skiddaw House, surely one of the loneliest inhabited houses in the country (now a Youth Hostel). The climb up Mungrisdale Common and over to Blencathra is long and tiring.

Blencathra is a magnificent mountain, which everybody vows to revisit, although not all do. The profile seen on the way up to Bannerdale Crags, especially on a late summer afternoon, can make the whole circuit worthwhile. The remainder of the route is relatively easy, although care is needed on the scramble down to Bowscale Tarn. Return to Mosedale by the track.

All the route is shown on the 1:50,000 Map Sheet 90 of the lake District.

Grid References of points to be visited are as follows:

1	Mosedale	357323
2	Carrock Fell	341336
3	High Pike	342336
4	Knott	296330
5	Great Calva	291312
6	Whitewater Dash	272313
7	Skiddaw	261292
8	Skiddaw Little Man	267278
9	Lonscale Fell	285272
10	Skiddaw House	285272
11	Mungrisdale Common	309294
12	Blencathra	323277
13	Foot Bridge	344279
14	Bannerdale Crags	335291
15	Bowscale Tar	336314
16	Mosedale	375323