Skiddaw
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| Skiddaw
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|---|---|
| Elevation | 931 m (3054 ft) |
| Location | Lake District, England
<tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Prominence</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">912 m</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Topo map</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">OS Landrangers 89, 90</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">OS grid reference</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">NY260290</td></tr><tr><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; border-right: 1px solid #999966; background: #e7dcc3; width: 85px">Listing</td><td style="border-top: 1px solid #999966; width: 220px">Marilyn, Hewitt, Wainwright, County Top, Nuttall</td></tr> |
Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake District National Park in the United Kingdom. With a summit at 931 m (3,054 feet) above sea level it is the third highest mountain in England, and the lowest above 3000 feet. It lies just north of the town of Keswick, Cumbria, and dominates the skyline in this part of the northern lakes. It is the simplest of the Lake District mountains of this height to ascend (as there is a well-trodden tourist track from a car park to the north-east of Keswick, near the summit of Latrigg) and, as such, many walking guides recommend it to the occasional walker wishing to 'climb' a mountain.
The mountain lends its name to the surrounding areas of "Skiddaw Forest", and "Back o' Skidda'" and to the isolated "Skiddaw House", situated to the east, formerly a shooting lodge and subsequently a youth hostel. It also provides the name for the slate derived from that region: Skiddaw Slate. Tuned percussion musical instruments or lithophones exist which are made from the slate, such as the Musical Stones of Skiddaw held at Keswick Museum and Art Gallery.
Skiddaw has a subsidiary summit, Little Man, which lies about 1.5 km south-south-west of the main peak. Little Man is about 100 m above the main tourist track route to Skiddaw proper, and may easily be climbed as slight diversion from the route.
"Skiddaw" is also a former name for Mount Wellington, Tasmania, which also overlooks a River Derwent (River Derwent, Tasmania rather than River Derwent, Cumbria).
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Surrounding area map from Google Maps
- Detailed topography from Ordnance Survey Get-a-map
- Computer-generated virtual panoramas North South Index
Summit ridge of Skiddaw in winter |
Skiddaw seen from Borrowdale |
