Its source is in boggy ground on moorland 2 miles (3 km) north of Pateley Bridge.

Descending from the moor the river enters Skell Gill, a narrow wooded valley.

The Skell enters the River Ure 0.5 miles (1 km) east of the centre of Ripon.

[2] The flow of the River Skell has been measured at Alma Weir in Ripon, near to its confluence with the Ure since 1984.

The thirty year record shows that the catchment of 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi) to the gauging station yields an average flow of 1.54 cubic metres per second (54 cu ft/s).