Its 931-metre (3,054 ft) summit is traditionally considered to be the fourth-highest peak but depending on what topographic prominence is thought to be significant is also variously ranked as the third- and the sixth-highest in England.

At the centre is the marshy depression of Skiddaw Forest, a treeless plateau, or valley, at an elevation of about 400 metres (1,300 feet); flowing outwards from here are the rivers that divide the area into three sectors.

This marsh is the source of both the Dash Beck flowing north west to Bassenthwaite and the River Caldew, beginning its long journey north-eastward to the Solway Firth via Carlisle.

Two smooth spurs on this eastern flank of Skiddaw, Sale How and Hare Crag, are listed in separate tops in some guidebooks.

The final quarter is taken up by the coastal plain and the distant Solway Firth, backed by the hills of Galloway such as Merrick and Criffel, and Broad Law in the Scottish Borders.

About 200 metres (660 ft) of ascent can be saved by driving to the top of Gale Road and beginning from the public car park just behind the summit of Latrigg.

Another popular route (and the one recommended by Wainwright[1]) is to follow Longside Edge, first ascending Ullock Pike, Longside and Carl Side before making the steep climb up from Carlside Col. Also from the north, a somewhat tougher alternative is to walk up Buzzard Knott between Southerndale and Barkbethdale: after crossing to the southern edge of the shoulder above Randel Crag ascend due east to the summit.

Rather easier than either of these is the compass-walk due south from Cock Up (505 metres (1,657 ft)); reversing this route provides a safe descent, especially in bad weather.

From the north-west a tough but picturesque ascent can be made to the northern end of Longside Edge before following the ridge route to the summit.

[4] Diana Whaley likewise interprets it as "the mountain with the jutting crag", but also offers the alternative that the first element may be a personal name or Old Norse skítr 'dung, filth, shit'.

"[5] Below Sale How is Skiddaw House, a stone building which has variously served as a shooting lodge, a shepherd's bothy and a Youth Hostel.

[7][8] Sir Hugh Walpole, author of the Lake District novel Rogue Herries, was a visitor in the 1920s and 30s and used the house as the scene, set in 1854, of the murder by Uhland.

Several families brought up their children there until they were able to go to school, but the longest tenure was possibly that of Pearson Dalton, a shepherd and bachelor from the Caldbeck area, who came to stay for a month in 1952 and left in 1969 aged 75.

By that time farming practices had changed and the house was no longer needed; it declined, although there was intermittent use by various schools and outdoor groups.

In 2007 it re-opened as an independent hostel run by the Skiddaw House Foundation, under the YHA's Enterprise franchising model.

The plan includes planting 300,000 native trees over 250 hectares (620 acres) of the site (but specifically excluding the summit of Skiddaw).

[13] In "A Stranger Minstrel" (published 1800), Samuel Taylor Coleridge remarks on Skiddaw's characteristic "helm of cloud", and observes atmospheric effects and the play of sunlight across the landscape: "yon small flaky mists that love to creep / Along the edges of those spots of light, / Those sunny islands on thy smooth green heights.