Skiddaw, Cumberland

Description
Skiddaw, a mountain and a parish in the centre of Cumberland, on the E side of Bassenthwaite Water. The parish has an area of 2969 acres; population, 7. The mountain culminates 3 1/2 miles N of Kcswick, at an altitude of 3059 feet above sea-level, spreads into an oblong mountain-mass 8 miles by 7; includes Saddleback, Linthwaite Fell, and the Caldbeck Fells, with altitudes of 2856 and 2101 feet; bears, in its central part, the name of Skiddaw Forest; consists partly of granite, but chiefly of clay slate; commands very extensive and most gorgeous panoramic views; and has been celebrated by many poets, including Drayton, Lamb, Keats, and Wordsworth, the last of whom says:-" What was the great Parnassus' self to thee, Mount Skiddaw £ In his natural sovereignty Our British hill is nobler far; he shrouds His double front among Atlantic clouds, And pours forth streams more sweet than Castally."