Solitude Skyway
An elevated set of stairs and walkways that has been added to the underside of the large rock arch that the city of Solitude rests upon.
This mod adds a set of elevated stairs and walkways to the underside of the large rock arch that the city of Solitude rests upon. It connects the western side of the arch where the docks and lower secondary city entrance is found with the main city via an entrance near the Blue Palace, as well as continuing along the arch across the Karth River to the eastern side of the river where Hjaalmarch begins. The Skyway itself has a relatively strong guard presence with multiple patrols as well as a central guard supply and viewing location because of this alternate entry point for the city of Solitude, so beware if you are of the evil or criminal persuasion. There is also an additional guard post area at the end of the Skyway on the Hjaalmarch side as that is a much more wild and untamed area of the land with hostile critters and NPCs that must be guarded against.
The idea for this mod came from a discussion in the comments of another mod of mine – Windhelm Docks Pathways In those comments, several players remarked that a similar type of mod for the Solitude area would solve an issue with it being difficult/impossible for players that don’t use fast travel to get across the river without swimming in the frigid waters as well as being able to much more easily access the player home Windstad Manor from the Hearthfires DLC that is located across the northern marches from the eastern end of the Solitude arch. I thought about the best way to accomplish these goals and this mod is what I eventually came up with.
Features
fully navmeshed for companions and standard or mod-added NPCs (see below for more details)
quick access to and from Solitude and the northern coast of Hjaalmarch where the player home Windstad Manor from the Hearthfires DLC is located
secondary entrance to Solitude that places you right outside the Blue Palace
horse usage is possible if you’re careful, it’s a narrow fit in places but it is possible to navigate the Skyway successfully on horseback
strong Haafingar (Solitude) guard presence as befitting the capital of Skyrim
a public viewing platform high in the sky for your sightseeing and dining pleasure
spectacular views of the northern coastline, the marsh lands of Hjaalmarch, and the Solitude docks from this elevated vantage
ability to cliff dive off the Skyway in various places into the Karth River far below if you’re feeling really frisky
The Skyway is considered a “main road” by NPCs so they can and will use it on a random basis as an alternate route if they have a travel package active and it targets a nearby destination that the Skyway offers a shorter path to. This goes for both standard game NPCs that live in Solitude and have business on the docks (or coming home from the docks back inside the city) as well as wandering or traveling NPCs added by other mods that start on one side of the water and are supposed to go to the other or that start on one side and are trying to get inside of the city. Be aware of this when using this mod as NPCs might not be found where you’d typically find them as they’re taking this alternate route. This is not a bug or a glitch but fully intended behavior as it gives the Skyway some random foot traffic and NPC activity at all hours of the day.
A complimentary mod for this one that allows companions and other NPCs to more easily navigate the route between Solitude and Windstad Manor from the Hearthfires DLC has been created at player request. The two mods are fully compatible and are intended to be used together if you so choose but this is still optional – neither mod is required for the other to function but they do work well together.
The mod can be found here: Northern Marsh Bridges
Compatibility and Load Order
Load order should only matter if you use other mods that edit the underside of the Solitude arch and a small portion of the northern side of the East Empire Company warehouse arch bridge that holds the road heading north from the docks underneath Solitude. Any such mods have a high chance to have static placement issues or conflicting navmesh problems or both. Mods such as city overhauls that edit the interior of the city of Solitude will probably work as long as they don’t alter to any great degree the inner courtyard of the Blue Palace itself where the new entrance/exit from the city has been placed.
Frequently Asked Questions – Known Mod Conflicts and Patches
I’ve been getting a lot of comments from users concerning mod conflicts and in turn requests for patches to solve these conflicts. Seemed like a good idea to consolidate all the answers I’ve been leaving in the comment section into the main description. What follows is what is known in terms of mods that conflict and those that do not or any other relevant information concerning possible future patches based on user feedback and reports. For those mods that conflict, any possible patch information is provided if I know of it.
If you are aware of a mod that has a conflict with this one, post in the comments section and I will take a look at the issue and update this section as needed. If you know of a mod that is placed in or edits the same or nearby areas of the game world that is compatible, post that as well so I can pass along the information to other users.
Compatible / Patch Exists
Better Docks – compatible from user reports
Complete Solitude – very minor landscape clipping issue if this mod is loaded after Complete, otherwise compatible
Dawn of Skyrim (Director’s Cut) – user reports no issues running both mods at the same time
Dawn of Solitude (lite) – users report compatibility
Dev Aveza – compatibility patch available in the optional files section
Enhanced Landscapes – compatibility patch available in the files section
HearthFire – Windstad Manor – Fortified and Upgradable – compatible based on user report
JK’s Solitude – interior city overhaul, no issues reported based on user feedback
Legacy of the Dragonborn – compatibility patch available on the LotD Patch Central mod page
Nernie’s Solitude – compatible based on user report
Open Cities Skyrim – compatibility patch available in the optional files section
Paradise City – Solitude – compatible, user reports no issues
Realistic Solitude Arch – a patch that removes some rocks that were blocking the new entrance to Solitude is available
Solitude Expansion – there is now a compatibility patch for this mod available in that mods files section, I haven’t tested it myself but several users report the conflicts between the mods have been solved
The Great City of Solitude – there is a compatibility patch available in the files section of that mod
Not Compatible
Pirates of Skyrim – The Northern Cardinal under the Black Flag – some oddly placed landscape edits and rock statics are in this mods
esp file creating conflicts with buildings the mod itself places. No patch at this time until a new/fixed version is posted by the author
Sky Boat House – numerous deleted navmesh and ITMs are present in this mod. No patch will be created until that mod author posts a fixed verison
Solitude Docks District – deleted navmesh issues in this mod as well. A fixed version would need to be created before any patch work will be done
Skyrim Special Edition version can be found >> HERE <<
