Dodd (Lake District)
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Dodd is a small fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England, it is situated four kilometres north west of the town of Keswick and is part of the Skiddaw group of fells in the northern part of the national park. Dodd lies on Forestry Commission land known as Dodd Wood; for many years it was extensively planted with conifers right up to the summit which obstructed the view. However, the Commission started a programme of tree clearance from the top of the fell in 2001 and the summit of the fell is now clear: it is hoped that it will revert to heather moorland in years to come.
The fell has a height of 502 m, though on the Ordnance Survey's 1:50000 Landranger series it is marked with a spot height of 491 metres. This height in fact refers to a point about 100 metres south of the true summit; on closer inspection a 500 m ring contour may be discerned at the summit.
In recent years Dodd and Dodd Wood have become a magnet for visitors as the area around the southern end of Bassenthwaite Lake is home to the only pair of nesting Ospreys in northern England and an open air viewing platform was opened on the slopes of Dodd in June 2001 which gives a clear view of the nest from a safe distance. Dodd Wood is one of the diminishing strongholds of the Red Squirrel in the United Kingdom and the Forestry Commission along with DEFRA have begun a campaign of protection from the Grey Squirrel.
From a fellwalking point of view, Dodd is one of the 214 Wainwright fells in the Lake District. Alfred Wainwright voiced strong opposition to the afforestation of Dodd in his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells in 1962; it took 40 years for his wishes to come true. Dodd is generally climbed from the car park at the Old Sawmill tea room (grid reference: [NY235281]) on the A591 road; there is a way marked route right up to the summit of the fell. The view from the top is excellent for a fell of modest height, with Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwent Water well seen and the high mountains of Scafell Pike, Great Gable and Bowfell seen 21 km away to the south, whilst the hills of Dumfries and Galloway can be seen to the north west. It is possible to continue the walk from Dodd to take in the adjoining fell of Carl Side and then continue to the summit of Skiddaw, one of England’s few 3,000 foot mountains.
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