Middle Dodd | |
---|---|
Highest point | |
Elevation | 654 m (2,146 ft) |
Prominence | c. 10 metres (30 ft) |
Parent peak | Red Screes |
Listing | Wainwright |
Coordinates | 54°28′41″N2°55′56″W / 54.47815°N 2.93211°W |
Geography | |
Location | Cumbria, England |
Parent range | Lake District, Eastern Fells |
OS grid | NY397096 |
Topo map | OS Explorer OL5, OL7 |
Middle Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Kirkstone Pass on the road from Ullswater to Ambleside.
Middle Dodd is properly the northern ridge of Red Screes, but was given the status of a separate fell by Alfred Wainwright in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells and that convention is followed here. His decision was based on its being "…the most striking object in a fine array of mountain scenery…" [1]
The fell is named as the middle one of three Dodds when viewed from Hartsop, the others being (Low) Hartsop Dodd and High Hartsop Dodd. The names thus refer to position in the valley rather than height. All three present an imposing pyramidal profile when seen from below, totally obscuring their parent fells. Similarly, all three appear entirely derivative when viewed from other angles.
From the wide summit of Red Screes a narrowing ridge curves northward, passing around the rim of a cove on the Kirkstone side. The ridge, named Smallthwaite Band, narrows to a fine grassy promenade and then throws up the summit of Middle Dodd. Beyond this the character of the fell changes completely and a rough slope plunges straight down to the valley floor, 1,500 feet (460 m) below.
The fell is bounded on either side by valleys of the Ullswater catchment. To the east is Kirkstone Beck, flowing from the summit of the pass with its famous inn. On the west is Caiston Glen, its beck descending from the walker's crossroads of Scandale Pass. These valleys meet beneath the nose of Middle Dodd and continue northward to Brothers Water.
Middle Dodd dacite forms the crest of the ridge, lying above the volcaniclastic laminated claystones and siltstone of the Esk Pike Formation. [2]
There is evidence of mining in Caiston Glen, with the mouth of a level opening about halfway up the beck. This was an unsuccessful trial for lead and extends about 80 feet (25 m) into the fellside. There is a further small working nearby. [3] There are also the remains of a trial for copper on the eastern flank of Middle Dodd, a 120 feet (35 m) level being driven into the fell from close to the modern road. [3]
The summit of Middle Dodd bears a small cairn on a neat grassy top. There is also a small trench here of uncertain origin. [4] The view is remarkably good given the looming presence of Red Screes, with a distant vista of the Scafells completing the picture. [1]
Middle Dodd is rarely climbed for its own sake, being merely a stop on the road to Red Screes. The nose of the fell provides the obvious route, starting from either Kirkstonefoot or Cow Bridge. This is unremittingly steep, but even harsher gradients can be found by making a pathless ascent from Red Pit on the Kirkstone road. A direct route contouring from Scandale Pass is also possible, but most would proceed via Red Screes from this point.
Fairfield is a fell in the English Lake District. It is the highest of a group of hills in the Eastern Fells, standing to the south of the Helvellyn range.
Place Fell is a hill in the English Lake District. It stands at the corner of the upper and middle reaches of Ullswater, with steep western flanks overlooking the villages of Glenridding and Patterdale.
Raise is a fell in the English Lake District. It stands on the main spine of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells, between Thirlmere and Ullswater.
The Nab is a fell in the English Lake District. It has a moderate height of 576 metres, and lies in the quieter eastern high ground between Ullswater and Haweswater Reservoir. The Nab is included in Alfred Wainwright's list of Lakeland fells and many walkers feel compelled to climb it to complete their list of 'Wainwrights' even though it is not a significant fell and is awkward to reach.
Red Screes is a fell in the English Lake District, situated between the villages of Patterdale and Ambleside. It may be considered an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells, but is separated from its neighbours by low cols. This gives Red Screes an independence which is reflected in its prominence.
Stony Cove Pike is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It stands on the other side of the Kirkstone Pass from Red Screes, and is on the end of a ridge coming down from High Street. It is separated from its neighbours by the deep col of Threshthwaite Mouth, so is a Marilyn – the sixteenth highest in the Lake District.
Great Mell Fell is an isolated hill or fell in the English Lake District, north of Ullswater and adjacent to the Eastern Fells. It rises from a level plain to a height of 537 m. Its top is an excellent viewpoint for many of the surrounding higher fells. The fell is now owned and managed by the National Trust and offers a place of quiet refuge.
Angletarn Pikes is a fell in the English Lake District near the village of Patterdale. Its most notable feature is Angle Tarn from which it derives its name.
Gray Crag is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England.
Dove Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. Situated in the Eastern Fells of the national park, seven kilometres south-south-west of Glenridding, it reaches a height of 792 metres. The fell is often climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe walk but a direct ascent from Patterdale is required to show the fell's full potential, displaying the impressive crags just to the north east of the summit. The highest point was originally unnamed on maps, being just a minor top, but over the years the summit has adopted the name of Dove Crag by mutual accord..
Little Hart Crag is a fell in the Lake District area of England. It stands at the head of Scandale, six kilometres north of Ambleside, at a height of 637 metres (2,090 ft). It is an eastern outlier of Dove Crag in the Eastern Fells, although it does have 34 metres (112 ft) of prominence from that fell making it both a Hewitt and a Nuttall fell. It is frequently climbed as part of the Dovedale horseshoe, an 11-kilometre (7-mile) walk over the neighbouring fells of Hartsop above How, Hart Crag, Dove Crag and High Hartsop Dodd, starting and finishing at Brothers Water.
Rampsgill Head is a fell in the English Lake District, standing to the west of Haweswater Reservoir in the Far Eastern Fells. It forms the focal point of three ridges which fan out north-east, north-west and south.
The Knott is a fell in the English Lake District, standing above Hayeswater in the Far Eastern Fells. It is an outlier of Rampsgill Head, being the high point of the ridge from there to Rest Dodd.
Thornthwaite Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, standing to the west of Haweswater Reservoir. It is a focal point of the Far Eastern Fells, standing at the head of several valleys.
Hartsop Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District, standing to the south east of Brothers Water. It is a subsidiary top on the north ridge of Caudale Moor, but was given separate fell status by Wainwright in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. That convention is followed here.
Hartsop above How is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Brothers Water and the Ullswater–Ambleside road.
High Hartsop Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Kirkstone Pass on the road from Ullswater to Ambleside.
Arnison Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It looks down on Patterdale village and the upper reach of Ullswater.
The Eastern Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Centred on Helvellyn they primarily comprise a north–south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley.
The Far Eastern Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Reaching their highest point at High Street, they occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass. Much quieter than the central areas of Lakeland they offer in general easier walking as the fells merge mainly into the surrounding moorlands.