Lake District
Middle Dodd
654M
2145FT
About Middle Dodd
Middle Dodd is the steep, grassy spur of Red Screes that looms directly over the Kirkstone Pass. It’s a short, unrelenting climb straight up the ridge, best known for its 'nose-to-the-grass' gradient and the fantastic bird’s-eye views it offers of the winding road below.
Key Statistics
Rank
207th Highest in Region
Parent Range
Eastern Fells
Prominence
?
10m
Nearest Town
Ambleside
Geology
You’re stepping on a mix of thick layers of dark dacite rock, volcanic ash and small volcanic rocks, and fine mudstone made from volcanic debris.
Classifications
Find It
Latitude
54.4779°N
Longitude
2.9316°W
Did You Know?
- •Alfred Wainwright classified Middle Dodd as an outlier of the Helvellyn range, despite it being physically and geologically closer to the Red Screes and Fairfield massifs.
- •The fell is composed of Ordovician volcanic rocks from the Seathwaite Fell Formation, a result of the explosive caldera collapses that shaped the central Lake District roughly 450 million years ago.
- •The term 'Dodd' is a common Lakeland topographical name derived from Old Norse, describing a blunt-topped hill that branches off a more significant mountain range.
- •Due to the steep, thermal-rich slopes rising from the valley floor, the fell is a prime spot for observing birds of prey like Kestrels and Buzzards patrolling the ridge for prey.
- •The direct ascent from the Kirkstone Pass is so uncompromisingly steep it feels like a vertical ladder of grass; you'll likely spend the entire climb with your nose inches from the turf while the pub at the bottom remains tauntingly visible.