Great Dodd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Great Dodd |
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|---|---|
The summit dome of Great Dodd,
seen from Randerside |
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 857 m (2,812 ft) |
| Prominence | 109 m (358 ft) |
| Parent peak | Helvellyn |
| Listing | HuMP, Hewitt |
| Geography | |
 Great Dodd
Location in Lake District
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| Location | Cumbria, England |
| Parent range | Lake District, Eastern Fells |
| OS grid | NY342205 |
| Topo map | OS Explorer OL5, Landranger 90 |
Great Dodd means 'big round hill'. It is a mountain, also called a fell, in the English Lake District. This mountain is part of the Helvellyn range, a line of mountains that stretches from north to south. It sits between two lakes, Thirlmere and Ullswater, in the eastern part of the Lake District.
Great Dodd is 857 meters (about 2,812 feet) high. It is the tallest fell in this mountain range north of Sticks Pass. People can reach Great Dodd from different directions. You can start from High Row near Dockray in the east, or from Legburthwaite in the west. You can also walk along the main mountain ridge from the north or south. If you like climbing, there are three "gill" climbs on the western side. A gill is a narrow, steep valley or stream.
The top of Great Dodd is smooth, grassy, and rounded. Its two neighbors to the south, Watson's Dodd and Stybarrow Dodd, look similar. These three mountains are sometimes called 'The Three Dodds'. They are made of volcanic rocks. These rocks formed about 450 million years ago from huge volcanic explosions. These explosions created a large bowl-shaped hollow called a caldera. People tried to mine for minerals here twice, but they were not successful.
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Exploring Great Dodd's Landscape
Great Dodd has three main ridges that spread out from its rounded top.
Western Ridge and Calfhow Pike
The western ridge goes over a smaller shoulder called Little Dodd. Then, it turns north-west towards a rocky point called Calfhow Pike. Calfhow Pike is 660 meters high. It stands out in the middle of the smooth, green slopes and can be seen from far away. Even though it's not very tall, it offers nice views of the grassy hills and valleys below.
South-West Ridge to Watson's Dodd
A short ridge goes south-west from Great Dodd to Watson's Dodd. From there, it joins another ridge from Stybarrow Dodd. This combined ridge then drops down into the valley at Legburthwaite.
North-East Ridge and Matterdale Common
To the north-east, a long ridge leads to a stony top called Randerside, which is 729 meters high. From Randerside, the land widens into Matterdale Common. This area can be quite wet. It then splits into two paths around Groove Beck.
The southern path goes over High Brow (575 meters). It is bordered by Dowthwaite Crag, which overlooks the small village of Dowthwaitehead. Further along, you pass Low How (497 meters) and Cockley Moor (455 meters). This part of the ridge ends in large tree plantations. Then, the ground rises again towards Great Mell Fell.
The northern path of the ridge is next to Wolf Crags, above the Old Coach Road. Beyond this, a wide grassy moor stretches north. It goes across Sandbeds Moss and Flaska to the A66 road. It also reaches the old railway line that used to connect Penrith and Keswick.
Water Flow Around Great Dodd
Great Dodd sits on a drainage divide. This means that water on its western side flows towards the River Derwent. Water on its eastern side flows towards the River Eden.
The western slopes used to drain into St John's Beck. This stream flows into the River Greta, which then joins the River Derwent. When Thirlmere Reservoir was built, some streams from Great Dodd were redirected. Ladknott Gill and Mill Gill now flow into the reservoir.
The northern slopes of Great Dodd drain into Mosedale or Trout Beck. These also flow into the River Greta and then to the Derwent.
However, the eastern and southern slopes drain into Deepdale and Aira Beck. This water flows into Ullswater. Ullswater then drains into the River Eamont, which joins the River Eden near Penrith.
The stream in Deepdale changes names. It starts as Browndale Beck in the valley of Deepdale. It becomes Rush Gill as it drops to Dowthwaitehead, and then it is called Aira Beck. This stream feeds the famous waterfall of Aira Force, which is a popular place for visitors.
Similarly, Groove Beck, which starts on Matterdale Common, becomes Thornsgill Beck and then Trout Beck. It eventually joins the River Glenderamackin.
There are no lakes (tarns) on Great Dodd. There are also very few places where the bare rock is visible. Small cliffs can be seen on the lower western slopes above St John's in the Vale. Lad Knott is the most noticeable. The deep ravine of Mill Gill also shows the rock. On the north-east ridge, Randerside, Wolf Crags, and Dowthwaite Crag also show the rocks.
Routes to the Top
Most of Great Dodd is Open Access land. This means you can walk freely there. The north-east ridge is part of Matterdale Common, which is owned by the National Trust.
You can start your climb up Great Dodd from Legburthwaite in the west or from High Row (near Dockray) in the east. Both places have parking.
From Legburthwaite, you have a few choices. A path above Mill Gill leads to a stone pile (cairn) on Little Dodd. You can also follow Ladknott Gill upwards. An old path used by shepherds goes from Fornside to Calfhow Pike. You cannot access this directly from Fornside. But you can reach it by following the wall north from Mill Gill.
If you are a scrambler with climbing skills and a rope, three gills on the west side of Great Dodd are good for climbing. These are Mill Gill, Beckthorns Gill, and Sandbed Gill. Regular walkers should stay out of the gills themselves.
From High Row, a direct path goes up the north-east ridge. It passes over Low How, High Brow, and Randerside. Other paths start by following the Old Coach Road. You can take it to a path next to Groove Beck and up Randerside. Or you can go into Mosedale from near Mariel Bridge and up to Calfhow Pike. This unpaved road is a great walking route. It goes from Dockray around the northern end of the Helvellyn range to the Vale of St John. The view of Wolf Crags from here is especially good.
You can also include Great Dodd in a circular walk around Deepdale, known as The Dodds. Or you can walk along the main Helvellyn ridge. The ridge path is wide and clear. There is a shortcut that goes around the west side of Great Dodd's summit. This suggests that many ridge walkers might not go all the way to the very top.
The Summit of Great Dodd
The top of Great Dodd is a short, rounded ridge. It is covered with grass but also has many stones. The highest point is at the north-west end, where there is a stone cairn. This cairn was not there in 1955 when Alfred Wainwright wrote his guide. The original cairn is quite large, about 100 meters south of the highest point. It includes a shelter from the wind.
It can be a bit confusing because different maps show slightly different heights. The Ordnance Survey map shows 856 meters at the southern shelter cairn. But the Explorer map shows 857 meters at the northern cairn.
From the summit, you get a good view all around. However, because the fell is gently rounded, the nearby landscape might not be very clear. You can get better views by walking a short distance from the summit in any direction. On a clear day, you can see much of the Lake District. You can also see the hills of south-west Scotland, the Eden Valley, and the Pennine Hills.
Another small cairn is part way down the western slope. It is on the path to Clough Head and marks the smaller top of Little Dodd.
Great Dodd's Geology
The rocks that make up Great Dodd are all part of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. These rocks formed about 450 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. This was a time of intense volcanic activity.
Most of the rocks on Great Dodd are from the Birker Fell Andesite Formation. These are some of the oldest volcanic rocks in the area. They are part of many layers of andesite rock. These layers formed from many eruptions of flowing lava from volcanoes. The type of lava changed over time. Sometimes, more sticky dacite lava formed dome shapes. Calfhow Pike, Randerside, and High Brow are all made of dacite.
Sometimes, layers of volcanic sandstone are found between the lava flows. These sandstones formed from eroded volcanic rocks carried by streams or wind. The geological map shows areas of volcanic sandstone on the western slopes of Great Dodd. These are above Beckthorns and Fornside.
After the Birker Fell Formation eruptions, the lava became more dacitic. This made the volcanic eruptions much more explosive.
Several caldera volcanoes formed. In the area north of Sticks Pass, the Birker Fell andesites are covered by the Lincomb Tarns Tuff Formation. This rock layer is very widespread in the Lake District. It seems the whole area was buried under at least 150 meters of densely welded ignimbrite. Ignimbrite is a rock formed from very hot gas and rock flowing rapidly from a volcano. This formation shows that there were truly massive eruptions. These eruptions likely created a volcanic caldera near what is now Helvellyn.
On Great Dodd, this formation is seen as the Thirlmere Tuff Member. It covers the top of the fell with a thick layer of rock. This rock is called welded rhyo-dacitic lapilli-tuff. In this rock, individual pieces of semi-molten lava were flattened by the weight of the layers above them. This rock usually looks white or pink. However, it is covered by the smooth, grassy turf that is typical of Great Dodd, Watson's Dodd, and Stybarrow Dodd. All three fells are covered by this same rock layer.
After the volcanic activity ended, a large mass of granite formed deep under the volcanic rocks. This granite also led to the creation of many mineral veins.
There is evidence that people tried to mine these mineral veins in two places on Great Dodd. Fornside Mine on the western slopes had two tunnels. One showed signs of copper ore, but the other had only a useless quartz vein. At the bottom of Wolf Crags, there are remains of a short tunnel, 30 meters long, on a poor quartz vein. There are no old records of this tunnel. It is likely that both mining attempts failed.
The Names of Great Dodd and Its Features
Great Dodd might have originally been called Dodd Fell. This name appeared on maps in the 1700s and 1800s. Before the 1700s, this name was not known. It did not need to be called "Great" Dodd because its neighbors had different names. Stybarrow Dodd was likely just called Stybarrow back then. Watson's Dodd probably got its name in the 1700s.
The word "Dod" or "dodd" is a local dialect word. Its origin is unknown. But it is common in hill names in the Lake District and Scottish Borders. It describes bare, rounded hilltops. These can be stand-alone hills or smaller parts of bigger mountains.
Calfhow Pike was called Calfhou in the 1200s and pyke of Cauvey in the 1500s. This name likely means 'the peak of Calf Hill'. The word pīc is Old English for a peak. The word how comes from the Old Norse word haugr, meaning a hill. The name probably refers to a place where deer would give birth to their young (calves).
Randerside was first recorded by the Ordnance Survey in 1867. We don't have older records, so it's not clear what "side" means here. It could simply mean 'hillside'. Or it could come from an Old Norse word like sætr, meaning "shieling" (a hut for shepherds), or sæti, meaning "seat". Another place called Randerside in Cumbria was known as Randolfsete in 1285. This meant "Randolf's shieling."
