High Hartsop Dodd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids High Hartsop Dodd |
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High Hartsop Dodd (centre), with Little Hart Crag behind. Middle Dodd and Red Screes are left.
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 519 m (1,703 ft) |
| Prominence | c. 5 m |
| Parent peak | Little Hart Crag |
| Listing | Wainwright |
| Geography | |
 High Hartsop Dodd
Location in Lake District
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| Location | Cumbria, England |
| Parent range | Lake District, Eastern Fells |
| OS grid | NY393108 |
| Topo map | OS Explorer OL5 |
High Hartsop Dodd is a cool hill, or "fell" as they call them, in the beautiful English Lake District. It's part of the big Fairfield mountain group, found in the Eastern Fells. You can spot it standing tall above Kirkstone Pass, which is a road that connects Ullswater lake to the town of Ambleside.
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What is High Hartsop Dodd?
High Hartsop Dodd is actually a ridge coming off a larger hill called Little Hart Crag. But a famous writer named Alfred Wainwright decided it was special enough to be called its own separate fell. He wrote about it in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. He thought it looked like a "shapely pyramid" rising from the green fields. Because of this, many people now see it as a mountain all by itself.
When you look from the village of Hartsop, you can see three hills called Dodds. These are High Hartsop Dodd, (Low) Hartsop Dodd, and Middle Dodd. Their names tell you where they are in the valley, not how tall they are. From below, all three look like perfect pyramids. They hide the bigger mountains behind them. But if you look from other directions, they seem like smaller parts of larger fells.
The Ridge and Its Surroundings
From the top of Little Hart Crag, a grassy ridge goes down towards High Hartsop Dodd. This area can be a bit wet with peat and sedge plants. After about half a mile, you reach the top of High Hartsop Dodd, which is a small, flat spot. After this, the hill changes a lot. It drops very steeply down to the valley floor.
High Hartsop Dodd has valleys on both sides. To the east is a narrow valley called Caiston Glen. This valley separates High Hartsop Dodd from Middle Dodd and Red Screes. To the west is Hogget Gill, a small stream that flows into the pretty Dovedale valley. Across Dovedale is Stangs, which is part of Dove Crag. Both Dovedale and Caiston Glen are streams that flow into Kirkstone Beck, which feeds into Brothers Water lake.
Rocks and Mining History
The top part of High Hartsop Dodd is made of a type of rock called dacite. Below that, you'll find sandstone.
There's also some history of mining in Caiston Glen. You can see the entrance to an old mine about halfway up the stream. This mine was an unsuccessful attempt to find lead. It goes about 80 feet into the hillside. There's another small digging nearby. Alfred Wainwright also wrote that High Hartsop Dodd was in the news in 1948. This was because people tried to rescue two dogs that were stuck in a hole on the side of the hill.
The Summit View
The very top of High Hartsop Dodd has a small pile of stones called a cairn. This is where the ridge becomes flat for a short distance. The view from the top isn't huge because there are many tall fells all around. However, you get a really close and detailed look at many of these surrounding hills, especially Dove Crag.
How to Climb High Hartsop Dodd
People don't usually climb High Hartsop Dodd just by itself. It's often a stop on the way to bigger fells like Little Hart Crag and Dove Crag. From here, you can walk along the high ridges around Caiston Glen or Dovedale. The only easy way to climb High Hartsop Dodd directly is by going up its front slope. You can start this climb from Kirkstonefoot or Cow Bridge. This path is grassy and quite steep.
