Dodd (Lake District)

Dodd
Dodd seen from the south east; the village of Applethwaite sits in the valley
Highest point
Elevation	502 m (1,647 ft)
Prominence	c. 120 m
Parent peak	Skiddaw
Listing	Wainwright
Coordinates	54°38′06″N 3°10′12″W / 54.635°N 3.17°W / 54.635; -3.17Coordinates: 54°38′06″N 3°10′12″W / 54.635°N 3.17°W / 54.635; -3.17
Geography
Dodd Location in Lake District, UK
Location	Cumbria, England
Parent range	Lake District, Northern Fells
OS grid	NY244273
Topo map	OS Landrangers 89, 90, Explorer OL4

Dodd is a small fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England, four kilometres north-west of Keswick. It forms part of the Skiddaw range in the northern part of the national park and the slopes are heavily wooded.

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. Influential guidebook author 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.

The fell has a height of 502 metres, though the Ordnance Survey's 1:50,000 Landranger series marks 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 common with much of the Northern Fells the Kirk Stile Formation of the Skiddaw Group predominates. This is composed of laminated mudstone and siltstone with greywacke sandstone and is of Ordovician age. There are minor intrusions of lamprophyre.

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. 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 Great Britain and the Forestry Commission, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, have begun a campaign of protection from the Grey Squirrel.