Last updated 16:47, Tuesday, 08 July 2008

Wonderful woodland walk up to a summit with some sensational views

Light and dark: Sunshine filters through the trees onto the Dodd Wood trail. This walk is a good one for early morning or late afternoon, to catch the angled sunlight

MAP: OS Explorer map OL4; or Landranger 90, Penrith and Keswick; or Landranger 89, West Cumbria.

START: Forestry Commission’s Dodd Wood car park near Bassenthwaite, GR NY235281.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Bus 554, X4 and 73/73A (telephone 0871 200 2233).

REFRESHMENTS: The Old Sawmill Tearoom in the car park; the Ravenstone Hotel is open to non-residents for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

DISTANCE: 3 miles

TOTAL ASCENT: 1,290ft

TIME: About two hours

GRADE: Intermediate

OVERVIEW: The Forestry Commission felled the trees from the top of Dodd (1,612ft) a few years ago, providing visitors with some great views to the north, west and south.

To the east, the views are blocked by the Skiddaw massif, on which Dodd is just an insignificant pimple. This short walk climbs quickly to the summit via forest tracks and waymarked paths. It then drops back down the western side of the fell along a less well-used but lovely path with good views over Bassenthwaite Lake.

This is a great walk for the early morning, when there are few people around, or the late afternoon, when the last of the day’s sunlight is casting its pink glow on the Skiddaw group. If you’re saving this walk for next month (April) or even later, you might want to go to the osprey viewpoint to see if these spectacular birds of prey are back from their winter sojourn in Africa. To find out more, visit www.ospreywatch.co.uk.

THE WALK: From the Dodd Wood car park, cross the footbridge behind the Old Sawmill Tearoom and then head uphill along the clear track until you quickly reach a surfaced forest lane. Turn right here. With Skill Beck in the steep-sided ravine to your right, you climb fairly steeply.

Eventually the trees thin out and you join another track coming in from the left, soon followed by one coming in from the right. Almost immediately after the second junction, you will see a narrower track heading uphill to the right, signposted Dodd summit (1.1 miles from the start). Take this.

Your first two rewards for that tiring climb alongside Skill Beck come almost immediately – a wonderful view towards Derwentwater and the fells surrounding it, an uplifting contrast to the confines of the forest; and a handy bench from which to enjoy it. Your next reward comes in the form of an easing of the climb as the track swings right and becomes level for a short while.

Climbing again, you eventually pass a narrow, green way-marked trail off to the left. This marks the start of your return route later in the walk, but for now you want to stick with the main path as it swings sharp right. It quickly winds its way to the summit, which is marked by a tall memorial stone (1.55 miles from the start).

When you can tear yourself away from the view, retrace your steps as far as the narrow, green way-marked trail. Turn right here and, in a few yards, turn right again along an even narrower path heading downhill. As you descend, you will cross straight over a grassy, disused forest track – simply keep following the green waymarkers.

The path re-enters the trees before traversing the fellside high above Bassenthwaite Lake. This is a lovely stretch of walking – you can really stride out as you take in the views. The path then drops to a wide track, along which you turn right (2.2 miles from the start). Turn left at the next track junction and then take the first turning on the right (2.6 miles from the start).

Turn right at a crossing of paths near a picnic bench. You soon find yourself walking alongside Skill Beck again, and the path soon drops you back down into the car park near the Old Sawmill Tearoom.

POINTS OF INTEREST: Ospreys returned to Cumbria in 2001 after a 150-year absence and now look set to stay. The fish-eating birds of prey spend the summer in the county, arriving in April and returning to Africa in September. They nest in Wythop Woods, on the western side of Bassenthwaite Lake, but there is a viewing platform in Dodd Wood.

Just across the road from the car park is Mirehouse. This elegant house, close to the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake, was built in 1666. Many famous writers, including Wordsworth, Tennyson, Southey and Thomas Carlyle, were entertained here in the past.

In the 1860s, Dodd was home to a Scottish hermit called George Smith. He lived in a wigwam on a ledge on the fell, staying there in all weathers because he loved being close to nature. His shelter consisted of a low stone wall and a framework of branches and reeds as a roof.

Known as the Skiddaw Hermit, he made ends meet by painting farmers and their wives, although his favourite subjects were said to be local pub landlords who paid his fees in whisky. He also did character assessments at local fairs by feeling the shape of people’s heads.

George’s weakness for alcohol got him into trouble with the police on several occasions and he eventually returned to Scotland, where he died in a psychiatric home.