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519 m · Wainwright — Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

High Hartsop Dodd - a small stone cairn on a grassy top, a green valley dropping to Brothers Water among the fells
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

High Hartsop Dodd

High Hartsop Dodd at 519m (1,703ft) is a small, grassy summit above Hartsop village, its top giving good views of Brothers Water and the lower Patterdale valley.

519 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+3
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › High Hartsop Dodd

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

519 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km Serious in Clag

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 519 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 43 mph, 12.6 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌧️
16° / 14°
💨 43 mph
🌧 12.6 mm (100%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
16° / 12°
💨 32 mph
🌧 3.1 mm (100%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌦️
14° / 5°
💨 27 mph
🌧 0.9 mm (78%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 3°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (78%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
15° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 3.0 mm (54%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 5°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (24%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
17° / 6°
💨 12 mph
🌧 0.2 mm (23%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 519 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

High Hartsop Dodd

High Hartsop Dodd - a small stone cairn on a grassy top, a green valley dropping to Brothers Water among the fells
© Lee McCoy

High Hartsop Dodd at 519m (1,703ft) is a small, grassy summit above Hartsop village, its top giving good views of Brothers Water and the lower Patterdale valley. Wainwright included it as a separate fell, noting its pleasant position above the charming hamlet of Hartsop below. The ascent from Hartsop is short and easy, making it a good first fell for children. The views north to Place Fell and south to the Kirkstone Pass fells are fine.

Routes up High Hartsop Dodd

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag
11.9 km · ~3.6 hr
Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd
10.4 km · ~3.4 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
519 m
Height
1,703 ft
In feet
NY 3935 1077
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Hartsop village (free, donation), about 2.8 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near High Hartsop Dodd (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

1.7 km NGale Crag512 m · Eastern
2.0 km ESECaudale Moor - John Bell's Banner755 m · Far Eastern
2.7 km SSESt Raven's Edge593 m · Far Eastern

Routes over High Hartsop Dodd

Hartsop Fells and Hart CragRevised
11.87 km · ~765 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h
Summits: Gale CragHartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How)Hart CragDove CragLittle Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)High Hartsop Dodd

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop DoddRevised
10.42 km · ~795 m ascent · loop · ~3–4.5 h
Summits: Middle DoddLittle Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)High Hartsop Dodd

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.

The View from High Hartsop Dodd

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from High Hartsop Dodd19 labelled tops shown (2 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWNethermost Pike · 6 kmGreat Dodd · 11 kmHigh Raise · 6 kmGray Crag · 4 kmRest Dodd · 5 kmLoadpot Hill · 10 kmWether Hill · 9 kmPlace Fell · 6 kmBirks · 4 kmAngletarn Pikes South Top · 4 kmSt Sunday Crag · 4 kmSwineside Knott · 9 kmSwarth Fell · 11 kmGreat Mell Fell · 15 kmDove Crag · 2 kmRed Screes · 2 kmGale Crag · 2 kmMiddle Dodd · 1 kmLittle Hart Crag · 1 kmHigh Crag · 6 kmHartsop Dodd · 2 kmCommon Fell · 10 kmGavel Pike · 3 kmRound How · 10 kmWisp Hill · 89 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 90 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from High Hartsop Dodd, by direction
  • North: Gale Crag (2 km), Birks (4 km), Arnison Crag (4 km), Place Fell (6 km), Brown Hills (9 km), Swineside Knott (9 km), Common Fell (10 km), Round How (10 km), Bracken How (10 km), Great Mell Fell (15 km)
  • North-east: Hartsop Dodd (2 km), Brock Crags (4 km), Angletarn Pikes South Top (4 km), Angletarn Pikes (4 km), The Knott (5 km), Rest Dodd (5 km), The Nab (6 km), High Raise (6 km), Wether Hill (9 km), Loadpot Hill (10 km), Swarth Fell (11 km), Bonscale Pike (11 km)
  • East: Gray Crag (4 km)
  • South: Middle Dodd (1 km), Red Screes (2 km)
  • South-west: Little Hart Crag (1 km)
  • West: Dove Crag (2 km)
  • North-west: Hartsop Above How (2 km), Gavel Pike (3 km), St Sunday Crag (4 km), High Crag (6 km), Nethermost Pike (6 km), Green Side (9 km), Great Dodd (11 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Wisp Hill (89 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (90 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (82 km, Scotland), Pikethaw Hill (87 km, Scotland), Greatmoor Hill (90 km, Scotland).

Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from High Hartsop Dodd

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
24Wainwrights in view+3 marginal
—Sea in viewnone from here
All 24 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Middle Dodd, Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), Dove Crag, Red Screes, Hartsop Dodd, Hart Crag, Gray Crag, St Sunday Crag, Brock Crags (Wainwright), Birks, Angletarn Pikes (Angletarn Pikes North Top), The Knott (High Street), Rest Dodd, Rampsgill Head, The Nab, Nethermost Pike, High Raise (High Street), Place Fell, Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Great Dodd, Bonscale Pike, Great Mell Fell

How High Hartsop Dodd’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Best parking to hike High Hartsop Dodd

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Hartsop village (free, donation) — 2.8 km from summit (straight line)
For Hartsop Dodd, Gray Crag, High Street via Hayeswater, Brock Crags.
Directions
Kirkstone Pass (laybys / inn) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)
High start for Red Screes (30 min!), Caudale Moor and Middle Dodd.
Directions

Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.

Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Hartsop Fells and Hart Crag route:

🚌 Cow Bridge (29 m)🚌 Cow Bridge car park (33 m)🚌 Road End (306 m)

On the Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd route:

🚌 Cow Bridge (53 m)🚌 Cow Bridge car park (54 m)🚌 Road End (329 m)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

Buses to High Hartsop Dodd from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere

Stagecoach 508 “Ullswater Bus”
Penrith – Pooley Bridge – Aira Force – Glenridding – Patterdale (summer services continue over Kirkstone Pass to Troutbeck and Windermere)
Catch it from: Penrith · Windermere (summer only)
The key route from Penrith for the Eastern and Far Eastern fells: Helvellyn from Glenridding, Place Fell, the Hartsop fells. The summer Kirkstone extension drops you at the pass for Red Screes and Caudale Moor.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over High Hartsop Dodd (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Navigating High Hartsop Dodd in cloud

Serious in cloud

A rough, rocky summit ringed by crags, with no single obvious way off in poor visibility. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How High Hartsop Dodd compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near High Hartsop Dodd

Maps & guidebooks for High Hartsop Dodd

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