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

Middle Dodd - looking down the grassy ridge to Brothers Water and the Patterdale valley, with the fells above Hartsop under a grey sky
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

Middle Dodd

Middle Dodd at 654m (2,146ft) is the grassy ridge between Red Screes and Little Hart Crag above the Kirkstone Pass, its open summit giving fine views of the pass road and the Hartsop valley below.

654 m
Height
~3–4 h
Typical time
+3
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
654 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+3 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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

Modelled guidance for the 654 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Fri 11 Sep): 11° to 8°C, gusts to 28 mph, 1.0 mm of rain forecast.

Fri 11 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 28 mph
🌧 1.0 mm (100%)
Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
14° / 8°
💨 48 mph
🌧 36.0 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 18 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (62%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌧️
14° / 7°
💨 32 mph
🌧 11.3 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
13° / 8°
💨 35 mph
🌧 4.3 mm (89%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 31 mph
🌧 2.0 mm (78%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
10° / 8°
💨 36 mph
🌧 3.2 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 11 Sep 2026, 08:30 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 654 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Middle Dodd at a glance

Middle Dodd

Middle Dodd - looking down the grassy ridge to Brothers Water and the Patterdale valley, with the fells above Hartsop under a grey sky
© Lee McCoy

Middle Dodd at 654m (2,146ft) is the grassy ridge between Red Screes and Little Hart Crag above the Kirkstone Pass, its open summit giving fine views of the pass road and the Hartsop valley below. Wainwright included it as a separate fell, noting the pleasant ridge walking above the Kirkstone Pass. Most naturally reached from Hartsop as part of the circuit including Red Screes and Little Hart Crag. A quiet corner of the Eastern Fells above one of Lakeland's most dramatic road passes.

Routes up Middle Dodd

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

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
654 m
Height
2,146 ft
In feet
NY 3973 0957
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Middle Dodd a Wainwright?

Middle Dodd is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Where do you park for Middle Dodd?

The nearest car park we hold is Middle Dodd (layby), about 0.6 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Middle Dodd, north-east car park (free), 0.7 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

My hikes over Middle Dodd (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Parking & buses for Middle Dodd

Best parking to hike Middle Dodd

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

Middle Dodd (layby) — 0.6 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.6 km), Red Screes (0.9 km), St Raven's Edge (1.0 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Middle Dodd, north-east car park (free) — 0.7 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.7 km), Caudale Moor - John Bell's Banner (1.0 km), Red Screes (1.3 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Middle Dodd car park (free) — 0.7 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Middle Dodd (0.7 km), Red Screes (0.9 km), St Raven's Edge (0.9 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Red Pit (LDNPA, free) — 0.8 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: St Raven's Edge (0.6 km), Red Screes (0.6 km), Middle Dodd (0.8 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Compacted surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
St Raven's Edge, north-west car park (free 2) — 0.9 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: St Raven's Edge (0.6 km), Red Screes (0.6 km), Middle Dodd (0.9 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

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.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Middle Dodd by bus

The 508 stops at Hartsop, opposite Cow Bridge, 130 m from the start of Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd. The last bus is 19:51 towards Windermere (508) and 15:14 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

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 (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Middle Dodd

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Navigating Middle Dodd in cloud

Straightforward

A broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.

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

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Middle Dodd (layby), about 0.6 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Middle 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.

1.5 km SESt Raven's Edge593 m · Far Eastern
1.6 km ENECaudale Moor - John Bell's Banner755 m · Far Eastern
2.9 km NGale Crag512 m · Eastern

Routes over Middle Dodd

10.42 km · ~795 m ascent · loop · ~3–4.5 h

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

On the hill: terrain and water on Middle Dodd

Water & shelter on the way up

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

The view from Middle Dodd

The 360° skyline from Middle 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 Middle Dodd31 labelled tops shown (5 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWScafell Pike · 18 kmHelvellyn · 8 kmHigh Crag · 7 kmFairfield · 4 kmBlencathra · 20 kmCrinkle Crags · 16 kmStybarrow Dodd · 11 kmSt Sunday Crag · 5 kmHigh Raise · 6 kmThe Old Man of Coniston · 17 kmSwirl How · 15 kmDove Crag · 2 kmIll Bell · 4 kmCaudale Moor · 2 kmLittle Stand · 16 kmKentmere Pike · 7 kmRed Crag · 8 kmYoke · 5 kmLoadpot Hill · 10 kmTarn Crags Top · 22 kmPlace Fell · 7 kmHarter Fell · 20 kmCommon Fell · 11 kmGreat Mell Fell · 16 kmRed Screes · 1 kmIngleborough · 49 km · clear daysWard's Stone · 54 km · clear daysSt Raven's Edge · 2 kmAngletarn Pikes · 6 kmBrock Crags · 4 kmCapple Howe · 8 kmBowfell · 16 kmNethermost Pike · 7 kmGreat Dodd · 12 kmBirkett Fell · 11 kmRest Dodd · 5 kmLittle Carrs · 15 kmLittle Hart Crag · 1 kmHartsop Dodd · 3 kmBrown Hills · 10 kmWrynose Fell · 13 kmBonscale Pike · 12 kmBeda Fell · 8 kmHigh Dodd · 9 kmArnison Crag · 5 kmFair Snape Fell · 65 km · clear daysYarlside · 31 km · clear daysCunswick Scar · 18 kmPendle Hill · 79 km · a rare clear dayEttrick Pen · 100 km · a rare clear daySighty Crag · 74 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 90 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 91 km · a rare clear day
What you can see from Middle Dodd, by direction
  • North: Birkett Fell (11 km), Hart Side (11 km), Blencathra (20 km), Atkinson Pike (20 km)
  • North-east: High Raise (6 km), Red Crag (8 km)
  • East: Caudale Moor (2 km), Froswick (4 km), Kentmere Pike (7 km)
  • South-east: Ill Bell (4 km)
  • South-west: Wetherlam (14 km), Great Carrs (15 km), Swirl How (15 km), Great How (16 km), Little Stand (16 km), Brim Fell (17 km), The Old Man of Coniston (17 km)
  • West: Dove Crag (2 km), Crinkle Crags (15 km), Crinkle Crags (15 km), Crinkle Crags (15 km), Shelter Crags (15 km), Bowfell (16 km), Crinkle Crags (16 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (16 km), Ill Crag (18 km), Broad Crag (18 km), Scafell Pike (18 km), Scafell (19 km), Slight Side (19 km)
  • North-west: Hart Crag (3 km), Fairfield (4 km), Gavel Pike (5 km), St Sunday Crag (5 km), High Crag (7 km), Nethermost Pike (7 km), Helvellyn (8 km), Green Side (10 km), Stybarrow Dodd (11 km), Great Dodd (12 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Pendle Hill (79 km, England), Ettrick Pen (100 km, Scotland), Boulsworth Hill (91 km, England), Sighty Crag (74 km, England), Wisp Hill (90 km, Scotland), Cauldcleuch Head (91 km, Scotland), Roan Fell (84 km, Scotland), Dun Rig (123 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 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Middle Dodd

Middle Dodd waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 May, when the sun is up for 27 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 06:01 against an almanac sunrise of 05:34. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-north-east from here (67.6°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.15°.

30°40°50°60°04:40
Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.
Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
First lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:40 BST ±5.0 min04:36+4 min
Equinox06:27 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+12 min
Midwinter08:32 GMT ±5.0 min08:32

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.19°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Middle Dodd

Middle Dodd loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 May, when last light is 26 minutes before almanac sunset — 20:20 against 20:46. The sun goes down to the west-north-west from here (293.2°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.02°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:32 BST ±5.0 min21:52-20 min
Equinox18:16 GMT ±5.0 min18:26-10 min
Midwinter15:45 GMT ±5.0 min15:49-4 min

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Middle Dodd. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Middle Dodd

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
52Wainwrights in view+11 marginal
50 kmFurthest sightlineIngleborough
Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 50 km clear
All 52 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

How Middle 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.

Places to stay near this fell

Greenbank Farm Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

about 1.8 km from the start, in a straight line

Ranked first despite being the eighth-nearest candidate because it answers more of the 6pm questions than anything else in the radius, and it answers them in its own sentences with prices attached: drying facilities, evening meals from £14.00, packed lunches at £6.00, and the only stated room composition on an independent B&B here. Its family room is a room for three, not four — which is exactly the fact a family of four needs before booking, and the reason a bare family_rooms=yes would have been a worse row than this one.

The farmhouse sits below Arnison Crag and looks across at Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes — the two fells this start's routes climb.

  • Drying room “We also have drying facilities and a large patio and garden to enjoy the view.”
  • Family rooms “Family: Room for three with a double and one single bed.”
  • Evening meal “We offer hearty home-cooked breakfasts and evening meals as well as packed lunches if required.”
  • Packed lunch “Packed Lunches £6.00”

Worth knowing before you book

These places state on their own site that they do not take children.

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Middle Dodd

Is Middle Dodd steep?

Yes — the direct climb from Brothers Water is one of the more relentless pulls in the eastern fells, straight up the nose with almost no easing. There is nothing technical in it, but it is unremitting and it is the whole reason people remember the fell.

Our round with Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd is 10.4 km with 795 m of ascent and we grade its steepness severe. Taken downhill it is hard on the knees; taken uphill it is simply hard.

Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Other fells near Middle Dodd