Middle Dodd Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd

The walk, stage by stage

1. 1

   Start → Middle Dodd (4.3 km, 528 m)

   Climb of about 528 m over 4.3 km (around 12% average).

   From Cow Bridge car park, cross the bridge and follow the gravel track south along Brothers Water to Hartsop Hall. Beyond it, cross Dovedale Beck by a footbridge and follow the footpath south across the fields for about 1 km to a second footbridge, over Caiston Beck. About 0.5 km on, where the path bears right up Caiston Glen, keep left and climb south up the steep northern nose of Middle Dodd to its summit: about 445 m in 1.4 km from the footbridge, over 35% for 0.65 km and about 56% at its steepest.

   Waypoints

   Cow Bridge car park, Brothers Water, Hartsop Hall, Dovedale Beck footbridge, Caiston Beck footbridge, Middle Dodd summit.

   Decision point

   Read the terrain rather than relying heavily on your watch. Keep strictly to the crest of the nose as it funnels you upward to the summit.

   Easy to get wrong

   I had great trouble on this ascent even though it seems easy on paper. My Garmin fēnix 6 Pro was having problems getting a reliable location fix under the steep crags and updated very slowly. Because of this lag, I drifted marginally off the main trod. On a slope this steep, that minor deviation was enough to turn a tough walk into a grueling, steep grassy scramble.

   If you need to get off

   Turn around and carefully descend the grassy ridge directly back to the valley floor.

   

   

2. 2

   Middle Dodd → Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) (2.1 km, 142 m)

   Descent of about 126 m, then a climb of about 142 m, over 2.1 km.

   From the summit of Middle Dodd, head south-west along the top towards Red Screes for about 0.5 km. Then swing round west, down about 120 m across the head of Caiston Glen, to join the footpath to Scandale Pass. Follow it north-north-west beside a wall on your left to the pass. From the pass, head north up the path to the twin rocky summits of Little Hart Crag.

   Waypoints

   Middle Dodd, the head of Caiston Glen, Scandale Pass, Little Hart Crag West Top.

   Decision point

   The rocky outcrops of Little Hart Crag are visible from the hause as a target; a wall on your left runs with the path for about 0.3 km above the pass.

   Easy to get wrong

   Easier going after the initial climb. About 0.3 km past Middle Dodd’s top the line leaves the mapped path and, for about 0.6 km, crosses the slope above the head of Caiston Glen within 10-50 m of crags on your right; in mist keep well left of the edge. The depression connecting the fells can hold water and be boggy. The climb from the pass to the crags is about 105 m in 0.7 km, around 15%.

   If you need to get off

   At Scandale Pass, you can turn right (north-east) onto the footpath down Caiston Glen, which returns you to the valley floor and meets this route’s way back south of Hartsop Hall: about 4.6 km to the car park, against 4.7 km on over Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd, without the climb or the steep descent. The path to the left (south-west) goes down Scandale towards Ambleside, away from the car. We have checked it on the map, not on foot.

   

3. 3

   Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top) → High Hartsop Dodd (1.1 km, 24 m)

   Descent of about 115 m over 1.1 km.

   Leave the craggy summit and head north-east down the narrowing ridge to High Hartsop Dodd; the last 0.3 km is steeper, about 25-30%.

   Waypoints

   Little Hart Crag, High Hartsop Dodd summit.

   Decision point

   The ridge line itself is a clear handrail to the summit of High Hartsop Dodd.

   Easy to get wrong

   The ridge is straightforward but narrows. The terrain is a mix of grass and minor rocky steps on the descent from the main crag. Crags fall away on the left-hand (Dovedale) side of the ridge for the last 0.8 km to High Hartsop Dodd and the top of the nose, 15-80 m from the path; in mist keep to the crest.

   If you need to get off

   Retreat to Little Hart Crag and use the Caiston Glen descent; dropping directly off the steep eastern or western flanks of this connecting ridge is highly dangerous.

   

   

4. High Hartsop Dodd → Finish (2.9 km, 30 m)

   Descent of about 354 m over 2.9 km.

   From the summit of High Hartsop Dodd, descend north-north-east straight down its very steep northern nose toward Hartsop Hall, over a stile, to a gate at the valley floor: about 320 m down in 1 km, over 35% for 0.3 km and about 56% at its steepest. There you rejoin the outward path: retrace it north over the Dovedale Beck footbridge to Hartsop Hall and along the gravel track by Brothers Water back to the car park.

   Waypoints

   High Hartsop Dodd northern nose, the stile, Dovedale Beck footbridge, Hartsop Hall, Brothers Water, Cow Bridge finish.

   Decision point

   The path down the nose reaches the valley floor at a gate about 0.5 km south of Hartsop Hall. Once off the fell, the wide gravel track by the lake is easy to follow.

   Easy to get wrong

   Do not let the climb figure deceive you: it counts only the small rises, and this stage loses far more height than it gains—the immediate descent off the end of High Hartsop Dodd is exceptionally steep and punishing on tired knees. The valley track back to the start is nearly level: about 30 m of small rises on the map.

   If you need to get off

   Decide before you start down the steep grass of the nose: if it is wet or icy, the alternative is to go back south to Scandale Pass and the Caiston Glen path. Once you are on the nose, take your time.