The Lake District · Circular

Dodd Summit trail

A steep waymarked climb through forest to the open top of Dodd above Bassenthwaite Lake.

Official trail page (opens in new tab)Forestry England: Dodd Summit trail at Dodd Wood

Take this walk offline

Near the start, along the way and at the finish

St Kentigern's Church, Crosthwaite, Keswick & Derwentwater
Near the start: St Kentigern's Church, Crosthwaite (about 4.5 km away)Photo: Bill Boaden, CC BY-SA 2.0
Derwent Pencil Museum, Keswick & Derwentwater
Near Dodd Wood car park: Derwent Pencil Museum (about 5.2 km away)Photo: Stinglehammer, CC BY-SA 3.0
Latrigg, Keswick & Derwentwater
Latrigg (about 5.6 km from the start)Photo: Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Keswick Museum, Keswick & Derwentwater
Keswick Museum (about 5.6 km from the start)Photo: Stephen Craven, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photos of named places from our guides closest to each point of the walk, with the straight-line distance. They show the area, not the path itself: follow the waymarks and the official page.

The route

A circular route from the Dodd Wood car park near Keswick, following green waymarkers up to the summit of Dodd. Forestry England describes it as steep and hard, with views over Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake from the top.

The interactive map needs JavaScript. The start and finish are listed below.

Along the way

  1. Start: Dodd Wood car park

The line is drawn from OpenStreetMap data and simplified to 224 points. It can differ from what is on the ground: waymarks and the official page take priority.

Route and map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), saved 2026-10-25. Spotted a mistake? Fix the map.

Download GPX Official trail page (opens in new tab)

The GPX file holds the route as a track and the start, finish and waypoints, for use in a walking or hiking app. It is a planning aid, not a navigation guarantee.

Before you go

Safety and access notes come from official pages. Conditions change, so read the linked page for the day you walk.

Getting there

  • Nearest station or stop to the start in our dataPenrith (North Lakes) (station), about 27.6 km in a straight line.

Straight-line distances from our station list, not walking distances. Check timetables and the route to the start before you travel. Getting between regions

Step-free and pushchair access

The official page does not say whether this route is step-free or suitable for pushchairs, so we do not either. Check the official page (opens in new tab) or ask the site.

Safety

How these figures were worked out

  • Distance: route length measured from OpenStreetMap geometry. The official page gives no distance. It is a straight-segment sum along mapped paths, so it can differ from a waymarked figure.
  • Grade: taken from the official page.
  • Time: only shown when an official page states it.

Sources

  1. Forestry England: Dodd Summit trail at Dodd Wood (opens in new tab). circular, Hard, green waymarkers, start point; the page says 3 miles (4.5 km) but the OSM line measures longer, so the build uses the OSM length. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  2. Lake District National Park: What to pack (opens in new tab). weather and kit safety advice. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  3. OpenStreetMap relation 13271802 (Dodd Summit Trail) (opens in new tab). route geometry (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL; measured 5.71 km. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  4. OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab) (ODbL). Route geometry. Saved 2026-10-25.

More walks in the Lake District

  • Carron Crag trail, Grizedale

    A strenuous forest loop from the Grizedale visitor centre to the highest point in the forest.

  • Tarn Hows circular

    A level-ish loop round a landscaped tarn above Coniston, with a Miles Without Stiles route description.

  • West Windermere Way

    Newby Bridge to Lakeside YMCA through woods above the western shore of the south basin.

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