A Long Time Ago
A long time ago, in a holiday far, far away…… Kas and I spent a long weekend in the Lake District as a final child-free break before the birth of Daughterus Maximus. Despite walking for two, Kas did a fair amount of walking, and we made it to the top of Dodd.
We stayed at the Salutation in Ambleside for the weekend. It was a while ago, so I don’t remember much and it was well before I started blogging about things, so all I have is my collection of photos.
Things I Remember
I seem to remember it’s the first time we drove around the new toll section of the M6, thereby avoiding a trip through the middle of Birmingham.
I also seem to remember it was the first time we’d tried using a digital camera. They were expensive and nearly as bulky as “proper” ones back then.
Over the course of the weekend, we visited Latrigg, Kirkstone Pass and Aira Force, all of which are Lake District staples. However, on the Saturday we climbed Dodd.
The Walk
The best place to park if you’re just climbing Dodd is to go to the National Trust car park at the base, near to Mirehouse Cottage. There’s a little car park there and it’s open 24 hours, which is good if you get your timings wrong.
We walked initially on the ziggy-zaggy routes through the forestry land. By the time you make it to 400m of altitude you break out of the trees and find yourself on a more traditional Lake District hilltop, with rough stones, gravel paths and lots of grass and gorse. Once you break out the trees you can also see where the top is.
Anyway, it was quite a quick walk up, as I remember. And then it was a qicker walk down, followed by cake and coffee and a drive up to Latrigg.
