A lovely woodland area rising above the eastern shore of Bassenthwaite Lake, the most northerly lake in the Lake District National Park. Dodd Wood stands opposite the historic house of Mirehouse, from whom the National Park leases the area.
Dodd Wood was planted by Thomas Storey, owner of Mirehouse, about 1790. Some of the old trees planted by Storey can still be seen on the lower slopes of the woods.
From the Dodd Wood car park on the A591 a number of waymarked walks lead through the woods, offering differing degrees of difficulty. Of these, the most challenging trail leads on a three mile loop to Dodd Summit. From this viewpoint you can gain superb views over Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater.
A little less challenging is the walk of about 500 yards uphill to an osprey viewing area. The Osprey Project provide viewing scopes for visitors to watch nesting ospreys during the main season (roughly April to September). Also at the osprey viewing platform is a feeding station for red squirrels. The red squirrel was once the most common breed in Britain, but the population has been diminishing due to the growing number of Grey Squirrels. Here, you can regularly view red squirrels coming for a bit of a snack!
From Dodd Wood you can also join a permissive footpath to Keswick, or link up with trails that climb Skiddaw.
