Glenridding Dodd (this is a Wainwright) on Ullswater. Not one for the feint hearted. This is a very steep climb and only really for the more experienced adventurous types. We took our 2.5 and 4.5 year olds and had to carry both of them for more than half of the ascent. Beware!

We parked in Glenridding main car park which cost us £4 all day and headed to GR 387170 (OS sheet OL5), past the playground to the start of the walk. The first 0.5km was well signed but we struggled to find the path on the right, near Blaes Crag, to head up The Rake to the top.

After a bit of umming and erring, we saw some people above us on the path. So we started climbing up. They waved at us and showed us the way to the path. Not the easiest start!!

Both children securely in the slings on our backs and we had a workout hiking up. It was very steep with loose rocks. But distance wise it wasn’t too far and before long the path was flattening out and the kids were out of the carriers. Near the top is a fork. We took the right path up the final short climb to the cairn at 442mts.

The scenery was well worth the effort with truly magnificent views over Ullswater and the surrounding fells, including glimpses of Helvelyn. It took us just shy of 2 hours from the car to the summit. This included getting a bit lost at the start, a few snowball fights with the last patches of snow near the top and several snack stops.

Here’s a video of the scenery from the top:

After the obligatory chocolate break we carried on, dropping down the back of the Dodd, which is a more gradual descent, peppered with fallen trees and rocky steep sections. Finally we returned to Glenridding, the last stretch along the road.

It was a very adventurous climb and was 3 miles in total.  It took us 4 hours. We like to do tough summits occasionally and today certainly challenged us, but it was a great day for it and we ticked another Wainwright off the list!

The Travellers Rest in Glenridding was our pub for today. It’s a small, old fashioned, old man type pub, and boy we were pleased to get there!  Overall, we felt it was a little overpriced. We would, however, recommend the home made cottage pie which came with an awesomely humongous salad but felt a bit let down by the simple stuff like garlic bread and kids meals which were overpriced and cheap ingredients. Also no wifi (*gasp!*). But excellent bitter, Red Tarn.

Seemed to cater more for walkers who need to pop in for a pint.  We probably wouldn’t go back with two young kids. There were several cafes near the car park and also the Inn on the Lake, which when fully open has a great play area for the kids.

For more walks like this, stay up to date and “like” our facebook page Family Walks and Pubs in the Lake District