Height: 1887 feet above sea level.
Volume: Book 2 (The Far Eastern Fells)
Date climbed: First visit: 5th May 2012 (walk 55). Second visit: 15th April 2022 (walk 198).
Bagged as number: First round: 174 out of 330. [ << Rest Dodd (173) (175) Brock Crags >> ]
Second round: 291 of 330. [ << Brock Crags (290) (292) Rest Dodd >> ]
Route of ascent and descent: First round: Approached and left along the path through the peat-hags which connects the summit with the stile at NY435140. This is the only right of way on the fell. It is recommended that walkers do not try to reach the summit from valley level, in order to avoid disturbing the deer whose fell this is. Afterwards, went on to Brock Crags.
Second visit: The same, although the stile seems to have disappeared ten years later. This time, continued the walk up the steep, but short, slope ahead to Rest Dodd.
What Mr Wainwright says (from page 1 of his chapter): “The Nab is situated wholly within the Martindale Deer Forest. The boundaries of the Forest are principally defined by the ‘Forest Wall’, which encloses much of the Rampsgill and Bannerdale valleys and crosses the high ground between. This ground does not confine the deer – they roam freely beyond the boundaries – but it marks their home, their only safe refuge, their one sanctuary. Please do not intrude.”
What I say: The main thing that worried me about reaching the Nab was not the prospect of coming face to face with some rampant stag, but the peat bog which is obvious from Wainwright’s maps and from a simple visual survey of the half-mile-wide depression which sits between The Nab and Rest Dodd. This is particularly true bearing in mind the bog has to be negotiated twice. But actually it’s not that bad.
However, the fact you can’t climb the Nab from valley level means you do really only see its dullest side. It’s a shame, because from some directions the Nab has a perfection of mountain form only really rivalled in the district by Catstycam. It’s a lovely, cute, child’s drawing of a mountain, as this picture makes clear. And it has deer, too. Maybe this is one of those fells better looked at than visited.
The 214 Wainwright fells: without a car 
[…] five more fells around the Martindale/Patterdale hinterland: Beda Fell, Angletarn Pikes, Rest Dodd, The Nab and Brock Crags, which collectively made up walk 55. Angle Tarn was the definite […]
[…] 198: Brock Crags (1842 feet above sea level, number 290 of my second round), The Nab (1887’, no. 291), Rest Dodd (2283’, no. 292). 8.25 miles, 2,450 feet of […]
This is a great little page. The information is good and Wainwrights quote you have to love. We recently walked the route up to The Nab from Rest Dodd a couple of weeks ago and was lucky enough to have some great weather for the occasion. Was truly wonderful.