Cat Bells and Grange Fell

Tuesday 19th December 2017

Setting off on this walk into the heart of the Lake District I passed through the streets of the lovely Lakeland town of Keswick onto a very familiar route, part of the Cumbria Way, that I have taken many times before across the fields to the west of Keswick, over the River Derwent into the village of Portinscale, down the road and through Fawe Park to the northern tip of Cat Bells. This is a great route, a favourite of mine that is handy for walks from Keswick to the western side of Derwent Water. Rather than heading down to the shore as I’d originally planned, I decided to do a walk up Cat Bells for no other reason than the fact that it would be a shame to bypass such a lovely little fell and also because the weather was not too bad. It was overcast but mild, even warm for the time of year and I was soon stripping off my cold-weather clothing as the steep zig-zags of Woodford’s Path began to bite. It would not be unusual for temperatures like this at Easter in the Lake District, which made this walk quite pleasant, despite the misty views, as I slowly made my way up the steep slope until I reached the north top of Cat Bells.

The sun was making fleeting attempts to break through the clouds, but ultimately failed to appear and was never to be seen again for the rest of the week. A band of rock had to be negotiated before reaching the first top where I discovered that rather than having reached the summit, as I’d hoped (walkers are always hopeful), an undulating ridge was ahead of me before the path steepens once again to climb up to the top of the fell that is defended by another band of rock. Even though this fell is half the height of the biggest Lakeland fells, the rocky scrambles make you feel as though you have climbed a proper fell and when you finally reach the summit there are the tremendous views across Derwent Water and through the Jaws of Borrowdale. On the other side of Cat Bells I took the path down to Hause Gate, but instead of continuing onto the brooding mass of Maiden Moor beyond I turned left down a steep, paved path that I don’t remember ever taking before despite being a popular route.

On reaching Manesty I walked along the road for a short distance before taking a path that crosses very muddy fields that had been churned up by the hoofs of cows so I was relieved to reach the clear, dry path that is part of the Derwent Water Circular Walk. Boardwalks took me across the southern tip of Derwent Water, which looked calm under the grey, overcast clouds, and turning right after crossing the River Derwent I eventually reached the Borrowdale Hotel. Just beyond the hotel a path took me through gorgeous woodland to the foot of Shepherds Crag attracted by the awesome rock that is much loved by climbers, however I am not a climber so I retreated until I could find the clear walker’s path that I had strayed from and continued up the side of the hill. On reaching the top of the ridge I turned left to head up to the summit of Shepherds Crag that has a good viewpoint over Derwent Water, though is little visited, and indeed this was the first time that I had ever been to the top of Shepherds Crag.

Turning around to head back down I crossed the col onto faint paths that are probably little more than sheep trods onto a route recommended by Wainwright (although he said it was better done south to north). The dense bracken that makes the initial stages of the climb tricky in summer was no easier in winter with the dead bracken still forming a trip hazard as I tried to find a route through the escarpments of Ladder Brow. I have wanted to tackle the east ridge of Grange Fell for a long time and I did not find it easy with a challenging terrain of steep slopes and no paths to follow. At one point I climbed a steep hill only to find that it was a minor, insignificant top and the main hill was far away beyond a wide and deep bracken-filled depression. Eventually I managed to find a way up Comb Crags and to the top of Brown Dodd where heather now replaced the bracken on a more gently undulating ridge that made for easier route-finding and took me to the top of Ether Knott. This is the highest point on Grange Fell, but is not the recognized summit which is further south.

As the weather deteriorated I slowly made my way across the increasingly boggy ground of broad upland fell until eventually I reached the foot of Jopplety How. Despite the damp, misty weather I couldn’t resist attempting the scramble up this steep-sided cone and was quite pleased with myself when I successfully reached the top. I remember climbing to the top of Jopplety How, in 2008, and it was satisfying to once again manage to get to the top before losing my nerve. Descending the way I had climbed I joined a clear path that crosses the fell to the recognized summit of Grange Fell, Brund Fell, before continuing on the path that gradually descends into Borrowdale. It was still relatively early in the day, even for this time of year, but in the deteriorating weather it seemed to be already getting dark so I was more than happy to be coming off the fells.

I was reminded of the previous time that I descended Grange Fell on this path, in 2013, on a walk that was similar to this one, though with significant differences. On that occasion I had turned right at the bottom of the path through the Jaws of Borrowdale in order to prolong the walk, but this time I turned left onto the Watendlath path. I remember taking this path several times in my early visits to the Lake District, but I don’t remember taking it in the last ten years, and I didn’t take it all the way into Rosthwaite this time. Instead I took a delightful little path that I have never been on before and branches off towards the Stonethwaite valley. This great, little terrace path eventually joins the valley path beside the river and rather than head back towards Rosthwaite I turned in the opposite direction until I reached the path that crosses Stonethwaite Beck and passes through the Stonethwaite village to reach Borrowdale. Though the weather may have been overcast for much of this walk I climbed two good, medium height fells and I had an enjoyable walk in the Lake District that stretched my legs and took me onto paths that I’ve never taken before.