Tarn Crag and Blea Rigg

Friday 2nd January 2026

I had nothing planned for the time I spent in the Lake District over the New Year and even more so for my penultimate day because I didn’t have the forced structure imposed by having to walk to another youth hostel since on this day I was staying at the Grasmere Youth Hostel for two days, so I would be going back to where I had started the walk. The evening before I finally had to come up with something and it came into my mind to walk up the Wythburn Valley and to get there from Grasmere I had to go over the pass of Dunmail Raise, which I’d never done before, is the lowest point between the north and south of the Lakes and carries the main road. I kept to the quiet country lanes north of Grasmere for as long as possible to delay joining the main road, and when I eventually did I kept to the grassy verge that eventually brought me to the top of the pass where a cyclepath begins down the other side. I previously came down this track in 2016 when there was no traffic on the road due to a landslip and that was the only time I had previously been in the Wythburn Valley, which is notoriously boggy. I was hopeful that the bogs would now be frozen solid so I could better appreciate a valley that Wainwright said has many geological and geographical features of unusual interest. At Steel End I turned left and soon entered a conifer plantation where I lost all trace of the path as it disappeared into a swamp. Eventually I retraced my steps and found a broken gate that I had ignored which brought me to the Wyth Burn.

With the ground under my feet mostly frozen hard I had an enjoyable walk beside the stream with views ahead of me towards the shadowed Rake Crags and Black Crag while behind me the western slopes of Helvellyn were picking up the morning sunshine that I was sheltered from. The path took me past a scenically delightful stretch of valley with the burn tumbling steeply through a narrow wooded ravine until eventually I emerged to a levelling of the terrain around ‘The Bog’. Fortunately the path skirted the edge of the Bog and so I was able to keep my feet dry before rising again to Wythburn Head where I emerged into the sunshine and turned south heading into bitterly cold winds. It was difficult to stay warm in these conditions unless I kept moving so I did what I could with extra layers and pressed on, briefly joining the Coast to Coast path until I reached Far Easedale Head where I turned right to follow an unreliable line of old fence posts up the hillside. I came up this way just a year earlier but this is such a great, quiet route I was more than happy to take it again before branching left to cross the slopes. There was a lot of ice on the ground which had to be avoided, making the walking tricky, but soon I was on the ridge that gradually descends from High Raise with stunning views before me towards Grasmere until I reached the end of the ridge at the top of Tarn Crag where the views were even more impressive.

Turning around, I headed back up the ridge, branching left to descend onto the shelf that contains Codale Tarn, where I was blessedly sheltered from the cold winds. After passing the partially frozen lake I joined the clear path from Easedale Tarn which was very rocky and icy underfoot, so great care was needed until I reached the top where I turned left, ignoring the Langdale Pikes, to head towards Blea Rigg. The 1:50,000 scale Ordnance Survey map indicates that I was on Blea Rigg, a ridge that comes south east down from High Raise, past Sergeant Man and terminating above Blea Crag. However, in practice Blea Rigg is understood to be the peak above Blea Crag, so that is where I was now headed, gradually descending with fantastic views down the complex, undulating ridge with Windermere in the distance. I have had many enjoyable walks down this ridge and despite the familiarity I thoroughly enjoyed the descent again. Eventually I descended to the top of Blea Crag, i.e. Blea Rigg, with higher ground behind me a short distance back up the ridge. A steep descent from the top was necessary before I could continue the traverse of the ridge and, as is my usual practice, I diverted off the clear path many times to visit the summit of the many minor tops along the way. 

Great Castle How was followed by Little Castle How before another steep descent brought me away the outcrop-rich part of the ridge into an area that was predominately grassy, sometimes boggy, and less interesting. Before reaching Lang How I branched left to descend across the northern slopes of the ridge, but with no trace of a path I had to follow the route that the O.S. Maps app claimed was the route down, keeping constant careful attention on my location. Eventually I reached a clearer path amongst juniper so from there I was more confidently able to descend into Grasmere. This walk was at its best when I was sheltered from the strong cold winds and it was enjoyable ascending the Wythburn Valley through stunning scenery. It is remarkable that both Wainwright tops that I visited on this walk were descended to down ridges where the tops are at the end of the ridge and so only look like a top when seen from the other direction. The following day I walked from Grasmere to the railway station at Windermere with no attempt to create a notable walk out of it, except near the end when I stopped off at the crowded summit of Orrest Head where I had good views back to the fells of the Lake District before saying goodbye to them until next time.

Holme Fell and Langdale

Thursday 1st January 2026

I had no interest in seeing in the New Year so, after an early night, I left the Coniston Youth Hostel and saw that there was now a sprinkling of snow on the high fells. I bought some things for lunch and then set off along the route of the Cumbria Way, which climbs a couple of fields, passing over High Guards before descending back down to Yewdale Beck. Another climb brought me through Tarn Hows Wood to Tarn Hows Cottage where the route back down again was difficult to follow, but soon I was at the road and crossing Glen Mary Bridge. A sketchy path brought me to Harry Guards Wood and became increasingly steep and stony as I ascended Holme Fell, which I had previously climbed by this route in 2009 under deep snow. I attempted Holme Fell exactly a year earlier from the north, but abandoned it by descending this path which was very difficult in descent due to the loose stones, though this was not a problem in ascent. When I reached the top of Uskdale Gap I turned south to visit the fine cairn at the top of Ivy Crag and from there I continued across to the adjacent ridge and the summit of Holme Fell. A strong wind blowing did not detract from the great views, south towards Coniston Water and west towards the high fells including Wetherlam and the snow dusting the Old Man. The Langdale Pikes and the rest of the Lake District was arrayed before me in gorgeous splendour. 

On returning to Uskdale Gap I continued heading north making my way along the north east ridge of Holme Fell, which I had previously used in ascent in 2017, but poor weather had prevented me from appreciating it. Then a year ago I attempted it again only for the weather to be even worse, prompting me to descend before I reached the summit. The day before this walk, while passing around the fell, I had observed this ridge and decided that it would be a good idea to descend that way, and so the idea for this walk emerged. Now, despite a cold wind, I had clear views for my traverse of a ridge that was not always easy to follow with a path that was intermittent and not consistently clear, which had been a big problem for me when in low cloud on my previous visits. It was an enjoyable path, though it avoided the numerous small tops along the way and instead weaved a course around them, undulating up and down until finally I reached Man Crag where a clear descent took me down to the Oxen Fell track. After stopping for lunch I felt very cold and despite putting on an extra fleece it took me a long time to warm up again as I walked along the track to Hodge Close where I turned right to continue heading north. While descending Holme Fell I had noticed a prominent peak a short distance to the north, Great How, which is rarely visited and I had certainly never been there before, so I took the opportunity to divert from my intended route and climb to the top.

There were great views from the summit of Great How, though this is possibly the best that can be said about it with Lingmoor Fell across Little Langdale looked particularly fine while the pass of Dunmail Raise attracted the eye on the line of hills along the northern horizon. A steep descent brought me down to Little Langdale where paths I have never taken before took me across the valley to the track that heads towards Elterwater, but I soon turned off to climb over the low ridge through woodland. On the other side I turned left onto a track that gradually descended into Great Langdale, passing Baysbrown to reach Oat Howe where I crossed the valley to reach the road near Harry Place Farm. After passing the farm I took a faint path that climbs steeply up the side of the valley with views developing behind me past the Langdale Pikes and towards the snow dusted fells. I previously took this path in 2016 when the weather was much worse with low cloud and mist spoiling the view. Now, it had just been a way of lengthening the walk so I wouldn’t reach the youth hostel too early, but it provided me with a thrilling traverse that Wainwright was full of praise for saying it “is a beautiful and exciting route, hardly more strenuous than the road and infinitely preferable. It deserves to be much better known.”

With the skies clearing I was provided with stunning views to Elterwater with Windermere visible beyond, and the delights continued into the ravine of Megs Gill, across a thrilling traverse above the precipitous slopes and onto the top of the ridge below Silver How. A stony path took me all the way down the other side to the boat landings at Grasmere with the village a short distance away. Not surprisingly the Lake District was very busy, but there were many paths that were devoid of people, partly because of my early start, and the path from Harry Place to Megs Gill was also empty. This was a satisfying walk despite not having a firm goal except to have an enjoyable day’s walk in the Lake District.