Grange Fell

Monday 1st April 2013

After spending a couple of wonderful nights at Skiddaw House, I finally left the isolated hostel and set off along the Cumbria Way south all the way into Borrowdale. I had considered many different options for this walk including walking up the quiet Shoulthwaite valley and then, when I decided I wanted to get to Borrowdale as soon as possible, I considered catching a bus. I’m glad that I didn’t catch a bus in the end, as it would have been a waste of money and it would have robbed me of a fabulous walk overlooking Derwent Water to Borrowdale. The weather for this walk was absolutely amazing. It was really cold and icy when I left Skiddaw House and the footpath that had been muddy the day before was now frozen solid. There were quite a few bits of ice on the path for me to contend with, and a harsh, cold wind blew up the Glenderaterra valley that I had to wrap up against, but the views south across the Vale of Keswick were amazing. The weather improved markedly as I descended into Keswick, while the views opened up across Derwent Water to leave a surprisingly warm sunny day and provide me with great views to enjoy as I made my way to Borrowdale.

I love the path that crosses the Lonscale Crags on a dramatic terrace high above the Glenderaterra Beck before turning onto the southern slopes of Lonscale Fell heading towards Keswick. The only previous time that I have used this path, in 2008, was in failing light so it is only now that I was really able to enjoy this fabulous route. After passing the popular Gale Road car park near Latrigg, I continued to descend along the route of the Cumbria Way into Keswick, eventually dropping below the ice line where the path was finally clear of treacherous ice. This is a popular path to Skiddaw, but, judging by how poorly equipped everyone was, they were clearly not going up Skiddaw, and I couldn’t help thinking they may have difficulty even if their goal was only Latrigg, because of the ice on the path. I felt a marked change in the warmth and feel of the air in Keswick, compared with at one and a half thousand feet up at Skiddaw House, where it felt like winter still had a firm grip, but in Keswick it seemed like spring had come.

Without stopping in Keswick I continued along the Cumbria Way on the excellent route that I have used many times in the past that took me through Portinscale and Fawe Park to the foot of Cat Bells. At this point the Cumbria Way takes a lakeshore route, but I wanted to get to Borrowdale as quickly as possible so I took the path that I had used on New Year’s Day, half way up the eastern slopes of Cat Bells, all the way to the road at Manesty. Throughout the walk I had fantastic views across Derwent Water, back towards snow-topped Skiddaw and ahead of me towards the narrow gap of Borrowdale. This was a thoroughly enjoyable walk in the sunny weather along a broad, well-graded path that gave me absolutely no regrets about not catching a bus in Keswick. On New Year’s Day, I had stayed above the fell wall after Manesty, but later thought that it would have been better to have walked along the road, so that is what I now did, all the way into the delightful village of Grange where I had my lunch beside the tranquil waters of the River Derwent.

For a while I have had a desire to walk up Grange Fell from Grange on a path that Wainwright enthuses about saying that it “simply must not be missed. Sacrifice any other walk, if need be, but not this!” In 2008 I descended Grange Fell to Grange by the usual route through Cummacatta Wood, so this time I thought I’d take what Wainwright describes as the natural line of ascent through Troutdale. After following the road for a short distance, I took a track past Troutdale Cottages and into a charming, hidden little valley where beautiful views back down the valley stretched across Derwent Water to Skiddaw beyond. This path was a joy to walk, mainly because there was no snow and I didn’t need to take care of my steps, but also because it was through lovely, natural woodland on a great path that snakes deliciously up the hillside.

Unfortunately as the path steepened into a narrow gorge, lingering snow made the climb on slippery stones very tricky and made an exquisitely lovely walk so much more difficult than it could have been. Despite at one point missing the turning towards King’s How I eventually reached the top where I had stunning views all around me and rewarded me for my efforts. Eventually I wrenched myself away from the top of King’s How and made my way across the gloriously complex terrain of Grange Fell. One could easily occupy a whole day exploring this fabulously detailed fell, but I didn’t have all day so I followed the path across the fell to the multi-topped Brund Fell where, because of doubt on which top was the actual summit (there is no cairn), I visited all three of them. It’s amazing how the lower fells in the Lake District make up for their lack of height with a complexity that the higher fells just don’t have.

Heading towards Rosthwaite, I headed straight down into Borrowdale with stunning views across the valley to the snow-clad fells that surround. At Firth Wood I turned right through the wood on a lovely little path down to the valley road, and since it was still early and the weather was great, I walked through the Jaws of Borrowdale along the road back to Grange. My main reason for doing this was so that I could walk back through the Jaws of Borrowdale on the Cumbria Way on a fantastic path that is better than many paths over the fells. I went out of my way to walk along this path because I’d only been on it once before, in 2002, and it was worth every moment along the rugged, undulating path. This was a great day spent walking in tremendous scenery in glorious sunshine on great paths, despite only going up one small fell. That is all you need.