Fairfield and Stone Arthur

Thursday 2nd January 2025

For most of my time in the Lake District over the New Year the weather was very poor with rain and strong winds, but after the New Year it dramatically changed with cold, northerly winds sweeping away the clouds to reveal clear, blue skies and icy tops. My plan for this day was only to walk a few miles from Ambleside to Grasmere and in these amazing conditions I couldn’t think of anything better to do than to follow the route of the extremely popular Fairfield Horseshoe walk. This must be the one of most popular walks in the Lake District with only Helvellyn and Scafell Pike that could possibly be more popular, however, I have been up Fairfield many times myself so I certainly didn’t need to go up there again, but I could not think of anything better. The Fairfield Horseshoe can be done in either direction, and done anticlockwise is usually started by crossing Low Sweden Bridge, as I did in 2008, but Wainwright recommended taking a more scenic route up to the ridge via High Sweden Bridge, so instead of leaving Ambleside along Nook Lane I followed Sweden Bridge Lane onto a delightful enclosed lane. Ice lay everywhere while the sun hid low in the sky, failing to reach the lane as I carefully made my way up, passing through woodland with the Scandale Beck unseen, but heard, in the ravine to my left. Eventually I reached High Sweden Bridge, which was also sheltered from the sun, so not as picturesque as normal.

Soon after crossing the bridge I emerged into glorious sunshine and at a junction turned right to head up the hill, bypassing the notorious rock step on Sweden Crag, and onto the ridge that slowly climbs all the way up to Fairfield. The marsh that lies before Low Pike was frozen, so I was able to easily cross it and ascend up to the top of Low Pike whose summit is crossed by the wall that follows the top of the fabulously rocky ridge. The enthralling walk continued with a brief descent before ascending again to reach the top of the High Pike whose summit is much broader than on Low Pike but beyond the terrain was less interesting with hardly any drop before the now predominately grassy ridge begins to climb much more gently to finally reach the sprawling fell of Dove Crag. Rock dominated the landscape as I crossed the gap from Dove Crag and up to the top of Hart Crag where I stopped for my lunch. It was very cold now I was no longer climbing, so I put on a neck warmer and woolly hat, but with hindsight I should have also put on a fleece as I my hands soon became numb with the cold and I could not get them warm either with gloves or by putting my hands in my pockets. As I slowly climbed the rocky ground that defends the approach to Fairfield I felt in a terrible state and could not understand why until eventually, almost in desperation, I decided to put a fleece on.

This was exceptionally difficult for me to do with numb hands, but once I had succeeded I immediately felt relief and realised that my problem had been due to my core temperature dropping too low, even though I had not felt cold. This was a lesson learnt. Now that I was properly clothed for the cold conditions I made my way up to the summit of Fairfield where I was in awe of the stunning scenery all around me under clear, blue skies. It was totally mesmerising. I looked back over Hart Crag towards the Far Eastern Fells, east towards the whale-backed St. Sunday Crag, north along the craggy, indented ridge that leads up to the snow-dusted top of Helvellyn and west across the heart of the Lake District with the distinctive dome of Great Gable on the horizon. Finally I returned to the crowded summit where a scattering of stone shelters provides protection for the fellwalker from the harsh cold winds that blow across this popular mountain. To resume my walk I made my way south towards the western ridge of the Fairfield Horseshoe with a view down the Vale of Rydal all the way to Windermere in the distance. Soon I reached the top of Great Rigg where the stunning views south seemed to be better than ever with the lakes of Grasmere and Coniston Water now adding to the scene. Not long after beginning the descent from Great Rigg I came off the route of the Fairfield Horseshoe to take an alternative route down that would lead me more directly to Grasmere.

With the mesmerising views continuing I slowly descended the grassy ridge that led me down to Stone Arthur, which I had previously reached in 2013 so I thought it was time for a return visit and I enjoyed getting away from the crowds on the Fairfield Horseshoe, though I was never going to be totally on my own in these weather conditions. On the descent towards Stone Arthur, you can be forgiven for wondering which of the outcrops on the ridge Stone Arthur is, but it is in fact the last one and has hardly any rise with a tiny crag perched high above steep, grassy slopes and views over Grasmere. My first visit to Stone Arthur was in 2006 in diminishing light, while in 2013 the weather had been poor so it was good to finally be able to visit it in good weather and appreciate the views around to the surrounding fells and over Grasmere. Steep, icy, wet ground led me down the grassy slope from the summit so was tricky to negotiate until thankfully, gentler slopes on a good path led me all the way down the hill and into Grasmere. The weather on this walk was amazing, though exceptionally cold, but a lot of things didn’t go right which detracted from what should have been a great walk, most notably not wearing warmer clothing while on the highest fells. This walk taught me some important lessons. On a positive note, when I reached the ridge and joined the many people also ascending the Fairfield Horseshoe I made a point of going at my own pace and lingering over every rocky step, ignoring the people who passed me by. In the past I would have delighted in rushing past everyone, but now I just wanted to enjoy a glorious walk up rocky ground in fabulous weather.