Tarn Crag and Blea Rigg

Tuesday 10th April 2012

The weather for this walk was slightly better than the day before, which made for an interesting day, with bands of rain passing through the Lakes all day and snow on the higher fells. The snow ultimately forced me off the higher peaks meaning that I stayed below two thousand feet all day, but I was still able to enjoy a wonderful day on the fells around Easedale. First thing in the morning I left the Langdale Youth Hostel and I was immediately striding out over the fells heading towards Silver How. I thought I’d take a different route up Silver How, one that I’d not taken before, by dropping down from the top of Dow Bank onto a path that passes above the Wyke Plantation and walked through the junipers near the woodland. This was quite a pleasant walk, even if it was rather wet under foot and I was losing height. At the corner of the wood I encountered one of the paths that crosses the ridge on its way from Grasmere to Langdale, and was the path that I’d used on my second ever day in the Lake District. Ahead of me was a scree gully and I climbed that in order to get to the top of Silver How. I assume I’ve been up there before as I’ve walked along this ridge several times but I’ve probably not actually climbed it. Now I have.

With views of Grasmere and of the snow-covered high fells around me, as well as the ridge that leads all the way to Blea Rigg, I made my way north from the top of Silver How. The path that I took down is a delightful route that goes down to Grasmere along the edge of a plateau and through what Wainwright described as a ‘well-defined zone of juniper’. It’s always good to see vegetation other than the sheep-grazed grass that plagues many areas of the Lake Districtand the area near Grasmere seems less grazed than other areas. On reaching the first house I turned off the lane I had been on and headed across fields straight down to the river, where I found that after all the rain the day before the stepping stones were completely submerged. Fortunately I was able to head upstream until I found the path that climbs to Easedale Tarn, but now I was unsure of how wise it would be to take it. Fearing that the river would be just as impassable further upstream I went across New Bridge and joined the path that climbs through Far Easedale.

While walking along the path I reflected on how I had only once taken the path from Greenup Edge all the way down Far Easedale; all other times I have elected to use the far superior path along the Gibson Knott ridge, which is a pity as the valley route is not that bad. That previous time was in wet weather on a long traverse from Ennerdale to Grasmere, and just as then it was raining now. Any rain I had during this day was short-lived and had stopped by the time I reached the Stythwaite Steps where there is now fortunately a footbridge so I was easily able to cross the stream. Leaving the Far Easedale path behind I took the Easedale Tarn path, but before reaching the lake I turned off the path and started to climb the ridge to Tarn Crag. This was a great climb as there is not much of a path and the face of Tarn Crag itself was virtually un-climbable with spots of slippery melting snow dotted around the ground, but somehow I managed to pull myself up to the top. I had been to the top of Tarn Crag a couple of years ago, but that had been in descent while in a hurry so now I can say I have climbed it for the first time.

I was worried about all the snow that was littered around the top of Tarn Crag and especially with the snow on the higher fells, so after taking an early lunch near the top of Tarn Crag I turned south down easy grassy slopes to Codale Tarn. I had never been to this tarn before so I spent some time looking around and even considered trying to climb the steep slopes to the west of the lake until prudence got the better of me. Continuing south I joined the main path through Easedale and turning right climbed up to the head of the path. I had not been on this path beyond Easedale Tarn before and now I wish I had for the short section I climbed was an enjoyable route that ascends steeply through rugged terrain including a stone gully. Eventually I reached the top of the path where I obtained a great vantage point of the snow-covered peaks that surround Stickle Tarn including Sergeant Man, the fell that had originally been my target for the day. Instead I turned left and headed along the undulating terrain towards Blea Rigg.

The fell between the top of the Easedale path and Blea Rigg is littered with small tops and I took great pleasure in visiting every single one as I slowly made my way to Blea Rigg. Many of these tops have a small pile of stones on them, as is the habit in the Lakes, so I determined to visit each and every one of them even if, which is the case in virtually all of them, they serve no purpose at all. I had decided that I was going to enjoy my walk along the Blea Rigg ridge and I did that by going wherever I wanted, totally ignoring the path. The weather failed to leave an impression on me as one minute I was bathed in sunshine and the next I was being slashed at by hail stones. I have walked along this ridge a few times, in both bad and good weather, in ascent and descent, and I have found that this ridge is best in descent with clear views. I love descending long ridges, and the Blea Rigg ridge is one of the best for that because it is broad with many tops that can be explored to your heart’s content. I had a great fun on that ridge.

After visiting Blea Rigg the terrain becomes less craggy, with more grass and bogs and not so many outcrops but I continued visiting every major top until I reached Silver How which I missed out taking a direct route towards Spedding Crag and Dow Bank. Above Elterwater I dropped down the steep southern slopes of the ridge into the village. Despite the lack of high fells this was a very enjoyable walk where I achieved a lot of ascents that I’d never done before, which is the whole point of being in the Lakes.

Grizedale Hause and Nab Scar

Monday 9th April 2012

It rained all day. There’s not much you can do when you’re in the Lake District and it decides it’s going to rain all day. I’d have stayed indoors if I’d had a choice, but I was booked into a hostel near Grasmere and I was in Patterdale. Even by road this would involve going over a mountain pass in the rain, so on foot I was left with little choice. I just had to make the best of what the weather had dealt me, which is always the best approach to take when walking in an area with high rainfall like the Lake District. If the weather is good, great, make the most of it, enjoy yourself. But if it’s raining you don’t just sit inside, you get some good waterproofs and do whatever walk you can. Bad weather is an excuse to do walks along paths that you ordinarily wouldn’t have done. Low-level walks take on a life of their own when the weather is bad, and you can bet there’ll be a lot less people out there so you’ll have the fell to yourself.

I still had to get to Grasmere so I set off from Patterdale back along the route that I’d taken the previous day and walked into Grizedale. From there I decided to take the path on the northern side of the valley along the foot of Birkhouse Moor. I’d never taken this rugged, rock-strewn path before all the way up to Grizedale Tarn and it was really quite fun, despite the rain and the wind. Just beyond the top of the pass I reached a junction of paths where a sign said the bridge was out at the foot of Tongue Gill and recommended that I take the bridlepath down Little Tongue instead. Since I’d already decided to take the bridlepath that was the route I took. I had taken this path the first time I climbed up to Grizedale Hause but all subsequent times I have followed Wainwright's advice and taken the footpath beside Tongue Gill. I felt like a change now, but I was also attracted by the terraced route that the bridlepath takes across the southern slopes of Seat Sandal and above Hause Rigg. The descent down Little Tongue, though, was as boggy as I remembered. Incidentally when I reached the bottom I found that the bridge over Tongue Gill had been replaced so the sign at the top of the path is out of date.

On reaching Grasmere I walked along the main road to a bus shelter where I had lunch under its cover. Since the rain seemed to be easing (slightly!) I decided to prolong the agony by taking the path near the Swan Hotel that climbs beside Greenhead Gill. I had come down this way in 2006 from Stone Arthur in diminishing light and so failed to see the delightful lane with the stream running beside it. After the final gate I climbed up to an aqueduct over Greenhead Gill (the pipe from Thirlmere Reservoir) and from there steeply up the southern slopes of the fellside to Alcock Tarn. I had never been to this lake before but it lies on a shelf on the side of fell with stunning views across Grasmere. There is little attraction in the lake itself but the ridge above it proved too tempting for me. Rather than dropping straight down into the valley I crossed the small earth dam and following a faint path up for an easy climb onto the top of the ridge at a point just south of Lord Crag. A short distance along the ridge took me to the cairn at the top of Nab Scar. I have only once been to Nab Scar before and that was on my first visit to the Lakes in 2002 during a descent from Fairfield, so you could say I have now climbed Nab Scar for the first time.

A steep descent down the front of Nab Scar on a well-made path eventually brought me to Rydal where I crossed the main road and started to follow the route that I had taken on my very first day in the Lake District. On that occasion I had walked from Ambleside to Rydal and then climbed Loughrigg (and in the process lost my glasses). I’m not sure what my exact route up the maze-like fell had been ten years ago but I had a good guess at following it. After visiting Loughrigg Cave (fenced off and flooded but that hadn’t stopped the family I saw playing around inside it) I climbed above the cave to try and remember my route of ten years ago. I think I was quite successful while negotiating the undulating terrain and myriad tops, and even passed the point where I believe I probably lost my glasses (still no sign of them!) before eventually reaching the summit of Loughrigg. Wainwright said it would be really embarrassing to get lost on Loughrigg, which is a small family-friendly fell, but the fell is so complex that is a real possibility. Loughrigg is a good fell where finding an interesting route to the top is a nice challenge. I just kept climbing in the general direction towards the top and thankfully I found it.

After taking a previously used route to reach the top of Loughrigg I wanted to use a route down that I’d never taken before so I took a path that drops steeply down the western slopes of the fell to reach a narrow road not far from the Langdale Youth Hostel that I was going to be staying at. This was not a bad walk and was saved by the diversion that I took in the afternoon from Grasmere. Climbing over the Grizedale Pass was not the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever done, but the path up to Grizedale Tarn is terrifically rugged. Instead of just spending the afternoon in Grasmere I climbed up to Nab Scar via Alcock Tarn and then up Loughrigg, which shows that rain doesn’t have to mean that you can’t have a good walk. This was a great walk despite the rain.