Grasmere and Rydal Water
Walk date – 2nd January 2025
Distance – 6 miles
Weather – dry and sunny but extremely cold
We had been hoping to get at least one more walk posted up before the end of December 2024 but thanks to the poor weather it wasn’t to be, so however, and wherever, you spent the Christmas festivities we hope that it was a happy time for you and that the New Year will be a happy and trouble free one for us all. Three weeks have gone by since our last walk and the weather up here during that time has been very poor, lots of very low cloud, strong winds and plenty of rain. The fell top assessors over at the lake district weatherline must have found it exceedingly depressing to post pictures of Helvellyn’s summit, or Blencathra when the weather was really bad, covered in dense cloud day after dreary day. They did manage to climb above it when they reached about 660 metres, one day last week, showing the Lake District covered in cloud when they themselves were above it all in bright sunshine but since then they have had very little to show for their efforts. The last day of 2024 was especially bad with very strong winds and lashing rain all day so they left Helvellyn well alone and had a go up Blencathra instead. The picture they posted for that day as they descended Mousethwaite Comb was a very wet and blurry one indeed so hats off to them for even attempting a walk on the fells. After yet more rain and wind, and another spell in the kitchen, on New Year’s Day we read that today’s forecast was set to be very sunny, although very cold, with no wind. That’ll do for for us we thought but, keeping in mind that the higher you go the colder it gets, we decided to stay low, have a walk around Grasmere and Rydal Water and explore some sections we haven’t already discovered.
Route
Lay-by on A591 Grasmere – Grasmere village – Redbank Road to The Lea – The Lea footpath to Grasmere water – outflow path between Grasmere and Rydal Water – Rydal Water – return to bridge over the outflow weir – White Moss woodland path – lay-by on A591 Grasmere
The view from the lay-by just outside Grasmere village as J fires up the gps and we wait for it to ‘find’ us. There were only a few parking spaces left by the time we arrived so we got there just in time. Three more vehicles pulled in behind us while we got ourselves ready and they more or less filled all the remaining spaces.
We crossed the A591 from the lay-by, went through the gate and followed the footpath through the field heading for the village. The flooded fields had turned into sheets of ice during the night although the field path was ice free and dry as a bone. We had our spikes with us just in case though.
A look back from the field path revealed Stone Arthur bathed in sunlight …..
….. and across the frozen fields Helm Crag and Steel Fell were also benefitting from the sunny morning.
A bit further along another look back to include Seat Sandal alongside Stone Arthur. How cold might it be on those tops we wondered.
Grasmere was beginning to fill with visitors as we made our way through the village and passing, en route, the hotel known as The Grand at Grasmere. In the grounds of the hotel are a couple of storm damaged trees which have been given the wood carving treatment. This one, started in 2022 as shown in our walk of 19th Oct 2022, now features an owl, a squirrel (presumably a red) and a large bird (presumably a buzzard) …..
….. on the opposite side of the car park entrance is this one, started in 2019 as can be seen from our walk on 3rd June 2019, and now well weathered in. The number of people who never even noticed them as they walked past them seemed astonishing to me.
A mirror like surface on Grasmere water as we head for the house named The Lea and the footpath which drops down behind its grounds to the shoreline path. As we were about to go through the gate at the top of the footpath we were joined by a man in an electric wheelchair with his dog fastened by its lead to this three wheeled vehicle. The man asked us if the path was very steep, we replied that it was and was also very stony. He then asked us if there were any other routes down to the lakeshore path so we told him that there were but that they would also involve dropping down from the road to get down to the water and all routes would involve getting back up again given the hilly nature of the land. He said he’d never been here before and didn’t know what to expect and he eventually decided against going down. I think he was right to do so given that the route down is initially steep, and its stony nature would have made for a very uncomfortable ride down even assuming the three wheeled mobility chair had managed to stay upright. What might have happened had the dog been startled in any way and decided to bolt didn’t bear thinking about.
A view across the water towards Heron Pike and Nab Scar as we made our way along.
A storm damaged tree along the shoreline. The state of the shoreline path varied along its length and beneath our boots we encountered patches of hard dry ground, interspersed with icy stretches of frozen puddles or semi-frozen churned up muddy sections.
No, we didn’t sit down here to enjoy the view for a few minutes although J did notice that a couple of ducks were having a go at each other. I missed it completely as I was busy cleaning steamed up specs. An occupational hazard which happened every time I raised the camera’s viewfinder to my face.
We were keen to see how the renovation of the former boathouse at Dale End, which we had mentioned in our walk report of 19th Oct 2022, had developed. At the time we feared that some overly modernistic design would be the result so we were pleased to see that the renovated boathouse is entirely in tune with its surroundings and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb in any way at all. The view above shows how it looks when walking southwards from Grasmere and …..
….. this shot shows the other side of the boathouse looking towards the north.
How did these four Herdwicks come to be here? We were a little way along the shoreline path from the renovated boathouse when we came across them. Born with black fleeces, after a year the fleece lightens to a dark brown colour, then, after the first shearing, it begins to lighten even further turning into the familiar grey colour. So judging by their fleece colour they are about two years old. At this time of year they are usually out on the high fells and capable enough to fend for themselves. None of the other fields with sheep in them contained any Herdwicks so how and why this little group found themselves brought to a halt at Grasmere’s water’s edge is something of a mystery. Short of them turning around and returning via the same route from whence they came they were stuck since there was no way through for them to go any further forward. There was a fifth Herdwick but sensibly she had remained on the short sloping path which had brought them all down there in the first place.
We waited to see what decision they reached and as we waited two ducks suddenly came into view and paddled serenely across. The Herdwicks were still standing there when we eventually carried on with our walk.
We’ve arrived at the shingle beach where the waters of Grasmere flow over the weir and on into Rydal Water. Here’s a look back at Red Bank Woods as we dropped down onto the beach. Very, very cold through the woods.
J dealing with the gate which leads to the next section of the beach. White Moss Wood and Nab Scar form the backdrop.
Looking towards Dunmail Raise from the deserted beach. In summer you can barely move along this beach as its so crowded with bathers, picnickers, dogs running in and out of the water etc. etc.
Approaching the weir over which the waters of Grasmere flow along to Rydal Water.
We began to meet more people as we approached the bridge below the weir. White Moss Wood has a couple of large (and expensive) car parks and the occupants of the cars using them make their way across the bridge to walk around the water, to climb Loughrigg or simply have a picnic on the beach.
We didn’t cross the bridge when we reached it, instead we chose to carry on towards Rydal Water and opted for the direct route alongside the outflow. A fallen tree could be used as a makeshift bridge assuming someone is brave enough to try it.
There is a decent large stone laid path alongside the outflow although walking over it today was a very wet experience. The recent heavy rains have filled the gaps between the large stones with water, a situation not helped either by the large amount of water passing through the outflow. At times along here it was more akin to using stepping stones than simply walking along a laid path. We haven’t been along this path before so it was all a new experience for us and it took our minds off the numbingly cold conditions. From this point on the stones forming the laid path were much closer together and thus hadn’t allowed so much water to gather between them. It was good to be back to walking normally again.
The very full outflow making its way through White Moss Wood.
We parted company with the outflow at this point as the path rose on the right and led us on towards Rydal Water. It reminded me of the path beside St John’s Beck below High Rigg which does more or less the same thing.
The path leads us on through White Moss Wood …..
….. where a bridge coming from one of the White Moss car parks crosses the outflow. A signpost behind me indicates the two separate paths to Rydal Water and Grasmere. From the bridge we turned back to the signpost and followed the path to Rydal Water.
A sunny Nab Scar across Rydal Water. A bit further along we spotted a convenient bench. covered the ice encrusted seat with our sitmats and took a short coffee break. We were immediately joined by a small gull and three crows who began looking at us as if to say ‘C’mon then, give us some of your goodies’. Now, while sandwiches and chocolate bars can be eaten while wearing your gloves, the same does not seem to be the case with a flask of coffee and the cups so you just have to take the gloves off in order to deal with all the various steps required to get the coffee from flask to cup without spilling the lot. During the short time it took to accomplish such a mundane task our hands and fingers had turned completely numb with cold and it was difficult to get the gloves back on again. Picture the following for a moment – coffee so hot it scalded the mouth and gloved hands so numb they were unable to sense the cup in their grip – some dribbling ensued, along the lines of what happens after a visit to the dentist. However, you can tear off crusts of bread with numb gloved hands so the three crows and the small gull all got their share. During the short time we sat on the bench a slight northerly breeze arrived, which didn’t help matters especially as this was our turn around point and we would therefore be walking back straight into it. The temperature sank a degree or so and the mirror like surface of both Rydal Water and Grasmere disappeared.
En route from Rydal Water back to the bridge across the weir I took this shot of some of the many paths which criss-cross Loughrigg Fell. Plenty of people were out walking the paths around Loughrigg, Rydal Water and Grasmere today.
The gate leading down to the stone laid path alongside the outflow from Grasmere to Rydal Water. As we approached Rydal Water from that direction just a short while earlier we carried on up the hill on the left and returned to the weir by a different route.
A look back towards Rydal Water from the top of the hill just mentioned. From here we made our way back down to …..
….. the bridge crossing the outflow just below the weir. I had to wait a few minutes to take the shot as a few car loads of pedestrians appeared from one of the White Moss car parks and proceeded to cross over. Just as the last ones were crossing the bridge a couple of mountain rescue chaps, both carrying large packs, rushed across and turned immediately left along the laid stone path beside the outflow we had followed earlier on. They were followed a couple of minutes later by a young woman also carrying a similarly large pack as the two men. No idea what the emergency was but as we followed the woodland track back to Grasmere we noticed two Mountain Rescue Landrovers parked at a convenient break in the wall where the men could get down to the bridge quickly and respond to the emergency call.
A look along the ruffled surface of Grasmere just before the woodland path came to an end and tipped us out onto the pavement adjoining the A591. A ten minute walk along the pavement, accompanied by the roar of non-stop traffic, led us back to the roundabout at Grasmere village.
A shot from the road walking section back to Grasmere. In addition to the sunshine bouncing off the gold coloured reeds beside the water there was also meant to be a solitary duck smoothly paddling across the water. Unfortunately the duck decided to go diving just as the shot was taken so that explains the solitary ripple and the absence of a duck.
We were soon back at the roundabout at the entrance to Grasmere village and now we’re on our way back up to the car parked in the lay-by. Helm Crag and Steel Fell are over on the left, Dunmail Raise is the gap below Steel Fell and over on the right is Seat Sandal. Very nice to see them so clearly in the sunlight as we walked back up the road. Despite the sunshine though it was hardly any warmer than it was in the shade with perhaps only a degree or two difference. Today (Friday) it doesn’t seem to be quite as cold as yesterday (scraping the frost off the car windscreen was easier and quicker than yesterday), but there is a lot more cloud over the North Pennines to the east, and the Lake District fells to the west, than yesterday so here in the Eden Valley we are presently the sunny filling between two slices of cloud. At the moment there isn’t much snow around but that looks set to change over the coming weekend and a snowy walk might be on the cards, we’ll just have to wait and see.