Grisedale
Walk date – 24th July 2020
Distance – 6.3 miles
Weather – cloudy to begin with, brighter later on, warm with sunny spells, light breeze
We just had a short walk today as J has a sore foot and he didn’t think it would stand up to a long and/or very strenuous walk at the moment. The day started out dull and cloudy as usual but by late morning the clouds seemed to be breaking up a little so we decided to take a walk through Grisedale, one of our favourite valley walks. The terrain is easy and varied, the scenery is magnificent and its a walk that all ages and abilities can undertake and thoroughly enjoy. Choose a fine day, pack a picnic and go and explore Grisedale, you won’t regret it.
Route
Patterdale Cricket Club – Grisedale (north western footpath) – Ruthwaite Lodge – Grisedale (south eastern footpath) – Patterdale Cricket Club
Patterdale Cricket club’s pitch and pavilion from the parking area. Pay for a day’s parking by dropping the suggested £3 into the ‘honesty box’ to help keep the club in funds. Plenty of parking space too.
We turned left out of the cricket ground and headed up the hill towards Grisedale with this view of Thornhow End on the way. The footpath from the gate leads on to a very pleasant walk through Glenamara Park and back into Patterdale.
When the tarmac road came to an end we turned off to the right and made our way down to the bridge across Grisedale Beck. Here’s a view of the Helvellyn range from the bridge. A bit cloudy over there but we’re hoping it will eventually break and allow a bit more sunlight through.
We go through the gate and straight up the hill making for a handgate at the top.
Looking along Grisedale as we follow the footpath across the field. The clouds are beginning to look a little more broken.
View back towards Thornhow End from just below the handgate.
Angletarn Pikes on the skyline as we pass through the handgate. Once through the gate we turned left into Grisedale. To the right of the gate the path continues on over to Keldas and Lanty’s Tarn, another very pleasant area to walk through. The path I’m standing on leads up to ‘The Hole in the Wall’ between Birkhouse Moor and Helvellyn’s Striding Edge route so if you’re taking a walk through Grisedale you’ll need to bear left onto the narrow path which is just in view below the bracken at the bottom of the shot.
The bracken fringed footpath into Grisedale.
Saint Sunday Crag catches a shaft of light but the clouds have mostly drifted back together again so we’re only getting very brief spells of sunlight at the moment.
The Helvellyn range’s fabulous rock formations. A walk through Grisedale is well worth it if only for the magnificent scenery on display. Nethermostcove Beck flows down beside Eagle Crag in the centre of the shot.
Saint Sunday Crag rising above Elm How Plantation on the opposite side of the valley.
On the left skyline are the steep slopes of Fairfield dropping down towards Grisedale Hause, and on the right skyline are the rocky features of Tarn Crag and Falcon Crag.
Weaving our way through the drumlins a little further along the valley. Where has the sunshine gone?
Looking back down Grisedale with Place Fell at the end of it, or so it seems. Plenty of blue sky over there, grrr.
Over on the left Cofa Pike has appeared together with a view of the path we’ll be using for our return leg
Nethermostcove Beck from the footbridge over it. Becks everywhere seem to be back to normal levels now.
Eagle Crag and some of the spoil heaps left behind when mining in the area ended. One of these days we ought to make the effort to go up there and do some exploring, it definitely looks interesting enough to be worth doing.
Another look back down the valley from this old sheepfold close by Eagle Crag.
An impressive waterfall in Grisedale Beck but very difficult to get close to for a better view.
Looking back once again and noticing that Birk Fell, one of Place Fell’s subsidiary tops has come into view over on the left skyline.
Lovely light and shade all the way down the valley, one of our favourite views.
I just missed a hint of sunlight landing on it as I took a closer look at Cofa Pike and Fairfield beyond it.
Looking across to the several becks flowing out of Ruthwaite Cove, with the dome of High Crag behind them, as we reached Ruthwaite Lodge.
Saint Sunday’s steep and craggy north western face from Ruthwaite Lodge.
The clouds eventually broke and let the sunlight through when we stopped for a break below Ruthwaite Lodge and Eagle Crag. J is enjoying the view back down the valley ……
….. which is looking absolutely lovely at the moment.
High Crag and Nethermost Pike appear above Ruthwaite Cove, another place we should go and explore but have never got round to.
J’s foot was becoming troublesome so this is as far as we went today. We turned around at the Lodge and made our way over to the path on the opposite side of the valley.
Eagle Crag across the valley as we made our way back down. It looks even more interesting to explore from this angle.
One of the many waterfalls in Grisedale Beck.
The large sheepfold below the drumlins which we weaved our way through on the outward leg.
A view back to Eagle Crag beyond the beck’s steep sided gorge.
Dollywaggon Pike’s summit ‘The Tongue’ is the most prominent feature on the right of the skyline.
A retrospective view back along the valley.
Approaching Elm How Plantation with Birkhouse Moor across the valley.
Elm How Farmhouse, available for hire. No TV reception but it has got wi-fi should you wish to get away from it all, but not cut yourself off completely.
It was a very pleasant walk back down to Patterdale on such a warm and sunny afternoon. T-shirt weather today so no need for jumpers and jackets.
The little tree covered hill of Keldas is over on the left, another very easy place to take a walk, the views from it are very good too.
There’s the field path we turned on to when we left the tarmac road so we haven’t much further to go from here.
Back at the cricket club and a view of Arnison Crag from the pitch. Well, that was a very pleasant two hours of easy walking but J’s foot is very sore now so its just as well we didn’t opt for anything more strenuous. Perhaps it will be fully recovered by the time the next fine day comes around.