Day 5 Grasmere to Patterdale

Tina went for an early morning walk to find the Wordsworth graves again as it was too dark last night for her to find them. Wandering around a churchyard on your own as the light is fading is not a great experience apparently. However she did  discover that the co-op shop was  open early this morning so I went back with her to get some sandwiches for everyone.

I think by now you can tell by the angle of the photo that this was another timed one but at least I had enough time to get into the photo.

Everyone set off at a good pace this morning, ready to walk off another huge breakfast. Paul had checked the map but yes, you guessed it, we missed the correct path out of the village

However it did mean that we walked past a wall box from Edward VII's reign which I had never seen before as I don't think there are many of them around. He only  reigned for  10 years 1901-1910. It was Tim that drew my attention to it so the gold star goes to him today.

Once we found the correct path we began our ascent towards Helvelyn. The weather was cloudy and the mist hung in the valleys but it wasn't cold so Tina, Jim and myself were in shorts. Steve decided to blend into the background a bit more today.

Everyone had their cameras ready when we were crossing streams looking for that special photo.

Tim, of course smugly walked across a bridge we hadn't noticed!

Another map discussion!

I always liked to see Jim leading when we were going uphill, as he counted the steps and insisted we stop for a breather at regular intervals.

The higher we got the poorer the visibility.

The climb today felt more difficult than on previous days. It was very steep over rocks and slippery grass. Even with the frequent stops I began to wonder if this was one climb too many for me.

Many of the pathways were streams which required concentrated effort not to slip. It was slow but steady progress and eventually the top came into view.

Soon it was lunchtime and we found a sheltered spot but it was very damp so we didn't linger too long.

Looking at Grisedale Tarn, it was obvious that the weather was not going to clear so there seemed little point in making the effort to climb Helvelyn as  planned. Instead we decided to take the lower pathway.

We had to ford one of the streams that fed the tarn. Camera at the ready but again everyone was very sure footed.

Once across the stream we met some hikers coming from the opposite direction who informed us that the higher path might be closed anyway as helicopters were bringing in bags of rocks for volunteers to repair the pathways up there. We hadn't heard any aircraft and I doubt the helicopters would be flying in such poor conditions. It was good to chat to other enthusiastic walkers. They were not following the same route but were interested in our plans as they were hoping to walk the Coast to Coast the following year.

A little further on we came across the Ruthwaite Lodge built in 1854 as a resting place for travellers. It is now owned by Sheffield University Mountaineering club and was not open to passing travellers!

The path then descended more rapidly and we could see the lush valley opening out below.

You can see from this photo how the hills and valleys are all criss crossed with dry stone walls.

These walls are very skilfully made with the placing of just the right shaped stones on top of each other to form a wall. Nothing is used to cement these stones but they are very stable and provide not only land boundaries but also wind breaks.

Once we were down in the valley it was pleasant walking along the tracks and through some farmland.

This cow was absolutely huge and we were sure was about to give birth some time soon.

Once through the farm we climbed up again giving us a beautiful view of the lake at Ullswater.

Before arriving at 'The Old Water View' our accommodation for the night we stopped at a local pub to see if they sold cream teas as Jim was becoming more and more desperate in his search for the elusive cream tea. But, alas, no. So it was a round of beer instead. Tim didn't quite manage to stay awake long enough to finish his pint.

It was only a short walk from the pub to where we were staying. It was a beautiful guest house with the added history that Alfred Wainwright stayed here whilst writing his book ' A Coast to Coast Walk'.

This was the view from my bedroom window!


Sharing with Skywatch Friday and James over at Weekend reflections