Just me and a few Deer on this walk today
I had a long weekend so hastily arranged to stay in Patterdale YHA and then Grasmere YHA and do a bit of walking while in the area. My Saturday walk was supposed to start in Patterdale and walk up St. Sunday Crag and the other 3 Wainwrights along there before coming down to Grisdale Tarn and crossing over to do a few more Wainwrights but the wind and visibility was against me so I decided when I got to Grisedale Tarn that I would just walk along the valley back to Patterdale. Arnison Crag, Birks, St. Sunday Crag and Fairfield fells were done however so not a total loss.
Got up on Sunday and drove to Hartsop (free parking) and headed straight up Gray Crag but before I reached the summit, the cloud came down. I knew the forecast was better for the day so hoped it would clear soon. After Gray Crag, it was quite an easy walk to Thornthwaite Crag but still the cloud meant no view apart from the beacon at the summit. As you can see, very mirky.
A short time later, the cloud disappeared as if someone had opened a curtain and everything came into view as I approached High Street. I had walked near here twice on the Coast To Coast walk so it was nice to see some familiar scenery but from a different angle. When the cloud departed, I was left with this view of a rainbow over Hayeswater, it was one of those "wow" moments but a photo just doesn't do it justice.
After High Street, the rest of the Wainwrights were quite easy with great scenery even though the ground was soggy and the paths were more like rivers. The walk was basically a circular walk but leaving the main path slightly to do a few Wainwrights here and there. I resisted the urge to do Kidsty Pike as I'd done it twice before and headed to Rampsgill Head before heading slightly further along a path to High Raise, where I had a sit down and a break at the summit and just took in the marvellous views. These are the moments that you live to walk, I thought. I returned to the path, next hill would be The Knott and I couldn't believe how close the summit was to the main path that I had walked twice before. As I started walking up the short path to the summit, a group of 4 deer passed by in front of me and along the side of The Knott.
A short scenery break was had at the summit then down to the path and crossed over to head up Rest Dodd and then onto The Nab. It was quite tough going up Rest Dodd mainly due to the ground being so wet and soft and it's a quite a steep little climb.
As I started walking up the hill, 3 more deer passed in front of me and over the wall
After Rest Dodd, the path to The Nab was relatively short but with it being quite flat, it was quite soggy in places and boggy although luckily I didn't go in too deep. I knew I'd be coming back the same route so I figured if I got over the section ok, I could just follow my footsteps on the way back and hopefully keep dryish. The sun was shining in the valleys through the clouds and giving me some lovely views although the photos came out quite dark, must invest in a better camera some day.
The 9th and final wainwright of the day was Brock Crags so off I headed from The Nab, retracing my steps through the boggy bit before finding the footpath that would take me round the side of Rest Dodd and eventually back onto the main path where I crossed it and headed towards Brock Crags. I followed the path up to the summit and decided it was time to head back to the car. All the walking I had done today had been on a path or at least a visible route but as I descended Brock Crags, the path I seemed to be following just seemed to disappear. I could see the car and the car park down below me, problem was that all I could see was the steep grassy hill down to a path I could see further down so I took my time zigzagging down the wet grass, hoping my boots would keep their grip. Luckily for me, they did and I followed the path back down to Hartsop and to the car.
I really enjoyed this walk and once you get the steep bit up Gray Crag out of the way, it's a lovely circular ridge walk where you can choose which hills you want to do before returning to the main path. Even if you didn't deviate to do many hills, it's still a very scenic walk and I'd certainly do it again. A few other photos taken on the day.
