It was now Tuesday 20th March and I was suffering ever so slightly from
ascending and descending The Old Man of Coniston the previous day (and just
maybe the several drinks in the pub that evening too!). So I decided for a
nice easy low level stroll into Grasmere with the possibility of a ridgewalk
which included a few Wainwrights etc.
Heading out from the hostel at High Close I walked through the garden which
must be pretty in the summertime but right now was purely nicer than the
road which I had to rejoin briefly. As the road heads down to Grasmere I
took the signed path on the left (NY 340057) which at one time must have
been the direct route over to Elterwater. As I headed down I spotted a
gravestone high up in the trees on the hillside and a gate interestingly
titled Nicholas Wood. Being curious as to who this Mr Wood was, I opened the
gate and wandered up to find that the stone was actually a memorial marker
recording that the land was donated to the National Trust in memory of
someone else, the trees historically being named Nicholas Wood.
Unfortunately, I have no picture of this.
Into Grasmere where I browsed the bookshop and newsagent for half an hour
but then realised it was gone 11o'clock so I had to hurry up and get on to
the hillwalking. The road took me out to Easedale and past the houses at NY
327085 I found the signed path to the top of Helm Crag. Somewhere on the way
up I left the path and followed a sheep track next to a wall which still
took me to the top by a shorter but much steeper route.
At this point I should explain that the skies were fairly clear but the
winds were still strong with gusts of up to 40mph predicted. As I cleared
the lee of the hill this became apparent and I had to stop several times to
get my balance. The top of Helm Crag is very rocky with a few high outcrops,
Lion and the Lamb. I scrambled to the highest point, held on for dear life
against the wind and smacked my hand down on the top to claim it.
One day I shall return to stand on the top!
By this time it was getting darker with clouds and colder and my legs were
tired so I chose to head back to Grasmere by dropping down into Easedale to
pick up the path back the way I'd come. As I neared the bottom tragedy
struck.
Having left the steep rocky path I was then on a grassy slope and the
melting snows had the streams trickling again so I was using my walking
poles for steadiness. The inevitable happened and my feet slid forward down
the hill while the top half of my body stayed horizontally still but dropped
vertically. In short I landed on my [censored] in a puddle. Worse though, my left
knee screamed in agony and there was a sharp cracking sound from under
me.......
I sat there for a second feeling slightly shocked as I tried to assess my
situation. My leg was hurting, my poles were tangled with my feet and I was
getting a wet backside. This was not good. I investigated with my left hand
and discovered just how bad things were. My walking pole had snapped!
As I stood up my knee stopped hurting as it untwisted and I was soon back on
the main path to Brimmer Head Farm which in turn lead me back to the
signpost I'd previously seen for Helm Crag. In the wall by the large gate is
a smaller gate with a sign for Poets Walk. I followed this and found lots of
daffodils.....
The gardens of Lancrigg House were very popular with the poets who came to
stay at the house in the 1840s including Dorothea Wordsworth, to whom there
is a plaque on a rock. The landscaping by Sir John Both-Richardson is well
done and ideal for a quiet read with what must have been good views of
Grasmere. It was here that William Wordsworth wrote many of his works
including that most famous one of 'wandering lonely as a cloud'.
Anyway, from Lancrigg I went back to Grasmere, bought some rare James Bond
books in a bric-a-brac shop and had a pint in a pub where the only available
food available at 3.30pm was tomato and coriander soup. Undaunted, I sat in
a quiet corner and supplemented the pub crisps with my own corned beef
sandwiches!
Instead of going back to the hostel the way I'd come I followed the main
road beside Grasmere and took the footbridge over the weir at NY 343059 and
then back up to Loughrigg Terrace and the hostel. I got a nice shot of the
sun setting over Silver Howe at about 6pm.
Next time: Fairfield Horseshoe!
Nick
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