Grasmere Uncommon - no photos today

Last week I was forced to turn back from Skiddaw summit by strong winds, this week the forecast is for severe gales on the fell tops, it didn’t take too much thinking to decide that I wasn’t going back to Skiddaw. The journey up the motorway is wild, wet and very windy, the road between Ambleside and Grasmere is flooded in several places, but when I arrive at Grasmere it is mild and calm and the rain has stopped.

My first objective of the day is Helm Crag, and in common with many of the fells of lesser height, it has a real mountain feel as you climb the steep, rocky, interesting path to an equally interesting summit ridge. The rock formations are easily recognisable from the main A591 road to the north of Grasmere, the “Lion and the lamb” and the “Howitzer” rising about 12 feet above the path but falling much further to the boulders below.

I climb to the top of the Lion but don’t linger for fear of a strong gust of wind that could push me over the edge, I’ll leave the steeper, more slender Howitzer for another day.

The ridge northwards is full of interest, the view all around is quite reasonable, the sky is grey with low clouds but only the highest fells are hidden under mist. The wind rushes through the gaps between the peaks stopping me in my tracks occasionally, it doesn’t really worry me except when using the stepping stones over the wet and boggy places.

Towards Gibson Knott the main path contours the wet fell but the ridge is much better with views on both sides and much drier underfoot. My memory of the path between Gibson Knott and Calf Crag is one of the most extensive bogs in the Lake District so today I’ll explore a different route.

At the boundary between the two fells the path crosses very wet ground before reaching the boggy peat hags, so I head straight up the fell to a peak, on top on which is an unexpected cairn. Following a pathless ridge towards Calf Crag I have found a quicker route which bypasses the bog and leads me to the summit cairn of Calf Crag, which I have not seen before despite crossing the fell on at least 4 previous occasions. If only all of my exploring was as successful!

From Calf Crag I set off towards Steel Fell that I can see and I quickly find the path, one that I haven’t been on before. I keep to the edge for the views overlooking the valley of Greenburn, as I begin to ascend Steel Fell there are views down into Wyth Burn that I haven't seen before. From the summit is an excellent view of the full length of Thirlmere and across the valley I can see the white water of the streams hurtling down to the valley.

From the summit of Steel Fell follow the fence northwards until you reach a stile in the fence that has to be crossed, you are then following a scant path in the grass which bends to the right when the ground steepens sharply where the path is lost. The path as such follows the rounded shoulder of the fell but this is really only visible from the bottom looking upwards. Keep going down and aim for a rickety gate in a wall, through the gate still descending the steep grassy slope aim for a gate in the wall corner, at the gate turn right and follow the path alongside the wall which keeps parallel to the road below. The path descends to road level and after passing the tumulus that supposedly marks the burial place of King Dunmail, the last king of Cumbria, a stile is reached at Dunmail Raise.

The dangerous bit of the walk is to cross the two halves of the main road and cross the fence on the opposite side of the road by another stile and follow the path up towards Raise Beck.

The path of the beck is twenty feet wide and filled with large boulders but there is no water in it except for an occasional trickle. This mystery is solved further up the beck where the sound of rushing water can be heard on the other side of a stone wall. This is where the beck was diverted towards Thirlmere when it became a reservoir for Manchester.

Raise Beck is one of my favourite places, a wild, rugged place with the swollen stream thundering over the huge boulders and at the top where the water falls over solid rock the wind creates clouds of spray as it attempts to send the water back up the hill.

After scrambling over the path by the side of the waterfall things become calmer, the mass of Fairfield comes into view with a coronet of snow still visible below the line of the summit. A quick look backwards and I see bad weather rushing towards me, by the time I have donned waterproofs and gloves the hail forced along horizontally by the wind has hit me. Within a minute Fairfield can no longer be seen.

Now it is time to climb the final grassy slope up towards Seat Sandal, my legs are beginning to tire and the gale and hail hitting me from the side makes the climb feel even harder. As I reach the easier part of the slope the squall subsides and Fairfield again comes into view with a very choppy Grisedale Tarn down below. As I reach the summit another squall comes in, fortunately the wall crossing the summit provides enough shelter for me to catch my breath.

All that is left is the easy, but lengthy descent back to Grasmere, easy except for being hit full in the face by the cold wind. The right walk on the day, although at seven and a half hours it was a bit long for this time of year.