Day 9, Grasmere to Patterdale, 9 miles

This was a 5-hour trek covering 9 miles in heavy rain and wind. The weather spoiled my plans to climb Helvellyn, the highest peak in the area, and to descend via striding edge, a narrow arête. The peak, itself, would be bad enough in poor weather; striding edge would be unsafe in wet conditions..

The alternative route involves a steadyclimb of 1500 feet alongside Little Tongue Gill to Grisedale Tarn, followed by a steady 1200 feet descent to Ullswater following the course of Grisedale Beck, on the other side of the saddle. The trails on both sides of the tarn were flowing streams. Notwithstanding the conditions, there were several dozen hikers on the trails.

The rain let up only several times, allowing me to remove my camera from its protective plastic bag and take only a few pictures.

Coast to Coast Walk

The Coast to Coast walk is a 190 mile route from St. Bees on England’s west coast to Robin Hood’s Bay on England’s east coast. The walk passes through three of England’s best national parks: Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, and North York Moors.

For the second leg of this summer’s walk, I’ll join the Coast to Coast path at mile 38 in Grasmere. Although I’ll miss the first 38 miles, I’ll be walking through much of that area (and more) when I return to the Lake District in a few weeks.

I previously walked the Coast to Coast in 1999 -- my first long distance walk, and my first walk in the U.K. I enjoyed it so much that I have returned to the U.K. several times. As of now, I have walked more than 2,500 miles in England, Scotland and Wales, and if all goes well, by the end of the summer the total will exceed 3,000. I can’t say I’ve enjoyed every mile as much as I enjoyed the Coast to Coast, but I’ve enjoyed enough miles to keep on returning. 

Day 8 -- Grasmere

Today I hired a guide Guide, Ian Carter,  to lead me on a hike in the fells (hills) around Grasmere. He took me on a loop walk over the high ridges, approximately a thousand miles and a million feet elevation gain. I have a poor connection right now, so will add more to the post along with fantastic images soon.

Now that I've got a Wi-Fi connection I can continue this post.  Perhaps the irst paragraph was a little exaggerated. The images aren't all that fantastic, but here they are.

 Guide Ian Carter at Helm Crag

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