Grasmere to Patterdale

The stats

• Day 4 - Grasmere to Patterdale - 8.5miles (13.5km)

The verdict

My Dad insists that he can walk especially as the 'toughest' days are behind us.  With his blister dressed and padded and his second walking pole restored to him, he assures us he will be okay and will continue at his own pace.

Howard the cabbie collects us from Ambleside and takes us back to the C2C trail in Grasmere.  It is a glorious morning as we start climbing the hill out of the valley.

Sunday morning on the trail looking back towards Grasmere

We choose to go by the Tongue Gill alternative track rather than the old pony route as the gradient is easier.  Sure enough the path undulates along at a manageable gradient and we soon fall into a steady pace - Ross manfully striding at the head of the pack, me in the middle and my dad steadily marching along at the rear.  It is funny how we naturally lapse into this order for the remainder of the walk except for the few occasions I'm able to take the lead on an uphill stretch.

The gentle path along Tongue Gill

The path eventually strikes uphill at a steeper gradient and we have to clamber over more rocks and stone stairs although mercifully it is only over a short distance and we're rewarded with views of some spectacular waterfalls.

One of the many spectacular cascades along the path

At the summit we reach the beautiful Grisedale Tarn.

My Dad surveying the landscape by Grisedale Tarn

The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful and even better is the knowledge that as we pass by the Tarn it is downhill all the way to Patterdale.

Ross by Grisedale Tarn

We take a small detour from the path to see The Brothers' Parting - an unobtrusive stone memorial to the desolate spot where Wordsworth supposedly saw his brother for the last time before his brother perished at sea.  There is a poem carved into the rock but so weathered that it is no longer possible to make out the words - fitting perhaps that Wordsworth's words have been reclaimed by the elements which inspired them.

The Brothers' Parting 

The path continues to wind its way downhill.  While we sit on some boulders next to the path and tuck into our packed lunch, we are passed by many day-trekkers making the most of this sunny Sunday to tackle Helvellyn or St Sunday Crag.  We're passed by a mature gentleman who is walking briskly uphill and who stops for a chat.  He is 83 and has walked these hills all his life.  He is an absolute inspiration not least for my Dad who at the age of 76 is by comparison quite the youngster.

Back on the trail and we pass through some monumental landscapes.  The photo below is my favourite from the whole walk as it just sums up the Coast to Coast experience - total and absolute freedom with not a worry in the world.  Just a big sky and a winding path and no thoughts other than putting one foot in front of the other.  

The path to Patterdale

We take the more scenic path to the left of Grisedale Beck and only have one navigational spot of bother when it comes time for paths to meet and join a tarmac road.

Consulting the guidebooks

We find our way and the path continues to descend into Patterdale.  As we catch our first glimpse of Ullswater in the brilliant Sunday afternoon sunshine we think to ourselves that this must surely be the Lake District at its best.  

The descent into Patterdale - views over Ullswater

The path through Glenamara Park into the village conveniently terminates at... the pub!  We are too early to check in to our accommodation so we avail ourselves of the facilities and enjoy a drink in the afternoon sunshine before walking another kilometre or so through the village to our accommodation at Greenbank Farm.  

The end of the trail in Patterdale

Greenbank is a working farm (as the strong smell of manure would attest!) and the farmhouse itself is a cozy 17th Century building.  Our rooms are large and comfortable but we soon discover that there are to be 6 guests staying here tonight and only one bathroom. As the other party of three is yet to arrive we quickly take it in turns to shower.

Later in the afternoon we discover that our housemates are none other than the Minnesota Trio.  Happily they made it to Grasmere yesterday without incident.  The ladies are walking through to Shap tomorrow and push onto Kirkby Stephen the day after whereas we will be covering the same distance in three days.  I don't envy them, it sounds tough.

It might be a few hundred years old and have only one bathroom but the farmhouse boasts mod cons and we while away the hours before dinner catching up on email.  Our host is most accommodating and helps us dry our clothes but also prepares the most amazing dinner for us.  We are treated to a hearty serve of roast chicken with all the trimmings and a rhubarb crumble for dessert.  Our hostess also regales us with tales of the phenomenal fell runner, Joss Naylor who in the last few years, aged 70, ran 70 Lakeland mountaintops in less than 24 hours.  The man is a legend.