Five days in the Lake District, part 3

An early start to the day in Grasmere, as we left the hostel shortly after 7:00.  But before we started the rambling in earnest, we stopped at St. Oswald's, where Wordsworth worshipped.  Two pictures, the first one suitably softened into the Romantic early mist.

This second, rather more prosaic, picture captures one of the key trends within British Christianity in the last few decades: the decline of denominational conflict

After being disappointed by the still-closed bakery (what kind of bakery isn't open by 7 AM?!), we started the walk proper.  Up and over a little ridge to rejoin the Cumbria Way at Chapel Stile.  From the top of the ridge the main view was a rather unsightly slate quarry, but by the time we reached the valley floor the quarry disappeared from view and picturesque-ness returned.

We stopped by a small stream for a bit of breakfast: pita, cheese, and gorp.  Then it was into the valley of Great Langdale.  Our guidebook told of the tremendous views of the Langdale Pikes to the north, but the cloud cover kept them pretty obscured.  We did, however, see plenty of sheep, like this friendly pair.

Four miles into the day we arrived at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, a famous destination for Lake District hill-walkers and climbers, complete with the Hikers' Bar watering hole.  We dropped off our big bag at the hotel, then had a look at the weather forecast for the day.

The initial plan for the day was arrive at ODG early enough to make it to Scafell Pike and back.  But 14 miles of serious hiking with less than a 10% chance of views from the summit (coupled with gloomy skies in Great Langdale) dissuaded us from climbing England's highest mountain.  Instead, we opted for a walk that kept us closer to "home," ascending High Raise, described in our guidebook as the "overlord" of the Langdales.

The ascent up High Raise had three distinct phases.  First was a steep but well-traveled path following Stickle Ghyll to a waterfall.  This part of the climb was full of other hikers, including some young children with impressive hardiness - we overheard no whining about the rain.  The power of the waterfall is rather poorly captured in this photograph, but it at least provides a sense of the terrain.

Just above the waterfall, at an elevation of approximately 1,500 feet, is Stickle Tarn, a small lake that was dammed in the early 19th century.  Towering over the tarn is the imposing face of Pavey Ark.

After Stickle Tarn, the path upwards became a lot more lonely, and also much less clear.  No longer able to just follow the stream up, we had to use our compass and handy Ordnance Survey map.  About two-thirds of the way up this section of the climb, we were crossed paths with another hiker who had been bounding ahead of us.  "You can't see jack from up there," he warned us, as he rather gloomily passed us by.  But at this point we were committed to making it to the top, so we continued upward.

The next clear stopping-point was Sergeant Man, a subsidiary peak of High Raise.  The clouds actually did roll away enough for us to get a nice view of the valley below, though they continued to enshroud the high peaks in the distance.

From Sergeant Man, the final ascent to High Raise was nothing more than a short walk, with a barely perceptible change in elevation.  Given the mist that had settled on the summit, I'm not sure that we would have found the summit cairn without a clear compass heading to follow.  Here I am at the summit of High Raise at 762 meters.

Our plan from this point had been to descend back into the valley via some other peaks, bagging Thunacar Knott, Pavey Ark, Harrison Stickle, Pick o'Stickle, and Loft Crag along the way.  But that would have involved finding a different path down the western slope of High Raise.  Given the mist, lack of landmarks (we even struggled a bit finding our way back to Sergeant Man), and advancing hour, we decided to just descend the way we had come up.  A bit below the tarn, the clouds finally cleared enough to allow a decent photograph of the valley below.

From there, back to the hotel to check in and enjoy a hot shower.  Dinner at the Hikers' Bar was disappointing (not least because they didn't actually have either of the menu items I order), but sometimes, as a vegetarian, you just have to accept your fate.  At least the stilton and broccoli soup was flavorful and warming.

We had a long day to Keswick in front of us, so early to bed...

Approximately 10 miles walked
Towns: Grasmere, Chapel Stile
Peaks: Sergeant Man, High Raise 

Five days in the Lake District, part 1

Thanks to Becca's mad planning skills, and buoyed by a sunny and basically rain-free weather forecast, we pulled off a last-minute trip to the Lake District last week.  While the weather didn't exactly cooperate, we still had a lovely time tramping along the Cumbria Way and climbing some fells.

Day 1: London to Ulverston to Coniston
The 6:05 AM departure from Euston was, without doubt, the most stressful portion of the trip.  But we managed it just fine, catching the 5:41 subway from Tufnell Park and arriving at Euston with plenty of time to collect our tickets and settle into our first-class seats that were inexplicably cheaper than the standard fare.

I can't say that I remember much of the train ride up to Lancaster, as we rather groggily watched the Midlands pass us by.  Lancaster's also something of a blur.  It's really only the list of stations served by the Cumbrian Coast Line that really woke me up.  Ready?  Carnforth, Silverdale, Arnside, Grange-over-Sands, Kents Bank, Cark and Cartmel, Ulverston, Dalton, Roose, Barrow-in-Furness, Askam, Kirkby-in-Furness, Foxfield, Green Road, Millom, Silecroft, Bootle, Ravenglass, Drigg, Seascale, Sellafield, Braystones, Nethertown, St Bees, Corkickle, Whitehaven, Parton, Harrington, Workington, Flimby, Maryport, Aspatria, Wigton, Dalston (not to be confused with the Dalton above!), and Carlisle.  All in just over a hundred miles.  That, my friends, is a local train.

Our first surprise of the trip came soon after disembarking at Ulverston.  We already knew about the Laurel and Hardy Museum in Ulverston, but what we didn't know was that Swarthmoor Hall was just a mile away.  Yes, as in Swarthmore.

It being early on a Saturday morning, the actual building was closed.  But we had a nice stroll around the gardens and some early views of fells in the distance.

After wandering around Ulverston, a vibrant little market town, we hopped on the bus up to Coniston.  "Bus" is really something of a misnomer.  It was really more of a glorified shuttle van, and even that was more than enough space for its riders.  Aside from us, there were two little old ladies who had come into Ulverston to do their shopping (one of whom, inexplicably, had nothing more in her shopping bag than a few apples and a handful of carrots) and a backpacker.  Hardly the stuff of a money-making route, which probably explains the sulky teenager driving the bus.

We checked in at the Black Bull, drawn in as much by the accolades the associated brewery has garnered as anything else.  After settling into our room, we decided to attempt the Old Man of Coniston, a 1,365-foot peak that rises almost directly out of the village.  There was a light mist as we left the Black Bull, but we were hopeful that it would burn off in the afternoon sun.

After a few moments of uncertainty regarding the exact direction of the trail, we were well on our way.  About halfway up we passed an old slate quarry.  The exact location of the mining was easy to determine, with a rather stark contrast on the mountainside between green ferns and gray mining spoil.  A bit further up we reached Low Water, a small lake.  Along the way we were already starting to marvel at the omnipresence of sheep, with no sign of them thinning out in number as we ascended.

By Low Water, we were pretty well socked in by clouds.  Not exactly optimistic about a view, we kept going up.  We faced a pretty steep section near the top, but the encouraging words of those on their way back down provided all the inspiration we needed.  Sadly, no view whatsoever from the top of the Old Man.

But still, the first ascent of the trip.

As you can tell from that picture, we were soaked and cold.  So back to the Black Bull for a hot shower and dinner at the pub.  If you find yourself with the opportunity to sample some beers by the Coniston Brewery Company, be sure to try the Blacksmiths Ale.  Top-notch stuff.

Approximately 6 miles walked.
Towns: Ulverston, Coniston
Peaks: Old Man of Coniston