Day 3 Rosthwaite to Grasmere (17.9 Km, total ascent 919m)

Rosthwaite to Grasmere (17.9 Km, total ascent 919m)

We spent the night at Nook Farm in Rosthwaite in Borrowdale.  The next day started with moderately heavy rain so after a hearty breakfast, we donned the wet weather gear and, leaving the warm comfort of Nook Farm, set off for Greenup Gill, a rocky stream we would follow up towards Greenup Edge, the highest point of our walk today at about 600m.  

We leave the warmth and comfort of Nook Farm in the rain

and cross over Sturdy Bridge.

 The sheep lined up facing the farm wall,  some protection from the wind and rain.

We headed towards the mist.

Past more cute lambs.

 The view back down to Borrowdale, fading into the mist.

We followed Greenup Gill with its many waterfalls.

We crossed many streams flowing across our path, both of us slipping on rocks at different times and ending up on our bottoms in the stream.  Thank goodness for the waterproofs which did a sterling job. 

Sometimes the path itself became a stream.

More waterfalls.

 Crossing another inflowing stream.

The view back down to Borrowdale as the rain and mist clear.

Then it is a slow walk across boggy terrain trying to avoid the wettest areas.

And a scramble up...

 to the top of Lining Crag with excellent views.

Panoramic shot from Lining Crag.

Then off across more waterlogged ground.

 From Green up Edge we have a view down to the col.  Navigation through here can be difficult in poor visibility but the mist had cleared and we had wonderful views.  Using our compass skills for the first time we confirmed our direction and navigated across to the col.

At the col, we decided it was fine enough to take the ridge walk across to Gibsons Knot and Helm Crag. 

 On the way we passed Brownrigg Moss.

 The views are stunning from up here.

We can see down the Easedale Valley (along the low route) to Grasmere.

We just love the Herdwick sheep, domesticated sheep native to Cumbria, they live in the fells and are territorial so they stay in their own area without the need to be fenced in (this called hefting).  As lambs they are black and fade to brown ashen by the time they are a year old at which stage they are called hoggs.  We've developed a soft spot for these sheep that Wainwright called the "hardiest of all fell walkers"

Herdwicks

Walking along the high route with views down the Easedale Valley to Grasmere.

Helm Crag lies ahead, one last climb before the steep descent into Grasmere.

The Howitzer at the summit of Helm Crag.  A tricky scramble is needed to scale the rock to the top so we gave it a miss with the excuse that we didn't want to risk injury at this early stage of the walk.  

This young man had no problems scaling the Howitzer.

And now we descend into Grasmere.  Stedman was right to write that the ridge walk is "longer than you might expect" and "the steep descent may well finish you off" and by the time we reached Grasmere we were ready for a rest but it was worth it for the wonderful views.

It's a steep descent down into Grasmere.

From Helm Crag we also had a clear view to the Grisedale Pass, our future route out of Grasmere between Seat Sandal on the left and Fairfield on the right.  Little did we know we would take the wrong path and end up at the top of Fairfield in the fog during the next leg of the walk..

The next leg of the walk, the pass between Seat Sandal on the left and Fairfield on the right.

 But for now it is a rest day at Rothay Garden Hotel in Grasmere.