Another
short walk from Grasmere to Patterdale which will be a relief following
yesterdays tough going across the ridge to Helm Crag. After breakfast Eric
dropped me at the Travellers Rest to start my walk. The weather was much
improved and so it was through a gate and the start of a slow climb heading up
to the Grisedale Pass. The views were magnificent on the way up, the group of
American kids that came up behind were not! And if I thought it was going to be
an easy climb I was soon put straight, my legs were telling me that the efforts
over the past few days had sapped their strength. Finally after many view stops
the top was reached. The American girls asked me where I was from.
"Kent" was my reply, "I'm doing the Coast to Coast walk”....
"Hey everyone this guys walked from Kent to do the Coast to Coast, isn't
that cool?" I just smiled. They were climbing Helvelyn in trainers, flip
flops and with one chap bare foot. I was going to call mountain rescue for
them, but hey, they're American. I never saw them again and I don't expect anybody
else did either. Anyway the view at the top, with the tarn so blue and the
Grisdale valley in the background was fantastic. After some lunch it was
onwards down the valley. I missed the sign for Wordsworth's 'parting of the
ways' which was annoying, concentrating on the rocky path is my excuse. The
older group of Americans were down the valley and names were exchanged as I
picked off the individual groups one by one. Some asking if I was the Londoner,
I presumed I was so nodded politely, realising that along the Coast to Coast
path the word gets around. The chap who I first spoke to yesterday was still
talking about the dry stone walls, I'm sure he wanted to pack one in his suit
case to take it back home. How old are they was the question I kept getting asked.
I'll have to check for future reference. So it was on to my overnight stop at
Patterdale and another day’s walk complete. The White Lion was better than expected even if the bedroom was the smallest ever. My support/ rescue team
joined me for dinner that evening which was nice. Most of the bars chat being
the exchanging of Coast to Coast stories amongst the various groups.
If there is ever a next time to do this walk, there are
two alternatives to the route down from Grisedale Tarn. The first is to go left
and climb Helvelyn (3118ft) and descend via Striding Edge down to Patterdale.
The other is to turn Right and traverse St Sunday Crag (2756ft). Whichever
route picked would take some doing, but would mean another mountain conquered.
