Grisedale Pike (Lake District)

-
Day two of our short stay in the Lake District started with a dilemma.  I had set out on our weekend break with the intention of climbing one of the larger mountains for which the Lake District is famous.  My preferred mountain of choice was Great Gable (2,949 feet), with the intention of ascending from Seathwaite in Borrowdale.  However, as our accommodation for the weekend was located in the village of Braithwaite, at the foot of Grisedale Pike, this slightly smaller mountain was held in reserve.

As it turned out, day two dawned with overcast skies and looking down towards the direction of Great Gable, through Borrowdale and beyond, we could see the clouds were hanging heavily over the mountain tops, meaning the majority of any climb would be undertaken in damp conditions with poor visibility.   Whilst I didn’t mind this so much, I remembered our recent ascent of Skiddaw in similar conditions.  Although this climb had been highly enjoyable, it was nevertheless a bit disappointing to have missed out on some truly spectacular views.  A glance towards Grisedale Pike showed very little cloud cover on the summit and so our mind was made up for us.  The car could have a rest and we would start our walk straight from the doorstep!

Before we set off, however, I found myself faced with a second dilemma.  Should I take my camera?  Readers of my previous blog entries will know that I had struggled to carry my Canon DSLR on long walks and had recently invested in a set of straps by Think Tank, enabling me to carry the camera from my rucksack’s shoulder straps.  Unfortunately though, this method of carrying a camera just wasn’t advisable for steep mountain climbing which invariably entailed a scramble up a rock face on certain sections.  As the weather seemed less than ideal for photographs, I therefore took the decision to leave the DSLR behind and rely purely on my iphone’s in-built camera.  This, it turned out, was a decision I later regretted and marked the beginning of my quest for a smaller, lightweight camera….which is to be the subject of a future blog entry.

At 2,595 feet (791 metres), Grisedale Pike is situated just over four miles west of the popular Lake District town of Keswick and one of the most popular routes of ascent is from the village of Braithwaite, our base for the weekend.  There was therefore a very well-defined path from a small wood called Hospital Plantation which climbed steeply up the eastern side of the mountain.  Very soon we were able to look down upon the white-painted houses of Braithwaite and beyond to Keswick and the shores of Derewentwater. 
Braithwaite from the ascent of Grisedale Pike
The path then levelled out for a while, which made for a very pleasant (and easier) walk, before once again the gradient increased.  Ahead I could make out the path on a ridge at the eastern side of the mountain.  It looked very steep indeed with a steep drop at either side and I approached this, the final section of the climb with some trepidation. 
Approaching the final climb to the summit
 
There was a little bit of a scramble up this rocky ridge which I found to be made difficult by the sheer weight of my rucksack pressing me down to the extent that at one point I actually needed assistance to get off the rock and stand upright.  Having completed the “proper” climb though, the summit was soon reached with that marvellous sense of accomplishment that I have only experienced once before, on the summit of Skiddaw.  It was truly exhilarating!

Although it was still heavily overcast, the view from the summit of Grisedale Pike was nonetheless magnificent. 
View from the summit looking south
As with most Lakeland walks, we soon found ourselves with company as a small group of walkers reached the summit shortly after us, and one of their party kindly took a photo with my phone of Tom and I together. 
Another Wainwright conquered!
 
I was at this point a bit disappointed not to have my DSLR with me, but I still managed a few shots of the view over towards our next destination and second Wainwright of the day, the nearby Hopegill Head (2,526 feet).
Hopegill Head from Grisedale Pike
 

From Grisedale Pike the walk to Hopegill Head was fairly easy, with a little descent in the first instance and then further ascent to the summit. 
The path between Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head
 
Once there I also took some photos looking back to Grisedale Pike.  It was truly stunning.  How I wished I’d had my Canon with me! 
Grisedale Pike viewed from Hopegill Head
 
The descent was equally enjoyable and, thankfully, a lot gentler than the climb up, leading off the ridge known as Coledale Hause, between Hopegill Head and Eel Crag.  The path down passed waterfalls, crossed streams and offered excellent views upwards to the ridge we’d just traversed. 
On the descent
 
It also took us within sight of Force Crag Mine, the last working lead mine in the Lake District which closed in 1990 following a major collapse.  Eventually the stony path down joined the road to the mine which left us with a couple of miles of easy walking on the level before emerging back in the village of Braithwaite – conveniently outside the excellent Royal Oak pub where I celebrated my eighth Wainwright to date!
This had been a wonderful walk and had quite possibly earned Grisedale Pike the accolade of being my favourite mountain so far, with lots left to explore including, of course, Great Gable. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Egton Bridge & Glaisdale Rigg (North York Moors)

-
Image
Sometimes I have no clue where I would like to go for a walk.  As our favoured walking day is Sunday, I usually spend at least an hour on a Saturday evening pouring over my maps and browsing walking sites on the web, searching for inspiration.  But sometimes that inspiration just doesn't come.  This was the case one Sunday morning in April, when I got up to make breakfast without a single idea where we would be heading.  And then I discovered we were out of honey.  The decision was made!  We would go to Egton Bridge, on the northern edge of the North York Moors, because there, from a little cottage by the river, can be found the finest heather honey money can buy.  Over breakfast I plotted out a circular route from the centre of the village which would take us along the banks of the River Esk to the neighbouring village of Glaisdale, along the high moorland at Glaisdale Rigg and back over Egton High Moor. It was a lovely spring morning.  The sun was shining brightly and it was un
Read more

Cleveland Way Day 9 – Robin Hood’s Bay to Scarborough

-
Image
My first instinct, when the alarm on my phone rang out at 5 a.m., was to immediately turn it off, roll over and continue the deep refreshing sleep from which I’d been rudely awoken.  A quick glance at the Met Office app, however, provided an instant reminder of why I’d set such an early wake-up call in the first place.  The forecast temperature for the day ahead was set to soar to 32 degrees, with barely a breeze to provide any relief.  The sooner we set off, the cooler the temperature and the easier the going would be for the initial, most strenuous section, from Robin Hood’s Bay to Ravenscar. In preparation for our early start, we’d bought some flapjack and biscuits which, along with a coffee from our room’s hospitality tray, made up our breakfast.  By 5.30 a.m. we were stealthily creeping down the stairs, feeling somewhat conspicuous as we left our room key on the bar, quietly unlatching the front door and gently closing it behind us.  Robin Hood’s Bay was still well and truly fast
Read more

Cleveland Way Day 7 - Runswick Bay to Whitby

-
Image
They say time flies when you’re having fun and, whoever “they” might be, they’re not wrong. It was hard to believe, when I awoke from a heavy night’s sleep, that we had been following the Cleveland Way for one whole week.     It also didn’t immediately dawn on me that this was my birthday.     Perhaps I’d dreamt it?     A quick check on social media confirmed that I hadn’t.     I may not have had any cards or presents to open, but Facebook did provide me with a long string of birthday wishes to read and acknowledge before breakfast.     Ordinarily, a late start to the day might have disrupted our schedule, but as a short day’s walking lay ahead, it mattered not that our hotel didn’t start serving breakfast until 9 a.m., or that we didn’t venture downstairs until 9.30.       It turned out that the only other overnight guests had been the couple from Croydon, who we’d met the previous evening and who were just finishing their breakfasts as we arrived.  After exchanging our “good mornings
Read more