Day 4: Grasmere to Patterdale

Sunday 5th July 6:00am: Blogger's Notes

Another day, another dodgy forecast.  From lakedistrictweatherline.co.uk:

A dry and clear start to the day. However, heavy and thundery showers will develop across the park during the afternoon. These are expected to clear by midnight allowing some clear spells to develop across the park.

Terrific. Thundery showers. Thankfully we will not be climbing that high today, at least not compared with the mountains around us. It is the day we could climb Helvellyn or St Sunday Crag, but with that weather forecast we won't be doing either of those.  

Still - it's summer in the Lake District, not Benidorm. 

17:00 Sunday 6th July

Day 4 promised to be rainy and potentially thundery – she did not fulfil her promises, and we were grateful.

The wind picked up once or twice, prompting some donning (and subsequent removal) of layers; nothing severe, nothing long lasting and the sun kept coming out as if to say, ‘It’s ok, this is just a ‘short day’ – don’t be disheartened! You won’t get soaked and miserable today.  Keep smiling and carry on!  I will shine on you, brave walkers.’   Or something like that.  It felt like a message, anyway.

Grasmere to Patterdale is a beautiful walk.  Take a path just past the Travellers Rest on the A591, and climb up to Grisedale Tarn.  Just before we got the the pub, we came to Meadow Brow, a tiny little holiday cottage.

Drive leading to Meadow Brow

 John and I stayed there, in Spring of 1989 (I think).  That was the first time I climbed a ‘proper’ mountain – I made it up Fairfield that Spring, and very proud of myself I was, too.

Grisedale Tarn

Once you leave Grisedale Tarn, it’s a steady, comfortable downhill stroll into Patterdale. 

Valley

We were off the fells and in the village around lunch time.  We’d eaten our pack lunch by the side of a little stream on the way down, so (unfortunately) did not require Sunday Lunch. I do enjoy a Sunday Lunch under ordinary circumstances.

Dinner tonight will probably be here, at the White Lion. It’s either that or the Patterdale Hotel, as we are not prepared to walk to Glenridding, not for all the tea in China.  Megan’s criteria was that she could come to dinner without putting on shoes, so the White Lion seems to tick that box.

Once I managed to get something other than what felt like icy mountain water to come out of the shower, I felt revived.  The kids weren’t too impressed as they must have tried to have their showers when other people were doing the same; the hotel apologises that the temperature ‘fluctuates’, which for these guys meant 30 seconds of tepid water, followed by an icy dribble.  Not sure there’s much worse than that, shower-wise, when you’ve just applied a generous dollop of shampoo.

Classic quotes of the day:

 ‘Grandad, you stupid sod, you’ve worn the wrong t-shirt!’ (said his wife, affectionately). Apparently it wasn't a performance walking shirt.  Cool, though. 

The Wrong T-Shirt

‘It might have been a grudge she was holding … I’m not very good with gardening tools…’ (courtesy of Daisy in Not Going Out, and recycled by us many times)

Note: we keep meeting some of the same people.  Perhaps I'm just nosey (I am), but I wonder about other peoples’ stories, and most people are happy to share.  Most people are also interested in our story.  “Are you doing the Coast to Coast?” Where are you all from?  Where are you stopping tonight?’, etc.  One group of 3 walkers that we met today, consist of a British couple who have spent more than 30 years in Melbourne, and a man with them from Warrington. They set off a day earlier from St Bees, but had a rest day in Grasmere, so we’re caught up with them. I suspect we will be seeing them tomorrow - they also have no 'rest day' until Richmond, North Yorkshire.