Day 4 - Grasmere to Patterdale - 9 miles

Nine miles doesn't sound too bad and we start off this morning walking along the main road out of town. Eventually we turn right onto a narrow stony path which will take us up to Great Tongue Fell. 

Great Tongue Fell

It's cloudy but humid and we're both sweating. Up above is cloud and we've already decided to abandon all hope of climbing the high fells today - we'd hoped to do Helvellyn, a very famous peak, and Striding Edge which, in good weather, is a brilliant high level walk across the peaks but it's not to be this time around. 

Going up

And up

And up some more

It seems like we're never going to reach the top and it gets windier and a bit drizzly so we put on our pack covers and raincoats and forge ahead. At one point the path is very indistinct as it makes its way up through crushed rocks and boulders but Jen is able to pick it out and we make it to the top and the broken stone wall we were heading for.

Now we are heading straight down the valley past Grisedale Tarn which is shrouded in mist, we don't see the water until we are almost next to it. We can hear someone whistling for someone, a dog maybe. We can't see them and it's a little eerie. We cross over the end of the tarn on stones and then it's down a boulder strewn path - to our left somewhere is Helvellyn and to our right St. Sunday's Crag, both hidden from view.

Studying the map

on Grisedale Pass

Lunch with a view

We slowly wend our way down the valley to flat ground and a wide path that turns into a country lane and before you know it we're standing outside of our home for the night.

The White Lion, Patterdale

Tomorrow we are heading from Patterdale to Shap, 15.5 miles and the highest peak we will climb on the walk at 2,560 feet. Oh dear.