Great Walks around Grasmere

Grasmere is a victim of its own success - it's a gorgeous little village, right in the heart of the Lake District, crammed full of history and the perfect starting point for dozens of walks.  This all means that it can get very busy so we generally visit outside of the main season (when there's more chance of finding a parking space!) but as a birthday treat for me we headed up there last week for a night at the lovely Lancrigg Hotel to enjoy some great food and a few relaxing walks.  Not all the walks from Grasmere are relaxing mind, one of them scared the wits out of me (and Wainwright apparently!) so here are three of my favourites.

Helm Crag

Steve on the Howitzer

Let's start with the infamous Wainwright that Wainwright himself never made it to the top of - Helm Crag.  Most of the walk is a pretty straightforward hike, and the views from the top are glorious...

At the top of Helm Crag you'll find the Howitzer which is a huge lump of rock that only the brave, the skilled or the slightly bonkers attempt to climb.  You can decide for yourself which category to put Steve in but this is as far as I got...

The route back down into Grasmere goes directly past the Lancrigg and it would be rude not to stop in for a coffee and a delicious scone the size of your head...

Easedale Tarn

We both love Easedale Tarn - it's almost the perfect tarn to visit.  The walk up out of Grasmere is varied but straightforward and it passes the fabulous waterfalls of Sourmilk Gill where you can pause, cool down and maybe dip your toes in the water.

Although it's a straightforward route right next to Grasmere it's usually surprisingly quiet, especially around the tarn itself.  It's definitely the perfect spot for a picnic and if you need sustenance on the way back there's always this...

A lap of the lake

This is definitely a walk of two halves with the first half skirting the shores of the lake and the second half following an ancient coffin route back into Grasmere.  Along the way there are stunning views, museums, historic relics, more stunning views and, if you're up for a short detour, enormous caves.

Just a short detour from the route

There aren't many walks that pack so many different things into such a short space of time.  Although not too far in terms of miles it's a walk that could easily take you all day as you enjoy the many distractions along the way - and watch out for the water trough dedicated to Wordsworth as you head back into the village - most folks miss it.


Lancrigg Hotel

As I mentioned, we stayed at the Lancrigg Hotel and would certainly recommend it - both to stay at or to visit at the end of a good walk.  The rooms are spacious and the food is spectacular - a perfect birthday treat for me!  If the walks above all sound a bit more than you fancy then you can take a gentle wander around the hotel grounds, visit the memorial where Wordsworth used to work, or let the more adventurous folks enjoy the adventure playground while you put your feet up with a drink.

Lancrigg Hotel

Wordsworth Memorial

Gorgeous walks around the grounds

Lovely short walks nearby

Stunning views from our room

There are LOADS more ideas for things to see and do in our books.  I know you can find them all on Amazon, but we make next to nothing that way - plus if you buy from us we'll be happy to sign them just for you.  Click the pictures below to find out more.  Cheers! 😀

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10 Reasons to love Cumbrian Clouds

Just because it's cloudy, doesn't mean it's dull.  Some of the most spectacular views of Cumbria involve clouds and here's why...

1. Because they give the sun something to peek out from

I took this pic from the top of Helm Crag - Steve was busy climbing to the top of the Howitzer but nature shone the spotlight elsewhere

Looking towards Blea Rigg

And just to prove he made it to the top...

2. Because they make Morecambe Bay look awesome

The artist Turner was inspired by the vast skies over Morecambe Bay and who can blame him?

Morecambe Bay

3.  Because of Icebows

Yes they're a real thing - and they look fabulous.  Steve captured this one at the top of Kirkstone Pass

Kirkstone Pass

4.  Because of Broken Spectres

We'd had such a long and soggy walk when this photo was taken.  We were up on the top of High Stile when the clouds shifted, the sun peeked out and this happened.  

High Stile

5. Because of inversions

C'mon - I couldn't write about clouds without mentioning these now could I?  Spring and autumn are especially good for inversions and Gummer's How and Red Screes are particularly good places to head for to spot them.

From Red Screes

From Red Screes

7.  Because sometimes a fluffy little cloud is all you need to finish off a photo

These tiny clouds just look perfect in this shot of the lighthouse on Walney Island

Walney Island

8.  Because no clouds = no drama

Neither of these views would have been quite as dramatic without the cloud.  The top one is Piel Castle, snapped as the sun caught it briefly on an otherwise cloudy and moody day.  The lower one is Place Fell from Ullswater on a monochromatic afternoon.

Piel Island

Ullswater and Place Fell

9.  Because they go great with the snow

These couple of shots were from a snowy hike around Great Gable a couple of years ago, but wouldn't have been quite the same without snowy white clouds complementing the snowy white snow.

Great Gable

Styhead Tarn

10. Because a sunset just isn't the same without a cloud

We've all got dozens of sunset photos, but the very best ones usually have clouds in them - lovely whisps of pink catching the last rays of the sun or dramatic clouds framing the sun as it sinks beneath the horizon.

Sunset from Wansfell

Morecambe Bay

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 18 - Because of the clouds...

I'm just back home after a day or so working in London - for those that don't already know I deliver training courses to groups of poor unsuspecting delegates.  I rarely use PowerPoint but needed it for one of my presentations this week and, as I usually do, I managed to find an excuse to sneak in a photo of Cumbria - a nice, big blue photo of the Langdale Pikes that Steve took.  This photo in fact:

"Anyone know there this is?" I asked.  "Well it can't be the Lake District because it's not raining" came the witty reply.  Given the news over the past few weeks I was hardly in a position to argue.  Yes it does rain here, and it snows, and it's windy, but it's sunnier on more days than most people ever realise and anyway, the clouds can be fabulous too so I am dedicating day 18 of our advent calendar to a whole pile of Steve's glorious photos of our Cumbrian clouds.

If we didn't have the clouds we wouldn't have the rain and if we didn't have the rain we wouldn't have the lakes and the rivers and if we didn't have all of that we wouldn't be bidding for UNESCO World Heritage Site Status.  And if the rain could consider not coming down in quite such a deluge as it did recently, that would be great too.

Cloud Shadows - Mr Oogieboogieman
(Nightmare Before Christmas)

Icebow

Icebow

Aurora

Aurora

Solar eclipse

Me!

Brocken Spectre

Loved this walk on Helm Crag

I'm writing this whole series of blogs to support the Lake District National Park Authority as they bid to gain UNESCO World Heritage Site Status for the Lake District National.  Pretty please (with jam on!) click here to learn more about the bid and show your support.  

To go back to day 1 of the blog, please click here or scroll the column on the right to see what you've been missing.  :-)