C2C Day 3: Stonethwaite to Patterdale

Goodbye Stonethwaite

Suzanne at Knotts View Guesthouse served us a wonderful breakfast, of course. Being only day 3, we weren’t yet in the routine of quickly gathering everything in the morning and sorting through what came with us during the day versus what stayed in our luggage. But wow, I could definitely spoil myself if someone carried my luggage every day! Hooray for sherpa van! We carried only water and food for the day, rain gear and other essentials in our backpacks.

Leaving the valley of Borrowdale and Stonethwaite

Double dip

The plan for today was simple: up and down, then up and down again, with two options for high routes. The trail out of Stonethwaite starts gradually uphill and then becomes progressively steeper. And there were more stone steps. Once you approach the top, the trail is straight, requiring climbing in a couple of places.

The road gets steeper and steeper…

…and steeper

Looking towards Borrowdale

And then, to our amazement, there were flagstones on top. You could see them stretching for a mile. It was like seeing the yellow brick road! Everything we had read about swampy conditions was no longer valid. I’m definitely enjoying this National Trail status for C2C.

What a surprise!

Do you see the slabs stretching into the distance?

Easedale and Grasmere

There was a high route option up top, but given the low clouds we opted to stay on the main route. Plus, it’s hard to put out those slabs. Then before we knew it we were heading down the green valley of Easedale and towards Grasmere. We stopped at Easedale Beck to eat our delicious Suzanne sandwiches and waved to our fellow walkers who jumped as they passed.

A particularly tall stone wall – there are many miles of stone walls around Cumbria and Yorkshire!

Bird of the day: the willow warbler that sang so happily as we walked along Easedale Beck

Except we didn’t actually go to Grasmere, so I can’t say if it’s nice like people say. Everyone else we spoke to along the way was heading there for the night and then on to Patterdale the next day. Which meant we were basically walking two days in one. My knee hurt and was a little swollen, so we were second-guessing this decision. But since everything was booked in advance, there was no possibility of changing the plan.

The vast green almost made my New Mexico brain explode!

Grisedale-Tarn

Thus we began the long climb to Grisedale Tarn. The trail is in excellent condition with new bridges…until it does what I now understood to be the Lake District norm: becoming increasingly steeper and rockier near the top until you are almost climbing.

A new bridge on the way to Grisedale Tarn

Looking towards Grasmere

We had to decide whether to turn into the Tarn. The weather was now nice, so taking a high route was now a real option. A right turn towards Santo Domingo would add about 1,000′ (~300m) to our day, with beautiful views. A left turn would take us through Hellvellyn, something I desperately wanted to do even though it would add 1.7 miles and 500m (1,640′) to the day’s walk.

Grisedale-Tarn

Unfortunately my throbbing knee decided for us and we stayed on the main road heading towards Patterdale. Furthermore, today’s accumulated elevation gain for us was close to 4000′ (~1200 m) and that seemed enough for us.

Starting towards Patterdale

Patterdale

Walking through the Patterdale Valley was a real pleasure! We spent a lot of time walking in high mountains, so although the hills of the Lake District are great for walking, what really took our breath away were the green valleys. Even more impressive were the small patches of ancient forest found here. It is difficult to imagine this area with its original forests, most of which have long since disappeared.

Approaching Patterdale

We had a nice dinner at the White Lion Inn, sitting next door and talking at length with an American father-daughter duo whom we had seen earlier in the day. Interestingly, we hadn’t run into anyone from the United States before this.

Before dinner, while we were sitting in the beer garden, I saw two guys walking by with full backpacks. One of them carried a good-sized Union Jack flag flying from a wooden flagpole attached to his backpack. What the hell is going on there? I asked myself. I would soon find out…

Requirement cute lamb photo

Bonus photo of cute lamb

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