33 1 in Romantic Footsteps 34 Echoes of the Lakes' Poets Resonate on This

1 In Romantic footsteps 34 8 Langdale rocks 48 Echoes of the Lakes’ Poets resonate on Little in the Lake District surpasses this climb above Rydal to Alcock Tarn the legendary scramble up Jack’s Rake, and Nab Scar a hair-raising groove slanted across the sheer face of Pavey Ark 2 Light and shade by Grasmere 36 Out of season and at the edges of the 9 Bowfell’s best 50 day, this might just be the best lazy Reach along the Climber’s Traverse stroll in the Lake District into the rocky cauldron tucked beneath the summit of Bowfell 3 The rough side of Silver How 38 Leave the crowds behind in Grasmere 10 The great wall of Lingmoor 52 on a short, rugged ascent to Silver March with a mighty wall across the How past the cascades of Wray Gill swells and troughs of Lingmoor to arrive face-to-face with Side Pike 4 Splendid isolation 40 Cap the classic route to Easedale Tarn 911 Freedom of the hills 54 with an adventure upon Tarn Crag’s Leave the paths behind on this finely chiselled east ridge short but challenging round to lonely Blake Rigg 5 A Loughrigg meander 42 Set out from Skelwith Bridge for the top of Loughrigg, an otherworldly jumble of knolls and hollows 6 Bridges over the Brathay 44 Old and new combine on this undulating journey from Great Langdale to Little Langdale and back 7 Meg’s Gill 46 The delightful shoulder north of Elterwater and Chapel Stile brings a great perspective on the lower reaches of Great Langdale 33 1 GRASMERE AND THE LANGDALES Distance 6km Time 2 hours 30 valley edge between Grasmere and Rydal. Height gain 420m Map OS Explorer OL7 This is the way the deceased parishioners Access White Moss Common may of Rydal came on their final journey en be reached by the 555 bus, which zips route for burial at Grasmere. Turn left and along the A591 between Keswick follow it for 250m to the indent by Dunney and Windermere Beck. Turn through the gate and rise left of the water for 200m to where the Thirlmere With Rydal Mount at one end and Dove Aqueduct cuts across. Leave the beck here Cottage at the other, the ‘coffin route’ and traverse west along a thin path, between Grasmere and Rydal (there being brushing the top of a plantation. Locate an no graveyard in Rydal) is a trail rich in old metal pedestrian gate, set distinctively Wordsworth associations. Hidden from in the wall rising ahead, and climb up to it the nearby bustle, it is also virtually (but not through it). Briefly shadow the unchanged since the great man regularly wall until it bends away to the left, then walked this way. Combined with the strike out north over enjoyably rough outlook above Nab Scar and with Mr terrain. Having turned into little more Alcock’s serene tarn, it is the perfect way to than a sheeprun, the path bypasses a follow in the footsteps of the Romantics. large sheepfold to reach a wall stile with, Start at the lower White Moss car park, beyond, a much larger path drifting the just south of the A591 by Rydal Water short way up to Alcock Tarn. (GR350065). Walk by the road towards Cross the dam at the southern end of Grasmere for 75m and then cross to a track the tarn and go through a gap in the wall alongside a beck. At a fork bear right and to the east, from where a path inclines follow a stony-bedded walled lane to the southeast across the fellside to a ‘coffin route’, which contours along the prominent cairn on the skyline. Gaining 34 IN ROMANTIC FOOTSTEPS the ridge, head south over a ladder stile to top the fiercely steep slope plunging south (Nab Scar, the truncated metalled road, and then 50m on end of the long ridge extending all the way bear right on a sheltered bridleway north to Fairfield). There is a wonderful, (SP Grasmere) leaving between cottages. precipitous view over Rydal to Loughrigg. Back on the ‘coffin route’, cut across the Descend southeast by a worn and bottom of the fellside on a charming failsafe path (popularised by the Fairfield undulating line, balanced between old Horseshoe), steepening in its middle woods, velvet pastures and the rust and reaches. A shelf, just above a series of charcoal-tinted face of Nab Scar. 1.5km out wide, engineered zigzags, offers a second of Rydal, just through a gate with an viewpoint to rival, if not better, that from ornate handle, you find yourself back at the top. Beyond a ladder stile, follow much the junction with the outward path rising narrower zigzags to the edge of Rydal. from the A591. Turn down the path for the Join a concrete track, which leads onto a short walk back to the car park (2h30). Poetry in Grasmere Based at Dove Cottage, Grasmere, The Wordsworth Trust (wordsworth.org) does a great job sustaining the creative legacy of the Lakes’ Poets. In a programme of fortnightly events running from April to October, the trust’s ‘Poetry in Grasmere’ season draws together the country’s leading poets with an eclectic mix of overseas writers and emerging talents. It is, according to former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, ‘The best poetry programme in Britain’. Alcock Tarn 35.

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