coast to coast 2011
coast to coast - day 3
Langstrath Hotel, Stonethwaite to Ivy Dene Guest House, Grasmere
7.78 miles 2,688 feet.
Start: 09:00 Finish: 15:45 Elapsed time: 6:15 Cumulative Time: 22:00
I left the Langstrath Hotel in the company of Ash & Ant and an American couple that they had met on Day 2. We started out along Greenup Gill in light rain but by the time we reached Eagle Crag it had stopped so I took a couple of minutes to remove my waterproofs. The others had gone ahead and I was happy to walk alone at my own pace. The ever rising walk alongside Greenup Gill soon turned into a more serious ascent of Lining Crag and on to Greenup Edge. By now the morning’s effort had taken me up about 1,700ft to the largely featureless Greenup Edge plateau. There are no signposts up here and it is all too easy to get lost in poor visibility. Thankfully, I could see where I was going but still managed to find myself about 200-300yds off track. My GPS and digital mapping proved to be an invaluable aid throughout the walk and got me back on route.
There is a saying that what goes up must come down and this is
particularly appropriate to the C2C route across the Lake District.
The valleys mainly run north to south and the path runs west to east
so there is a lot of climbing up ridges and back down the other
side. There was a decision to make on Greenup Edge. Should I take
the high route to Helm Crag and the steep descent into Grasmere or
should I stick to the valley route? Whilst the mind was willing, my
body was weak and so I opted for the easier way out. When I say
easier, I don’t mean easy as the path down Far Easdale Gill is rocky
and boggy in parts and meant that I had to watch where I put my feet
for every step of the way. Progress was slow; hence the time taken
for what was a relatively short walk. I met up with Ash & Ant a
couple of days later who described the descent from Helm Crag as “a
f*@k” and confirmed that I had made the right choice.
There are plenty of options for off-route diversions on the C2C but
for me it was quite enough to stick to the easiest and shortest
route.
I must say that the accommodation booked for me by “Packhorse” was of an acceptable standard but the Ivy Dene Guest House in Grasmere fell well short of the mark and only rated 3 out of 10. Whilst the breakfast was okay, the room was miserable and the bed was only fit for the tip. The only redeeming feature was that the Travellers Rest pub wasn’t too far away and I met up with Lynne & Pauline whilst having my evening meal. Ash & Ant seemed to be luckier and were accommodated in a plush Grasmere hotel.