High Raise Guided Walk

When will summer arrive? We have had so much cold weather lately, it would really be a shock to have a summer’s day anytime soon.  This morning was a rush, grab breakfast, bag, storm shelter, extra warm clothes, flask, lunch, map, dog and out the door!

When will summer arrive? We have had so much cold weather lately, it would really be a shock to have a summer’s day anytime soon.  This morning was a rush, grab breakfast, bag, storm shelter, extra warm clothes, flask, lunch, map, dog and out the door!

Today I was leading the Adventure Peaks guided walk on High Raise.  With two clients, Darren and Becki.  They were waiting at the Walkers Shop eager and ready to go.  I didn’t even have time for a morning brew before I was getting my boots on and making my way to Grasmere.

The drive from Ambleside, along Rydal Water, was a real treat.  As you come through the White Moss trees, Grasmere opens up, the blissful morning sun, shinning in the crystal mirrored water of the lake, Loughrigg, standing strong above to my left and Rydal Mount and Fairfield to my right.  I love days like this in the Lake District.  It’s the only place to be.  And shock it was sunning and looking like a beautiful day.

I met Becki and Darren after parking in Grasmere and along with my Labrador, Pan, we started our walk.  First we wandered into town to buy some snacks before heading out of the village and onto the trail towards Sour Milk Gill.  The roaming fields, stone track, farm land and hills were all around.  It really was a warm start to the day.

We made steady progress towards the waterfalls that are known as Sour Milk Gill, lovely picturesque pouring water, flowing fast and crashing white waves into multiple pools below.  The sounds was fantastic and made me want to do a bit of wild swimming.  Pan beat me to it, and like any dog, he was straight in the drink.

The walk up to Elterwater was straight forward and quite gentle.  However it began to rain a little and the cloud shut out the sun.  We stopped at the stunning Easedale Tarn and had a quick snack.  After feeling a little chilly we got on the move again, following the trail below Blea Rigg and Eagle Crag up towards Sergeant Man.  We stopped up at Belles Knott for some pictures.  The view really began to open as we made up hill again.  The Langdales, Stickle Tarn and Pavey Ark below to our left and the Fairfield and Helvellyn ranges to our right.  Towards the South we could see Loughrigg Tarn, Windermere and almost the sea.

We followed the boundary marker and eventually got to the awesome summit of High Raise.  After getting some nice pictures we hid out of the subtle but cold wind and had some lunch in the shelter, bathing in the midday sun.  The summit is flat you could have a game of wild football on top!  After refuelling we made our way across the awesome flat plateau to Low White Stones and Greenup Edge and dipped down along Far Easedale Gill.

We followed the beck down, passing the fantastic waterfalls and clear water pools.  Stopping every now and then to take a layer off.  The Sun was out and the wind had dropped in the valley.  It was almost summer-like conditions!  We passed a few walkers on the way, but other than that we were alone for the entire day.

We finished off by meeting up with the track we began our walk on as the rain came in again and gave us a right good soaking.  A great day finished off with a nice pint of Hawkshead Red in William Wordsworth’s favourite pub, the Swann Inn.  Just another day at the Adventure Peaks office!

Dan Fylan-Smith