Pratt/Thor Adventures: Day 9, 10 and 11

July 10: We have now put all our rain gear to the test, with the exception of our rain paints. Phil arranged a 3-day/2-night lake-to-lake trek when the weather was supposed to be OK. Well, that didn't work out quite as planned.

Sunday morning we bought 7-day bus passes and caught the 9:30 am bus from Ambleside going west past Elterwater to the end of the line just below Dungeon Ghyll Force, a long waterfall coming off the Langsdale Fells. We had thought we would trek up over the fells, but with low black clouds hanging over the valley, we opted for the "low" route along the Cumbrian Way. The climb up the fells looked very rugged and the views would have been minimal. Instead we walked along a good trail just above Mickleden Beck, passing meadows full of the usual sheep, and gaining about 1,100 feet. The trail rounded a curve and then began climbing up a well-graded stone stairway along a waterfall. At the top (Stake Pass), we found ourselves in a soggy basin or 'combe' surrounded by bleak fells with bracken on the upper slopes and sheep on the lower ground. The trail makers provided a great set of well-graded switchbacks that we followed downhill into Langstrath valley.

The trail in this area was not well built. Saturday's downpour had filled every streamlet, beck, gill, and watercourse to the brim, and the water overran the pathway so that we were essentially walking in water or focussing very hard on not walking in water. Drainage channels and more abundant placement of stepping stones would have been much appreciated, and we were worn out by the time we reached the bottom. At this point, our trail nearly connected with the Coast to Coast route but we stayed on the south side of the valley out of Stonethwaite. We could where the CtoC trail went as it climbed up to Greenup Edge (and overlooking Grasmere).

We walked on past Stonethwaite to Rosthwaite and the Royal Oak Hotel, which had a traditional looking main building and newer guest accommodations in a back annex. The inn caters to CtoC trekkers and could easily have been our stopping point 3 years ago, since they work with Packhorse (the prime luggage transfer and accommodation arranger for the CtoC). We had a generous room on the ground floor of the annex overlooking the roaring Derwent River. We wandered a bit about the village of Rosthwaite, which has several other tourist facilities and not much else. At 7:30 we enjoyed an excellent dinner in the inn featuring delicious chicken and leek pie, poached pears, and a sampling of local cheeses.

The Mickleden Valley leading to Stake Pass

Below Stake Pass, looking back from where we have come

Sort of level ground and "in a creek" on the Langdale Combe

Coming down into LangstrathValley, by the beck

Langstrath Valley, note the trail engineering here

The Royal Oak in Rosthwaite, our first night's hotel

July 11: Just about all the guests at the Royal Oak were trekkers, many doing the Coast to Coast. As we listened to a breakfast conversation about hikers loosing their way on the hillside above Honister Pass (one couple didn't reach the inn until 7:30, after wandering miles out of their way), we butted in to share our experience and to recommend that they find copies of the Steadman guidebook as soon as possible and "to follow the most used path" advice.

After breakfast we headed out to do another one of the walks from the local guidebook provided by our cottage. It was actively raining, so we marched uphill carrying our umbrellas and hop-scotching along the "streaming" footpath. Even the sheep looked unhappy today. The path went over a pass to the small, pretty Watendlath Tarn, set like a belly button among fells and practically unvisited. The downhill track along Watendlath (the name probably has Viking origins) beck was sopping wet, so we had another morning of watching carefully where we put our feet.

At the bottom of the valley, the trail turned uphill again through woods and soon led to a couple of stunning views over Derwent Water and its surrounding hills, or at least the lower portions of them. We walked for a way along the southeast bank of the lake and then across a wetland at the beginning of the Borrowdale Valley, crossing paths with several groups of students who seemed to be on an orienteering course. They were carrying huge backpacks wrapped in brightly colored pack covers and could be seen from far off.

We had lunch at a tea shop in the hamlet of Grange and then ambled back to Rosthwaite by way of the Bowder Stone, a local geological curiosity. We waited an hour for a bus to take us over steep Honister Pass to Buttermere, where Phil had arranged the next hotel.

We reached the Bridge Hotel about 4:30 and were given a nice spacious room on the second floor, with a stream and a beer garden immediately below our window, and views of High Stile and other grim-looking fells across the valley. Buttermere is supposed to be scenic, but the lake and the valley felt stark and barren, at least under leaden skies and heavy clouds. Towards evening, there were some some sun breaks and the half moon was visible, but the area is still less appealing than other parts of Lakeland.

We were more enchanted by the local animals. A flock of free range sheep patrolled the village (they must have won the mowing contract) and free range chickens pecked just up the road, apparently unconcerned about the limited but sometimes fast traffic. Mid-evening, a farmer in an off-road vehicle escorted 6 large red and white cows through the village to be milked. He had assistance from one border collie riding in the ATV, a second border collie chasing the cows, and a little brown terrier just running around to be part of the action. We heard later that this dog is named 'brown dog.'

We had a good simple dinner in the hotel's pub, full of other tourists and hikers.

Walking down to Watendlath Tarn

"Full Spate" from Watendlath Tarn, note the flowing water on the trail

Derwent Water, with Keswick at the end of the lake

Bowder Stone, a glacial erratic

Bridge Hotel in Buttermere

Milking time, a 4-wheeler with border collie co-pilot, another on foot working and "Brown Dog" helping

July 12: Today, we arose after a nice sleep in a comfortable bed. The day started with sunshine but it didn't last. It was mostly cloudy and surprisingly somewhat chilly. There wasn't any rain so the umbrellas stayed packed. We had a sit-down breakfast in the hotel dining room and then caught the bus for Keswick. We went around the rest of the circle past Crummock Water (the twin to Buttermere), Lorton Vale (northwest edge of the district with huge farms), Whinlater Pass (with a big outdoor recreation center), and the town of Braithwaite.

From the guide book, we had picked out a loop hike east of Keswick, which first went along the lake front to Friar's Crag, a headland with a view across the lake, then climbed up below Walla Crag to a high point, and then northeastward to the Castlerigg Stone Circle. The uphill climb was in forest (Great Wood) and the several miles to the stone circle were through pastures and gates.

The Castlerigg Stone Circle is comprised of 38 stones grouped in an oval about 110 ft in diameter, with an additional 10 stones inside the circle outlining an altar or something. Situated on a plateau and surrounded by a series of large fells, it feels like a dramatic amphitheater. As with all prehistoric stone circles, no one knows what Castlerigg was used for. It has been dated to the Bronze Age, probably erected around 1,500 BC. There were hikers atop just about every fell on the horizon, and we could see trains of people going up Cat Bells and Skiddaw.

We walked a short cut back down to Keswick to avoid a damaged bridge over a beck (a serious storm in December 2015 damaged a number of facilities in the district). We stopped at the Pack Horse pub off the main market square for a baguette and ciders and then caught the 3:30 pm bus back to Ambleside.