Coast to Coast walk Day 3 – Rosthwaite to Patterdale
Click here to track the walk
Coast to Coast walk day 3 was always going to be one of the toughest. It involves two big climbs and is often split into two days walks by people with far more sense than us.
So today we expected to be one of the most knackering but perhaps one of the most satisfying to complete.
The first section involves climbing out of Borrowdale up Greenup Edge and down into Wordsworth’s Grasmere. We don’t have time to stop at Grasmere but turn left to ascend to Grisedale Tarn and thence down the “easy” route towards Patterdale (notionally avoiding Helvellyn and St Sunday Crag – wimps I know).
Update:
Left knee took a serious battering coming down from Honister Pass yesterday. I’ve never had a problem with it before but picked up a twinge on day 1 and the weakness was exploited by the mountain on day 2. In consequence we caught a cab to Keswick first thing after breakfast to buy a knee support.
The Glaramara Outward bound centre we stayed at turned out to be great. It had a seriously good drying room and the bacon at breakfast was the best we have seen so date. They had also kept us some food as the restaurant closed at 7pm – bit early I thought.
Ajax and Luke were outside when we turned up in the taxi – took some photos! They were too late for the restaurant themselves but we hadn’t realised that they weren’t actually staying in the same place as us. They got in our taxi and had a free ride to the pub. We only found out the next morning they were staying somewhere else. Not v good apparently.
In the morning we bought a map. Tom and I had decided it was a big ask to do the planned route for the day and had decided to find a suitable alternative. Wainwright doesn’t really prescribe a specific route. Just makes suggestions. We wanted to make sure our chosen route did justice to the purpose of the trip and chose an 18 mile walk to Patterdale from Keswick, going around the mountains.
The walk turned out long but took us through some pleasant farmland (lots of lambs). the first part ended at Troutbeck where we had planned to stop at the pub. Unfortunately they were closed for fire drill training. we ate our lunch at one of their picnic tables and set off on the road to Ullswater. It was a fair old crack but the road, which was an A road wasn’t too busy.
We hit Ullswater just as the National Trust caff was closing. Huh. There was another 4 miles to go so we just ploughed on. Tom had some bad blisters and when we arrived at the B&B he hit the hay. Ajax and Luke arrived half an hour after us after a very difficult walk.
We hit the White Lion for dinner and I had chilli con carne.
The Grisedale Lodge B&B was pretty outstanding. Christine served us home made break, very good bacon and a seriously meaty cumberland sausage. Best breakfast so far.
Check out our coast to coast day 3 video.
| starting B&B | The Glaramara Centre, Seatoller, Borrowdale CA12 5XQ |
| forecast/actual km | 24.36/28.14 |
| forecast/actual time | 9h 47min/8 h 52min |
| weather | lovely day for walking |
| forecast/actual ascent m | 1,149.7/654 |
| breakfast | great bacon |
| lunch | tuna sandwich from Greggs in Keswick |
| dinner | chilli con carne at White Lion in Patterdale plus a few startery bits |
| finishing B&B | Grisedale Lodge, Grisedale Bridge, Patterdale CA11 0PJ |
Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 3 Google Photo Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.
While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. (When network coverage allows) You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.
Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.
Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.
A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.
