Route: Great Crag
Area: Central Lake District
Date of walk: 17th August 2017
Walkers: Andrew
Distance: 6.0 miles
Ascent: 1,600 feet
Weather: Sunny
Inspired by yesterday’s walk in Swaledale, where the swathes of heather had added so much enjoyment and beauty to the walk, I decided to visit Great Crag, a mid-level lakeland fell which is bedecked in purple at this time of the year
I parked in the small hamlet of Stonethwaite and crossed the beck via Stonethwaite Bridge, turning right immediately to join the Cumbria Way for a short distance. I then left the Cumbria Way to join a path heading uphill which followed the course of Willygrass Gill. The gill was on fine form after last night’s very heavy rain. It was a steep climb, but the addition of rock steps made the ascent a straightforward affair and before long I arrived at Dock Tarn
The tarn was looking at its best today, bathed in sunshine and surrounded by numerous mounds and tors, all ablaze with heather. As Wainwright says, ‘Dock Tarn is a place to lie adreaming, and life seems a sweet sweet thing’. Great Crag is a complicated place, full of ups and downs, and determining the summit and the path to it is not a simple affair. There are numerous small paths, some of which peter out. I simply aimed for what I believed to be the highest point and after some meandering arrived there. Another top with a slightly larger cairn was nearby, so I visited that too. Both were wonderful spots
I then rejoined the main path below and descended to Watendlath, which is both a tarn and a hamlet in the ownership of the National Trust. The path was exceptionally juicy, as were most of the paths on today’s walk. From Watendlath I followed the path to Puddingstone Bank where I had a chance encounter (see the photos). The path took me around the lower flanks of Great Crag, with wonderful views into Borrowdale, before merging with the Cumbria Way again. From here it was a short stroll beside Stonethwaite Beck back into Stonethwaite, and the end of a superb walk
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Red squirrel in the garden on the morning of the walk...
Stonethwaite at the start of today's walk - I follow the path past the cottage
Path to Stonethwaite Bridge
Looking across the fields to Eagle Crag
After following the Cumbria Way for a short distance, I fork off here to start the climb up to Great Crag
Looking back to Stonethwaite at the start of the climb
Much of the ascent is through woodland
Above the tree line now, and into the heather
Looking back to Fleetwith Pike, and the Honister Pass which I'd driven over on the way to Stonethwaite
Eagle Crag and Sergeant's Crag
I continue uphill along a path through the heather
Willygrass Gill flowing out of Dock Tarn
Greenup Gill and Eagle Crag
Langstrath
Willygrass Gill again, near the outflow from the tarn
Dock Tarn, as Wainwright puts it 'a jewel deserving a sweeter name'
But a place 'to lie adreaming, and life seems a sweet sweet thing'
I've been here before, but not in such conditions - it was heavenly...
I continue beyond the tarn, looking for a path up to the nearby summit of Great Crag
A couple of photos of my meanderings...
A view back to Dock Tarn
A summit cairn comes into view, which may or may not be the true summit (I don't mind either way)
View from the cairn, looking towards Borrowdale
I spot another cairn left of picture and as it's en route I head towards it
Another view towards Borrowdale
The second cairn, slightly larger than the first, and probably the true summit. Watendlath is in the distance, and that's my next target
Descending to Watendlath...
Looking across the tarn to the hamlet, which is over 800 feet above sea level, set in a hanging valley
Looking along the tarn
The old packhorse bridge, which I don't need to cross, but I do because it's there
I turn away from Watendlath to climb up to Puddingstone Bank
An amazing coincidence as I bump into Brendon from New Zealand. We've swapped emails before but never met. Brendon is in the lakes for 3 months and on course to complete a round of the 214 Wainwrights in that time. Good on you Brendon and let's hope we can do that last one together! The Loweswater Gold is on me
Brendon is on his way up to Grange Fell, so we say 'goodbye', or maybe 'see you soon', and I descend towards Borrowdale
Rosthwaite below
Beautiful Borrowdale...
Back down on the valley floor I follow the path back to Stonethwaite...
Eagle Crag left, and Stonethwaite right
I arrive back at Stonethwaite Bridge to end a walk which will live long in the memory
