Based on what I've read, in good weather this stage is a "Lakeland Classic"! A straightforward climb up past Lining Craig to Greenup Edge, followed by a high-level ridge walk and then down to the valley to the edge of Grasmere.
This is a day I look forward to as I'm drifting off to sleep at night. The day will begin with an easy amble through level fields alongside Stonewaite Beck (a creek), with Eagle Craig an enormously looming presence across the water. It looks colossal but by the time we get across Greenup Edge, we'll be looking DOWN on Eagle Craig and gain a whole new perspective. This day is about up, up, and upper!
At Stonewaithe, we should join Greenup Gill, one long torrent of white water and waterfalls. The gradient is said to increase just past Eagle Craig and then drops into a basin of glacial formations before a climb up to the top of Lining Craig. Weather permitting, the views reach to Scafell Pike, England's highest summit (3,210 ft). We'll definitely sit and soak in the atmosphere before moving on.
The next section of the Walk is notorious for wreaking havoc that results in lost trekkers. The boggy ground and indistinct cairns obscure the path even in the best of weather conditions. I kid you not when I say that the guide books refer to fence posts with boots hanging on them as trail markings.... what if someone removed the boots?!?! Where will we end up? Narnia?
If by some stroke of crazy luck, we actually hit the trail, we begin our descent across the head of Wythburn Valley. We should cross the upper basic of Wythburn and begin the steep descent into and through Lancrigg Woods along the Poet's Walk.
Wadsworth called Grasmere "the fairest place on earth" and it has become a much more popular, touristy village than I prefer but it's history and location along the Walk make it a mandatory stop. We spend the night at Town Head Cottage... a lovely farm built about 1688. Its a working farm house just north of Grasmere village and boasts spectacular views of Grasmere valley and the surrounding fells. It will be a most welcome respite with promises of great food and cozy beds.
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