Ascent: 1050m
Weather: overcast start, bit of rain, sunny later
Things of interest: lizard, two different types of orchids, bogs.
Minor route amendments: many
Wainwrights: 2
We drove up last night and stayed at the Kirkstone Pass Inn, where this morning they filled us up with a fine breakfast and by 10am we were off up on to the Fells.
To avoid half an hour of walking along the Kirkstone Pass road, we headed up the hill behind the pub to St Ravens Edge and then picked a path that headed down Woundale, through some exciting bogs and lizard territory. We rolled our trouser legs up a couple of times, but although large, the puddles weren't particular deep.
The track comes out onto the road, which we followed for a short time and then took a gate near a sheep fold and headed down to Wounded Beck where there are lots of walls and a small wood. After negotiating the walls and the very wet hillside, we crossed the beck at the footbridge and then couldn't find the path that we had seen quite clearly when we'd been higher up. To avoid more wandering around in boggy, brackeny ground, we followed the good path down and around the farm at the bottom of the Tongue, and then followed the track that leads up above Hagg Gill.
From here. the path up to Troutbeck Tongue isn't clear to start with but becomes a good path once the muddy slopes at the bottom have been cleared. Once up on Troutbeck Tongue (363m) it started to rain a little, and as usual we decided to put our waterproofs on just as it was about to ease off.
First lunch was had just north of the Tongue, under the watchful gaze of some sheep, who I thought were after my baguette, but they were just keeping an eye on us, and then we headed up the track near Blue Gill to emerge just north of Froswick, and walked up to Thornthwaite Crag (784m), in clouds. The path was clear towards Gray Crag (697m), and we headed there and back quite quickly. To avoid the steep rocky path back down from Thornthwaite, we followed the wall and contoured around and down to Threshthwaite Mouth (near to where we sat and dried out after our High Street walk in August 2005) and had our second lunch on a handy rock. As we left our rock, it was quickly appropriated by a couple (with no sit mats!) who declared it a lovely spot for tea and biscuits. Shame we hadn't had any tea or biscuits. The exact location of our biscuits at that time isn't something I'm prepared to comment on.
A quick scramble up to Stoney Cove Pike and we were on the tops over Caudale Moor (754m) where we crossed over the drystone wall a few times to avoid some bogs, and then back again over St Raven's Crag to the Inn, where we are now having dinner and a few pints of Tirrill's Old Faithful.
The Kirkstone Pass Inn in the evening - we didn't see the ghost.
Stone bridge over Wounded Beck.
View from Caudale Moor towards Windermere.
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