Day 4: Grasmere to Patterdale
Friday 24 May 2024, 8 miles
I have to say, the coffee at Heidi’s coffee shop was very good. A decent café latte in the morning is always a good way to start the day in my book. Once we were ready and had humped our heavy bags down the narrow staircase into the café, we set off. At least the weather was looking a little bit better today, or so we thought…. Ha!
We started off by retracing our steps from the day before back to Goody Bridge on the outskirts of Grasmere, then turned north, crossed over the A591 and headed up the path marked for Patterdale to start the steady climb up to Grisedale Tarn. The mist had descended with dampness hanging in the air and it was quite spooky in the mist. It was one of those days where the sound was distorted and you couldn’t see much at all. Other walkers appeared as ghostly spectres, looming out of the gloom. It was waterproofs back on as the mist became a light drizzle then we were at the tarn and crossing the stepping stones.
From Grisedale Tarn we took the Loft Beck route gently descending to Grisedale along a good path, with Helvellyn hovering in the mist to our left and St Sunday Crag looming to our right. We stopped for a rest and a flask of tea at Ruthwaite Lodge which apparently is an Outward Bound hut. We then had an enjoyable descent, mostly in the dry down the stony path into Patterdale where we dropped in at The White Lion for a pint of Wainwrigths (or two) then went to find our accommodation at The Old Water View. The owner here was keen to show each booking round the whole place and highlighting his selection of Coast to Coast memorabilia, jams and marmalades, snacks, drinks and other paraphernalia. We had to wait till it was our turn; but the outside bar was open for snacks and drinks. If you want a souvenir from your Coast to Coast journey, there’s plenty on offer here! We bought a tea towel with the route on it – there wasn’t much room in the baggage for anything else. There were no radiators in the rooms but at least there was a decent drying room which managed to dry out all our wet kit.
For dinner we returned to The White Lion which was rather pleasant. A lot of the online reviews are poor, but I think it had changed hands before we got there and we certainly had a good meal here. It is worth booking in advance as there really aren’t many dining options within walking distance here. My fish and chips was washed down with a couple of pints of Wainwrights as we were warmed by the open fire.
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