Grasmere, Helm Crag And Alcock Tarn

Introduction

This week we joined up with our 4 month old grandson Fraser, his mom and dad, Adele and Jordan, and of course, Rolo, for four days in the Lakes, based in an Airbnb holiday home, Bellfoot, just behind The Swan Hotel in Grasmere.

On Thursday, I wanted to get out and walk up a hill, as I do on most Thursdays. The weather was set fair as I got up at 7am and set off at 8 to climb Helm Crag, thinking I’d have a quiet, restful day with the family later.

Wrong.

After a great walk, I was back to the house by half past 10, to be met with a chorus of “we want to walk up a hill, too”!

An hour or so later we were setting off on a hike up to Alcock Tarn just above our temporary home. This was taken at a very leisurely pace and took 5 hours including a pub stop in Grasmere village!

Therefore, this is the story of 2 half day walks in one day, measuring a total of 10 miles with over 2200feet of ascent.

Part 1: The Swan To Helm Crag

It’s 30 yards to The Swan Inn from the house, and my destination was evident just across the A591 road.

I walked down the road towards the village, where I took the path to the right immediately after crossing the River Rothay.

The path follows the river upstream through a pretty woodland. At Easdale Road, I was now following Easdale Beck. The beck was in spate from the heavy rains at the start of the week.

I decided I’d follow the road on the way out, and would take the fields by the beck coming back.

The hills of Grasmere Common stretched out in the sunshine ahead of me.

At the end of the lane, a bridleway led gently uphill. A short way ahead, the path up Helm Crag began.

It is steep, yet there are stone steps to aid the hiker.

Soon, I was enjoying the views into the valley, and the lake at Grasmere.

Across the valley, the waterfalls of Sourmilk Gill were prominent.

Of course this is all water off a duck’s back for these sheep.

Nearing the summit, the view to Grasmere is awe-inspiring.

I could now see Easdale Tarn, source of Sourmilk Gill on the opposite side of its eponymous valley.

The summit is marked by a bold rock outcrop, easily seen from the valley floor. I noted how Helvellyn was now shrouded in cloud, a reminder of how quickly conditions can change on the fells.

Return From Helm Crag

I retraced my steps down to the valley floor, but was now facing the magnificent views.

As mentioned, once at the valley floor, I took to the fields, crossed the beck over a pretty stone bridge, and headed back towards the road.

Suddenly, I found the track and the beck merging.

At the woodland there was a wall and a gate.

The gate’s bottom rail allowed access across the flooded path to the dividing wall with the beck. The wall provided a route to the drier section of path ahead.

And so, I made my way back to Bellfoot.

Part 2: Bellfoot To Alcock Tarn

Greenhead Gill flows through the garden of Bellfoot, and a single track No Through Road follows it up the first part of the hill. It is stunningly beautiful.

My companions were taking it steady, and enjoying the company.

At the top of the road, a gate led on up the valley, to a bridge over the gill. Rolo and I waited here for the others to join us.

We left the gill here, following the edge of a wood.

Once above the wood, the view back over the valley to Helm Crag appeared.

It’s a steep climb, but we were all delighted to reach infinity pool – like Alcock Tarn, where others were stopping for refreshments too.

Fraser had a break from his sleep in the sling for a photo of his first hike up a fell!

And then we all joined in for a selfie!

Alcock Tarn To Grasmere

At the far end of the tarn, the view stretched out to the south over Lake Windermere and Coniston Water. We could even see the sea at Morecambe Bay.

Below the tarn, the descent slopes gently to the prominent Grey Crag, which looks spectacularly down onto Grasmere.

And northwest to Helm Crag.

The descent here is steep and tricky with a strong, enthusiastic dog and a baby in a sling, but we all made it safely down to the calmness of the woods at low level.

The route emerged at the famous Dove Cottage, once home to he poet William Wordsworth.

From here, we took a stroll to Tweedies bar (recommended by our absent family member, Adam – someone’s got to keep the country running!). A hard earned drink in the beer garden ended a glorious, exhausting day’s adventure, following which we retired to Bellfoot for a soak in the hot tub!

And Finally….

Our journey north was accompanied by some excellent new music – this is Durry, the album is Suburban Legend, and this track is Hasta La Vista Baby.