Date & Time: Monday 30th June 2008. 4 pm start.

Location of Start : Hause Point car park, Rannerdale Valley, Cumbria Uk. ( NY 163 184 )

Places visited : Rannerdale Knotts, Squat Beck - not a lot else !

Walk details : 2.5 miles, 825 ft of ascent, 1 hr 45 mins.

Walked with : Ann and the dogs, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : A late sunny afternoon, blue skies, fluffy clouds and a slight breeze.

After a morning sorting out the garden it was time to get out and exercise the legs.

Rannerdale Knotts is just ten minutes away so that would make a great two hour walk before the afternoon sunshine faded.

We parked at Hause Point and took the track up the front of Rannerdale that starts above the beach.

Hause point looked great in the afternoon sun but a slight breeze would have made swimming a little cold.

The water temperature seems quite good for the time of year, but I was not tempted today !

Ann up ahead on the route up which is clearly but unfortunately defined by the summer growth of bracken.

Looking down in Rannerdale Farm and the northbound Honister Rambler bus.

Our first view of Buttermere from part way up the fell.

Sitting on the bank above us, a local Herdwick stops to enjoy the view.

Behind him / her, the sunshine falls on Honister Crags.

Their new Via Ferrata must be opening soon ?

Steep though it is, there's no "iron rope" protection here.

I always considered that this pitched path was one the steepest made-up footpath ascents in the Lakes.

Sundays walk up Stanger Gill must rate as a second equally steep and sustained climb that has also been protected by the path repairers in recent years

From mid way up the climb we look down on the Honister Rambler again, but this time the southbound bus going in the direction of Buttermere.

The summit cleft in the rocks with Red Pike behind	Further round the view extends to Buttermere and the high fells

A view of the summit cairn - if the dogs hadn't got in the way.

The summit cairn with Robinson Fell behind.

From the top we walked the length of the ridge and dropped down into the Rannerdale Valley for the walk back.

What was different about the walk this time out was how the bracken has grown, and how rich the green colours were.

Despite the farmer cutting it last year, it has grown back unabated and engulfs most of the fell side except for the very wet or very dry patches.

The top footbridge and Whiteless Pike	The Lower footbridge and Grasmoor

What is a concern is that the bracken seems to be smothering out all other plants.

The second picture above is full of Rannerdale Bluebells in the spring, but the residual plants are now hidden under a canopy of green which surely cannot allow them to build a store of goodness in their bulbs for future years. I wonder if the National Trust has considered cutting or spraying the area in order to protect the diversity of flowers that we enjoy in early spring ?

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Technical note: Pictures taken with my Cannon G7 or Ann's Ixus 75 Digital cameras.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . more of all the other colours except green.

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Previous walk - 29th June 2008 Back on the fells - Bessyboot

A previous time up here - 4th April 2007 A Rannerdale Scramble with the boys