A two-part walk today.  The younger element wanted to walk around Crummock Water

and the older contingent was quite happy with a shorter walk up Rannerdale Knotts.

The two plans were combined into one walk in the following way.

Cathy and the boys have set off from home on their mission to walk around the lake.

That would be somewhere in the region of an eight mile walk, so we set them off with bottles of water and instructions on where to meet up.

Rannerdale Knotts is the lower, craggy fell in the centre of the valley.  We'd do that bit.

Buttermere Village and the head of Crummock Water are beyond  Rannerdale.

We drove to the Hause car park and waited ten minutes or so on the lower headland by the road.

Rather than road walk the last bit they surprised us by taking the Cinderdale track up to the bluebell valley and then back down to Hause Point.

[ They report that, as of 10th April, the bluebell flowers are on the way but there's very few with any colour yet.]

From the roadside signpost we took the path up onto the end of Hause Point.

	- - - o o o - - -   The fully assembled party on the slopes of Rannerdale. Ann and myself, Matt, Alexander and Cathy. Somewhere there are the four dogs, Boris, Bilbo, Dylan and Dougal.   - - - o o o - - -

It is a steady climb all the way from the road to the top . . .	. . . overseen by a sentinel of the fell.

The first level ground above the road, where the old pony track climbs from the right and heads to Buttermere away to the left.

High Ling and Low Ling Crags can be seen on the other side of Crummock, under the slopes of Mellbreak.

There's a hard band of volcanic rock that would have joined the two but it was cut through by an ancient glacier.

The second minor plateau on the way up gives us a first view today of Wood House and Buttermere Lake.

The level green path through the bracken below will be our return route today.

More locals on the fell . . . this time classic first year Herdwicks with their dark coats.

The only way is up . . . this section is pitched with stone.	Higher up the angle is easier, but still steep.

Still, it's a good way to gain height quickly.

Ann reached the westernmost rock of the ridge and enjoys the best view from the fell.

Buttermere to the left of us . . .

Mellbreak opposite and Loweswater and Low Fell to the right.

The winter snow (of April!) has almost gone from Grasmoor.	There's just a little left on Great Gable too.

So you can also enjoy the view from the top of Rannerdale Knotts . . .

Click here or on the photo above for a 360 degree annotated panorama

	- - - o o o - - -   Time to be moving on.   This is the view along the undulating, craggy ridge the knotts of Rannerdale Knotts.   We've no sandwiches today as we have plans to buy lunch in the village.   Conveniently the cafe will be half way round both Cathy's and our respective walks.     - - - o o o - - -

The old sheepfold above Buttermere is our cue to start our descent,

but in fact we walked just a little further and joined the Whiteless Pike path down into the village.

Two walkers continue on into the Mill Beck Valley, but we head down at this point.

The Newlands Pass road can be clearly seen on the flanks of the fells opposite.

Dougal leading the way once again as we near the gate into Mill Beck Woods.

	- - - o o o - - -   Two wall-mounted signposts lead our small group in the same direction for the next sixty yards or so and them we reach our "parting of the ways".   - - - o o o - - -

Cathy and the boys take a left at The Fish and head down towards Dubbs Bridge.

[ Word of warning . . . the footbridge by Sour Milk Gill across the main river is still missing ]

Ann and I take a right and walk down through the National Park car park, heading for this side of the lake.

There's a new Shepherd's Hut on wheels down by the Syke Farm Campsite

They have new Yurts for a touch of elegant 'glamping' too.

Mill Beck as it nears the lake.	The head of Crummock Water.	Wood House and Whiteless.

Down on the lake a boating party has come ashore for their lunch.

We follow round the gravel shore towards the road.

The fine panorama across the lake towards Mellbreak.

Skimming stones and photography together . . . not so easy as it looks !

	- - - o o o - - -     The fence posts recede into the lake and presumably once held a wire fence to separate the fields. Now they are merely a photographer's prop.   What is strange was the desire to put a directional footpath sign on the first one.   I hadn't planned to walk around the other side of it and I don't suppose many others have either.     - - - o o o - - -

On around the head of the lake to the field below Wood House, busy today with visitors.

This is a lovely old track . . .	. . . at one time the main road into Buttermere !

This hawthorn tree is well into leaf as we look across to Scale Knott on the other side.

We are nearing the high ground of Hause Point, the others should be in sight on the other side of the lake by now.

They are walking back alongside the lake, missing Scale Force today as they visited it last time they were here.

A full zoom picks them out but only just with the naked eye.  The bigger image here is clearer.

I couldn't see the dogs but they are walking to heel if you look closely.

A few minutes later and they reach Low Ling Crag, where there's already another group on the beach.

On this side of the divide it is only one short hop and we'll be heading downward for the last time.

Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Panasonic Lumix TZ60, or my Panasonic Lumix Gx8 Camera.

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

This site best viewed with . . . a rotating Italian visitor . . . full of lovely Buttermere ice cream.

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Previous walk - 8/9th April - Cathy and the Boys

A previous time up here, 8 years ago, almost to the day - 2nd April 2011 Rannerdale Knotts in the Sunshine

Next walk - 9/12th April - The Rest of the Week