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Date & Time: Tuesday 19th June 2007. 9.45 am start. Location of Start : Town Head, Grasmere, Cumbria, Uk. ( NY 332 096 ) Places visited : Ghyll Foot, Steel Fell, Calf Crag, Gibson Knott, Helm Crag, Lancrigg and back to Ghyll Foot. Walk details : 6.5 mls, 2,400 ft of ascent , 6 hrs including lunch. Highest point : Steel Fell 1,811 ft ( 553 m ).Walked with : Paul from North Face, and eight of us from George Fishers. Weather : Overcast and rather humid. An occasional warm breeze. Archive photo of George Fishers Retail shop in Keswick |
Loading up one of the cars in Keswick with test gear for the day. We started the walk from Ghyll Foot after parking at the river bridge, but someone noticed Paul's shoes didn't have laces ! Was this by accident or by design ?
The bracken is high now as we start the climb up Steel Fell ~ Grasmere Village can be seen at the far end of the valley. The first gate and the view across to Helm Crag, which we planned to reach towards the end of our walk. The ascent of Steel Fell is a steady climb parallel to the Dunmail Raise road. Behind Bethan is the dual carriageway section over the Dunmail summit, with Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike and Helvellyn on the opposite side. Steel Fell has a cairn built around an old fence post. Beyond is the reservoir of Thirlmere, and in the distance are Blencathra and the Northern Fells. Photo (by Paul) of today's group, others would be out on the same route tomorrow. (anti-clockwise from top) Kath and her terrier, Caroline, myself with Harry and Bethan, Lisa, Will, Richard, Joel and Andrew (standing). It didn't seem warm enough for a swim but Harry and Bethan disagreed. Calf Crag was the halfway point and seemed a good spot for lunch. The large number of blue jackets is due to another product test - of their Hyvent DT (dry touch) waterproofs.
From our lunch spot we looked west up to High Raise and Greenup Edge. The small tarn is Brownrigg Moss and the path from Grasmere passes behind it and climbs the Edge before dropping down into Borrowdale beyond.
On the return leg now as we make our way over to Gibson Knott and Helm Crag. Steel Fell from Gibson Knott, almost a reverse of my earlier photo. These Herdwick locals didn't seem particularly worried by our passing - they are obviously used to regular visitors to the fells.
Looking back to Gibson Knott as we climbed the last section to Helm Crag. Calf Crag where we had lunch is far behind us now. The summit of Helm Crag, side on for a change, was one of the summits that Wainwright didn't actually reach. He was never a great rock scrambler apparently, unlike the guys in the group today.
The higher summit rock is known as the Howitzer, but it's partner rocks on the other end are known as the Lion and the Lamb. This second formation is the more prominent of the two when viewed from Grasmere Village. Climbing over for the day, we start to descend back to the valley. Bethan takes a break on the way down. Still full of energy, Joel tries a 'standing jump' of the fence. [ Move your cursor over the picture to see the result ] His success was probably due to strong leg muscles gained by cycling to work each day. The route continues down through the wooded gardens of Lancrigg Hotel and Restaurant. The path passes above one of the old ornamental ponds.
A brief road walk back up the valley from the hostel brought us back to the cars and the end of the walk. All that remained was a final discussion and assessment of the day, at a suitably convenient place on the way back into town ! --- ooo --- Thanks for a great day out to Paul Johnson of North Face, and also to the George Fishers Management. Please note: any opinions expressed within this report are purely personal and do not necessarily reflect those of George Fisher Ltd or The North Face Company itself. --- ooo ---
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Technical note: Pictures taken with a Canon G7 Digital camera. Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder. This site best viewed with . . . a chance to try out the gear. © RmH.2007 # Email me here # Guest book (on the front page) Previous walk - 14th June 2007 Hopegill Head on a Rough Day A previous time with TNF - 19th / 20th April 2005 Fishers / North Face Training Days on Gable Next walk - 20th June 2007 The Honister Slate Mine Trail
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