Day 3 - Elterwater to Rosthwaite (12.2 miles)

It was very chilly when I took Poppy for her early morning constitutional before breakfast. I had experienced a pang of conscience overnight, so I decided to walk back along the path by the river and then take the official Cumbria Way across the fields back to Elterwater, a round trip of about a mile, which is not included in the mileage above. Indeed, none of extra dog walking miles are included, before breakfast and last thing at night – I’m sure these mounted up during the course of the week.

Spring daffodils in the woods near Elterwater (Lake)

After breakfast I set out at about 9.30am, still reeling after having to cough up £98 for my room.  The twin room was originally to have been shared with Anne, but in her absence I had to pay the single supplement.  This was unavoidable particularly as there is very little choice of accommodation in Elterwater.   

Crossing Great Langdale Beck as I leave Elterwater

Crossing the beck again near the Wainrights Inn

It was much cloudier today, with very little in the way of blue sky.  Although the sun is a treat, I have to admit that it had been a bit warm for Poppy once or twice in sheltered areas the previous day, so I wasn’t too disappointed that today was likely to be a lot cooler.  Initially on a lane, I crossed Great Langdale Beck three times in the first mile or so, once in Elterwater, once near the Wainrights Inn (named for the craft of cart making rather than the guidebook writer), and finally after Thrang Farm, by Chapel Stile village.  The view drawing me on was the magnificent Langdale Pikes.

Chapel Stile

The Pikes from Thrang Farm

It was a flat start to the walk, and the going didn’t get any more difficult until the rocky, undulating path around the northern slopes of Lingmoor Fell.  About 4km from Elterwater I descended past isolated Side House and crossed Great Langdale Beck for the last time to reach the road, and ultimately the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.

The New Dungeon Ghyll hotel nestles beneath the Langdale Pikes

"After ewe, ladies"

Behind the hotel I turned roughly west on a rocky track that took me above the other (Old) Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.  The path then became smoother, but was still quite stony, and where it was hemmed in between a stone wall and a bank, there was nowhere more comfortable for Poppy to walk.  I was still worrying whether her feet would get sore before the end of the week, so I persuaded her to walk on better ground wherever possible.  I converged with a group of walkers heading up from the old hotel, but they dropped behind as I continued up the valley.

View SW, possibly to Great Knott?

With the bulk of Langdale Fell towering over me to the right, the path began to swing north west into Mickledon, the final leg of the great S-shaped Great Langdale valley.  A very stiff breeze was blowing in my face as I walked the mile or so to the valley head.  There were quite a few young people with very large rucksacks by the footbridge, possibly on a Duke of Edinburgh outing, but they headed back down the valley just as I reached them.  I stopped for a quick break here. 

Looking back SE along the Mickledon valley



A quick break before tackling Stake Pass



From here there were basically two ways out of the valley – to go left up Rosset Gill to Esk Hause, or right up Stake Pass.  The CW takes the right hand option.  It looked quite steep from the bottom, but with an engineered winding path, it was not long before I reached the top, where there was a grassy plateau called Langdale Combe.  The landscape was full of hummocks, which are grassed-over moraines, left by a retreating glacier at the end of the last Ice Age. This area is also a major watershed, determining if rivers flow south to Morecombe Bay or north or west to the Solway Firth.

View back along Mickledon from Stake Pass

Poppy at 'the pile of stones' (as marked on the OS Map) - Langdale Combe

It seemed quite bleak and isolated up here, particularly as the sky was a bit menacing and the wind was still blowing quite strongly.  However, I did pass a number of people coming from the other direction, so I was never alone for long.  For a minute or so, there was also the tiniest bit of drizzle in the air, but it fortunately amounted to nothing more.

Pops contemplates the steep route down to the Langstrath valley

There was quite a tricky route down to the Langstrath valley that involved about 300m of descent in ¼ mile.  The path had clearly been badly eroded and had already been repaired in places.  There were also quite a few bags of stones lying around, having been dropped by helicopter and waiting to be laid.

A rather bleak (and chilly) Langstrath

I stopped for a snack at the footbridge near Tray Dub.  It was quite chilly, so I didn’t linger long.  The CW then runs northwards for over 3km along the right hand side of the valley, over quite a rocky path,   I could see two couples walking on the (apparently much smoother, and less rocky) route on the other side of Langstrath Beck, but I didn’t pass anybody on my side.  As I approached the end of the valley, I could hear voices up on the fells to my right.  I couldn’t see anybody, but their voices were so clear, it was as if they were really close.  It was quite eerie.

Pops amongst boulders towards the end of Langstrath

At Greenup Gill the CW turned abruptly left into Borrowdale.  There was a good view back to Eagle Crag from here.  I followed this path alongside Stonethwaite Beck for about 2km to reach Rosthwaite.  The path was a bit stony in places, but Poppy did not appear to be foot sore.  Whilst sitting down for a final rest I was passed by two chaps who were also walking CW, but seemed impressed that I had walked from Elterwater, as they had only come from Dungeon Ghyll.  They must have had quite a late start, as I certainly hadn’t passed them during the day. 

Eagle Crag

Barriers prevent rock falls reaching Stonethwaite Beck

In Rosthwaite I walked down the lane to the tea shop at Yew Tree Farm as I was absolutely dying for a cuppa.  Don’t tell anyone, but I also had a bit of lemon drizzle cake (normally one of my favourites, but this was gluten-free, and actually not very nice).  Arriving at the Royal Oak Hotel 10 minutes later, I was then offered complimentary tea and scones – how could I refuse, although I did save one of the scones for the next day!

Borrowdale

The path to Rosthwaite

The bar and lounge area was quite deserted when I arrived, but when I returned just before 7pm, having showered and changed, it was heaving – in fact the hotel was full.  This was the only hotel which offered a set meal as part of the room price.  And I stayed on a good night, because they served up soup, roast beef with yorkshire pud, and a very delectable lemon posset for pudding.  I even managed a bit of cheese!  I had hoped to lose a few pounds on this holiday, but with the amount I had eaten today, I was beginning to think that rather unlikely!

Herdwick lambs

After dinner, everyone retired to the lounge and I chatted to a couple on holiday with their daughter.  The whole evening had a rather nice, old fashioned feel to it.  Before going to sleep it suddenly dawned on me that it would be much easier to identify my photos as I went along, so I found a bit of spare paper and began a game of catch up from the previous two days.

The Royal Oak Hotel, Rosthwaite