Captain's Log

First Aid

The Kapitan and the Cabin Boy were feeling a little tired after yesterday’s arduous walk (see Kentmere Valley Explorer) and so I planned an easier route for today. Not only that, the Cabin Boy had been bitten by some horse flies a few days ago and her legs sported several large multi-coloured bumps. I suggested that they may need some sort of medical attention and so the plan was to include a stop at a chemist on today’s itinerary. We were staying at some digs in Ambleside and so I decided we’d do a route straight from the house. Our day would start with the Cabin Boy visiting Ambleside's Boots chemist. Depending on whether any amputations were required, we’d then head off to Grasmere starting with Under Loughrigg Road and then following the paths alongside Rydal Water and Grasmere. Our physical challenge of the day would be to climb up about 300m to the pretty Alcock Tarn. From there we’d lose most of the height gained as we followed the southern flank of Nab Scar to Rydal Hall. From there we’d walk through Rydal Park before a short pavement walk would bring us back to Ambleside.      

The Cabin Boy seemed to be in Boots for a very long time and as I stood patiently outside, I began to fear the worst. I was relieved when she came out of the chemist with both legs still attached and a tube of lotion and spray in her hands. Once the lotion had been applied on the bites, and her legs had been sprayed, we set out on our walk.

Grasmere

We cut through Rydal Park to Under Loughrigg Road. Both the park and road were busy with walkers and potterers. I’m not sure how many times I’ve walked and run the length of Under Loughrigg Road, but it must be in the hundreds. It is a single track road and attracts very little traffic. As its name suggests, it follows the base of Loughrigg and is squeezed between the hill and the River Rothay. It is a very pleasant road to stroll along and has good views over to Wansfell Pike and the Fairfield Horseshoe. After Pelter Bridge the road meets the A591. Rather than crossing the bridge, we followed the single track road westwards towards Rydal Water.      

The weather forecast had predicted grey clouds and showers, but all we could see was sunshine and blue skies. The sunshine seemed to have brought the walkers out since there were plenty of them pottering along the Rydal Water path. It was a great view over to Nab Scar on the other side of the lake. Later in the day we would follow a path along the flank of Nab Scar on our return journey to Ambleside. 

Rydal Water is only a small lake and we soon moved on to the much larger Grasmere Lake. This offered even better views towards Helm Crag and the hills around Fairfield and Helvellyn. A wild water swimmer trailed a pink float behind her. She didn’t seem to be making much headway. A couple of paddle boarders, further towards Grasmere, were having an easier time. Unfortunately, the path alongside the lake didn't go all the way to Grasmere. Halfway along, it diverted away and met up with the Red Bank road. This was a narrow road, but doesn’t attract too much traffic and so was safe enough. It wasn't long before we were plodding the streets of Grasmere.     

The Kapitan went off to buy some cold drinks for himself and the Cabin Boy. I settled for a £3.50 1 scoop ice-cream cone. It was supposed to be a ‘Death By Chocolate’ ice-cream, but it didn't taste much like chocolate. It was pleasant enough though and cooled me down on what was turning out to be a hot day. We sat on a bench in Grasmere's grassy central square. The grass had been commandeered by a large number of teenagers who were sitting around looking bored as a teacher bellowed out instructions to them. The kids had clipboards, and so we made a quick exit before we became candidates for their survey. 

Alcock Tarn

We headed out of Grasmere and crossed the A591 near to The Swan hotel. After following the road on the other side for 5 minutes, we came across the fingerpost pointing the way to Alcock Tarn. An easy tarmac walk brought us to a footbridge crossing a stream. The climb to the tarn really started after we’d crossed the bridge. It was a steep ascent through a forest of high ferns. The sun had been replaced by grey clouds now, but there wasn’t much breeze and so it was a warm climb. As we got higher, the views back over Grasmere opened up. Helm Crag dominated, but we could also see further westwards along the pretty valley of Easedale. It was a strenuous climb, but it eventually levelled out and the path meandered towards Alcock Tarn. There was a nice grassy area at its northern end and we sat down for our lunch break. There seemed to be quite a bit of vegetation growing out of the tarn. I wondered if at some stage in the future, it might silt up altogether.

Rydal

The route to Rydal is popular and we met plenty of walkers on the route. The path followed the contour of the hillside along the flank of Nab Scar and so was quite an easy walk. Much of it was wooded and so there was never a clear view  across to Rydal Water and Loughrigg. We reached Rydal Mount, where William Wordsworth lived for most of his life. It is now a National Trust property and if the Kapitan and Cabin Boy hadn't been with me, I might have paid the place a visit. Instead, we headed off to Rydal Hall. There was plenty of water coming down Rydal Beck’s waterfalls. The room housing the controls for the hydro-electric generator was open to visitors and we had a quick look inside. An information board told me that it generated 500KW of power and uses a Gilkes Twin Jet Turgo Turbine. It went on to say that Gilkes is a company based in Kendal and had been manufacturing turbines for 160 years, longer than any other company in the world. 

We walked along the stone track through pretty Rydal Park.  It had become overcast now, but at least it wasn’t raining. We reached the A591 and started the pavement plod towards Ambleside. It didn’t take long to reach the town and the conclusion of our walk.  After the sunshine of this morning, the greyness of the afternoon had been a bit of a disappointment. Even so, it had been an enjoyable walk over familiar territory.  The Cabin Boy had also survived to walk another day.