Height: 770 metres / 2526 feet Grid reference: NY 18566 22165 Category: The North Western Fells
Hopegill Head
Grisedale Pike
With a break in the weather and a bit of sunshine around, Grisedale Pike looked very tempting from Keswick today wearing its best winter coat. The predicted weather as for high winds with a wind chill of -18C and so it turned out in the end – I didn’t fancy the full Coledale round once I had been up high for a while so took the valley route from Coledale Hause. As the old saying goes “Half a Coledale is better than no Coledale at all”! Once again it was just me and young Dougal whilst Casper stayed at home in the warm – sensible boy!
Coledale Round
A heat wave was predicted for today and continuing over the weekend – well, it was indeed pretty warm but there was plenty of cloud cover around all morning with it only clearing (predictably) when I reached the end of the walk. It was a pleasant round though, not too warm and I was out early enough to miss most of the crowds that were sure to be out later.
Hobcarton Horseshoe
It was a completely different day to yesterday as it was overcast and the sky was grey and flat. Things were a lot warmer as it was very still and today I was joined by Andy Lang on this circuit of Hobcarton. The ice was treacherous once again in places, notably on the climb to Hopegill Head and then the rocky descent to join the Ladyside Pike ridge.
Hopegill Head
It was really rough weather today with a strong, freezing wind making the going tough for much of the route. The calmest part was surprisingly the high level ridge to Hopegill Head between the outward leg of Dodd and the homeward leg of Ladyside Pike. Coupled with the really strong wind was treacherous ice covered which had a thin veneer of snow on top – that meant we certainly had to watch our step today.
Grasmoor
Today’s conditions were almost perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, which was a beautiful azure, and the sun was shining and warm – warm enough for shorts and t-shirt for the full round. It was just me and Casper today, Angus stayed home and had a lie in whilst Casper gave his new haircut a run out.
Coledale Round
It was certainly a day of two halves today – the ascent to Grisedale Pike was done under dull skies with an increasingly cold wind that lasted until the descent of Sail when the skies ahead suddenly started clearing to reveal blue skies and sunshine. It wasn’t quite what we had last week, but I wasn’t complaining – it could have been much worse.
Grasmoor
The cloud was lying heavily on the higher tops today, so I knew there wouldn’t be any views from my round of Grasmoor. The wind was howling and quite cold, there was a great moment descending to Whiteless Pike when the mist cleared all of a sudden and I was rewarded with great views; five minutes later the mist and drizzle closed back in. I descended Rannerdale Knotts into Rannerdale to see the famous Bluebells, now in bloom and well worth a visit.
Coledale Horseshoe
Today’s walk takes in a circuit of the Coledale Fells. The weather conditions didn’t look too promising from the valley, but it wasn’t so bad considering. The snowy, wintery conditions made a pleasant change from the recent downpours.
Grasmoor
Lanthwaite Green – Whin Ben – Whiteside (116) – Hopegill Head – Sand Hill – Grasmoor (117) – Wandope (118) – Thirdgill Head Man – Whiteless Pike (119) – Whiteless Breast – Low Bank – Rannerdale Knotts (120) – Rannerdale – Lanthwaite Green
Coledale Round
Braithwaite – Kinn – Grisedale Pike (85) – Hopegill Head (86) – Sand Hill – Coledale Hause – Eel Crag (Crag Hill) (87) – Sail (88) – Scar Crags (89) – Causey Pike (90) – Outerside (91) – Stile End – Barrow (92) – Braithwaite
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