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| Watendlath Tarn |
Thursday, 13 February 2025Ascent: 345 metres
Distance: 6 kilometres
Time: 2 hours 2 minutes
Grange Fell 415m 33mins
Great Crag 436m. 1 hr 29muns
The last day of the three-day visit to the Lakes. It had been a success even though we had not ventured into the higher fells. The weather prospects were better and the idea had been to climb Skiddaw and its nearby peaks but I had to be home at 6pm so time was tight. The alternative was to continue to pick off some nearby lower hills and save Skiddaw for later in the year when conditions might be better.
John had decided to give the day a miss and left after breakfast. I thought we should nip down to Watendlath to climb Grange Fell and then maybe a couple of hills on the way home. It was still early when we arrived at the empty National Trust car park at Watendlath. It had been a regular visit when the family were younger. The children would paddle in the tarn, we would wander up Grange Fell chanting Jopplety Jopplety How, the name for the collection of outcrops on Grange Fell and return to Watendlath for an afternoon tea of rum butter scones and ice cream for the children.🙋
The tea room was closed for winter and today after a preamble around Watendlath and its tarn we made a quick ascent to the Grange or Brundle Fell. Jopplety How looked to be an enticing place for children to play but we just visited the nearby summit. Keith suggested that we could take in Great Crag, another Wainwright to the north. I had previously climbed this from Stonethwaite but it looked a logical extension to a short walk so we cantered over. The path was slightly boggy until the rocky staircase to the fine twin summits of Great Crag. There were good views of the snow-capped summits of Skiddaw and the Helvellyn Range was peeping above the long High Seat to High Tove Ridge. Scafell and its outliers to the south were blanketed in clouds. It was only 10:30am and the descent to Watendlath was just a couple of kilometres. We decided to go for a morning coffee and then head back north.
We decided to call in at the Rheged Centre near Penrith, a grass-covered building, visitor centre, gallery and cinema of historical importance. I last visited it on the way to a family holiday in Cornwall and I was pleasantly surprised at the range of activities and events on offer. After a coffee, scone and wander round we headed back to Glasgow to drop Keith and I was home by 4:30pm. Another 8 of the lower Wainwrights climbed and some surprisingly good visits to other places of interest. I am beginning to get the hang of not having to spend all the time on hillwalking trips on the hills.
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| Skiddaw from Grange Fell |
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| Watendlath from Great Crag |
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| Helvellyn Range from Great Crag |
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| Skiddaw from Great Crag |
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