Lake District April 2010 (Walk 1)

Patterdale

A Trip to the Lake District was made April 2010. We stayed as usual at the Patterdale Hotel in the small village of Patterdale near Ullswater. The hotel is owned by Choice Hotels, having other hotels in Keswick and Blackpool. The Patterdale Hotel is very reasonably priced and the stay included evening meal and breakfasts.

We arrived on the Saturday, and stayed 6 nights, leaving on the Friday. Whilst the hotel is not particularly "posh", it is fairly basic as far as facilities go. however, the rooms are clean, all have bath/shower combinations (ideal for a soak after a days walking). The food we have found to be very good, (though the dining room, it has to be said is a little small) and the evening meal included in the price with a choice of 4 or 5 dishes for each course and of very reasonable quality. Typical price for a room for a mid-week break mon-Fri (4 nights) is around the £320 mark (£160 each) which is pretty good considering the inclusion of the evening meal. They will also provide a pack up ordered a day in advance for £5/per person.

The main thing for us though is the location, and you can pay a little extra for a room with a view over the fells. Ullswater lake is in walking distance (1 mile) as well as Glenridding with a few more pubs and a couple more shops. Ideal if your previous experience of the Lake District has been Windemere and the hordes of tourists queing for trips on the lake. Why not try Ullswater, with little or no queues, trips on a steamboat up/down the lake or take a boat out yourself on the uncrowded lake.

Pattedale itself is located just over the Kirkstone Pass (turn right near Ambleside, and drive up "The Struggle", and over the pass). Glenridding is about a mile further west from Patterdale, as is Lake Ullswater. All in all a fairly quiet part of the Lake District in comparison to Windemere, Ambleside and Bowness. An ideal base for many walks without having to drive further to a start point. Patterdale provides easy walking access to Place Fell, Beda Fell, Angle Tarn and of course Helvellyn for those feeling a little more adventurous. The picture above shows the lovely beer garden outside the hotel - which does however, get quite busy with walkers passing through or finishing their days adventures with a well deserved pint.

11/4/10 Walk 1 - Grisedale - 7 miles

(Pathfinder Eastern Lakeland Walk#18) Our Time 4hrs,15 Mins

Our first walk of this trip set off from the Patterdale Hotel about 09:15 on a very fine Sunday morning, walking through the village after a hearty hot breakfast. Passing by the village store (which sells as most of these general stores do pretty much everything!).

Wainwrights famous guidebooks were first sold at the Patterdale general store, back in the day when Wainwright was unknown and the books unheard of.

From there a right turn took us around the back of the hotel and heading up slight inclines towards Grisedale.

The walk was a fine start to the trip and a good start walk to get back into the swing of things after what seemed to be a very long winter! I think the both of us agreed that a steady start and relatively "flat" walk was a good idea.

The Grisedale valley gave fine views of both Patterdale common and of course Helvellyn. The picture above shows the snow still on the higher reaches of striding edge.

The SATMAP GPS I purchased late last year was used for all the walks this trip (the first real serious use since I bought it.). The route was fairly simple, and had been taken from the Pathfinder guidebook for the Eastern Lake District. The set of these were bought for me as a Birthday treat from Susan. Very good books with OS maps of the routes, GPS co-ordinates and turn by turn written route descriptions. Each book giving around 28 walks of varying difficulties.

For the "Average" walker (which I guess we are just about) a good mix of walks.

Anyhow, the route was pretty much a straight out and back in the reverse direction albeit a slightly different path.

The route was a mix of pretty good pathways and as can be seen above some roadways and stiles. Excellent view of the valley ahead and fells either side.

The route/pathway back was just as impressive giving another view of the valley from the opposite direction. Quite quiet too, with just a few other walkers encountered.

All in all a fine walk on a fine day, returning to the hotel around 13:30 for a drink in the beer garden, making the most of the unexpected fine April weather.

Score: 7.5/10