A Winter Camp on Grisedale Tarn (3 Wainwrights and route included)
It's been a while since I last set out for a wild camp. Around six months ago, my friend Alex and I made our way to Buttermere for a wild camp on top of Grassmoor. This time round, our plan was to select a location which would allow us to tick off some Wainwrights on route. But we are also partial to a tarn camp. Alex asked me if there are any worth visiting that we hadn't already done. We have previously visited most of the major ones, like Red Tarn, Scales Tarn and Stickle Tarn. I did initially suggest Bowscale Tarn, but this wasn't ideal for Wainwright bagging. Alex then suggested that if we couldn't think of one, we could always do a trusty favourite like Red Tarn on Helvellyn. I looked at Red Tarn on the OS map, then glanced south, casting my eye on Grisedale Tarn, just south of Dollywagon Pike. Its location would allow us to tick off three new peaks, Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon and Seat Sandal. After looking up some images of the general surroundings, we settled on Grisedale. After recounting our camping trip I provide some detailed notes on the route at the bottom of the post.
We started our walk from the car park behind Wythburn church, just to the east of Thirlmere. To our fortune, the ticket machine for the car park was out of order. It looked in bad shape, badly corroded and in need of replacement. After double checking there were no instructions to pay by app (I've been burned by that one before!) we started getting ready for the walk. At this point, there was light-rain. To avert changing mid-walk, we put our waterproofs and a pair of gaiters to keep our socks dry.
From the car park, we took the path leading through the woods on the lower slopes of Nethermost Pike. On other occasions when I'd walked fells of the Helvellyn range, I did so from the eastern side, which is by far the more dramatic side, with craggy rock faces and aretes like swirral and striding edge. On the western side, it is more of a gradual grassy slope. Still, the route offered fine views to the back of us out over to Thirlmere. The issue we faced was weather. The rain and wind were expected, but spirits were a little dampened by the poor visibility. The higher we got the less we could see. When we reached the ridge line, I was hoping to get a view of Helvellyn but the weather wouldn't allow it. In fact, we were in the difficult situation of needing to fight through wind, rain and poor visibility to find our way up to the summit cairn at the top of Nethermost. Though a paper map is always essential, it is times like these when GPS truly comes in handy, keeping us on the right path when we could hardly see the path! Though visibility was poor, I could see just far enough over to the east to see what looked like a precipitous drop over the other side. On this range, the east and west really did mark a tale of two fells, one side gentle and benign, the other spectacular and dangerous.
A fine view out to Thirlmere before the visibility became too poor
Shortly after Nethermost, we summitted Dollywagon Pike. The conditions were quite harsh by this point. The visibility was still too poor to appreciate the surroundings. We plowed on, faces battered by the wind. The rain cover of my Osprey bag was caught by the wind but remained attached by a knot. As the rain was fairly light by this point I stuffed the cover in the space between my back and the bag. We took the path to our left which descended the fell toward Grisedale tarn. The harsh wind mellowed at points as we found cover from the higher fell. The wind was blowing in an easterly direction. In theory, we thought this would be to our advantage, as the tarn is depressed below Dollywagon and Seat Sandal, though there is a col between these two fells where raise beck drains from the tarn. Consequently, the wind was still quite strong, albeit much mellower than the fell summits.
It wasn't until we got really close that we could actually make out the tarn. Even then, we could not get a good view of it. We spent a great deal of time looking for a suitable pitch as most spots next to the tarn were boggy, but also we wanted some shelter. We inspected the ground behind a large stone. It would have been perfect if it were a solo camp but not quite enough room for two pitches. I turned round and to my surprise the stone was engraved. Due to the visibility, I didn't even attempt to decipher the eroded inscription, though I could make out "Wordsworth" on the metal sign that protruded from the top. The stone is identified on the OS Map as the Brothers' Parting Stone. The person responsible for the inscription was Hardwicke Rawnsley, renowned conservationist of the heritage of the Lakes and one of the founders of the National Trust. In previous posts I have remarked on monuments associated with Rawnsley such as the one on Lonscale Fell commemorating the Shepherds who farmed the area. The Brothers' Parting Stone pertains to the spot where Wordsworth last saw his brother John. The inscription at the stone reads as follows:
Here did we stop; and here looked round
While each into himself descends
For that last thought of parting friends
That is not to be found
Brother and friend, if verse of mine
Have power to make thy virtues known
Here let a monument stone
Stand-sacred as a shrine
It might have been quite poignant to have bedded down at a spot with such a personal connection to Wordsworth, but it was not to be. We managed to find a nearby spot, not quite as sheltered but more spacious. The winds were still battering quite hard so we quickly set up camp. The winds died off a little as the night progressed, but we were conscious that they were due to pick up to over 50 miles an hour in the early hours. We had our flash lights at the ready in case we had to make a late night break for it down the fell. The focal point of my concern was my tent, which had collapsed a couple of years ago on the summit of Rannerdale Knott. Part of the pole snapped at the time. Unable to find a replacement I have been continuing to use a pole that has had a good six inches shaved off it. But she held up alright, but I didn't half receive a battering from the tent flapping when I awoke the following morning.
The winds were due to get even stronger as the morning progressed, so we decided the sensible option was an early start, around five O'clock. This meant decamping and setting off in the dark. With our flash lights we were able to find our way to the col between Seat Sandal and Dollywaggon. We turned left up Seat Sandal. The ascent was tough; really tough. Given the hour and poor visibility I decided to hide my bag next to the dry stone wall to make it easier. Part of me really wanted to turn around and leave Seat Sandal for another day, but I knew it would be an inconvenience to return just for this fell given I'd ticked off all those nearby, including all those on the Fairfield Horseshoe. So I managed to plough on. Having visited the summit cairn we made our way back down to the col, then proceeded down the fell via raise beck. Once the visibility improved, this was the best part of the walk. With little waterfalls and pools along the course of the beck. At the bottom of the fell, just before the road, there is a permissary path that leads through Wythburn woods back to the car park behind the church.
The Detailed Route:
The route we took was fairly straightforward. We parked on the car park behind Wythburn church to the east of Thirlmere lake. From the car park there is a path which passes through some woodland before emerging on open fell. Continue up the path which ascends Nethermost Pike. Closer to the top, the path veers to the left and joins another path on the ridge between Nethermost Pike and Helvellyn. Take a sharp right at this point. There are several paths that pass over Nethermost. The one furthest to the left will take you closest to the cairn which marks the summit. Be careful though, for there are some precipitous drops on the eastern side of the ridge.
After the summit, keep pressing ahead across the ridge. After a while you will pass the cairn on the summit of Dollywagon Pike. If you're uninterested in visiting the tarn, you could continue ahead to Seat Sandal from here. If you want to visit the tarn, keep following the path after summiting Dollywagon, then after a short while, take the path on the left. The path then descends the fell in a zig zagging fashion toward the tarn.
We camped just to the north of the tarn. From here, there is a path which runs west of the tarn leading to a col between Dollywagon and Seat Sandal. Take the path to the left to ascend Seat Sandal. We then turned round and retraced our steps back down the fell, before turning left at the point we initially began walking up seat sandal. You then descend the fell on the path to the left of raise beck.
At the bottom of the fell, just as you approach the road, there is a path on the the right. The path proceeds in a rather awkward manner over raise beck. The path continues over fields on the lower slope of the fell for a short while before entering coniferous woodland. Follow the path through the woods for about three quarters of a mile, before turning left, descending back to the car park at the start of the walk.
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