Day 3 Seatoller to Patterdale 17. 75 miles

We woke up to low cloud and windy conditions after a much better nights sleep in Seatoller and after a brew and cereal bars for breakfast again we had packed up and were on the march again for 08:00. And with the early low cloud we were pleased with our decision to wear the water proofs as rain set in after about 20 minutes walking and stuck with us all the way as we climbed Greenup Gill and up the very steep climb up lining crag, we were almost scrambling up here at times it was that steep.



When we got to the top of lining crag we were getting pelted by heavy rain and strong winds as we attempted to navigate across Greenup Edge down to Grasmere, we had lost sight of Hayden and Roe in the distance which did worry us, however we were pretty sure we were going on the right direction armed with my compass and guide maps.

sean in Grasmere

We arrived in Grasmere as the sun came out and Sarah patched up her blisters which we were starting to worry about. We met Hayden and Roe who had mistakenly taken a high route over Gibson knott influenced by other walkers which Hayden was cursing himself over, however we all arrived safely which was the main thing. I bought a water proof map holder in Grasmere and we had a really nice lunch, tuna and ham cheese tosties with tea, very nice indeed, albeit it not cheap at £16.90.

We set off to Patterdale after briefly mentioning the words “Bus and Patterdale” in the same sentence given how sore Sarah’s foot now was. As we began to climb tongue gill the sun was now fully out and the layers were off again and sun cream on. It was a long and tough walk as we ascended tongue gill and descended thorough Grisdale valley to Patterdale. We walked the last few miles with a nice guy called Martin who was walking the coast to coast for charity, guide dogs for the blind. Martin was also struggling with blisters and the 3 of us arrived in Patterdale at 19:15 well and truly knackered, Martin was also to become a good friend as the walk progressed.

Our spirits were lifted as we had booked to stay in the very nice youth hostel in Patterdale so no tent needed tonight yippee! We had dinner with a few drinks in the White Lion with Hayden and Roe and reflected on a tough but great days walking.

With the weather forecast showing storm force gales and rain for the next two days I called ahead and changed tomorrow nights accommodation from camping to bunkhouse in Shap, it proved to be a very wise decision……..

http://www.yha.org.uk/find-accommodation/the-lake-district/hostels/Patterdale/index.aspx