Saturday, September 30, 2006

Up to Easedale Tarn

We’ve been very lucky with the weather today; mild and sunny all day, whereas it was raining most of the day yesterday and the forecast is for more rain tomorrow. Perfect timing!

As ever I was not enamoured of the early start, but once breakfast had worked its magic on me we got underway to meet the rest of the group at Colin’s place. For once there was very little discussion of where to go; Thos simply said, “Let’s go up to Easedale Tarn from Grasemere,” and that’s what we did.

As ever, the scenery was beautiful en route. We’re a little early for the autumn colours, but the morning was hazy in the distance while seeming quite crisp and clear closer-to; the rugged scenery given an extra-vivid texture by the low morning sunlight.

It was a fairly easy walk (good for Thos, who is recovering from heart surgery) without any especially steep climbs. The recent heavy rain meant that the stream draining from the tarn was full and rapid and made several scenic waterfalls on the way down.

We made it to the banks of the tarn by about 12:45 and had lunch on a hillock overlooking the placid, albeit very dark, waters. A solitary seagull was coaching its chick in the art of swooping and landing while we ate and it made quite a contrast against the charcoal-coloured tarn. After lunch we separated into two groups; the ‘A’ group carried on towards yet higher ground with a view to circling around and descending closer to Grasmere. The ‘B’ group (Mum, Brett & I) retraced our steps down from the tarn to the village, enjoying the view all the way. After dumping our rucksacks and boots we had a wander around the village and eventually settled in a hotel lounge for coffee and the weekend papers while we waited for the ‘A’ group to return.

Back at the B&B now, about to get showered and go to dinner. Part of the tradition is a good dinner on Saturday night after the walk and this time we are trying a new restaurant (the old one having steadily slipped in our estimation over the last several visits.)

EDIT: Photos here and here.

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