Loughrigg Fell

Over the past few months both my wife Jo and myself have had some health issues (it's called wearing out) as you'll know if you read my last blog, I was waiting for a steroid injection in my toe joint.
Well, I finally had it done, it took some time to work, but it has worked and I'm now fit enough to get out walking again.

My wife on the other hand has been in pain for the best part of a year, with a disc pushing on a nerve, coupled with having Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) so for a spell last summer 2014 she couldn't walk more than 50 metres,
But now the disc has started to shrink a little, taking that pressure off the nerve, so she is now recovering nicely and with regular walking, slowly building her fitness again.

I've never bagged a Wainwright fell with Jo and I thought it would be nice (for me) to summit one on my birthday, it would also be a fitting start to a healthier year for both of us, fingers crossed.
Having said that, Joanne isn't a hill walker, she likes flat, short easy routes with a tearoom at the end of it, so I had my work cut out !!!

Having done some homework, Loughrigg Fell looked the best bet. Standing at only 335m it has a good path up and great views down to Grasmere. The parking (White Moss) wasn't too far away, as I was trying to keep the mileage to a minimum, which I thought was about 3.5 miles.

As it was my birthday, we didn't leave home until mid morning, you know, birthday wishes from family, card opening, texting thank you etc.....it all took time, but once we were on our way, it was only an hour and forty minutes later we were pulling up outside the Apple Pie Cafe in Ambleside for two of their lovely ham salad sandwiches, plus drinks.
The weather couldn't have been any better, warm, sunny with beautiful blue skies and hardly a breath of wind.
We arrived just after mid day in the large White Moss car park, and as we walked through the wooded area crossing the river foot bridge, I really had my doubts about my wife climbing this fell, as she is usually quite negative about climbing hills, and it did look a fair old climb to the top.
Plan B in my head, was to walk into Grasmere after walking along Loughrigg Terrace, which is where I was convinced we'd be going.

Once we were over the foot bridge, we followed  the signs for Loughrigg Terrace on a very clear wide path with a short but steep incline onto the terrace itself.
It soon became apparent that this walk was a busy and popular one, as loads of people were out walking, even on a week day as this was.


                       Jo taking a break and taking in some great views of Grasmere Lake.

Grasmere Lake and Silver Howe on the skyline

Another stop at the south west end of the terrace, and having gained quite a bit of height with an easy ascent so far, the hard work would start from here.

As you can see, it's quite a steep climb from the bottom half of the path, but it does level out a little as you near the summit. Jo was on a mission to do this having seen families of all ages and sizes spending the afternoon huffing and puffing their way up to the summit trig point. so a few words of encouragement like "Just take your time, it's not a race, we've got all afternoon" were said, in the hope she wouldn't stop and say no more. And she didn't.

Jo was doing really well, and as we got higher up the path, the views started to open up as the snow capped Langdales came into view. After this stop, by the time I had packed away my sitting mat back into the rucksack, Jo was well on her way and waiting for no one. It was at this point I began to think she just might actually make it to the top.

The views just kept getting better, as the village of Grasmere could now be seen with Helm Crag and the surrounding fells behind it. to the north Nab Scar and Heron Pike, part of the Fairfield Horseshoe.
Moments after this shot was taken a Typhoon fighter jet roared passed us, flying below our level, along the valley between Helm Crag and Seat Sandal on the right of photo.

Yeah !!! we finally made it, well done Jo, and a birthday wish comes true for me. This was my 31st Wainwright, and Jo's 1st but for all the ones I've done so far none will be more special than getting to the summit of Loughrigg Fell.

We sat down on a grassy slope, opened up the pack, and while tucking into those ham salad sandwiches, I started to think about our route down.
I could see how in low cloud, it would be very easy to find yourself heading towards Ambleside or worse Skelwith Bridge, when wanting to head for White Moss, without a GPS as several paths lead off the summit in all directions amongst many small hills.

Jo was happy to return the way we came, along with the masses, rather than the quieter south east side, but I felt the very steep descent that we climbed would be hard on her knees and back going back down that way, unlike the much steadier descent of my planned route.

As we left the summit, I felt a bit of pressure to get the navigation right, and drop back down on the right path so as not to add any more miles than necessary.
For all the times I've left home to climb mountains, I tell Jo "don't worry, I know what I'm doing" so to fail at this little fell would put a big question mark over how safe I am on solo walks in my wife's eyes.

Jo was getting a little nervous as not another walker had been in sight for some time. and was starting to question whether this way down was longer, but before I could answer, we spotted a farmer trying to round up his sheep with his I would presume young son and a dog.
"Ah civilisation" I joked, assured that we were on the right path I could now relax a bit.

Dropping down to Jobson Close, we joined the families with pushchairs on the stone laid path, which led us to the beautiful Rydal Cave. As you can see from the photo, you can use the stepping stones to get to the dry far end of the cave. This really is a stunning area, and no wonder Wordsworth came to live in the area.

At the end of the walk, which was more like 4.5 miles, Jo was tired, but most importantly she had enjoyed it, and felt proud to have climbed a fell at all. It didn't matter that it was a small one as it's all relative to each persons goals, and for Jo, that was a big step.

All that was left to do, was check in at the B&B, shower then meal and a little birthday drinkies.....perfect