Grasmoor
A Quality Mountain Day - The Gasgale Gill Skyline
Grasmoor
Earlier this week I had a rare day to myself, so decided to go walking in a range of mountains that I rarely visit. I’ve climbed most of the hills and mountains of the Lake District many times over the years – I’ve completed five rounds of the 214 Wainwrights, so I’ve done every fell at least five times, but obviously a lot of them I’ve climbed many more times than that.
However, there are a few that I have only done five times, no more, no less, and one of those is actually one of the higher mountains of the Lake District – Grasmoor. At 852 metres Grasmoor is the 20th highest mountain in the National Park. As I started looking at the map to decide on my route, I began to realise that not only had I only every reached its summit on five occasions, I’d also done so by taking pretty much the same route – I’d always tagged Grasmoor on to the Coledale Horseshoe, even though it’s technically not part of that round, being out on a limb overlooking Crummock Water. The map revealed that there are some interesting-looking ways to the top starting from the west side, and the paths up via Gasgale Gill looked interesting, so I headed for the car park at Lanthwaite Green.
Gasgale Gill
The view up Gasgale Gill towards Hopegill Head
There are a number of paths and tracks up beside Gasgale Gill, and I fancied being close to the water for my ascent, so I took the one that runs on the north side, right down at the water’s edge. There have been a few mini landslips here, which means that you need to scramble up and over little rocky steps occasionally, but it’s relatively easy going. Along the way I photographed a number of spring flowers, including bilberry and milkwort, and also found bright green patches of parsley fern throwing out new fronds – one with a handsome spring usher moth attached.
Bilberry
Milkwort
Parsley Fern
Crowberry
The route took me in about an hour up to Coledale Hause from where I followed the north-east ridge of Grasmoor, via a lovely little path that leads across the top of Dove Crags. Here, high on the ridge, were nice clumps of clubmoss, while minute cowberry was flowering in among the short-cropped grasses. The views down into the gullies of Dove Crags were spectacular – I’ve had my eye on this area as a winter climbing ground, and I’m hopeful that the next winter will give better conditions than the last so I can have a look at some of the classic ice climbs here.
Grasmoor’s summit is stony, and there is a great little shelter giving views down towards Crummock Water and Buttermere, with the Red Pike ridge and Pillar ranged beyond. The Scafells and Great Gable look particularly good from here too. I sat and had a quiet lunch stop before heading off eastwards for the summit of Wandope (772m). I had Wandope to myself, but bumped into a couple of clients of mine, Sue and Celia, on the col between Wandope and Crag Hill. We had a nice chat, then I took a vague sheep path around the rim of Addacomb Hole and Scar Crag to reach the summit plateau of Crag Hill (839m). I’ve been on this fell quite a few times in the past, but today I notcied for the very first time that the whole of the stony plateau is carpeted with trees! The lovely least willow grows no more than a few centimetres high, and in the Lake District is only found in a few places, on our highest summits.
Looking down Dove Crags
Grizedale Pike from the slopes of Crag Hill
The little shelter on Grasmoor's summit
Least willow on the summit of Crag Hill
Walkers on the east ridge of Grasmoor
Me, on the top of Crag Hill
The north ridge of Crag Hill looks pretty steep and rocky, but with care it is possible to follow a scree slope down, and back to the left, then over to Coledale Hause again. An easy path took me up Sand Hill and onto Hopegill Head (770m). The ridge leading westwards over to Whiteside looked spectacular today, with dark clouds scudding in on the north side, but bright sunshine filling the valley of Gasgale Gill to the south. As I walked, ring ouzels called from Gasgale Crags below, and a buzzard flew down the valley. The ridge here was superb, being narrow, but offering easy walking. The summit of Whiteside (719m) gave me a great little perch to sit and have a second lunch, before I continued down over Whin Ben to reach my car, just as my first cuckoo of the season began calling from across the Vale of Lorton.
l-r Grasmoor, Whiteside, Hopegill Head, and Grizedale Pike from the north ridge of Crag Hill
Grizedale Pike from Hopegill Head
Whiteside
Whin Ben and Crummock Water
Hopegill Head, Sand Hill, Coledale Hause, Crag Hill, and the flanks of Grasmoor from Whiteside
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