I was staying at the Middle Ruddles in Braithwaite and thought it would be nice to rest the car and do a walk that started from the doorstep. That would be Grisedale Pike then. To start with Hobcarton End I wanted to be up nearer the top of the Whinlatter Pass. Trudging up the road would have been very tedious. Instead I took the lower, quieter, shorter road to the pretty little village of Thornthwaite. A woman who lives here in the Middle Ruddings bar the following evening would tell me it’s mostly holiday homes now, leaving her in midwinter with the place almost to herself. From here a really lovely footpath runs through woods a little north of Comb Beck to the Forestry Visitor Centre. Here they do coffee and rather nice cake. So of course I stopped and had some.
Then I walked a short way downhill to Comb Bridge, where a track leads into the forest. The idea is to head down this to a junction labelled number 41, go right here for a short distance then left up a very muddy track then left at the top of this. This didn’t lead right to the crest of the ridge but brought me out of the woods close enough to gain it easily. From here there’s a good path on the ground the whole way. And a very lovely way it is over Hobcarton End and on to the top of Grisedale Pike, then out and back to Hobcarton Crags before heading straight back down to Braithwaite on the splendid northeast ridge. It was pretty overcast and drizzled persistently all day but that counts as lovely weather compared to what yesterday had to offer.
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