Coledale Horseshoe - a walk for all seasons

[dav2930]

'The month of the drowned dog' is how Ted Hughes famously describes November in his poem of that name. It's certainly a potent image of the dismal dampness that often characterises the month of armistice and remembrance, when the land can be 'sodden as the bed of an ancient lake, / Treed with iron and birdless'.

But if anything is predictable about British weather, it is its unpredictability. November 2015, with its devastating floods, more than lived up to the imagery of Hughes's poem. Whereas November 2017, so far at least, has been a month of crisp sunshine, golden leaves, happy dogs and happy humans enjoying the glowing embers of the year.

After a disappointing Summer, such weather is an irresistible siren-call to all fell-walkers . And if you're struggling to decide which hills to get out on, then there's always the Coledale Horseshoe, an old favourite that never fails to delight, no matter how many times you've been round it before. And with many options to include or omit, you can do it differently each time, this walk for all seasons.

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View up the Vale of Keswick to the distant Northern Pennines

The path to Grisedale Pike

Sleet Hause

Causey Pike etc. from Grisedale Pike

Ladyside Pike from Hobcarton Crag

Hobcarton Crag (the crag, not the Hewitt) with Ladyside Pike behind.

Ladyside Pike from Hopegill Head

Grisedale Pike from Hopegill Head

Whiteside from Hopegill Head

Grasmoor from Sand Hill

Eel Crag from Sand Hill

Whiteside from Grasmoor

Grisedale Pike from Grasmoor

Crummock Water from Grasmoor

Gable, Bowfell and the Scafells from Grasmoor

Whiteless Pike (foreground) with Scafells etc. behind

Grasmoor from Eel Crag

Grisedale Pike (left), Skiddaw and Blencathra from Eel Crag

The ridge to Causey Pike with Outerside, Barrow and the vale of Keswick from Eel Crag

Helvellyn range from Eel Crag

Derwentwater, Keswick and Blencathra from Causey Pike

Skiddaw from Causey Pike

Rigg Beck, Scar Crags and Eel Crag from Causey Pike

Bowfell and Esk Pike through the gap between High Spy and Dale Head

The Coledale Inn in Braithwaite beckons at the end of the day, named by Stuart Marshall as the best pub in the Lake District. Recently refurbished, it's a decent enough pub for sure. But best in the Lakes? Hmm... If they put on a good range of real ales it might just be a contender - but there's an awful lot of competition!

[johnkaysleftleg]

Some great pics from a magnificent round. Picking the best pub in the Lakes would be an impossible but hugely enjoyable task

[trailmasher]

Great round, great pics and you're right about the various walk combinations from all directions

I've always thought that Ladyside should have been one of Wainwright's choices for his book

[dav2930]

Some great pics from a magnificent round. Picking the best pub in the Lakes would be an impossible but hugely enjoyable task

Thanks JK. A worthy research programme I would have thought - might even get some funding for it! Or maybe not

Great round, great pics and you're right about the various walk combinations from all directions

I've always thought that Ladyside should have been one of Wainwright's choices for his book

Thanks TM. Yeah Ladyside is a much more deserving of a separate chapter than some of Wainwright's choices - e.g. Mungrisedale Common!

[Alteknacker]

On the basis of your pics, this looks like a very fine route indeed. Noted in the burgeoning "to do" list, so thanks for posting.

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

great photos of a classic circuit!

two research projects
- finding the best pub in the Lakes
- visiting Mungrisedale Common to find out if it really is a bad as Wainwright says "a pudding that has been sat on".

Bagsy the first project.

Tim

[dav2930]

On the basis of your pics, this looks like a very fine route indeed. Noted in the burgeoning "to do" list, so thanks for posting.

You're welcome AK. These lovely hills give easy walking on good paths. I'm sure the described route would be a half-day trot for you, but it would be easy to extend it to take in the Newlands fells as well (Robinson, Dale Head etc.).

great photos of a classic circuit!

two research projects
- finding the best pub in the Lakes
- visiting Mungrisedale Common to find out if it really is a bad as Wainwright says "a pudding that has been sat on".

Bagsy the first project.

Tim

Thanks Tim. Yep, first project definitely the one to go for!
I'd forgotten Wainwright's own deflationary description of Mungrisedale Common. Very apt!