Great How

In truth the weather looked even grimmer as we traversed Dunmail Raise and descended to Lake Thirlmere. The Kapitan and the Cabin Boy didn't look particularly enthused as we parked up and then put on our wet weather gear. It was a moribund party that set off on the walk. 

The tops of the Dodds and Helvellyn ranges were in mist. We could see a coating of snow just below the mist. It didn't look particularly inviting up there and I was glad that we were doing a lower level route. We made our way along the good trail along Lake Thirlmere. There was a thin scattering of trees between the trail and the lake, but we did occasionally get a cracking view across the lake. Great How is a solitary lump on the eastern side of the Thirlmere dam. The route to the top follows an old forestry track for most of the ascent, and then a rougher track climbs mores steeply through the crags to gain the summit. The top is quite flat and its edges are mostly free from trees, enabling wonderful views along Lake Thirlmere. The Cabin Boy claimed she'd never been up here before, but I'm sure I'd guided them both up on a previous occasion. Looking beyond Thirlmere's dam we could see the impressive vertical face of Raven Crag. Our next objective was just a little further north from that, The Benn (Sippling Crag). That too looked impressive, but first we had to get across to it. We started retracing out steps back down the awkward track from Great How's summit.

Black Humour

After reaching the bottom of Great How, we headed off on the track that heads northwards along its eastern flank. Rather weirdly, the path eventually brings you into the garden of a house called The Smithy. The residents were just departing the house and getting into their car on the drive. My greeting heartedly conveyed to them was not returned with a similar vigour. We walked down their short drive and joined the road to the dam. There is another house further down the road that has a small sign nailed to its gatepost with the following information: 'Any trespassers will be shot. Anybody surviving will be shot again.' I've read this sign a few times on previous occasions and I'm still not sure what to make of it. Maybe it is an attempt at black humour.

Stairway To Raven

It was certainly brighter now. Even the sun was attempting to poke its head above the clouds. There were plenty of walkers about attempting to blow away their New Year's Eve cobwebs. I'm not really one for celebrating the end of the year. I was in bed and asleep before 10pm and apparently slept through the midnight fireworks in Ambleside. 

At the start of the track up to Ravens Crag, a family were just about to set off on the rather challenging direct path (see Stairway To Raven for a description of the route). The parents had two small kids. 'They won't get to the top' I confidently informed the Cabin Boy. Initially, we could have followed them on the same path, but I decided that we'd walk along the forestry roads instead. These are stony and steep, but they are certainly easier than the direct Ravens Crag path. In fact the forestry road wound itself up the hill in a zig and zag and we were able to monitor the young family's progress at each intersection. Things were obviously getting tough for them, and I was still confident of my prediction.

A little further along we stopped for lunch at the track side which had a wonderful view across to Great How and along Lake Thirlmere. I could also see the Raven Crag family making their way up the steep path directly below the crag. They seemed to have stopped halfway between Camps 3 and 4. 'Ha, ha! There you go. They'll be turning back next' I thought. As we got up to leave our lunch spot, I have to confess to my slight (and uncharitable) disappointment, that I could see the family had started to inch their way up the path again. I'd give them 10 out of 10 for effort. I wondered if the parents knew that once they'd reached the ridge above them, there was then an interminable number of steps to ascend, before they'd actually get to Raven Crag's summit. I'd like to report whether the family got to the summit or not; unfortunately, after turning along the next zig of the forestry road, I never saw them again.

The Benn (Sippling Crag)

At the highest point of the forestry road, I saw a vague track leading off through the trees to the summit of The Benn (Sippling Crag). It was a boggy and a slippery track but it eventually got us to an open summit. I was surprised to find a fellow standing on the summit spot, taking a photo with his phone. The summit provided wonderful views in every direction. I looked for the family on Raven Crag, but couldn't see them. Over to the north, Skiddaw and Blencathra were bathed in sun. The afternoon had actually turned out to be quite nice. We returned back down the same slippery and boggy track to the forestry road and then continued down the western side of the hill. The forestry road zigged and then zagged back northwards, before zugging over to the east, around the north end of the hill.

Return

We followed yet another forestry road skirting along the bottom of the fell and joined the road leading to the dam. Despite the receding light, there were still plenty of people milling around the dam area. We crossed the dam and picked up the footpath that is squeezed between Lake Thirlmere and Great How's. It is a pretty track and offered great views across the reservoir. It eventually brought us around to the south end of Great How, where we had started the ascent of the hill a few hours before. We started our return along the lakeside trail to the carpark. It would be possible, and maybe even preferable, to do this walk from a carpark near to the Thirlmere dam, and avoid this lakeside trail completely. It is quite a nice path though, and since the weather had confined us to the house over most of last week, we appreciated the exercise that it gave us.

In the end, we did get a bit of sun, but it wasn't as much as the BBC weather forecasters had promised. It had turned out to be an excellent walk though. The views from the summits of Great How and The Benn (Sippling Crag) are astounding and well worth visiting if the higher fells are less accommodating.