Day 3

Day 3:  Rosthwaite to Grasmere.  About 14km, 540m up & 555m down.

Sure - now I remember how to use the altimeter :(  Way, way less elevation than yesterday!

It wasn't to be a big day today so had a bit of a leisurely start.  We managed to walk the first couple of hundred metres before we decided the inevitable was going to happen sooner or later so we proactively stopped to don our raingear.  We got in a bit of a really pleasant stroll beside a stream & stone fence and surrounded by trees with fields & more stone fences beyond.  Todays climb to Greenup Edge Pass was very gradual to begin with - almost imperceptible!  The rain had started by now, but no fog or really low cloud yet so we still had great views back down the valley from which we had come and to the high crags and peaks all around.  But - wet enough to discourage me from taking out my iPhone, so not much in the way of pictures today.  As we gained elevation the waterfalls increased in frequency and scenic value - really postcard perfect (except for the rain).  After spending much of yesterday in the high rocky reaches, today's early walk had lots and lots of sheep once again.  We passed a beautiful valley which was described as a "chummy basin of drumlins" - very pretty indeed.  Then onward and upward again on a bit of a rocky route-finding challenge to the top.  On the way up (and really for most of the day) we spent a great deal of time (and energy) trying to stay out of the bogs, which surprisingly are often at their worst near the tops of the hills.  

We had already decided that we would not take the high route today.  Probably a wise choice as it appeared to be in the clouds by the time we would have been on it.  Our lower route was fun, though, with the constant challenge of rock-hopping, trying not to fall in the mud, bogs and small river running down our path.  

We arrived in good time at Grasmere and were escorted to the centre of town by a local (via Liverpool and Libya) who we encountered on the edge of town as we were consulting the map and trying to keep it dry.  Grasmere is our biggest town so far - very touristy, in a Banff kind of way.  Very, very pretty - I see the attraction.  We're staying at the hostel tonight - a lovely old mansion and the only place with room for us given the tourist trade and a road race being run in town today.  We had a chance to look around town a bit before dinner, after we were once again showered, dried and laundered.  I'll attach a few of those pictures below as well.