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| Helm Crag - "The Lion and the Lamb" |
Helm Crag is a popular mountain near the beautiful village
of Grasmere and is recognisable for the two rock formations that sit on either
end of the summit, namely “The Lion and the Lamb” and “The Howitzer”. I
have climbed it before but it was misty and I had no idea what the views were
like so I set forth this time with high hopes although variable weather (more
of that later).
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| View to Grasmere Village & Lake |
The stroll along the road and path towards the Easedale
valley was lovely – mountains in the background and the cascades of Sour Milk
Gill twinkling in the occasional bursts of sunshine. The Lion and the Lamb beckoned me from above
the trees to hurry up and get to the top and given the state of the clouds, I
thought it had a point so I pressed on.
The path at the beginning is steep – make no mistake that whilst at
1,329 feet this is a low fell, it lets you know it is a true mountain. At the top of the steep bit I was rewarded by
the most amazing views towards Easedale Tarn, Silver Howe, Blea Rigg, the
Coniston Fells behind, Grasmere village and lake and on the opposite side, Seat
Sandal, Stone Arthur and the beginning of the Hellvelyn range. Even though the sky only had patches of blue,
it was a beautiful sight. The weather
was making for many clothing decisions though – ski jacket on or off? Just a t-shirt or a fleece as well? Is it raining enough for waterproof
trousers? Here I should point out that
it has to be raining pretty heavily for me to resort to waterproof
trousers. There is nothing elegant about
them, particularly when you are trying to put them on when it is windy.
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| Distant Coniston Fells |
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| The Lion & the Lamb |
From the view stop there was nothing particularly
challenging until I got to the rocky summit. Now here you can take the easy path to the
side and make your way along the summit without adventure. Or you can scramble up the Lion rock. Never one to pass up a challenge, I chose to
climb the lion and using hands, feet and knees, got to the top without
incident. What a view! An unsuspecting retired couple approached the
Lion just as I got to the top. They told
me they had no intention of climbing it this time round but they used to when
they were younger. I felt I needed
history to record this moment so I hopped down from the rock, handed them the
camera and asked them to take a photo of me on the top. As I scaled back up the Lion I turned around
and the man had walked really far away...his wife told me he took his
photography very seriously and wanted to take a good photo. I rose to my full height, struck a pose and
waited for the photo to be taken. His
wife was right – he took his photography very seriously and my arms were
flagging by the time he lowered the camera.
I think he has missed his calling as David Bailey’s apprentice! I thanked him profusely as I absolutely loved
the photo and it will capture the moment for me forever. Thank you again whoever you were.
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| Me Striking a Pose on the Lion |
Next I walked to the other end of the summit and eyed the
more difficult proposition of the Howitzer.
Mmmmm....this looked a little larger for sure. There were two men standing at the foot of
the rock who had just decided not to attempt it. I have never been and never want to be a
rock-climber and grappling irons do not feature in my rucksack (I could not fit
them in with all the clothes and lipstick anyway) but I thought I would give it
a go. So I walked around the path-side
of the rock (there was a drop the other side) and tried to find a route
up. Nothing looked obvious so I tried
from one position, then another. On the
third attempt I got about two-thirds of the way up and thought I could probably
make it with a burst of bravery.
However, at this point the hail started and combined with the wind
stepping up a gear and an absence of the required burst of bravery, I decided
retreat was the better part of valour and headed cautiously back down to terra
firma. I will try it again but preferably in sunshine and with more advice on the proper route!
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| The Howitzer (still on my "to do" list) |
The onset of hail meant the weather pattern for the day was sun,
cloud, sun, rain, cloud, sun, hail and then ended on the way down with much more
sun. In other words a typical spring day
in the Lake District! After getting back
to Grasmere, discarding the walking boots, donning heels and topping up my lipstick,
I headed to the Drunken Duck for lunch – potato and chervil soup and a glass of
something sparkly. A perfect walking
day.
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| The Drunken Duck Inn |
