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About Great Crag | About Grange Fell
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We had seen a lot about Great Crag and its beautiful Dock Tarn so while we were staying near Keswick decided to work out a route that would also see us reach Grange fell in a nice circular route. Starting in Rosthwaite we quickly headed out the village and over the bridge that heads over the river and onto a small rocky path that leads around the fells. We chose to turn right and head over towards grange fell, it’s quite tough underfoot here as the ground is loose and rocky but taking your time it isn't a problem.
Eventually this path turns more into a dirt section with grassy side, and you start to slowly move up towards the fell but after not too far, it again becomes loose and rocky, again taking your time this isn’t a problem but it can be a bit heavy going. Soon you head into a woodland, this formed the steepest section of the walk with several switchbacks and due to the warm day, we had to have quite a few breaks. Each time you switch back the sides are quite steep, and anyone concerned about heights might feel a little uneasy here, but it wasn’t too difficult outside of the steepness.
Once out the woodland, the ground starts to plateau and although there is still an incline, it’s much easier. At this point the sky decided to open and pour down on us so we jumped into our waterproof’s and carried on up. Not much further up and the rain had stopped (Classic UK Weather!) so off went the coats and shortly after we made our way to dock Tarn.
We’ve walked quite a few fells in the lakes and seen a lot of tarns around the UK and on this beautiful summer's day, with not a single person around this had to be the nicest we had seen. Once around halfway across the path which passes around it you can see the entire tarn right to left and it’s such a sight. Add on to this, the perfect silence outside of the few birds tweeting as they flew around the lake and it was the most wonderful feeling.
Upon leaving the Tarn we continued further up and passed by Great Crag (the path doesn't go over the peak, so we just followed this as we like to stick to the paths) and eventually you start then heading downhill. It was at this point we first past another walker which shows just how quiet these fells are.
Upon leaving the rocky bobbly surroundings of Great Crag we could see across an expansive plain towards Grange fell where the land starts to rise again. This area is obviously boggy from looking at it, and during our walk in a warm October it wasn’t too difficult to navigate, although during wetter times I imagine it’s much more difficult to navigate. We looped around to the right following the path, at times it seemed we might be heading off the fells towards Watendlath but eventually this path brings you around the bog and right back on track to tackle Great Crag.
Once you’re aimed back towards Great Crag, it’s a straight route up and about halfway from here to the top you pass a very good path that takes you from Rosthwaite to Watendlath. This is the route we eventually take down, but for now we crossed over it and continued up. The path here was less obvious than the others, but still navigable and we passed a farmer and his army of dogs fixing some fencing on the way up which was a nice change. Much like Great Crag, the peak of Grange Fell is off the trodden path, so we got as close as we could while on the path and then headed back down towards the crossroad.
Passing by the welcoming farmer once again we soon found ourselves on the much better terrain. From here, we went right and soon got a good pace, this is an easy path to walk on and many of the people we did pass came up this way, the key thing for us was an easier route down than up, and this worked perfectly. As you wind your way down, the views out are fantastic, and we spent some good time pointing out different fells and routes before heading back through some low-level woodland. This passes by quickly and soon you’re walking by few properties that edge the village of Rosthwaite. Eventually the path leads all the way back to the starting bridge over the river, and from here it’s a short route to the car.
These fells offer something very different than the much bigger and popular routes around Derwent water and we really enjoyed it. It’s a very peaceful walk, and you feel very much contained in the hills once you’re up high. It’s a great walk, and one we will do again.
