Lake District
1NY337076 From Grasmere village walk north-west up Easedale Lane for 700m, past the YHA hostel on the right, and fork right on a lane at Goody Bridge. Continue along the lane for 1.1km to a T-junction by the stone bridge over the River Rothay. Turn left and continue up the lane for another 0.5km to cross the bridge over the Green Burn next to the houses at Ghyll Foot.
2NY332096 Fork left up a narrow lane, with tall trees on the left, to a gate by a couple of cottages leading to the foot of the fells (Open Access land). Keep the wall on your right and follow the grassy path up the bracken-clad slopes, passing through a couple of gates, to reach the hillside above the last intake wall. Continue north-west towards a rocky outcrop and go uphill to reach the top of Steel Fell, with fine views north towards Thirlmere and east towards Fairfield and Helvellyn. Turn west along the broad ridge, following a rusty fence line, to reach two small tarns set in a wide, boggy depression. The land is often marshy here and the streams flow east into Greenburn Bottom. Veer south-west to ascend about 80m to the crest of Calf Crag; the intermittent fence line remains a useful marker over a series of peat hags.
3NY302105 Turn east along the undulating ridge and join a path that twists and turns over Pike of Carrs and climbs several rocky knolls before reaching the top of Gibson Knott after almost 2km. A cairn can be found just to the north of the path. The view into Far Easedale features small stone enclosures and a network of streams and rivers. After heavy rain, the falls at Sourmilk Gill always sound impressive. Continue south-east for almost 1km, past Bracken Hause and the dip below Helm Crag. Climb to the top, where unexpected depressions and small parallel ridges could almost be ancient defensive structures. The north-western outcrop, requiring a little scramble, is the true summit. It has, depending upon the viewpoint, been called ‘the old lady playing the organ’, ‘the howitzer’ or ‘the lion couchant’. The southern outcrop, prominent from Grasmere, is ‘the Lion and the Lamb’.
4NY326093 Walk south-south-east from the summit on a good stony path, which soon turns west by a small grassy plateau. This then swings south-east below White Crag before contouring east to meet a wall. Turn right downhill to join a track at the foot of the enclosure. Now veer left for a short distance down to the next wall and keep on to a small gate leading into woodland. A permissive path runs through the trees (Wordsworth is said to have planted seedlings here) and soon passes the front of the Lancrigg Hotel. Continue to join a permissive track past Thorney Howe Hostel and carry on down to the lane. Turn right to return to Goody Bridge and Grasmere.