ACROSS LAKELAND - A Northern Coast to Coast Walk: From St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay - page 29

you turn right on a signposted footpath to Stonethwaite. An intermittently
enclosed path now runs alongside the beck for a while, later becoming a
field path leading to Stonethwaite Bridge. From the high point of the path the
view ahead to Eagle Crag opens up, while to the right may be picked out the summits of
Base Brown, Green Gable and Lingmell, the latter rising directly behind the great white
mare's tail of Taylorgill Force.
At Stonethwaite Bridge the path continues ahead (signposted 'Grasmere
via Greenup Edge') to the source of Stonethwaite Beck, lavish product of
Greenup Gill and Langstrath Beck. Cascades here form delightful company,
notably Galleny Force just below the confluence, while the encompassing
scenery is so extravagantly beautiful and inspiring you could almost be-
lieve nature is showing off! This is Lakeland at its best.
With the show of cascades beyond the dark frown of Eagle Crag increas-
ing with every step, the landscape becomes more austere.
As the sound of waterfalls is left behind, the path springs upon an un-
suspected corrie, a vast green bowl carved by glaciers and filled with mo-
raine, high in the hills, beneath the summit of High Raise. Nearby, glacier-
smoothed Lining Crag stands sentinel over this lonely spot, and is ap-
proached on a steepening path, and then passed on a steep path to its left
(as you look at it), which must have shed a gallon or two of perspiration in
the making, just as it does now in the walking, especially on a hot day. In
the event, the top of Lining Crag is a lovely resting point - what Victorian
walkers might call a 'belvedere'.
Once above Lining Crag most of the uphill work is done. An indistinct
path leads across frequently boggy ground to traverse Greenup Edge to
the head of Wyth Burn. This is confusing in mist, so don't just go charging
into it - a compass bearing will be helpful.
A descending path then traverses a boggy shelf before climbing to meet
the grassy col of Far Easedale Head at a redundant fenceline.
The ensuing descent into Far Easedale, although the main route, need
only be followed if time is of the essence, or in bad weather (the variant
via Helm Crag is described below). The route is never in doubt - it begins
from an old fence post as a stepped descent initially bearing right, into the
head of the dale, and working a lovely way down to a footbridge spanning
Far Easedale Gill at Stythwaite Steps - Stythwaite being the old name for
the lower part of Far Easedale. This is a rough and pleasant walk largely in
the company of Far Easedale Gill, and leads to the head of a surfaced lane
at Little Parrock cottage.