ACROSS LAKELAND - A Northern Coast to Coast Walk: From St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay - page 32

that half conceal and vary the figure of the little lake they command… a little unsus-
pected Paradise.' Thirty years later it was William Wordsworth who came this way, con-
cluding that one day this place, 'Must be his home, this valley be his world…'.
The attractions of Grasmere are still many, as are the tourists that in summer flock
to the village on their respective quests. Valiantly, the village struggles to retain its
dignity and charm above the rising tide of visitors, teased in by holiday brochures and
coach tour operators to find pleasure and enjoyment in crowded streets, amid jost-
ling throngs, and souvenirs galore. Only in winter, when the last of the day-trippers
has gone, does any semblance return of how life might have seemed in Gray's and
Wordsworth's time, the still pall of wood smoke lying frozen above an ice-held lake,
sunlight filtering through icy, crystal fingers, black ravens winging businesslike above
the bracken-brown fells.

Grasmere (Goody Bridge) to Patterdale

Distance 11km (7 miles)

Height Gain 505m (1655 feet)

Walkers who stayed overnight in Grasmere will need to retreat the short distance to
Goody Bridge to resume the journey eastwards from the point at which it was left. It
is perfectly feasible simply to walk up the main A591, but the quiet back road from
Goody Bridge has much charm and provides a fine prospect of the onward route.