Greenburn Round - Monday 23 March 2026
Route
Grasmere (Travellers Rest) - Low Mill Bridge - Ghyll Foot - Cotra Breast - Steel Fell - Calf Crag - Pike of Carrs - Moment Crag - Gibson Knott - Bracken Hause - Helm Crag - Lancrigg - Easedale Road - Grasmere
Parking
Lay by on the A591 south of The Travellers Rest (Free) - Grid Ref NY338085. The nearest postcode is LA22 9RR.
Mileage
8.1 miles
Terrain
Mountain paths & ridge walking with no exposure of note. The section between Steel Fell & Calf Crag has a reputation for being overly boggy but in my humble opinion is vastly exaggerated.
Weather
Overcast with fresh breezes on the ridges
Time Taken
5hrs 15mins
Total Ascent
2530ft (771m)
Wainwrights
4
Maps
OL5 - The English Lakes (North Eastern Area)
OL6 - The English Lakes (South Western Area)
OL7 - The English Lakes (South Eastern Area)
Walkers
Dave with members of Lakeland Meet Ups
Grasmere (Travellers Rest) - Low Mill Bridge - Ghyll Foot - Cotra Breast - Steel Fell - Calf Crag - Pike of Carrs - Moment Crag - Gibson Knott - Bracken Hause - Helm Crag - Lancrigg - Easedale Road - Grasmere
Parking
Lay by on the A591 south of The Travellers Rest (Free) - Grid Ref NY338085. The nearest postcode is LA22 9RR.
Mileage
8.1 miles
Terrain
Mountain paths & ridge walking with no exposure of note. The section between Steel Fell & Calf Crag has a reputation for being overly boggy but in my humble opinion is vastly exaggerated.
Weather
Overcast with fresh breezes on the ridges
Time Taken
5hrs 15mins
Total Ascent
2530ft (771m)
Wainwrights
4
Maps
OL5 - The English Lakes (North Eastern Area)
OL6 - The English Lakes (South Western Area)
OL7 - The English Lakes (South Eastern Area)
Walkers
Dave with members of Lakeland Meet Ups
GPX Files
From 1 March 2025 GPX files will not be available directly from the walk page as there is difficulty in using a downloadable version from the website. To that end, if you require a GPX File please get in touch via the Contact Form below and we will gladly forward it to you - thank you.
From 1 March 2025 GPX files will not be available directly from the walk page as there is difficulty in using a downloadable version from the website. To that end, if you require a GPX File please get in touch via the Contact Form below and we will gladly forward it to you - thank you.
Route Map
Today’s walk started from The Travellers Rest which is located just outside the village of Grasmere on the A591. Parking can be found either in the village or in the large lay by 200 yards to the south.
Directly opposite the Travellers Rest is a footpath that heads along a field edge towards the River Rothay - the fell to the rear is Helm Crag
Reaching the River Rothay we crossed to the other side via stepping stones. If the Rothay is in spate then simply turn right at the river and head up to the road.
Turning right after crossing the river, the road heads up towards Ghyll Foot Farm to where a sign points the way to Greenburn via Helmside
Passing through the cottages at Turn Howe
Past the last of the cottages at Turn Howe, a gate gives access to the open fell side. Steel Fell’s south ridge is directly ahead with the slopes of Helm Crag over to the left.
Looking across Green Burn to Bracken Hause on Helm Crag
Helm Crag with the distinctive “Howitzer” in the centre of shot
Seat Sandal across Dunmail Raise
Looking back down the route of ascent to Grasmere from the ascent of Steel Fell
The head of Greenburn with our return ridge now in view - Tarn Crag is behind the ridge with the Langdale Pikes beyond
Gibson Knott with the Coniston Fells over the Blea Rigg ridge
A rocky knoll is reached as we continue to make progress up Cotra Breast, Steel Fell’s south east ridge
The Helvellyn Range over Dunmail Raise. The ravine running from centre to right is Raise Beck which is an excellent route up on to the Helvellyn Range.
Looking down to Thirlmere from the eastern top of Steel Fell. The metal posts heading into the distance are all what is left of the old boundary fence between the old counties of Cumberland & Westmorland.
The summit of Steel Fell known as Dead Pike is roughly 30 yards to the west of the eastern top
The group on the summit of Steel Fell
From Steel Fell’s summit we headed in the direction of Ullscarf to then sweep left to reach Calf Crag
Looking back to Steel Fell from the approach to Calf Crag
A fine panorama from the head of Greenburn
The route passes to the left of two unnamed tarns
Calf Crag’s summit now in view
The summit of Calf Crag looking over Far Easedale to Tarn Crag
Brownrigg Moss from Calf Crag with Greenup Edge beyond
From Calf Crag there now begins a delightful ridge walk back to Grasmere via Gibson Knott & Helm Crag
A panorama of Far Easedale from Calf Crag
The summit of Gibson Knott
From the summit of Gibson Knott the route drops into a grassy depression to reach a subsidiary summit
From the subsidiary summit the route descends once more to reach Bracken Hause with Helm Crag ahead
Gibson Knott from the climb to Helm Crag
Ken surveys the climb to attain the true summit of Helm Crag. It is a tricky scramble therefore only attempt it if you are able and also if you are confident of getting back down.
The Lion & the Lamb which is situated at the southern end of Helm Crag’s summit ridge
Grasmere from the start of the descent from Helm Crag
A Helm Crag panorama
A final look back at Helm Crag from the descent
After a steep knee jarring descent the route finally reaches the valley floor near Lancrigg
The Dorothy Wordsworth Memorial
The grounds of Lancrigg are said to be the place where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy created much of his famous work. The grounds inspired his poetry and is home to this memorial which marks the spot where she would sit and write the words her brother William Wordsworth was reciting to her while he walked. The transcription on the stone is in Latin and reads:
"Hoc in supercilic sedebat Dorothea Wordsworth dum ex ore fratis prope inambulantis carmina descrebit"
(Translated reads - Dorothea Wordsworth used to sit at this spot writing down the poems that her brother dictated as he walked nearby)
The grounds of Lancrigg are said to be the place where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy created much of his famous work. The grounds inspired his poetry and is home to this memorial which marks the spot where she would sit and write the words her brother William Wordsworth was reciting to her while he walked. The transcription on the stone is in Latin and reads:
"Hoc in supercilic sedebat Dorothea Wordsworth dum ex ore fratis prope inambulantis carmina descrebit"
(Translated reads - Dorothea Wordsworth used to sit at this spot writing down the poems that her brother dictated as he walked nearby)
Arriving at Lancrigg - primarily a wedding venue, there is a cafe here (to the left and sadly closed on this day) and is one we have stopped at many times. Lancrigg was the former home of the Arctic Explorer Sir John Richardson (1787 - 1865).
Allan Bank - Wordsworth lived here between 1808 & 1811
His tenancy was not without incident. Initially Wordsworth, who was then living less than a mile away in Dove Cottage was outraged by the building of Allan Bank. He called it a “temple of abomination”, and that "the house will stare you in the face from every part of the Vale of Grasmere and entirely destroy its character of simplicity and seclusion". He soon had to overcome his objections however, since Dove Cottage was far too small for his growing family, and Allan Bank was the only large house in Grasmere he could rent. However on windy days the various chimneys smoked appallingly. His sister Dorothy called the house "literally not habitable", and complained that "dishes are washed, and no sooner set in the pantry then they are covered with smoke". On one stormy day, she wrote, "we could have no fire but in my Brother's Study – and that chimney smoked so much that we were obliged to go to bed with the baby in the middle of the day to keep it warm, and I, with a candle in my hand, stumbled over a chair, unable to see it". Workmen were periodically brought in to tackle the chimney problem but their many attempts did not produce a full solution. In the midst of these difficulties the Wordsworths entertained Thomas De Quincey on a visit that lasted for three months, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge moved in with the intention of making his permanent home with the Wordsworths, though after two fraught years he left. The Wordsworths finally gave up in 1811 and moved into the old parsonage in the centre of Grasmere.
His tenancy was not without incident. Initially Wordsworth, who was then living less than a mile away in Dove Cottage was outraged by the building of Allan Bank. He called it a “temple of abomination”, and that "the house will stare you in the face from every part of the Vale of Grasmere and entirely destroy its character of simplicity and seclusion". He soon had to overcome his objections however, since Dove Cottage was far too small for his growing family, and Allan Bank was the only large house in Grasmere he could rent. However on windy days the various chimneys smoked appallingly. His sister Dorothy called the house "literally not habitable", and complained that "dishes are washed, and no sooner set in the pantry then they are covered with smoke". On one stormy day, she wrote, "we could have no fire but in my Brother's Study – and that chimney smoked so much that we were obliged to go to bed with the baby in the middle of the day to keep it warm, and I, with a candle in my hand, stumbled over a chair, unable to see it". Workmen were periodically brought in to tackle the chimney problem but their many attempts did not produce a full solution. In the midst of these difficulties the Wordsworths entertained Thomas De Quincey on a visit that lasted for three months, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge moved in with the intention of making his permanent home with the Wordsworths, though after two fraught years he left. The Wordsworths finally gave up in 1811 and moved into the old parsonage in the centre of Grasmere.
Ooh err Missus
At the end of the walk we had a customary debrief at Tweedies in Grasmere
At the end of the walk we had a customary debrief at Tweedies in Grasmere