Day 5/Hike Day 3: Stonethwaite to Grasmere

Today we awoke to beautifully blue and sunny skies, and after a delicious breakfast, we started our trek onward to Grasmere.

Part one of many breakfasts: Tea, toast, jam, and marmalade

Dad's scrambled eggs wrapped in smoked salmon. My black pudding, while delicious, was not quite as photogenic

Hikers all leave their boots by the front door to keep the inns clean. Also, you just really want to take them off asap after a full day of hiking :)

The cutest little picnic/beer drinking area outside of our inn last night

The reception room at Langstrath: so cozy!

It's hard to really describe the trickling waterfalls, panoramic views as we hiked up and over the stony crags today. It seemed like I was taking a photo every 5 minutes on this trail: fortunately, today was only a 9 mile trek with minimal elevation.

"Oh, are you coming up my path? Go on, then."

Pure Lake District

On the stone bridge into Grasmere

Peeking into the valley

Upon reaching Grasmere, we enjoyed a walk about the town: the best way to describe Grasmere is as a British Traverse City with dogs EVERYWHERE. As many people were here, there were at least half as many dogs. Fittingly so, dogs were allowed most everywhere in town, including the art galleries and most restaurants.

First Corgi sighting today! I can't believe it took 5 days.

I was delighted to find there exisits in Grasmere not one but TWO shops devoted to my beloved Herdwick sheep. We scored a small book from one and a calendar from another: had luggage space allowed, I quite certainly could have bought much, much more. My favorite of the two shops sells only items made with Herdwick wool, and source all of their wool from four local farms. Each item's tag has the name of the farm(s) that supplied the wool. Eating local has met its match: here they wear local too!

The RAF fighter jets were back training around Grasmere today: I have posted the video to yesterday's blog, and highly recommend taking a look and listen. It's quite something!

Another highlight of our time in Grasmere today was a visit to Sarah Nelson's Celebrated Grasmere Gingerbread, which has been in business since 1854. The gingerbread is delicious: not crispy, but not cakey. Somewhere in the middle: here they call it "moreish", one of my favorite British terms. Naturally, we also had some gelato (salted caramel today) as we strolled about town.

The architecture here is so quaint: nearly every building is made of local stone: some are plastered, but most are not. There are many beautiful flowers about (geraniums and impatiens are common) and even just outside of town there are a few sheep flocks and a cattle herd. I didn't see any veterinary clinics around: given the number of sheep, dogs, and cattle, clearly they could use one, right?

The best dessert in the world, honestly: Sticky Toffee Pudding at The Good Sport/Grasmere Brewing and Distillery

Tomorrow's weather is looking great, which is ideal because we take on Striding Edge (Helvellyn), known to be the most technically challenging and dare-devily part of the trek.

Until Tomorrow (hopefully)!

Kelsey and Brian

Step Count: 26,709

Miles Hiked Today: 9.02 miles

Elevation: 2,235 ft

Gates traveled through: 6

Streams Crossed: 23

Time Hiking: 4 hours 11 minutes

New UK Breeds Seen today:

Just a Corgi, I think!