| Distance | 6.7 km |
| Time | 1hr 40 mins |
| Difficulty | 322m climbing; Short and sharp |
| Good for | Excellent view down Thirlmere |
The ‘short’ walk from the car park to Raven Crag was as steep as you can get with little photo opportunities en route.
Whilst out of breath, reaching the summit felt a bit early for the view that lay beneath us. almost as if we hadn’t deserved it yet. But what a view! Thirlmere stretching north towards Grasmere. Superb.
Retracing the last few steps we were reminded of an old saying about remembering to look behind every now and again as the view can be well worth the pause. This was a particularly good view north towards Blencathra.
The walk downhill took us along a wide gravel path – much more forgiving than the windy steep path on the way up. Nearing the valley, the fields opened up ahead to show the grazing sheep. This one with Great How rising up in the distance.
We religiously followed the footpath over to the river and crossed it via rather slippery stepping stones. I fell in an got my feet wet, and only then established there was a footbridge about 5 yards to the right of the path!
The final part of the walk took us over the dam which bookended Thirlmere Water. The sun was perfectly visible at the far end, giving us a lovely watery view to finish the walk off with.
