Grizedale Forest, Lake District, Spring
Welcome to Grizedale Forest.
After a morning of joint optician appointments, the day was looking fine and ripe for some hiking. Where would we go? Lisabet suggested Grizedale Forest, which I immediately leapt on. She’s never been to the area, and the last I visited was so long ago that I cannot summon any memories of the place.
Grizedale Forest can be found south of the famous Lakeland village of Hawkshead, in between the lakes of Windermere and Coniston Water. If you’re curious about the name it originates from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. “Grize” comes the Old Norse gris, meaning a “boar” or “pig”, and “dale”—from the Old Norse dalr—means “valley”, giving us “valley of the pigs”. The area stretches over 24 km² and features a number of trails for walkers and cyclists, small tarns and fells, and a fully-featured visitor centre.
We parked some distance away at Moor Top, hiked into Grizedale village, and hopped onto the Carron Crag Trail, with the aim of reaching the summit of Carron Crag at 314 m (1,030 ft).
The hike vastly exceeded our expectations and the views from the summit of Carron Crag were outstanding. The Coniston fells looked incredible and we could even make out a highly localised hailstorm falling over Seat Sandal!
Another crackin’ day.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my three prime lenses: a Samyang 35mm f/1.2, a Laowa 9mm f/2.8, and an adapted Pentax SMC 55mm f/2.0. Developed using RNI’s Kodachrome film profiles.
The way down to Grizedale village.
On the trail we quickly gain height via the clearly-marked finger posts. Lisabet’s eagle eye spots some interesting minute details and goes in for some snaps.
Some of the trees near Carron Crag were covered in thick sheets of moss, which I couldn’t resist making some photos of.
Wonderful shapes and textures of all the trees and their branches absolutely coated in moss.
A side trail heading deep into the dark forest…
Just one of the many incredible views from the summit of Carron Crag! We could see a highly localised hailstorm drenching Seat Sandal above Grasmere.
The Old Man of Coniston (802 m/2,632 ft) from the summit of Carron Crag, clear as a bell.
More of the Coniston fells, catching some dappled light through the increasing cloud cover.
A wider panorama of the Coniston fells from Carron Crag, with the Old Man on the left.
Coming down the other side of the summit, Lisabet finds one of many sculptures dotted about the forest.
The way back down into the woods, with the Kentmere fells clearly visible.
There’s something unique and magical about woodland light.
Some interesting contraptions that mountain bikers can investigate on their woodland trails.
A gentle Ent, standing guard at the entrance of the Milwood Trail.