A 16km walk with Ian Wilson on a day of shifting clouds and mist but also unforecast moments of sunshine and patches of blue sky.
Route: leaving the car at the Bowderstone car park (capacity 60 and empty at 9:30am) and heading along a path north above the road but below cliffs to the right to join a path coming up from the road and trend right/east descending into woods and a wall. Here turning right and ascending a path that soon became steep and stepped, slippy in the damp. Arriving at Long Moss, following a clear path right working its way round and then onto King’s How. Descending to the south and backtracking along Long Moss to cross a stile but ignoring the obvious route turning left to follow a wall onto the summit plateau and then across two walls to reach the summit of Brund Fell. Descending a clear muddy path to Puddingstone Bank and then following a marshy path - including the diversion round delicate peat bog - to climb beside Great Crag but turning right on a faint path to reach the summit. Descending south and here failing to take the less attractive (but correct with hindsight) left turn and hence getting a bit lost. On reaching the small unnamed tarn heading confidently to Dock Tarn on very marshy paths and then down the stepped and tricky but not slippy path to Stonethwaite. Along the Cumbria Way to Rosthwaite and by the river to Castle Crag. Descending from the summit again to join the path on the west to Grange and back along the road to the car.
Conditions: very marshy, muddy and occasionally snowy under foot but litttle ice. Clouds bubbling up and then dispersing below us in the valley.Pub? C19, Tier 2, so two of us shared a large bottle of Fell Tinderbox IPA back at the cottage (and Ian drove back to Kendal
