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Walking Glaramara and Allan Crags

Glaramara was known in the early thirteenth century by the cumbersome title of Hovedgleuermerhe, which is taken to refer to a shielding (summer home of the Norse folk) by a ravine. This great fell, which is a long, undulating, stony ridge, spreads itself languidly to the east of the Seathwaite Valley. It has a character that is conspicuously different from the far northern fells, which are composed of Skiddaw Slate. Glaramara comprises a series of rocks known as the Borrowdale Volcanic, formed some 470 million years ago by a period of volcanic action, attended by lava flows and clouds of ash. Over several million years, volcanic material was heaped to a depth of many thousands of feet, giving the central area of the Lake District a craggy splendor.

The farmstead settlement of Seathwaite has the distinction of being 'the wettest spot in England'. Its reputation was well established in 1856 when Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll) came this way on a Lakeland tour in indifferent weather; Great Gable was 'entirely wrapped up in mists'.

At Seathwaite, in summer, house martins, including the young of the year, trill as they gobble down winged insects. The martin's white rump is one of the features that distinguishes it from the swallow. The car park itself has a complement of domesticated birds, including white geese. Notice also the trees, especially the silver birch, with its white, dark patterned bark.

From the car park, head for a short distance down the dale, looking for a trio of tall, whitepainted houses known as Mountain View. Almost opposite is the start of our route. A notice board proclaims Thorneythwaite Farm. We walk along a road that has Combe Gill on the right and, to the left, a tall, mossy wall. Where this wall ends, look for a stile. It gives access to the Glaramara path, which is plain to see as it climbs, not too severely, for a total of 2,300 feet (700m) to the summit. Keep the substantial boundary wall to your left.

The area is thinly wooded. Oak and rowan trees are to be seen. The oak leaf has been made familiar to many by the National Trust, owner of much of the Lake District, which chose oak leaves as its emblem. Much of the way is flanked by bracken. By late summer the green fronds are becoming copper tinted as the plant begins to die back, but what you see of bracken is merely part of a plant that spreads slyly using underground rhizomes. Look back periodically for a splendid view of part of Borrowdale and its flanking fells, a conspicuous feature being Kings How.

Woodland bird sounds in summer include the charring of the blue tit and the somewhat winsome song of the robin, a bird that may be heard singing throughout the year, except when it is in the molt from summer to winter dress. On leaving the walled enclosure at a field gate, we enter a rugged landscape, not unlike that of the Scottish Highlands, with outcropping rock, and Combe Beck situated in a deep and rocky bed. Few birds are seen on the higher ground in the Lake District. Members of the crow family, which are big and black, may be heard before they are seen. The raven of the high crags has a deep, husky voice. At times you might hear other sounds from the raven short and sharp, or like a deep belch. The voice of the carrion crow is higher pitched and at times sounds angry. Take heed of a crow in spring, for any large bird that enters its territory is harried. You may be fortunate enough to see a buzzard.

Look down at the backside and you will see an oblong enclosure of dry stones, divided by a short length of wall into two parts. Such crofts were useful when attending to the hill going sheep. The sound of rushing water comes from a narrow exit at Combed Gill, an outstanding example of a 'hanging valley'. Look also for the low, smooth hillocks known as drumlins that came into being during the later stages of glaciations. On dry days in high summer, the fell sides buzz with insects, especially crane flies. It is an area where ravens glide and call. A gully in Raven Crag was first climbed during the first real flurry of Lakeland climbing in the r890s. The flanks of Glaramara, like many another tract of high Lakeland, have been overgrazed by sheep, but on dry ridges you might find sprigs of ling. Rock outcrops are the resort of small ferns, a common species being the socalled parsley fern.

A plant associated with the high crags of Glaramara is purple saxifrage, which shows its purple blossoms against the sun warmed rocks in late March or early April, often flowering when the fells are patchy with snow. It is frequented by bumble bees.
Above Capell Crag, and just off the path, is a grassy knoll with a level head-an ideal spot for a rest and snack, with a view down, down, down into the Seathwaite Valley. Where the track begins to level out, there are peaty conditions. Most of the soft spots have had large rocks lobbed into them; they form stepping stones. Stay on them; in places the glutinous peat is knee-deep. There are small peaty pools and a population of frogs. Glaramara has a bewildering number of lesser peaks.

The path leads towards what one visitor called 'the hump of Glaramara', which is not the one observed from Seatoller when the walker is pondering on the journey ahead. The summit comprises weather cracked and seamed rock. The adventurous will be tempted to scramble up the face; the wise visitor bears right and follows a path that, by approaching from the other side, leads with little effort to the summit of the fell at 2,568 feet (783m).

A small cairn reposes on a mass of rock. Pieces of rock round about make good seats for those who decide to have lunch. A poetic impression of Glaramara on a winter night was penned by Michael Roberts in r947. Here was 'a country of stone dreams ... the ghost uf a hill'. The daytime view in clear weather is breathtaking. To write a list of the fells to be seen would induce writer's cramp, but there are some familiar ones, notably (to the north) the stately form of Skiddaw beyond Derwentwater.

When leaving Glaramara, you II find that the path inclines towards the right a little before settling down to a southerly course. Use Allen Crags as a marker. The one and three quarter miles (3km) from Glaramara to Allen Crags is not to be rushed. The terrain is rocky. Several tarns will be seen. Great Gable is so prominent that the eyes stray time and again to its ponderous form. Income Tarns are the haunt in summer of dragonflies, which fly around expanses of bog bean, a plant with a creeping underwater rhizome and leaves that stand clear of the water. The bog bean, which is at its best in late spring and early summer, produces pink flowers. Income Tarns give their name to a formation of younger beds of rock extending south from Glaramara to Ask House and Sergeant Man.

A steady ascent leads to the summit of Allen Crags (2,575 feet/785m), a slab of volcanic rock which has been topped by a small cairn. Allen Crags brings the ridge walk to a dramatic end. As you stand by the summit cairn, you may find it hard to realize that you are slightly more elevated than you were on the top of Glaramara. Follow the path down to Esk House, where a cross shaped windbreak is a boon for walkers heading for Scafell and other nearby peaks. Tom Bowker called the windbreak the Piccadilly Circus of mountain Lakeland. Turn right, then after half a mile (0.5km) right again to make a long but steady descent, initially beside Grains Gill, a deep ravine lagged with ling, blueberry and other fell side plants which elsewhere have been cropped by sheep. A crossing of Shockley Bridge marks the close presence of Seathwaite Farm, where light refreshments are available. Now walk the relatively short distance by road back to Seatoller.

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