Grisedale Tarn - The Wordsworth Way Letterbox Hybrid
Grisedale Tarn - The Wordsworth Way
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A long hike (approximately 300m of elevation over 3 miles) to The Brothers’ Parting Stone, situated below the outlet of Grisedale Tarn. The Tarn stands at 500m and is 10m deep.
IT'S A LETTERBOX - PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THE STAMP [:o]!!
THE WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY QUICKLY ON THE FELLS – PLEASE BE PREPARED FOR THIS - IT IS NOT JUST YOUR LIFE AT RISK IF YOU ARE CARELESS!
Starting from Patterdale it is a gradual uphill walk along the valley by Grisedale Beck, beneath the towering heights of St Sunday Crag, passing Ruthwaite Lodge climbing hut along the way. There are a couple of steep climbs en route to the tarn which nestles between Fairfield, Seat Sandal and Dollywagon Pike.
William and Dorothy Wordsworth said goodbye to their brother John on 29th September 1800 near Grisedale Tarn where William carved a few lines on a rock to commemorate the occasion. The Wordsworth's never saw John again.
John Wordsworth was the Commander of the East Indiaman "Earl of Abergavenny" when she sank off Portland on 5th February 1805. More than 200 died, including John Wordsworth.
The Wordsworth Society arranged the inscription in the 1880's and the text reproduced on the rock are an extract from William Wordsworth's work. A rusty plaque now marks the faded words on the Brothers’ Parting Stone.
It is now very difficult to read but here is the text:
Here did we stop; and here looked round
While each into himself descends,
For that last thought of parting Friends
That is not to be found.
Brother and friend, if verse of mine
Have power to make thy virtues known,
Here let a monumental Stone
Stand--sacred as a Shrine.
(Folklore: The armies of the Saxon King Edmond and the Scottish King Malcolm joined forces to fight Dunmail, the last King of Cumberland in AD 945, and won. It is said that Edmond himself killed Dunmail and his body is beneath the cairn (raise) at the highest point of the pass between Grasmere and Thirlmere - Dunmail Raise. As Dunmail lay dying he shouted, "My crown - bear it away; never let the Saxon flaunt it" for it was known that whoever wore the crown of Dunmail would succeed to the Kingdom of Cumbria. The King's personal body guard removed the crown from the head of their dying monarch and with unprecedented gallantry fought their way through the Saxon lines and bore his crown up the fell to Grisedale Tarn, where they threw it into the depths. They said, "Till Dunmail come again to lead us." Each year, on the anniversary of the King's death, his warriors return to the tarn. The crown is retrieved and carried back to the cairn of stones under which their beloved Dunmail lies. In turn, the warriors knock with their spears on the topmost stones of the cairn. From that grave a voice cries out. "Not yet; not yet - wait a while my warriors." The day is yet to come when the spirit of Dunmail will re-join his warriors and crown a new King of Cumbria. )
This series charts some of the milestones in the life of the poet William Wordsworth, the main Biography appearing on ‘The Daffodils’ cache listing only.
Caches in this series:
The Daffodils - The Wordsworth Way
W.W. Memorial/Mire House - The Wordsworth Way
The Old School/Blelham Tarn - The Wordsworth Way
Dove Cottage/Rock of Names - The Wordsworth Way
The Old Rectory/Allan Bank - The Wordsworth Way
The Coffin Trail/Rydal Mount - The Wordsworth Way
Dora’s Field - The Wordsworth Way
Grisedale Tarn – The Wordsworth Way
Diana's Looking Glass - The Wordsworth Way
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqre n cbvagrq obhyqre gb gur sebag bs Gur Oebguref’ Cnegvat Fgbar.