Easdale Tarn from Grasmere

As we were both taking a break from work between Christmas and the New Year, Karen and I decided to spend a couple if days in the Lake District.
We had done this twice before in recent years, only we were joined by Keith and Pete Collins on those occasions. Pete and Keith were staying in the Peak District at the same time to go digging in Water Icicle Close Cavern.
As on those previous trips we stayed at Claremont House, a bed and breakfast accommodation in the centre of Ambleside. Unlike those previous trip, the weather wasn't very good.
Anyway, we set off from home in the morning and after 2 and three quarter hours parked in the village of Grasmere. The weather was extremely windy with frequent showers so the route would remain at low level and make use of the landscape to gain shelter from the south-westerly wind.
Leaving the car parked in a small car park belonging tot he church which had an honesty box for payment of car parking fees, which we did, particularly as it was cheaper than the main “pay and display” car park in the village, we followed Easedale Road bringing us to the start of a bridleway. The bridleway brought us along Easedale Beck which flows out of Easedale Tarn, which was our destination for the walk.
It was a very easy and pleasant walk (if you ignored the rain showers!) and largely sheltered from the fierce winds. The picturesque waterfall called Sour Milk Gill soon was in view and our route took us close by.
Sections of the path were paved with steps made from rough rock as the ground steepened and as we neared the tarn, we were exposed to the full force of the wind which wasn't only very strong, but was gusting quite a lot.
As we paused in the shelter of a large boulder by the outlet of the tarn we saw a couple out walking with a dog on the opposite side of the beck. They were looking at trying to cross the beck using large stones in the beck's bed but appeared to be hesitating.
They saw us and waited for us to cross, probably to see what would happen! We waited for a lull in the wind between gusts and Karen started stepping across the 4 metres or so of beck while I hurried across behind wishing I had me walking poles like Karen!
Luckily we made it without falling in and set off back towards Grasmere on another path on this side of the beck.
After a few hundred metres we found a good sheltered spot by a large boulder as had a short break to have some hot drinks from flasks and then continued onwards.
We met a bridleway which the path joined at a T-junction and followed this back to join another small road joining Easedale Road back in the village and on the way passed some miserable looking Herdwick sheep sheltering by some drystone walls.

Back in Grasmere the first thing we did after changing out of our boots was find a café to warm up and have a coffee!