Stage 3 of the Coast to Coast Path (16 stages, walked west to east) is the first of the route's true high mountain crossings, climbing out of Borrowdale to a wild watershed col before dropping to literary Grasmere. From Rosthwaite the path threads Stonethwaite Beck past Galleny Force, then climbs Greenup Gill to scramble up the rock step of Lining Crag (500 m). Above it lies Greenup Edge (about 620 m), a broad, peaty saddle on the Borrowdale–Far Easedale watershed where the line of small cairns is easily lost in cloud. Most walkers take the gentler standard descent through glacial U-shaped Far Easedale, crossing Far Easedale Gill at Stythwaite Steps; the fitter swap it for the airy ridge over Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag, the 'Lion and the Lamb'. Grasmere itself is one of the loveliest villages in England, forever bound to William Wordsworth, who wrote much of his finest poetry at Dove Cottage and lies buried in St Oswald's churchyard. Roughly 6.8 miles (10.9 km), it is graded moderate, the difficulty coming from sustained ascent, a short scramble and genuinely boggy, navigation-prone ground over the top rather than length.
Highlights
- Lining Crag (500 m) — a rock step with a short, easy scramble and the day's best views back to Borrowdale, Eagle Crag and the Scafell range
- Greenup Edge (about 620 m) — the stage high point, a wild peat-hag watershed col between Borrowdale and Far Easedale
- Far Easedale — a textbook glacial U-shaped valley with the cascading Far Easedale Gill and the Stythwaite Steps footbridge
- Helm Crag (405 m) — the 'Lion and the Lamb' / 'The Howitzer', the high-route alternative descent and one of the most photographed crags in Lakeland
- Grasmere village & Dove Cottage — William Wordsworth's home from December 1799 to May 1808, where he wrote 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'
- St Oswald's Church — Wordsworth's grave beneath yews he planted himself
- Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread, baked to a secret 1854 recipe in the cottage that was once her home
Know before you go
- Boggy ground at the pass
- Navigation tricky in cloud
History
Grasmere is one of England's defining literary landscapes. William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy moved into Dove Cottage in December 1799; he lived there until May 1808, married Mary Hutchinson in 1802, and produced much of his greatest work here, including 'Ode: Intimations of Immortality', 'My Heart Leaps Up' and 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud'. He later moved to Rydal Mount (1813–1850), was made Poet Laureate in 1843, and died there of pleurisy on 23 April 1850. At his own wish he was buried in St Oswald's churchyard in Grasmere, beneath yew trees he had planted himself, where his wife and several family members also lie. The fells crossed earlier in the day carry their own deeper history: Greenup Edge and Far Easedale are glacial landforms shaped by ice that finally retreated roughly 11,500 years ago, leaving the broad boggy cols and U-shaped valley the route follows. The Coast to Coast itself was devised by Alfred Wainwright in his 1973 guidebook and became an official National Trail, managed by Natural England, on 26 March 2026.
Nature & Wildlife
The high ground over Greenup Edge and Brownrigg Moss is open, acidic blanket bog and rough fell grass — sphagnum, cotton-grass and peat hags formed by poor post-glacial drainage. Ravens and buzzards work the crags of Eagle Crag and Sergeant's Crag, and you may hear meadow pipits and skylarks over the moor. Far Easedale Gill and Sourmilk Gill support typical Lakeland upland-stream life, while the lower valley and Grasmere's woods and meadows are richer, with native broadleaf, fern-clad walls and the spring daffodils the Wordsworths made famous. The whole stage lies within the Lake District National Park, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape in 2017.
Geology
The bedrock here is Borrowdale Volcanic Group — hard andesite and tuff laid down by Ordovician volcanism around 450 million years ago, which gives Lakeland its craggy, rugged character (Lining Crag, Eagle Crag, Helm Crag). The day's shapes, though, are glacial: Far Easedale is a classic ice-carved U-shaped valley, Greenup Edge a broad watershed col, and the peat hags and boggy hollows on top mark poor drainage where the last glaciers melted about 11,500 years ago. Helm Crag's tumbled summit rocks ('The Howitzer') are frost-shattered volcanic crag.
Scenic Highlights
This is the day the Coast to Coast first feels truly mountainous. The climb up Greenup Gill is hemmed by the dark buttresses of Eagle Crag and Sergeant's Crag; from Lining Crag and Greenup Edge the view opens west to the Scafell range and Great Gable and east toward Helvellyn and distant Skiddaw. The standard line down Far Easedale is an intimate, cascade-lined glacial valley, while the high-level ridge over Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag gives an exhilarating airy finish with Grasmere and its lake spread out below. Helm Crag's jagged 'Lion and the Lamb' silhouette is one of the most recognisable profiles in the Lakes.
Photography
Best shots: Eagle Crag and Sergeant's Crag framing the climb up Greenup Gill; the back-view over Borrowdale from Lining Crag; the lonely cairns and peat hags of Greenup Edge in atmospheric light; the cascades of Far Easedale Gill; and the unmistakable jagged profile of Helm Crag from the ridge or from Grasmere. In the village, St Oswald's Church and Wordsworth's grave, and Grasmere's lake reflecting the surrounding fells in still morning light, make memorable closing frames.
When to Visit
Best walked late spring to early autumn (April–October). May–June and September give the longest daylight and firmest going; after prolonged rain Greenup Edge and Brownrigg Moss become very wet and the becks rise quickly. Winter brings short days, snow and ice on the tops and serious navigation risk in cloud — only for the experienced and equipped. Given roughly 8 miles with a slow boggy middle, allow a relaxed full half-day and start early outside high summer so you are off Greenup Edge with daylight to spare.
Getting There
There is no public transport at Rosthwaite or Stonethwaite beyond the seasonal Borrowdale bus (Stagecoach 78) up the valley from Keswick. Grasmere is well served: the Stagecoach 555 runs regularly (roughly hourly in winter, more frequently in summer), linking Grasmere with Ambleside, Windermere (for the railway), Kendal and Lancaster one way and Keswick the other, giving good escape and resupply options. Pay-and-display parking in Grasmere is at Stock Lane and Broadgate Meadow car parks, with limited free laybys on the A591. For the wider trail, reach the Coast to Coast start at St Bees by rail via Carlisle or Lancaster on the Cumbrian Coast line.
Stay & Eat Nearby
Grasmere is a popular tourist village with a wide range of beds, but it fills fast in summer and on event weekends, so book well ahead in peak season (May–September). Options include numerous B&Bs and guesthouses, hotels, the Victorian YHA Grasmere (Butharlyp Howe, with private rooms, dorms and camping) and the independent Thorney How hostel/bunkhouse. Baggage-transfer companies serving the Coast to Coast — among them Sherpa Van, Brigantes, Coast to Coast Packhorse, Contours, Mickledore and Macs Adventure — will move your main pack between stage ends, letting you cross Greenup Edge with only a daypack.
Water & Facilities
Water is abundant on the climb — Stonethwaite Beck, Greenup Gill and Far Easedale Gill all run alongside the path — but treat or filter before drinking, as these are open fell streams with sheep above. Carry enough for the exposed crossing of Greenup Edge, where you are on the watershed. Grasmere at the day's end has shops, cafes and pubs for resupply.
Safety
This is a serious mountain day, not a valley walk. Greenup Edge and Brownrigg Moss are genuinely boggy and the cairned path is easy to lose in mist — many walkers go astray here, so carry the OS 1:25k Explorer maps (OL4 and OL7), compass and the GPX, and on the descent be sure to take the correct line into Far Easedale rather than drifting toward Wythburn or the pathless valley head. Lining Crag involves a short, easy scramble that is greasy when wet. There is essentially no mobile signal on the tops, the high-level Helm Crag ridge is exposed in wind, and the col is no place to be in a thunderstorm. Carry full waterproofs, warm layers, food and water. In an emergency dial 999 or 112, ask for Police then Mountain Rescue (Keswick MRT covers the Borrowdale side and Langdale/Ambleside MRT the Grasmere side); for non-emergencies call NHS 111.
Accessibility
The crossing of Greenup Edge is rough, steep, boggy fell with a short scramble at Lining Crag and is not suitable for wheelchairs, buggies or those with limited mobility; sure-footedness and hill fitness are needed. Grasmere village, by contrast, is largely accessible, with level pavements, accessible parking at Stock Lane and Broadgate Meadow car parks, cafes, shops and step-free access to much of St Oswald's churchyard. Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum have some accessibility provision (check ahead). Lower-level valley strolls around Grasmere offer easier options for non-walkers in the party.