Grasmere - Alcock Tarn - Grasmere - July 29th 2010

Had a good start with lunch sat on the seat by the side of the "Wordsworth graves", under the canopy of the Yew, planted many years ago by the bard himself.

Then on past "Dove Cottage" eventually heading left and up into "Brackenfell". But before this and shortly after passing Dove Cottage maybe several hundred yards, we passed a large flat boulder stone on the left which was there at the side of this old "coffin route" and the stone was to be the plinth for the coffin when its carriers would take rest whilst bringing it from Ambleside to St. Oswalds Church in Grasmere.

Soon after entering "Brackenfell" we stopped at the old watering hole where packhorses would have stopped many years ago. It was clear to see why the area was named "Brackenfell". At various points here I found some Marsh Woundwort, and also Stonecrops of the Old English and the lovely White varieties.

After a very strenuous ascending walk and passing by Grey Crag (a lovely viewpoint) we where soon at Alcock's Tarn, a lovely little Tarn which had been damned off at its southern point during the late 1800s, to make it larger... It is said that it was owned by a Mr. Alcock whom lived in Grasmere, and he was a keen fisherman and had the Tarn adapted for his pleasures.

To the northend of the Tarn was a lovely marshy boggy area which had lots of Bog Asphodel, although most were almost spent and turning orange. Also here there was Broad Leaved Pondweed.

We now made our descent via Greenhead Gill and came out close to the pub, "The Swan" - now a modernised oldy worldy and owned by McDonalds, but this pub was once William Wordsworth's local, ("Who does not know the famous Swan" - from "The Waggoner")...