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I had never been to the Lake District before this trip but was very pleasantly surprised by what I saw. The trip was 6 days, but the first and last were basically driving up from London and driving back, so we only really had 4 full days there.
After arriving in the early evening at the campsite in Glenridding (near Ullswater) we put up our tent which then decided to go a bit wrong as the porch pole broke. But we managed and went off to the pub for dinner.
The next morning (day 1 proper) we set off from the campsite uphill and followed an amazing hike up into the hills, along striding edge and up onto Helvellyn (3rd highest mountain in England - 951m). The views from the top were spectacular, although it was of course a bit breezy at the top! We then turned left and hiked to Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike before heading down to the Grisedale Valley and back to Patterdale, from where we walked across to Glenridding. Time for a relaxing sandwich/soup combo before going to the campsite to pick up the car and drive to Bowness-on-Windermere. We spent a nice
hour wandering through the streets, looking at the lake and stocking up on food before going for a tasty meal in a local restaurant.
That night it rained very heavily and I was scared the tent wouldn't make it through to the next day. Parts of the inner tent developed wet patches, but luckily we managed to basically stay dry! The next morning the rain had calmed down a bit and we drove off to the Eskdale Valley. Parked the car and at about 1pm we set off up the valley heading for Scafell. Unfortunately our book did not give great directions and after a short while we were lost. Also, we had forgotten our compass and the rain was coming down. All in all not a great moment. However, we pushed on in what we thought was the right general direction and amazingly managed to pick up the path we needed. Once on that we bounded on and after a few hours made it to the valley below Scafell and Scafell Pike. The worst bit was yet to come. The climb up from the valley to the summit is absolutely massive and at various points I was ready
to give up. The first part of the climb involves scrambling up rocks next to a waterfall before walking up what felt like endless rock and scree-type slopes.
Eventually we made it to Mickledore (the ridge between Scafell and Scafell Pike) and from there (after a quick break for lucozade!) we pushed up to the top of Scafell Pike (highest mountain in England - 978m). I felt so exhilarated to reach the top, and the views were spectacular - despite the clouds we could see all the way to the sea. We stayed at the top for a few minutes being blown about by the strong winds and reading our Wainwright before heading back down the way we had come. Going down was definitely easier than the ascent and the walk back along the valley was fairly easy - especially as we didn't get lost. We made it back to the car at about 8pm and drove back to Ambleside where (after some searching) we found a nice place (the Queen's Hotel bar) to get a big meal.
After that it was back to the tent (brrr, so cold) where we endured a night of high winds. At
one point I was sure that the top vent on the tent had been blown off and so went out to investigate. It was all fine, but I was freezing! The following morning the weather had calmed down a bit and, after a lie-in, we packed the tent up and said goodbye to our campsite. We drove up the road to Aira Force (said to be the inspiration for Wordsworth's 'Daffodils'). We wandered around, enjoying the easy walk and looking at the lovely waterfalls. After eating our picnic lunch we got back in the car and drove on to Grasmere. We had decided that 3 nights in the tent was enough (especially in the not-so-great weather) and so booked into a B&B just outside Grasmere. It was a lovely place and we ended up staying for 2 nights - warm, comfy rooms, excellent shower/bath, and the best breakfast ever!
After dumping our stuff at the B&B I was ready to take it easy but Barry had other ideas. Instead we went for a walk around Grasmere lake and to the top of Loughrigg Fell (335m). It was a decent enough hike to the top, but was well worth it
as the views from the top as well as on the climb itself were superb. After that we went back down to the lake and walked around Grasmere lake to the town of Grasmere (very pleasant and well worth a visit). We went to the pub (see a theme emerging here?) for our dinner and then headed back to the B&B for the best night's sleep in a few days.
Day 4 (final day before the long drive back) we had the most fantastic breakfast and after a stop in Grasmere, then set off to the car park of the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Langdale. First part of the walk was following the stream uphill behind the hotel to Stickle Tarn. This is in a lovely situation, with views back down to the valley below and with the Langdale pikes ahead. We took a break and contemplated our next move. This was to be the climb up Jack's Rake, a scramble which goes from the bottom right of Pavey's Ark (mountain) to the top left. It is often described as the crossing point between hiking and rock climbing, and it was certainly the most difficult scramble I have
ever done. We took about an hour to complete it, with plenty of breaks on the way up. The only really scary bit was very near the end where we had taken the wrong path and I was clinging on to a very steep slope basically with just my arms as I couldn't find foot-holes. Made it in the end though, so all was fine!
After that we got to the peak of Harrison Stickle, and after our lunch carried on walking to get to the tops of a few nearby pikes (including the beautiful loft crag and pike o' stickle). After that we descended north-west before walking west and heading up to the top of Bowfell. This last ascent was quite a struggle and the mist was coming in so we had to hurry. We were the only people at the top of Bowfell (6th highest - 902m) when we reached it and there didn't seem to be anyone else for miles around. We didn't stick around for too long and started our descent towards 'three tarns'. From there it was a long hike back down the valley and eventually (after ages!) we reached the valley floor and
a farm. The very nice lady farmer had a chat with us and we asked how far it was to the Old Dungeon Ghyll hotel (for food). She said only a few minutes, but did we want to eat there? If so, we should hurry as they finished serving at around 9pm (it was about 8:40 then). And so (I still can't quite believe this bit) we then started to run towards the hotel. Run!!! After 10 hours of hiking!! Luckily the hotel came into view after a few hundred metres and we realised we had enough time so slowed to a fast walk. When we got there we collapsed into a comfy corner table where we enjoyed an excellent meal (fish and chips) and congratulated ourselves on making it back in one piece. After that we drove back to the hotel and got in at about 10:30, just enough time for a relaxing bath before another deep sleep.
The final day, after a huge breakfast, it was a sad goodbye to the lakes (the sun was shining!) and a long drive back to London. All in all, an excellent break, some beautiful scenery, plenty of aching muscles, lots
of good pub food.... a success!
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Stephen Paul
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Who Knew?!
I had no idea, and I consider myself a conniseur of Alpine lakes. Mainland England has glacially carved lakes, spectacular! I thought "The Lake District" of England I heard about was a bunch of ponds people go boating on. Actually finding these lakes on google earth in HI RES was cool! In fact, I then discovered Southwest Ireland also has glacial lakes on the tops of the 1000 meter peaks near the ocean. Awesome!!! I cant wait to see Scotland, Ireland and England someday!!