For the last two or three years, I've been away for a long weekend with some mates on a hiking trip. And this year would be no different, but this time there were only four of us as Nigel had to drop out very late. The destination of choice this time around was the Lake District. I'd only been there twice before but never really done much hiking. On both occasions, I've been there with Donna and yes we've done some hiking nothing particularly extreme.
But, as I've not been a great deal of walking this summer, we never do because of the heat, when planning the route I decided not to do something too taxing. So, I planned a route which would still be difficult but we wouldn't be going that high, just lots of rocky paths but still a lot of ascent when considering the ups and downs.
My car has been in the garage again this week but thankfully I could pick it up on Friday morning ready for the trip north. I headed to Darrell's house and picked him up at 9:30 am. We then set off across the Snake Pass, around Manchester, and then up the M6 to the Lake District. On arrival, we spent a few hours in Bowness including taking the boat up to Ambleside where we had a walk around a few shops looking in outdoor stores and then we stopped for a drink and some lunch. Well I say lunch I actually had two bags of crisps and that was it.
Around 5:30 p.m. we headed to our hotel which was just outside Windermere, the other two guys were just setting off as they were working. After getting changed me and Darrell headed to the local pub to set about eating burgers and having a few beers. Surprisingly it didn't take that long for the other guys to get up here, they arrived in the pub, or washed and changed around 7:30 p.m. They didn't need to eat though as they had dined in a McDonald's on the way up. We were in the pub until around 10 p.m, just chatting, having a laugh and having a few drinks. Then time for bed.
We left the hotel around 9am the following morning and headed up to Grasmere where we would start our walk. The first mile or so was steady but quite busy, however, we then had our first ascent. It took us up Sour Milk Ghyll with its picturesque waterfall and pool, and onwards up to Easedale Tarn. We stopped off next to the Tarn for around 15 minutes before crossing the stream and then heading back down towards Stythwaite Steps.
From here it was a long relentless slog up through the valley. Great views all around though, so it never became a chore. Far fewer people around now, but we did see a few, including a couple of Australian guys who we stopped and had a good chat with.
After reaching the ridge where we turned east, the rest of the walk took us along the ridge made up of Calf Crag, Pike of Crag towards Gibson Knott. This section was very up and down, with some quite precarious drops off down back into the valley. The plan was to finish the ridge, going over Helm Crag and back down into Grasmere. But, as we didn't know how rocky it would be on the descent, we took the less walked path back down into the valley.
Now that was maybe not a great move as the path was very steep, and not a laid path, the result was that both Darrell and Tony went tumbling on the way down. Thankfully no serious injuries. Now just a steady amble back to the car - we had been walking for 7hrs and were all shattered, to be honest. The 30 min drive back to the hotel couldn't go quick enough.
That evening we had planned to go for a curry, but I had a bit of a blood injury, so we again took the short walk back to the pub. More great food, in fact too much as we wasted some of it, and more drinks, and of course, bed at 9:30pm we were that tired.
I didn't sleep that well that night, for no reason, I was just tired in body but wide awake in mind. So at 6am I drove down into Bowness and spent a couple of hours taking early morning photos, a really enjoyable and quiet time. After breakfast, it was time to head back south, and oh dear, a 7hr 10min drive back home. Not a great ending.
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