A few pics here from last week's adventure in the Lake District with my friend Chris.
Trail magazine recently featured a Lakleland 'Haute Route', a multi-day trip mostly following valleys across the Lakes. We wanted to join up some of the ridges for a high-level alternative, wild camping along the way as much as possible.
We walked from Coniston in the South, to Mungrisdale in the North East corner of the Lakes, taking in 15 summits, of which 10 were new for me on this trip. Our packs were pretty heavy with food for 5 days plus camping gear, although we'd also packed a few luxury items: like 500 ml of absinthe ...
Day 1: Old Man of Coniston, Swirl How, Great Carr, Little Carr. Wild camp by the disused reservoir at Greenburn. Gorgeous.
Day 2: Crinkle Crags, wild camp close to the saddle at Three Tarns. Exhausted by an earlier mistake in the fog that led to some extra downhill and then back uphill miles. In the cloud or rain all day, couldn't see a thing. The fog was so thick in the night, I didn't pee far from the tent.
Day 3: Bowfell, Esk Pike, then down past Sprinkling Tarn to Styhead Tarn and up over Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knotts to the youth hostel at Honister. Wow, a shower, a bed, real food, beer, cooked breakfast. Funny conversations with a vicar called Tim and a social worker called Matthew.
Day 4: High Spy, Maiden Moor, Cat Bells and into Keswick for dinner. Out along the disused railway track for a stealthy wild camp in a meadow by a bend in the River Greta, in a steep wooded gorge. Finished the absinthe watching bats from the river bank at dusk.
Day 5: Struck camp at dawn, while being devoured by midges. Walked for a good hour before second breakfast at Threlkeld, then a stylish finish to the trip up Hall's Fell Ridge over Blencathra and down the tongue to Mungrisdale and a car. Fantastic views all day.
Cheers Chris - where next?
