And so the big day had arrived: Patterdale to Shap, one of the longest stretches (25km) and most elevation (over 1000m!) in one day. And what a day it was!
Waking early to the birds (and some loud geese) alongside the calm water, we enjoyed some porridge breaky in the sun and got ourselves ready and packed up all by 8am. Of course, the trail began to climb almost immediately, but we were feeling good. Until we saw a dead sheep at the bottom of a crag ☹️. But then good again when we saw our first live wild red squirrel ? who checked us out then scuttled along the path infront of us! This was later followed by seeing a large herd of deer ? running across the tops and disappearing behind the peaks.
We found more loud geese at Angle Tarn where we stopped for a snack. It was here we began spotting fellow walkers, who as the day went on, past us as we passed them when having their breaks. Today we met two Germans, dreadlock girl and two Australians. There were many others too but a simple smile, hello and nod made do.
these sights, plus the amazing views across the peaks and valleys , made all the climbing worth it. And whilst it was not easy, it was not as steep for as long as previous days, with mini stretches of flat between the climbs. The path continued its meandering rocky feel as it kept climbing, reaching the highest point of the C2C - Kidsky Pike; giving more stunning viewsand more rain showers! Yes, it was another waterproofs on & off kinda day, with some wind chill too being so high up, but also just amazing.
The path remained pretty technical at points today, with some scrambling, and a couple of brief misdirections, but easily corrected. It also included definitely the most technical, possible foot twisting, using hands, steep, rocky descent of the trip so far. Scary but cool.
Once down at Haweswater Reservoir, Id like to say it was plain sailing, but it was still pretty up & down! Almost like being on the coast with the water rippling below to your right and coconut bushes to your left, with a seemingly never ending path dipping down and up. Thankfully the sun was back and the trail just kept
giving; we had not one, not two or three, but four fighter jets put on a display for us! Twice! Followed later by a couple of other huge planes. Pretty cool to see and so loud.
Passing the reservoir, you feel a definite shift to the trail, as we left the Lake District and entered farmers fields and country roads again, pretty rivers, and with some good old bog in between. We also passed the old Shap Abbey, but feeling tired with achey feet decided seeing it from the outside a few meters away was enough, and headed up the last hill, before finally following the track down into Shap. Quickly pitching up at a lovely little camp at New Ng Lodge, we made it to the chippy in time before it shut. Delicious! Chips devoured, it must be bed time soon ?
