After the first two days being relatively short to help us ease into the hike, today was a biggie at about 25km and over 600m elevation! We felt ready though and made sure we got up and ready early, with a quick banana and snack bar to get us going (after using the pub toilet when they unlocked their doors at 7:30).
And just like that, we were off, with a nice stroll down to Ennerdale water whilst the sun already shone brightly. The path then thinned and became quite rocky as it ran alongside the water, with some scree walking and a little bit of rock climbing making it interesting, before settling again lakeside where we stopped for a cuppa and porridgeCue gusts of wind, dark clouds and drizzly rain! But, as if someone was looking out for us, we watched this spread across the lake further up, avoiding us Then, once wed pretty much finished and packed up, the rain found us. A quick shower followed before the bright skies returned; and so this became the weather pattern of the day, coats on off on off on and off.
bumping into the same people on and off, as you take various rest stops at different times, lengths and places. Theres the older camping couple, American brothers, American taxi guy, American yellow coat, the three greens (also American), the and the German fella who shared our pub camp spot. All friendly, as are the locals, giving it a feel, and reassuring to know were on the right path and not that crazy!
The path continues past the water along the river, through some forests (with many trees fallen down!) and passing a couple of YHAs with one being the most remote one in England. We knew the path was meant to get steep after this, but looking at the end of this valley, all we could see were gullys up the hillsides with water flowing down them. On closer inspection, yep, the path curved steeply up alongside essentially a waterfall. It was pretty well done though, with stone steps up between the rocks, which were useful at times, particularly as the wind picked up dramatically. Eventually reaching the top, the wind was astonishing, making the scramble bits up a little scary but also very exciting. And
we made it! Up and over to find a perfectly placed cafe (actually a slate mine museum) where we bumped into our walking buddies and shared the excitement of that technical (for us) pass.
It then finished with a stony path down the valley and back along a river, into Rosthwaite, which we ended up walking with our German friend. And after pitching up, (when the rain decided showers were no longer enough and poured down for a few hours), we ended up joining him in the pub for food, meeting another guy who finished the trail last week and was full of stories, advice and tips; a very social evening after a great day of walking.
