Today it was supposed to rain and it didnt – a beautiful day of mixed sun and cloud. Tomorrow it is supposed to pour, and someone told me it is the same forecast for the whole country.
The Level 4 walk (easier) is much more to my taste and ability, probably a bit harder than the most strenuous of the Devon walks last year. Today we took an easier route in the same general area as the harder walk – more gradual (still puffing) through broad switchback trails. I didnt realize that the meaning of walking here is closer to what we call hiking. The objective is to go up to the top of a ridge and walk along it. The views were fabulous, and with this level of walk there was time to film and take photos. The pace was such that I could keep up.
Last night the social coordinator, Vince, gave a talk about the geography and geology of the Lake District, which helped a lot in understanding what we were seeing. Basically, we walked up to Boredale Hause (pass), along the ridge, crossing first Boredale and then Martindale. All morning
we had stunning views of Brothers Water and Ulswater. In the afternoon we periodically reviewed the view of Ulswater, ending with a ferry ride on Ulswater, from Howtown to Glenridding.
On the bus, Andy – talkative today – told us that Brothers Water was renamed in Victorian times for two brothers, one who fell through the ice, and the second who also drowned trying to save the first. The weather was much colder then. Now Brothers Water is virtually disappearing as reeds make marshes and new shorelines.
The colours today were deep green and blue, with gold in the higher, grassy areas. From the ridges we looked deep into the long valleys, richly green traced with stone fences. Many of the fences were very long, some ascending directly up a hill to near the ridges.
Sheep and goats dotted the fields, although some seemed so independent as to be virtually wild. However, they all seemed to have the fluorescent paint mark that shows domestication.
In the high gold grasses, near rocks mainly, there was heather, much smaller than in Devon. The flowers were under a quarter of an inch in any direction, and the plants
In spite of huffing and puffing upward, the long, long descent after lunch today was almost unbearable – not because of steepness, although a few bits were steep and rocky, but because it went on and on. Later, when I looked back, I couldnt believe I had done it – a long, downward curve along the ridge line and then a slow grassy switchback. Part way down the ridge, my hip joints were sore, also my ankle muscles. By the end, my toes were sore from being forced to the end of my boots. Maybe the worst was keeping concentration to prevent stumbling. Still, after that the path was more like country walking, by fields on a path and down to Howtown.
At Glenridding we had tea and waited a while for the coach back to the hotel. Theres dancing on tonight, but not for me.
