And so it was day 3. It was nice to wake up in a bed, and also enjoy the luxury of a toilet and shower. We all took full advantage then headed down for breakfast. There was only 5 of us there for brekkie, we were joined by two other coast to coasters - Richard and Dave from Northumbrian Water - just when Col thought he had escaped work for a fortnight! We had the usual coast to coast banter with them and Dave told us how everyone in Northumbrian Water knew him - cue the vacant look on Dad's face. It was the big reveal time, we told them Dad worked at NW and hadn't heard of him...gutted! After a bit more conversation they were unsure if we were pulling their leg or not, how could they not believe we were all church goers?! No sooner had we finished breakfast than we were welcomed by a mighty sight, that of Paul Holt, he had very kindly offered to do support for days 3&4 and had received his full briefing from Nat, which he recited word for word! We done our daily swap overs with the gear then bid him farewell, for now.
The day got off to a bad start for me - I noticed a leak in my water pack, and as I went to fix it the mouthpiece fell into what I can only describe as sheepshit! Never mind, it was day 3, I was a fully confirmed outdoor type now, I wiped it off and got on with it.
We felt the benefit of the extra walk to the far end of Stonethwaite yesterday as the path we needed today was only round the corner from our B&B. It was a long, steady walk up Greenup Edge, but it was good to get it out of the way early in the morning, when we seemed to be at our best. It was very rocky terrain, but quite a manageable walk. We were overtaken by a 70+ year old with a club foot who told us we were nearly at the top of Greenup, but Lining Crag was still to come. Still, it couldn't be that bad....could it?
We arrived at a plateau and stopped for a breather, and then we noticed the mountain rescue helicopter was hovering not too far away from us. Had they been tipped off, or even seen us walking before - turns out it wasn't for us though, we weren't giving up that easily!
We noticed in the distance people seemed to be scrambling over rocks to get up a mountain. Were they coast to coasters? Did we have to do that? Turns out the answer to both questions was YES! We didn't sign up for that!!
This was it. Ahead us stood Lining Crag, and the most dangerous part of the walk. We were over 2,000 foot in the air, and the wind was picking up - not only in the sky but in our shorts too! It was hand on rock time as we scrambled up. Within 30 minutes the weather had changed from sun, to rain, to hail, to snow, to severe winds. I stepped on one rock, it disappeared under my foot, guess I wasn't going on that one then. It was a case of trial and error and find a route you were happy with. The wind was a particular problem so it was body close to the rocks and short steps. It was at this point that my Dad exposed his real alter-ego, The Human Fly, clinging to the rocks for dear life. Not only worried for his own safety, but for that of us all.
It was a heart pumping experience but we made it to the top. It was at this point Ged knocked out what would be the best cup of tea of the whole walk, it was also the time to get one of my favourite photos of the walk, with the 3 of us huddled at the top of the mountain with a cuppa, our smiles hiding the nervousness of the last hour or so. It was one of the rare times we could get signal so we made our calls, literally from the top of the world!
We rested for a bit tucking into our lunch before setting off for the next part. We were heading down into a valley which was to stretch for miles before arriving at Goody Bridge. As we were descending we were caught up in the a blizzard, it was horrendous! Fortunately we were able to take refuge behind a great boulder, but it wasn't quite enough to avoid a soaking, and the hailstones leaving their mark on our battered faces. It also made the terrain very boggy, which slowed us down quite a bit. Despite this, we counted ourselves lucky that it happened on the way down and not on the way up!
It was a long slog through the valley, having to weave through bogs and over rivers, but we finally made it out just after 4, and were welcomed again by Paul. It had taken a long time to get where we were, and we made the snap decision that it would be dangerous to stick to the planned route over another mountain. We decided to take an alternative route to Patterdale which still included a lot of ups and downs, but there was a large element of road walking which we felt was safer, and we were faster walking on the road.
Eventually we made it to the Sykeside Camp, and our home for the night, where we were warned to keep our belongings close as badgers tended to stray onto the site. We were battered, bruised and exhausted from today's adventure but we had made it. After pitching up we went to the on-site pub for a couple of drinks and a general wind down. It was here I first experienced Tirril Lager (not too bad despite what they say), and I managed to get some onion rings and a bowl of cheesy chips, all for under a fiver - bargain!
Another 15 miles in the bag and we had suffered from terrible weather today. Still, 3 days down, 9 to go!
The day got off to a bad start for me - I noticed a leak in my water pack, and as I went to fix it the mouthpiece fell into what I can only describe as sheepshit! Never mind, it was day 3, I was a fully confirmed outdoor type now, I wiped it off and got on with it.
We felt the benefit of the extra walk to the far end of Stonethwaite yesterday as the path we needed today was only round the corner from our B&B. It was a long, steady walk up Greenup Edge, but it was good to get it out of the way early in the morning, when we seemed to be at our best. It was very rocky terrain, but quite a manageable walk. We were overtaken by a 70+ year old with a club foot who told us we were nearly at the top of Greenup, but Lining Crag was still to come. Still, it couldn't be that bad....could it?
We arrived at a plateau and stopped for a breather, and then we noticed the mountain rescue helicopter was hovering not too far away from us. Had they been tipped off, or even seen us walking before - turns out it wasn't for us though, we weren't giving up that easily!
We noticed in the distance people seemed to be scrambling over rocks to get up a mountain. Were they coast to coasters? Did we have to do that? Turns out the answer to both questions was YES! We didn't sign up for that!!
This was it. Ahead us stood Lining Crag, and the most dangerous part of the walk. We were over 2,000 foot in the air, and the wind was picking up - not only in the sky but in our shorts too! It was hand on rock time as we scrambled up. Within 30 minutes the weather had changed from sun, to rain, to hail, to snow, to severe winds. I stepped on one rock, it disappeared under my foot, guess I wasn't going on that one then. It was a case of trial and error and find a route you were happy with. The wind was a particular problem so it was body close to the rocks and short steps. It was at this point that my Dad exposed his real alter-ego, The Human Fly, clinging to the rocks for dear life. Not only worried for his own safety, but for that of us all.
It was a heart pumping experience but we made it to the top. It was at this point Ged knocked out what would be the best cup of tea of the whole walk, it was also the time to get one of my favourite photos of the walk, with the 3 of us huddled at the top of the mountain with a cuppa, our smiles hiding the nervousness of the last hour or so. It was one of the rare times we could get signal so we made our calls, literally from the top of the world!
We rested for a bit tucking into our lunch before setting off for the next part. We were heading down into a valley which was to stretch for miles before arriving at Goody Bridge. As we were descending we were caught up in the a blizzard, it was horrendous! Fortunately we were able to take refuge behind a great boulder, but it wasn't quite enough to avoid a soaking, and the hailstones leaving their mark on our battered faces. It also made the terrain very boggy, which slowed us down quite a bit. Despite this, we counted ourselves lucky that it happened on the way down and not on the way up!
It was a long slog through the valley, having to weave through bogs and over rivers, but we finally made it out just after 4, and were welcomed again by Paul. It had taken a long time to get where we were, and we made the snap decision that it would be dangerous to stick to the planned route over another mountain. We decided to take an alternative route to Patterdale which still included a lot of ups and downs, but there was a large element of road walking which we felt was safer, and we were faster walking on the road.
Eventually we made it to the Sykeside Camp, and our home for the night, where we were warned to keep our belongings close as badgers tended to stray onto the site. We were battered, bruised and exhausted from today's adventure but we had made it. After pitching up we went to the on-site pub for a couple of drinks and a general wind down. It was here I first experienced Tirril Lager (not too bad despite what they say), and I managed to get some onion rings and a bowl of cheesy chips, all for under a fiver - bargain!
Another 15 miles in the bag and we had suffered from terrible weather today. Still, 3 days down, 9 to go!
RSS Feed
