Thursday 22 July - 17.5 klms Patterdale to Burnbanks 1300 metres climbed - Riff RAF Beneath Us

Well the lads spent yesterday afternoon glancing, with trepidation, out the window from our hotel and contemplating the rather steep climb out of Patterdale up Stony Rigg. So as you can imagine as we set off this morning we were straight into it. The 45 degree incline up this slope. We needn't have worried at all though as this was only the tip of the iceberg. We reached the summit (or more accurately the false summit) and then nearly took a wrong turn but fortunately saw some other walkers on another path so we backtracked and followed them which was a good call.

Up and up we went and then came round a corner to be faced with a 300 metre walk along the side of a steep hill which I found quite exhilirating but Al and JR were finding somewhat challenging (no Col it was bloody terrifying). It might have been the 500 metre drop off the side of the hill or just the width of the path. All I know is it took me about 5 minutes to cover the distance and it took the lads about 20 minutes. Around the corner awaited Angle Tarn which was very pretty even under dull and over cast skies (but NOT raining yeehah).

It would have been trully magnificent if it had been a sunny day. There was a low cloud ceiling (which we nearly in) but the main problem was it covered some of the taller peaks that we would have been able to see on a clear day. Around Angle Tarn and then up and over yet another false peak. Climbing up and up and up and then eventually a peak and it was bloody cold up there. Around another corner and the unbelievably a left hand turn up across the ridge to the highest point on our walk (Kidsty Pike). I was selected to take the photos as we were some distance off the valley floor (and Al and JR were huddled together as far away from the edge as the could reasonable get). The views on this walk are wonderful - see photos and video.

Then for me came the toughest part of the day - the walk down from Kidsty Pike to the Haweswater Reservoir. My knees have disowned me. Down is definitely harder than up and even the up was hard.

Had lunch at the most beautiful little waterfall at the base of the Pike and the came the fairly hard grind along Haweswater to the dam walls (which seemed to go on forever). We thought that the walk along the reservoir would be flat but it went up and down and up and down and up and down and, as usual, the path was designed for goats - lots of rocks and running water but little that deserves the name path, beck or creek would be a more apt description.

We were buzzed by the RAF three times the first time we were above the aircraft and watched it come over the dam wall, streak down Haweswater and climb sharply out and around between Arttecrag Pike and Harter Crag. There were two more after that but none so impressive.

Peter here: Many things come to mind in the shower but yesterday it was 4Wd vehicles. The connection for this may seem obsure for the unitiated who have not showered in an old english pub. The showers in these pubs are so small you can only face one direction (one would say there is not enough room to change your mind !). OK back to 4 wheel drives. Because the pubs are so old when they introduced ensuites to avoid running hot water to the rooms they put in individual electric water heaters. In this case the model was the Super Triton 60i. Probably the 4wd Triton could raise the water above room temperature and produce more then a dribble to wash my ample body :-).

Tonight we stayed at the Crown and Mitre in Bampton Grange in the middle of nowhere close to incognito. The food was outstanding. Collie was a true leg man as he devoured his lamb shank. Nixie wanted to find the goat that has given milk for his goat cheese and I wanted to pay my respectes to the chickens that had given their livers - perhaps even arrange for a transplant because they were so good.

Al here - Despite my protestations about confronting more big hills yesterday, we found another two or ten of them today, and all big, very big, very high, too high for me, and wet. Oh well, survived walking across the edge of 20,000 metre drops, maybe I am exaggerating but it felt like that! One mistake and you're dog meat!

Apparently its a flat go tomorrow, thank god for that. By the way, it didn't rain today, miracle after miracle!