Lake District - 21-23 July 2010

The weather changed for the better during the second half of my trek so I made it to the top of Skiddaw and back to Keswick on a fine, dry Tuesday. That was a clear day too which provided for fantastic views. It was very hard work though - 8 miles from the town centre and back which took me six and a half hours, including a 20-30 mins lunch break on the summit and a lot of breathers on the way up and down.

Skiddaw (3054 ft but it felt like more)

My path from Gawthwaite to Keswick had been along The Cumbria Way. The rest of the walk to Maryport, via Bassenthwaite where the Sun Inn pub is attractive, the beer decent and the food not so (I would not recommend the Steak in Ale Pie), was in glorious weather and by way of The Allerdale Ramble which is shown on the OS 1:25,000 map.

The camp site near the village of Bassenthwaite was surprisingly quiet. Mainly statics, there were a couple of tourers and two, maybe three groups camping out of cars. I was the only backpacker and I set up near the washroom/toilet/shower block. At £6.00, it was a better stopover for me than the Great Langdale National site.

Stylish stile north of Cockermouth

The aim had been to walk hard in preparation for the Coast to Coast which I start next week. I'm certainly better prepared except that my knees still hurt and I'm not sure why. I'm not entirely sure why I am walking the C2C either but think it is more about doing it to have an opinion on it and as a challenge. Walks over 10 miles (in the Lake District) demand a lot of me so the C2C will put me to the test.

There will be some changes to my kit for future walks.

I realised last year that my Snugpak Softie 6 sleeping bag was not for me but I made do. It's warm enough but I feel too restricted in a mummy shaped bag to get a good night's sleep. I'm expecting a much improved slumber and sweeter dreams in my new Golite Adventure 1+Season Semi-Rectangular where I can move around in the bag rather than with it.

There'll be more to say about the Golite sleeping bag and other additions to my kit (including an Icebreaker merino wool polo shirt and the Pico Solar Charger) in the near future.

Terra Nova Pegs "parked" in old Biros so that they won't pierce anything when packed

I'll be camping and B&B-ing later next week. I have no place booked to stay, or even in mind, in Grasmere so I may change that part of the route to avoid that fair town. I'm not sure about the blogging either because my phone is still to be sorted. A bit like me all-round really.

Lake District - 17-20 July 2010

In the movie Blade Runner, it never stops raining. It's been like that here in the Lake District since Saturday morning. Harrison Ford isn't around nor the doomed Rutger Hauer and it's not perpetually twilight as well so I suppose it's not really like the movie at all. Except in the movie no one moans about the rain and I haven't heard anyone complain about it around here either. In fact only positive comments - "At least it's not cold!" etc. The true British spirit lives on.

I'm in Keswick now and it is catch-up time with my blog. My phone isn't working fully and until now there has been no network coverage anyway.

Saturday - I set off from Gawthwaite, on the southern boundary of the Lake District, for a 10 mile walk to Coniston along route of The Cumbria Way. Stair rods of rain greeted my arrival in Coniston where the shorn sheep, which are daubed in a fetching splash of blue, ignore my calls of "Come on you blue~ues!". A couple of pints of Coniston Bluebird, a plate of Fish and Chips and a decent B&B completed my day.

Beacon Tarn

Sunday - A 13 mile paddle to Dungeon Ghyll, where radio reception is nigh on impossible let alone network coverage, and where the sheep are wearing SO last year's colour of red, and where lamb is on the menu at The New Hotel but with no hint of whether it is from from the Blue or the Red Tribe.

Monday - The plan was to make my way over Stake Pass to Stonethwaite (7-8 miles?) where I could recce Borrowdale prior to my visit next month, but the campsite there was already waterlogged, the rain unabated, the pub closed (on Mondays), a Tea Room closed, so I carried on to Keswick not bothering what colour the sheep were. Derwent Water was filling up and my intended stopover on the campsite there didn't look too appealing and campers were being asked to move away from the lake. Given that I was a day ahead of my schedule, I booked into a very comfortable B&B. Then having dined, drank and dried out had a warm dry night's kip.

Tuesday - Here I am scribbling furiously before my 30 min stint in an Internet Cafe runs out. Then I'm off for a cuppa before walking up to the top of Skiddaw and back.

Wednesday - I'm heading north to the Bassenthwaite - Cockermouth area, Thursday to Maryport where I can get the train south on Friday.

Not sure about any internet access for the remainder of the week.

Afterthought - Rutger Hauer's expiry in Blade Runner gets my nomination for best ever movie death:

"I have seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the Shoulder of Orion. I watched C-Beams glitter ....... All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain. Time to die."
It was still raining at the time.

Corrymoor Socks

I'm not as fit as I was this time last year. I've been eating for England so most of the weight I'd shed in 2009 is back and visible. There was always an excuse or a reason why I couldn't make it to the gym so I'm not as bendy as before either. Therefore, as well as the extra weight, I'm carrying some apprehension - unsure of what I'll be capable of during a week of backpacking in the Lake District.

Next Saturday I make my way from Ulverston to Coniston along the first leg of The Cumbria Way. I have a B&B booked for that first night then I have another six days with my backpack, stomachpack and a slightly bulging rest of me. There is no schedule at the moment other than to get to Coniston, have a pint and see how I feel. It might take a second pint of Bluebird Bitter before I conceive a plan which may include having a third.

I don't think my feet could be classified as fat but I do get swollen ankles occasionally. Consequently, tight fitting socks (which most seem to be these days) can be problematic. I may have that issue under control now though as I have successfully test walked a pair of Corrymoor Gentle-Top socks. The short, lightweight socks, which are 55% mohair and 45% nylon, have elastic free tops. The material has a slightly "hard" feel to it; a cotton-like texture but wooly with excellent wicking properties. I'm using the large size and they fit comfortably over my Bridgedale Coolmax Liners, over my size 9 feet in size 10 boots.

Prodnose: "I can't believe you're blogging about socks for Gawdsake! Are you on commission or something?"

Brian: "Shove off! I choose what to say on my blog!"

They are not whiffy after prolonged use on my plates either. I've worn them unwashed over a five day period, in hot dry conditions - purely for testing purposes you understand. I didn't detect any wrinkled noses as I wafted past sock test dummies (my feet were washed daily by the way).

Corrymoor deserve a pat on the back for making online purchasing so easy and for such swift delivery. I now have four pairs but I need a slap on the head for going for one pair in Old Gold.

Spoilt For Choice

The toss of a coin decided my weekend; dutifully north to Newark to buy spares for my campervan, temptingly south to Complete Outdoors in Hemel Hempstead where I could check out their excellent selection of Paramo gear, or simply east to Thetford Forest for walks with Holly, my Border Terrier who will be 11 tomorrow. Hemel won both flips, at which point I wished I had said "Best of three" because I wanted Thetford Forest to win.

Arriving in Hemel, I couldn't resist the silky charms of a Paramo Adventure Light Smock and easily convinced myself that the Brasher Supalite II GTX boots had to be mine because my older version of Brasher Supalite GTX's need resoling - I'm going to send them to LSR for repair. With campervan and debit card groaning I made it back home with my treasures and daydreamed of backpacking whilst I did some tentwork (tentwork as in housework).

Last year's Shangri-La 1 and this year's Terra Nova Laser Competition have been aired.

My waterproof Montane Litespeed Jacket and Featherlite Trousers have been washed and reproofed. It's not something I've done before so I'm keen to feel the results.

Now I need to flip the coin again to decide which tent and waterproofs to take on my next outing.

Missing the Walking and Blogging

Work and jobs around the house and garden have claimed most of my time of late. So there's been little time left for walking other than to and from work, and with my dog mornings and evenings. Somehow I have to find the time for the gym and bike rides. Falling behind in those respects, I find myself, at the same time looking forward to and worrying about my forthcoming challenging summer holiday.

Situation normal for the working man I guess. However, things will be different next year. This time then I will have retired and expect to have more time for proper walks.

In the meantime though, my plans are for a long weekend away next month, a week in the Lake District in July, and then two weeks on (Wainwright's) Coast to Coast in August - with Number 1 Son, Bryn, joining me for the second week.

A bike ride today - definitely. After I: post this blog, breakfast, take Holly for a walk, cut the grass; tend to the potatoes, onions, garlic, swede, carrots, salad leaves and sew some corriander; harvest some mint and rhubarb (make sauce with the former and crumble with the latter), some housework, watch the box (a Nigel Kennedy recording again - his truly excellent and captivating concert with The Polish Chamber Orchestra) and a bit of C2C day dreaming and planning.

Just as well I stayed at home for the Bank Holiday.

Jeepers Peepers

My blog is a platform for wittering about walking and subjects related to it but today I divert your attention to another matter; an update on my peepers - eyes.

I mentioned them in November last year following an operation to have a cataract removed from my right eye. That was a great success and a revelation. It was like having a curtain drawn to give a clear view from that eye. However, my vision was still impaired by a cataract forming in the left eye. So my name was placed on a waiting list for an operation to resolve that issue.

The operation was successfully carried out on Wednesday. Vision through that eye is still slightly blurred but the indications are that when it settles down it will be as good as the other one.

It's all good news, as it seems likely that I won't have to wear spectacles full-time from now on; just when reading - or consulting a map.

Gyp tackles LEJOG

I do love to follow Land's End to John o'Groats Walk blogs.

Here's another brave adventurer who plans to set off on 14th April with his dog Gyp. Good luck to you both ...

Lake District - Friday 25th later

A walk up to the top of Black Combe and back marked the end of my walking week this morning. I parked at a small layby (space for three cars) on the A595 next to Whicham Church.

I'm keen to head south now to join family for a while before returning home by Monday.

Lake District - Friday 25th

Black Combe at 11:11 hours. In the clouds.

Lake District - Thursday 25th

The underlying reason for being here this week is to work my legs as part of preparations for a tough walk in the summer, and indeed, that is what I am doing. And yet, if truth be told, I realised today that I wasn't entirely at peace with the way I have been going about it. Everything became chrystal clear on my second pint of Jennings Cumberland Ale this evening.

I'd kitted myself out over the winter with a lightweight backpack to sustain me on a trek but it wasn't going to be fully deployed on this outing. I'm a day walker this week who returns to his home on wheels with all mod cons nearby; not the sturdy, independent nomad. No, he's a few more walks away yet. But his mind is a bit lighter now. A lighter rest of me will only result from more physical means and that is what your not-so-independent-occasional-commuting-coastal-day-walker was about today.

The walk was 7 miles/11km with 650ft/200 metres ascent. I know that because it says so in a pamphlet that I purchased "Walks - The Western Lakes".

The route starts at Boot and passes two small tarns; Blea Tarn and Siney Tarn. Boot is near Dalegarth Station at the head of the narrow-gauge Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway line so I could have made the journey to and from the start area by train. I drove though - no complaints but I've had enough of trains this week. Although I always stop, stare, listen and admire those choo choos whenever they pass by. Someone (not the same one) always waves a greeting from those trains. At least I think it's a greeting 'cos I always wave back.