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.