Day 1 - St. Bees to Ennerdale Bridge
Miles walked – 13.7 miles
Ross's Steps - 29362
Stiles, Gates, Ladders – 30
Americans – 4
Water drunk – 2.6 litres
Highest Peak - 1151 ft
Most unusual purchase – superglue
Photos taken – 117
The end of day 1. A brilliant day, sunny, a lovely cooling breeze, magnificent views. We started walking at 12.00 pm and took just over 5 hours to complete the first stage. We met 13 other people walking the route. No blisters to report, no other injuries. Wrong, Ross has hit his head on a low beam in the bunk house at least 5 times. I on the other hand am permanently stooping from the low ceiling.
A very steep ascent of the hill at Dent, but nothing compared with the descent. Had we a sledge it would have been hairy!.
Highlight of the day was the weather – it couldn't have been better. Also AW really new how to start a walk (although he didn't always go directly from A to B – we were only 6.25 miles from the start when we finished).
Day 2 – Ennerdale Bridge to Rossthwaite
Number of Ross's steps 38,132
Distance walked 15.8 miles
Highest Point – 2030 ft
Germans – 4
New Zealanders – 2
Polish People – 2
Stiles, Gates – 19
Lunch break – 50 minutes
Accommodation Report – The bunkhouse, Low Cock How Farm, Kinniside
Comfort – 2 Stars (out of 5)
Hospitality – 4 Stars
Food – 4 Stars
Facilities – 2 stars
Overall – 3 Stars
A very warm welcome – basic facilities, but we had sole use of the bunkhouse which could have slept 10. Ross met some hypothermic campers who we would have happily allowed to use one of the free bunks. Breakfast was a whopper with free range eggs to die for, good coffee and the juiciest orange starter ever.
Day 2 Walk
Cool, but sunny start at 8.00 am. Graham is to be flogged for allowing the GPS to run out of power within an hour of the start – thankfully AW's book was with us and there was always another group of walkers in front. Our natural pace resulted in a lot of overtaking!
Ennerdale Valley is simply magnificent, Red Pike and High Crag to one side, Pillar to the other. The Lake was our companion for the first 2 hours. Our first rain was just after reaching the head of the Lake but it didn't last long or dampen our spirits.
As we neared the end of the valley, Black Sail Hut came into view. Ross can be seen in one of the photos talking to Sarah. How on earth is there a signal in this remote location? Didn't stay there long as it was thronged with people, eating, drinking, etc. Not a good decision on their part because the ascent out of the valley up Loft Beck was brutal. One of our cardinal rules is not to eat before a climb!
We "owned" Loft Beck, overtaking everyone ahead. A nice gentlemen sowed the seed when we asked him what he was listening to on his ipod and he told us, Pink Floyd. In went the earphones and Ross climbed out of the valley listening to the likes of the Foo Fighters, AC/DC, etc. Graham was listening to a Genius Mix based on ABC's Look of Love.
A traverse at high level brought us to Honister Mine where Lorna, Ann and Brian were waiting with a welcome cup of tea. A short break then final goodbyes and a descent into Borrowdale. By now it was predominantly cloudy. We rolled into our accommodation, the YHA at Borrowdale just after 4.00 pm.
Final thought for the day. Ross summed it up when he said “Eh, Graham, you know what, that was a great day, I'm happy”.
We went for a short walk after dinner and saw a just born lamb taking its first steps to suckle. Mom was licking it dry. A fine end to the day.
Day 3 – Ennerdale Bridge to Rossthwaite
Number of steps 47,132
Distance walked 18.0 miles
Highest Point – 2034 ft
Stiles, Gates – 20
Lunch break – In Grasmere – wonderful 45 minutes
Accommodation Report – YHA Borrowdale
Comfort – 1 Stars (out of 5)
Hospitality – 2 Stars
Food – 3 Stars
Facilities – 4 stars
Overall – 2.5 Stars
Ah, youth hostelling – it's changed you know! First impressons very good until we walked into our cell …...I mean room. Bunks (Ross got the top one!). Too short – Graham said; too hard; too lumpy. You couldn't swing a cat in the room. Dinner was OK, breakfast gave a lot of choice, Overall, we don't think youth hostelling has changed that much. A first black star for the beds.
Day 3 Walk
Raining before breakfast, plans were to start in waterproofs but a shaft of light hit us in the bedroom just as we were about to start dressing. Instead Ross went for the ubiquitous shorts. Start of the walk was through Stonethwaite then up to Greenup Gill to Greenup Edge, Passed nearly all of the walkers in front of us during the ascent. Over the top and towards Grasmere we decided on the high level alternative which takes in Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag. A magnificent ridge walk with tremendous views over Grasmere and as far as Windermere and Coniston Water. Snow had settled on the Hellvellyn Range from the night before. The descent into Grasmere from Helm Crag was truly awful, very steep, causing severe discomfort to the knees.
A well earned break in the village, we bought sandwiches and goodies from Heidi's. Sat on the green watching the world go by.
Too soon we had to start the second part of the walk to Grisedale Tarn before descending into Patterdale. We started and immediately felt the biting cold wind in our faces. Gloves on (Ross was still in his shorts!).
The drag up to the Tarn was never ending – we resorted to walking sticks and ipods to help in the climb. Our reward was coffee and nibbles sitting with our backs to a rock next to the Tarn.
At this stage Ross said he wanted to get to the post office to buy a Coast to Coast t-shirt. The GPS said it would take an hour and a half, just after the scheduled close of the shop. We made it with half an hour to spare. We've still got it!
We rolled in to the YHA in Patterdale and realised that if anything it was worse than Borrowdale's. Don't expect a high score! The room is larger mainly because we are sharing with 6 other men!
We showered and went to the White Lion pub for a meal. Good meal, plenty of other C2Cers around sharing stories. Our first two Australians were there. Now sitting typing this with absolutely no way of posting it until at the earliest tomorrow!. No phones have a signal. It's 9:15 and we are ready to go to bed. Unfortunately we met three of our room mates who are just off to the pub.
Day 4 – Patterdale to Shap
Number of steps 39,958
Distance walked 16.3 miles
Highest Point – 2582 ft
Americans – 2
Stiles, Gates – 27
Coffee Break – 32 minutes (Ross says you can't rush a good coffee!)
Lunch break – 12 minutes (Ross said we couldn't have any longer!)
Deer – Too many to count
Red Squirrels - 1
Accommodation Report – YHA Patterdale
Comfort – 2 Stars (out of 5)
Hospitality – 3 Stars
Food – 3 Stars
Facilities – 4 stars
Overall – 3 Stars
Communal room with 5 other gentlemen to share with – at various times Graham reckoned there were 3 of them snoring at the same time (Obviously when Graham was a sleep that increased to 4). Beds were marginally more comfortable (based on a better night's sleep). Much busier.
The Walk
Up and out of Patterdale, the start of the walk was dominated by the climb to Angle Tarn, High Street and Kidsty Pike. It sounds easy but this took 3 and a ½ hours serious climbing, to get to the top of the Coast to Coast route. We did our normal thing and powered past most of the other walkers. The weather was kind, blue skies and fluffy white clouds were the order of the day. A brew of coffee and cake were enjoyed and the flag photo done, while there we had a few flecks of snow!
While coming off the mountain Graham had a moment, when his right knee started to give him a lot of pain. Walking sticks came out, as well as a neoprene brace but luckily the climbing was over for the day.
Haweswater went on forever and we had planned to eat after passing the dam wall. By the time we got there starvation was a definite possibility. A very welcome bench made from a tree trunk was found in Burbank Village and the locals were very friendly – thanks to the nice lady who took away our rubbish. We also saw a greater spotted woodpecker feeding on the ladies bird feeder while eating. Earlier in the day we had passed some deer on the fell on the way out of Patterdale.
On leaving Burbank we started to have to think about navigation. We were in farmland and some paths were very indistinct. It was rather novel to have to check maps, books and GPS to find the way!
As we crossed a packhorse bridge we saw our one and only red squirrel, who ran across our path, Ross's attempt to capture his image was a valiant try (it's on the web album).
Finally walked into Shap after almost 7 and ¼ hours. The Kings Arms was just what we needed – good accommodation, cheap food and fluffy towels – the shower was amazing. Graham decided it was time to open the emergency parcel after his knee problem, so kindly provided by cousin Heather. The photos say it all. Almost everything you might need, from an emergency toothbrush, cup-a-soup, sewing kit, ….....not to mention the mini bottle of Bailey's. The only think missing, no complaint intended, was a new knee! Thanks Heather.
Now sitting in the bar waiting for pork hock with chips!
Final Thoughts
We ran out of superlatives to describe the wonders of the Lakeland scenery. Ross says he's happy because his neck will be able to recover from looking around all of the time at the sights. We must be blessed because the first four days have been dry and clear. How many people can enjoy 4 days in the Lakes without rain and with clear views from all of the summits?
