Hail and hearty!

We haven’t been back from the Lakes for long and I'm already missing it. Strange yes, without our furry buddy, and whilst we tried not to visit too many places with strong associations, it was still disconcerting and upsetting to be walking without a dog after the last 16 or so years with one or other.

We decided to tackle a few of the high fells that we’d had in mind for a while, and these are what we climbed in four days.

Dollywaggon Pike: We first attempted this about seven years ago when we were naive and inexperienced. We walked up from Patterdale in torrential rain, got cold and wet and Bro got the worst cramp of his life on the ridge so we went straight back down without actually reaching the summit. This time we went up the Raise Beck gully from Dunmail Raise, branching slightly left before Grisedale Tarn and tackling the immensely steep grass bank which leads you up onto the ridge. As we started this slightly soul destroying climb, the heavens opened and a huge dump of hail was deposited on us from then until the minute we got back to the car. It was absolutely freezing on the summit, but we did get the views, so that made up for the drenching!

Absolutely frozen

Mellbreak: We've climbed a few fells in the Loweswater area and Mellbreak was the lowest of the ones we still wanted to do. We set off a little later than usual in beautiful sun, after treating ourselves to coffee at the Kirkstile Inn. The path down Mosedale was lovely with fantastic views of the famous lonely Holly Tree, and Hen Comb on the opposite side of the valley. After a mile or so, we decided to turn left directly up the side of Mellbreak, about half way along its length. This brought us out on a sort of saddle in the middle and it was an easy walk to the top. Once again, the hail hit us, but it couldn't dampen our enjoyment of the stunning views down the full length of Crummock and Buttermere to Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks. No wonder lots of people have told us it's their favourite.

buttermere views and hail showers

Blencathra: Another we'd been wanting to do for ages and it was a beautiful day in the valley. We parked at the bottom of Mousethwaite Combe quite early where there was an older lady and another couple already there, and we only saw each other all morning! As we started the climb up from the top of Mousethwaite Combe, thick cloud came down and enveloped us for the rest of our time on Blencathra. I quite like walking in the mist; it's really quiet, a bit spooky and it also hides the climb ahead so it seemed in no time at all we had run out of mountain and realised we were on the summit, but couldn't see anything. The mist cleared on the way down and we did get views which were stunning and we both really enjoyed this one. Obviously it was a beautiful day when we got back to the car and the cloud/mist lifted for the rest of the afternoon.....

just beginning to see the views…..on the way back down

Helvellyn & Nethermost Pike: Yes, after all this time, we still hadn't climbed Helvellyn. In the south, most people I speak to have heard of Helvellyn and yes, every time they ask if we've climbed it.....We have tried twice before and have been thwarted, once by our own woeful inadequacy and then by the aforementioned Dollywaggon Pike experience when we didn't even reach that summit.

So, fully prepared this time and again, in beautiful, hot sun we set off from the Swirls car park, taking the direct route up to Brown Cove. Steep, but short, on a fantastically well made rocky path. The views over Thirlmere and beyond were stunning and made the climb easier. Once on the broad summit plateau, there were jaw dropping views in all directions, but especially down to Red Tarn and over Striding and Swirral Edges. We decided to go on to Nethermost Pike and we got more wonderful views down the Grisedale Valley towards Patterdale. As we turned to go back up to Helvellyn again, the cloud descended and we couldn't see anything, but we had had the views. We ate a soggy sandwich in the wind shelter with a few other intrepid walkers before beginning the long, wet, windy descent. As we got lower, the weather improved and we ended with a well earned meal in the Kings Head.

views from helvellyn

THe view towards patterdale

On our last day, we bumped into and had a chat with Chris Jesty, then took a boat from Waterhead to Bowness, had lunch and a walk around and sailed back. It had been a wonderful week with some great weather, wonderful walks and relaxation after a difficult August. We'll be back in November for some winter summiting. And more hail no doubt.