LAKE DISTRICT - JUNE 2014

So, for the first time in all the times we've heading up to the lakes from London, we decided it would be nice to go up after church on the Sunday and stay at Mrs F's Dads for the night and head onto the lakes the next morning, that way we wouldn't have to get up at 5am on the Monday. Plus it was also Fathers Day and nice to be able to spend a little time with Mrs F's Dad.

So we had been on the road for around 4 hours and just turned off of the M6 for Blackburn when the car cut out just as we were slowing down coming to a roundabout. Mr F tried to jump start it but there was no life! :-( Thankfully there was no one else around and we were able to roll it to a safe lay-by under the bridge of the roundabout where we called the AA. Mr F feared it was the timing belt which would be a logistical nightmare!! When the AA man came, he confirmed in an instant that it was the timing belt. So we had a decision to make as the where we were going to have this man tow the car - to Mrs F's Dad's just 10 minutes away or to our trusty mechanic back in London 4 hours away. After speaking to Mrs F's Dad, he suggested that we tow it to his house as he knew someone who was also a trusty mechanic.

After we had taken absolutely everything out of our car and into Mrs F's Dads house, we all went out to the Hungry Horse for a Fathers Day meal. That night, Mrs F's Dad towed Mr F to his mechanic, Steve to leave it with him for that week. Thankfully, Mr & Mrs S were also in the lakes,camping and we had previously planned out our days for the whole week taking turns to use each others car for various days. However, it was now going to be Mr S's car everyday! :-( Although it wasn't a good situation, we gave thanks to God that we broke down when we had come off the M6 with no one around and had a safe place to wait for the AA, were only 10 minutes away from Mrs F's Dad and that we had friends who we could still get around the lakes with...truly a blessing and example of God looking after us even in what seems like really bad situation, it could have been a lot worse.

DAY 1: RAISE - 2,889FT
             SERGEANT MAN - 2,414FT
             VIA JACKS RAKE
6 & HALF HOURS TREKKING/SCRAMBLING/CLIMBING

Mrs F's Dad made her a gigantic breakfast of eggs, mushrooms, bacon and beans with tea and toast....Mr F had toast!! It was very delicious and just what was needed for our first day of trekking and a grade 1 scramble up Jack's Rake. We originally planned to go to Coniston for our first day, picking Mr & Mrs S up along the way, but instead decided to stick to somewhere nearby. Mrs F was really happy and excited as she loves a good scramble and had wanted to tackle Jack's Rake! :-)

                                                                 Mrs F's Dad making breakfast.....

Mrs F's mammoth breakfast!

Mrs F's Dad kindly drove us and all our gear to our B&B where Mr & Mrs S were already there waiting for us. We got everything out of the car and piled it into the B&B - our loyal and trusted Hawksmoor of course - where Trevor very kindly moved everything into our deluxe room once it was ready for us. In the meantime, we headed straight out for our first and exciting day on the fells :-)

We drove to Old Dungeon Ghyll to park up and start the familiar route up towards Pavey Ark. We have now completed all of the Wainwrights in Langdale including Pavey Ark, but we had still yet to conquer the infamous Jack's Rack. Mrs F's Mum wasn't overly keen for us to climb it after discovering that there have unfortunately been fatality's whilst attempting this scramble.
Nevertheless, we ignored her fears and a bit of our own and went for it!

Mr S Stopping To Load Up On An Energy Gel....With Caffeine!

Our First View Of Jack's Rake From Stickle Tarn

Where's Mrs S???

Once we had made the slog climb up to Stickle Tarn, we headed around the the right of the tarn and to the start of the Jack's Rake scramble. Once we reached the start, we said a prayer for the Lord to keep us safe. It was a hot day which added to challenge but still loved every bit of it!

Oh, There She Is!

The View Looking Back Over Stickle Tarn

Our First Close Up Glimpse Of Jack's Rake

And So It Begins...

 ....You can see the path behind us that we took around the Tarn that lead us to the start of the scramble. We always have a general rule of 3 points of contact at all times, to keep a safe distance between us all and to take our time and lots of care!!

A Picture Of Easy Gully Which Is Another Somewhat Easier Scramble To The Top

The First Of Many Mr F Selfies

Mr F is always on camera duty when we come across any scrambling or any other things that require getting on our hands and feet....and he does a good job of it! (Hence all the selfies)

Mr S took some good shots too...

Mrs F In Her Element & Loving it!

Mr F Selfie Number 2

Mr F Selfie Number 3

A Quick Look Back For A Photo While It Was Safe

A Tough Bit We Had To Negotiate Our Way Around & Up

                                 The Boys And Their Manly Rock Pose...

There came a section of the scramble where Mrs S got herself in what seemed like a big hole/gap type area where she had to take her rucksack off, let it drop down to Mrs F and pull herself out! Mrs F followed her idea and took her rucksack off, ending up in the same hole! Only because we decided to take the route to the right of the scramble away from the sheer drop edge on the left!!

A Picture Of The Lone Tree Half way Up

Quick Pose From The Squires...Mainly Mrs S!

Muggles & Buggles coming along as always and expected. This time they bought Juggles, who was a bit scared so he stayed in the B&B for the rest of the trip guarding the room with Cuddles!

Once we made it just past The Lone Tree, we stopped on a little flat area for a little while to compose ourselves & have some snacks before moving on for the final push to the top. The second part wasn't as scrambly as the first part, but was still a challenge....

Our Little Stop For Snacks...What Is With Mr S's Face???

Stunning View Back Down On Stickle Tarn, Showing How High We Had Climbed!

And we all made it safe and sound to the top, thanks be to God! Once we had all given each other a massive high five and a 'Well Done Team' we stopped for lunch before heading over the right towards the summit of Raise at 2,889ft.

As always, the boys are in their maps to see if we were heading in the right direction

Girly Picture With Mrs S Dodgy Hair

Let Try Again Without The Bad Hair!

Mrs S On The Summit Of Raise

Mrs S Posey Selfie

The Girls Try A Pouting Picture....Mrs S Can't Pout!!

Lets Try Again...Still Can't Pout!

Mrs S Gave Give Up On The Pouting!!

A Quick Little Break & A Munch Of Cola Flavour Raisins

On The Summit Of Sergeant Man 

Views On The Way Down...Stunning As Ever & Always

Mr F had brought his microfibre towel in-case of any tarn/river dipping opportunities. So once we had made it back to Stickle Tarn, we took our boots and socks off and went in for a dip and it was glorious!

Mr S Checking Out A Couple Of Climbers Who Were Using Rope To Go Straight Up The Side Of Pavey Ark

The water was cold but refreshing and warmer in the more shallow areas. We stayed there for quite a while before having to draw ourselves out & away and put our socks and boots back on. It felt like we had new feet even after a days climbing!

Mrs F Cautiously Walking On The Stones

Mrs S Lovely Painted Toe Nails Having A Dip

Mr S Helping Mrs F With Her walking Pole For The Walk Back Down

Once we made it back to the car we were all pretty done in! We would normally head back to the B&B for a rest and showers before heading back out for dinner, but since we were limited the just the one car we headed straight to our old favourite The Ship Inn.

A Great Picture Of Us All At Dungeon Ghyll

The Boys Telling Cuddles All About Their Day

DAY 2: HELVELLYN - 3118FT 
VIA STRIDING EDGE 
7 & HALF HOURS TREKKING/SCRAMBLING

Although we've already done Helvellyn twice before, Mr & Mrs S haven't yet conquered it and wanted to do so via striding Edge. Mrs S is afraid of heights but done well on Sharp Edge en route to Blencathra that she was feeling giving Striding Edge a good go! We have got to Helvellyn via 2 different routes previously and didn't want to break tradition and so third time around we again went via a different route. It was a quicker route for sure and for sure was the toughest yet!! It was a straight up slog on good 'ol stepping stones headed straight for the hole in the wall...

The Boys Checking The Route On Their SatMaps

Established Route & On We March

Mrs F Selfie

More Of Mrs F's Photography

Mr F In His New Sun Covered Hat

And So The Slog Begins...

A Look Back At Our Progress

A Look Forward Of Still To Come!

We were so grateful for the cloud covering as it was a really hot day and the humidity alone was above 90%
We stopped regularly for water, energy gels and to generally catch our breath, but we eventually made it to the hole in the wall and to the start of Striding Edge in good time....

Mr & Mrs F lagging Behind...Again

Mr S Raring To Get Going!

  
We had a quick pit stop to refuel and said a prayer as always asking for the Lord to keep us safe and headed to the start of Striding Edge. The temperature had dropped a little but we didn't layer up due to our soon exertion up to Helvellyn that was guaranteed to keep us more than warm! Mrs F & Mr S were completely in their element and are like 2 little mountain goats and headed straight for the top, whilst Mr F & Mrs F stayed on the less dangerous well trodden path a little way down from the top.

Thumbs Up & Loving It!

Mrs S On Top With The Goats 

All The Goats Together....Great Photo!

Mr F Selfie Number 4

Mrs S Hanging On For What Looks Like Dear Life! 

And the goats continue On Top....

Maybe A Little Too High For Mrs S Who Decides To Come Down With Mr F

Slight Scary Moment when Mrs F Took A Little Tumble Into A Bulging Rock!

Nearly At The End....Sort Of

Once we had neared the end of Striding Edge, we still had to tackle The Chimney, which is a sheer straight down  drop onto flatter ground. There was a man and his daughter that were ahead of us who started to come back towards us informing us that it was the wrong way and no possible way down. When we informed them that it is the way down, they turned somewhat white a looked a bit scared!!
Mr & Mrs F offered to lead the way having tackled it before and helped to guide people down. (There were 2 young lads just before us who practically climbed down like Spider-Man!!) Opting out of that way down, we took our time and with teamwork, all got down safely. However, the climb was far from over as we still had to tackle the boulders that were ahead of us....



Mr F Making His Way Down The Chimney

Followed By The Rest Of Us

Great Shot Of Mr S With Striding Edge In The Background

Great Selfie Of Mr F & Mrs S

And One Of Mrs F

Mr S Looking Like He Is Due His Next Energy Gel!!

                                                   Mrs S Steaming On Ahead...

Mrs S Making her Way To The Summit

Eventually we got the the summit of Helvellyn where we sat for a while, had our lunch and admired the stunning views that surrounded us before layering up and heading back down via Nethermost Pike & Dollywaggon Pike. This is the same route that we came down when we were in the lakes back in March.

Mrs F On The Summit!

 ...Sitting On Helvellyn Summit Having Lunch

 A glance back at Striding Edge from this angle puts it into perspective just how severe the Edge is!!

The Team Claiming Nethermost Pike As Their Own!!!!

The Boys At Dollywaggon Pike

We Waited at the bottom of the steep climb to the summit of Dollywaggon whilst Mr & Mrs S went up in order to tick it off of their list of conquered Wainwrights! After Dollywaggon Pike, we had to come down via a zig-zag route that we had also come across back in March. We decided to go down exactly the same way we chose to go down back then too.....straight down the mountain side and cut out the majority of the monotonous stepping stones. It was a little tough on the toes but good fun! Mr & Mrs S stuck to the zig-zags. Once we made it down to Grisedale Tarn, we had a decision to make whether we were going to tackle St Sunday Crag just over the way from the tarn, or head straight down the valley towards to car and call it a day.

The general consensus was to call it a day....so we did....

 We came across this hut randomly which was build in dedication to trekkers in New Zealand



The Road Back Down The Valley



St Sunday Crag Which Will Opted Out Of

As always at the end of the day, we found a great little spot to cool off our feet in the river and just take in the incredible views straight down the valley...

Once we had put our new revitalised feet back on, we headed back for the car which seemed like a never-ending road! Once we eventually did make it back, Mr F decided to go and buy Twister lollies for everyone that went down really well. We sat in the car and munched our way through before heading off straight to The Ship Inn for food as we were once again feeling pretty pooped out! Mrs S's hand out of humbugs in the car was a nice little treat too!


Whilst Mr & Mrs S took the camping option on Windermere Lake, we opted for a little more comfort in our trusty Hawksmoor B&B. Our favourite room has switched from room 12 to room 10, but this was unfortunately booked out until Wednesday night and so we had to stay in the deluxe room just for 2 nights on Monday & Tuesday and switch to room 10 on Wednesday (Mr F's birthday)....what a bummer!!

Sofa At The End Of The 4 Poster Bed In front Of The Tele

Our bathroom was lush!! It had a big deep bath that filled up in record time, a 2 man walk-in shower and a built in radio & remote control with the speakers coming out of the ceiling!!

We also had this rather large fridge in our room too which was quite handy for all our Lucozades!!

DAY 3: MR F's BIRTHDAY!!!
FAIRFIELD HORSESHOE:
                       NAB SCAR - 1,450FT
                       HERON PIKE - 2003FT
                       GREAT RIGG - 2513FT
                       FAIRFIELD - 2863FT
                       HART CRAGG - 2698FT
                       DOVE CRAGG - 2603FT
                       HIGH PIKE - 2157FT
                       LOW PIKE - 1657FT
7 & HALF HOURS TREKKING

The original plan for Mr F's birthday was to do Great End, but the weather forecast wasn't that great and is a long way to drive from Windermere. Mr & Mrs S were having to come to our B&B every morning from the other side of the lake to pick us up too. So we decided to tick off Fairfield Horseshoe which will tick off another 9 Wainwrights in just one day!

Happy Birthday Mr F From The Boys

                 Muggles birthday also who was 6!.....

Birthday Card From Mrs F

Presents For Mr F & Muggles

We drove to Rydal Church which is down a private road but you can still park there and put money in the honesty box. We paid £4 to park all day. Although it was overcast the humidity was 95%!!! The start of the trek was a massive slog - 1,450ft straight up in the heat. Mr & Mrs S seamed to be copping better than we were, we were slogging behind a bit. Mrs F's face was nearly the colour of a beetroot!!! It was hard going....

The Boys And Their Map As Per Routine

And So The Slog Begins....

You Can Just About See Mrs S Up Ahead

Mr S Raring To Go Again Up Ahead

Mr F Raring To Go Lagging Behind With Mrs F

The Face Of Fatigue!!

We finally got to the top and start of the Horseshoe feeling pretty worn out already!! Mr S had to take his top off that was drenched through with sweat and trekked on topless! After a short break, we pushed on to the first of 9 summits...Nab Scar.

The Face That Speaks A Thousand Words!!!

Up  & Over

Nab Scar Bagged

Mrs F Feeling The Burn!

Mr & Mrs S On Heron Pike



Mr F Selfie Number 5

Mr & Mrs F Also On Heron Pike

En Route Up Ahead Of Us Towards Great Rigg

                                                     On Fairfield.....4 More To Go!

Mr F Has His Terrorist Look On The Go To Cover Up From The Sun!

A Look Back At Where We Had Just Been

Happy Birthday Boy & His Badge

Mr S Studying His Map Intently!

Once we reached Fairfield, we stopped for quite a while and enjoyed the glorious sunshine after having lunch.
On our route back, we followed what seemed like the great wall of china.....it was neverending!

A Look Back At The Wall.....

A Look Forward At Plenty More Wall To Come

 














....The long way down which we had just done

A Quick Pit Stop For Refuelling

We came across a little hurdle....this big drop! It meant having to take our rucksacks off to climb down.....a mini scramble!

Nearly At Ground Level and Going Through Jungle Apparently!

Once we had finally made it on level ground, we had to loop back around to the church where the car was parked, keeping away from the main road and the sun was beaming! It was really hot for that last half hour or so of our trek and was glad to finally be back at the car as our feet were starting to go on strike! We stopped off at a communal drinking water tap that seemed to taste divine at first, but as our thirst started to quench we realised that it wasn't as fresh tasting as we thought, we were just that dehydrated!! We decided that a BBQ at Mr & Mrs S's tent for Mr F's birthday would be lovely and more personal, so on our way back we stopped off at Tesco and gathered all that was needed for a Barbie - sausages, burgers, pork belly stripes (Mrs F's choice)  lettuce, cucumber, coleslaw, pitta bread & ciders!
The tent was pitched up in the most amazing place right by the lake with what seemed like their very own pier! It was such a lovely end to the day and Mr F said that it was a really way to spend his birthday....

Mr S Keeping The Ciders Cold Wedged Under A Rock!

Mr & Mrs S's 2 Bedroom Tent.....Complete With Little Living Room!

Mrs S Preparing The Salad In Her Kitchen!

The amazing view across the lake and of the mountain that we just came down from. You could see the route of the wall from the tent!

Birthday Drinkies....Mrs S Burnt Chest!

Mr S Is Somewhere In There!

There He Is!

                                        Chilling Out Admiring The Awesome Views.....

DAY 4: GREAT END - 2984FT 
VIA SKEW GILL 
6 & HALF HOURS TREKKING/SCRAMBLING/CLIMBING

So today is the day that we decided to finally do Great End...the hard way!! We like a challenge and anything that involves using our hands and being almost horizontal! It was an hours drive to Seathwaite farm where we parked up a little way from the farm along with all the other cars. We headed for the route that took us to Stockley Bridge where we headed up from there and along the route that took us to one of Mrs F's favourite places in the lakes...Sty Head Tarn.

Great End & Sty Head Tarn

Stunning Views Down & Over The Tarn

Skew Gill Right Through The Middle

We made our way around the tarn and to the start of Skew Gill - a grade 1 scramble up a tame waterfall (although we said it was more like a grade 2!) We got to the very bottom and start of Skew Gill and coped at squat for a little while to fuel up and recompose before heading on up. As always, we prayed and asked the Lord to be with us and keep us safe...

Skew Gill

Mr F Analysing It & Looking Very Excited!

Mr F In His Map

Mr S Impressive Calf Muscle!

                                                               
                                                                          And So It Begins....

Giving The Gill Some Scale

The initial start was much like Lords Rake, lots of loose stones and hard to get a firm foothold. We kept a safe distance and as per usual, Mr F took control of pictures. As we got further up, it turned into what was more like a free climb up the waterfall where in some parts we could have done with rope and knee pads.....and more things to grip onto!!!

Mrs S had some crazy caffeine rush and was leading the way quite impressively and almost fearless!! There were some really tough climbs where we struggled to get a firm hand grip or foothold and hand to pull ourselves up or get the person behind you to give you a push or the person in front to give you a pull....good teamwork as always!!

Mr F Selfie Number 6

The View Back Down The Gill & Great Gable In The Distance

There came a section of the climb that was the toughest....according to the Wainwright book there were 3 of them! We should have taken note of the 2 decomposing sheep that were en route - if they can't make it out alive with 4 legs, what chance did we have with only 2??!! It was incredibly slippery with the water coming down and there was just no way that we could see to grab hold of anything or to put our feet. Mr S went up first to the right but discovered it was a dead end and Mrs S went to the left and made it up only by putting her knee down down and going for it. Next up Mrs F who really couldn't put her knee down for fear of aggravating injuries, so not quite sure how but managed to grip on using fingernails and put momentum into her push up. Mr F followed leaving Mr S just to go......who got stuck!! As he went over to the right, he couldn't find an easy or safe way back down and over to left. He too went on his knee resulting in it being cut and scuffed but got up safely otherwise.

Mr F Helping Mr S To Find A Safe Way Up

Mr S Made It Up Safely In The End

Mrs F Makes Her Way Up An Awkward Bit

 Steep Slippery Rock That Was Hard To Get A Firm Foothold - Mrs F Had To Hold Mrs S's Foot Still To Give Her A Hoist Up

Mrs S Poking Her head Down For A Photo

We Came to our last 'tough part' of the climb that was quite steep and tricky where there was a lot of loose rocks. Mrs S went up first again and a few rocks tumbled down - Mrs F had to move her foot out of the way a couple of times to avoid them! We each took it in turns to climb up to the top before the next person went up and we eventually got to the last part which was jumping over and across boulders. Once we made it to the top of the Gill, we sat on a rock and had some snacks and just looked out over the fells which was stunning and awesome as ever. Mrs F cleaned up Mrs S's scuffed up knee and then we swiftly moved on the head for the summit.

And Again!

Our View From The Top Of The Gill

There were 2 ways we could have gone from where we were sat - slightly straight up or down and across. We chose the latter. We climbed over a rocky boulder and came to a part that looked inaccessible, so we went to the left and carried on from there. After a short while, we realised that we should have carried on going up the path that looked inaccessible, but we didn't want to go back on ourselves so we just we straight across and over until we picked the route back up. From there we did have the choice of going up via Cust's Gully but it looked somewhat more challenging than Skew Gill and so stuck to the easier route. Although looking at it from the top, it didn't seem too bad!

                                       
                                              At The Top Of Skew Gill....

The Way Up To The Summit

Great Picture Of Us All

Once we got to the summit, we sat in a wind breaker and had our lunch. At that point, we did contemplate heading over to Bowfell from Great End as it looked so nearby, as did Scafell Pike. But we decided to just head down and leave Bowfell for the next day when it would just be Mr & Mrs F.

                                                           
                              The Boys Loving Their Day....

Bowfell Looks So Near!

Mr F Selfie Number 7

Mr F Selfie Number 8

Mr F Selfie Number 9

Scafell Pike Also Looks So Near

Cust's Gully That We opted Out Of

The route we took back from Great End was the same route that took coming back from Scafell & Scafell Pike.....the unforgettable day that took us 11 & half hours!!! The main reason why it took so long was due to the injury that Mrs F had in her knee and found it really hard to get down the stepping stone route. But...after lots of strengthening exercises and lots of prayer, we were able to make it down in record time! Mrs F envisioned and felt that God had hold of her knee with his hand, giving it the ultimate support it needed!
  

The stunning way back

A Quick Look Back

The Long Way Down Ahead Of Us

We came across a bridge that was like a little aqueduct with the most inviting, crisp, clear water below. We did find this pool of water that we looked at how to get to, but there was nowhere to sit and dip our feet without actually going all the way in! So we decided to go in at Stockley Bridge instead....

Whilst we were in the lakes, there was a lot of army military training going on, practising their low mountain range flying. We saw a couple of huge carriers at close range that just looked like a Boeing 747 Airbus was right in front of you and quite a few hurricanes. While we were dipping our feet at Stockley Bridge, a hurricane came from down the valley and flew directly over us at what seemed like only metres away and sounded like thunder!! It sounded like thunder had just flown by and was gone again in seconds. It was such an awesome moment it brought Mrs S to tears!

One Of  The Planes Well Captured By Mrs S

On our way back, we decided to come up with climbing nicknames for each other based around mountain goats....so we came up with Mr F: Marathon Goat, Mrs F: Billy Goat, Mr S: Navigation Goat & Mrs S: Speedy Goat. Mr S came up with Old Goat for himself which we almost went with, but Navigation Goat is more suited to him!

Once we got back to the car, we again headed straight for The Ship Inn for our last dinner together. Mr & Mrs S were off to do the Brecon Beacons Waat4 challenge on the Saturday and so were having a rest day on the Friday (the next day) They spent the day kayaking to Ambleside as they did most evenings after a day on the fells....hardcore!! After we had dinner, Mrs & Mrs S came back to our B&B to watch England vs Uruguay in the world cup football. We got some ciders, Pringles and Malteasers and watched England loose 2-1 Very poor performance from England that resulted in us being out of the world cup!

Mrs F Just Had To Take A Picture Of This Fine Aston Martin that was parked along the road to The Ship Inn....it actually took her breath away!!

DAY 4: BOWFELL - 2960FT 
VIA CLIMBERS TRAVERSE 
4 HOURS & 15 MINUTES TREKKING

Although we had already ticked Bowfell off back in March, we had a bad experience with it (see Lake District March 2014) We felt a bit cheated out of it and so we decided to go back and conquer it properly!!
Since we were still car-less, we had to take the bus from Windermere to Ambleside and another bus from Ambleside to Dungeon Ghyll. It was overcast first thing and so Mrs F wore trousers first the first time since being in the lakes. We wasn't sure whether we were going to Bowfell or for a stroll around town, but we packed our rucksacks for a trek and headed to the tourist information centre just up the road.

We found out our bus route and that it was £8 for a bus ticket to take you anywhere in the lake district, like an all day travel card. So we decided to go to Bowfell after all since it was quite do-able as long as we caught the last bus back at 7pm. Whilst on the first bus from Windermere, Mrs F zipped off her trousers and taped up her knees in record time, keeping the bottoms of her trousers off since the sun had now come out.
On the second bus we put sun cream on and was ready for Bowfell!! The bus ride was almost like a roller coaster ride - we sat at the back and was being tossed around and bounced in our seats going through the narrow country roads. But we arrived bang on time at Dungeon Ghyll at 10:45am and set off straight away.

The last time we were doing this trek it was low cloud and snowy and attempted climbers traverse but had to turn around because the route was too dangerous in the snow, which added just over an hour to our time! This time however, the route was lovely and clear and quite do-able and nice to be able to see where we were going....

                   Mrs F expertly taping her knees on the go....

                   










       The boys loving their bus ride ride....

We randomly came across this....we though it was a really weird place to try and promote a car manufacturer but it turned out to be the wooden spoon race that was on.

The Season For Farming Fields

Climbers Traverse Route Looking Back

Mrs F had to stop to put tape on the back of her heel as for the first time ever, her boots were rubbing, which is probably because of all the upward trekking we had done all week.

The Grim Looking Clouds Up Ahead!

Mrs F Looking Tired

Mr F Selfie Number 10!!

Climbers Traverse Route Ahead

 Now that we were able to actually see where we were going this time, we could see that the climbers traverse route is quite narrow and definitely wouldn't have been able to do this back in March and was the right decision to turn around, even if it did add an extra hour on our journey...

The Little Steep Climb Up To Great Slab

We couldn't believe how it was so sunny and lovely everywhere but cloudy and cold on the summit. We called it the mountain of doom!! It was so dim that the flash came on the camera of Mrs F standing by Great Slab. We got to the summit and sat and had lunch and looking around could really see why we were so lost last time - everything and everywhere just looks the same and hard to pick out a unique landmark to help guide you back. The cloud was really rolling in as you could see Great Slab in one second and in the next it was behind cloud! We could see how tantalisingly close we were to the right way down, but the satmap really didn't want to help us that day and kept sending us the other way! We were glad to have finally got to the summit safely and have beaten the mountain that broke us and we could actually see the route down this time clearly! We didn't stay long on the summit and it was getting cold, we Mrs F layered up and we made our way down via Three Tarns, another one of Mrs F's favourite spots in the lakes.

                             










                                   Views From The Summit....

Mrs F Letting Her Burnt Ears Out To Cool Off!

Mr F's Atmospheric Photo Of Scafell & Scafell Pike

A Look Back At The Mountain Of Doom!

A Great Picture Of The Boys With Pike O' Stickle In The Background

Looks Like A Piece Of Land Has Been Cut Out

Mr F Photo Bombing Mrs F

This Isn't Zoomed In, It Was Actually This Close To Us!

We had a little pit stop since we were making awesome time and were going to be back way before the first bus was due at 5pm.

When we got back, there was finish line set up and a cattle bell was ran for each person who was competing in the wooden spoon race when they cross the line. We had no choice but to walk through it and as we did, someone in the support group picked up the cattle bell and we thought they were going to ring it for us....but they didn't!

We came across they stunning horses on our way back to Dungeon Ghyll and Mrs F had a little packet of oak biscuits that she didn't eat and so fed them to the horses....

  When we walked away, one of the horses stuck his head over the wall to see if we were coming back with more!!

We made it back to Dungeon Ghyll at just before 4pm, which meant that we had gone up and done in half the time it took us in March!! We were an hour early for the bus and so we had a drink of lime & soda at Dungeon Ghyll.

Mrs F took this picture of an English sparrow because we don't see many of them at all now in London

Mrs F Enjoying Her Drink In The Sun

Our View Waiting For The Bus

It was a little bus from Dungeon Ghyll to Ambleside and an open top bus from Ambleside to Windermere. Mrs F had never been on an open top bus before and was like an excited dog with his head out of the window!! Mr F wasn't impressed at how much of a tourist Mrs F was behaving like....hence the miserable face...

                                            Open Top Bus Photos....

We wanted to get fish & chips to do it proper Wainwright style after just getting the bus, but instead we decided to get a Chinese to go and headed back to the B&B where we sat outside and eat it. The chips were amazing that tasted like they were cooked in the same fat as the prawn crackers!
Trevor came out to us and brought plates and a bucket of ice for our coke and glasses and we sat until the sun went down, eating our Chinese...bliss!

Mrs F took a picture of this really touching seen - a local man and his dog having a little break and an endearing moment on the side of the road just over from the B&B....

We got back to our room to find Cuddles & Juggles having a hug on the bed with a note from Trevor! He wrote out a big long message and then on the back of it wrote 'Ignore this note, I want to see you off anyway'...bless him!







DAY 5: RIVER WALK 
1 HOUR & 30 MINUTES WALKING

We were due to check out today and still without a car, but Mrs F's Dad came to the rescue yet again! Mrs F's Dad and his fiancée, Meryl came up to spend the morning with us in the lakes. We didn't plan anything that involved a mountain, just a nice level river walk up towards Dungeon Ghyll.....and the weather was beautiful...

Down By The Running River Waters

The Boys Off To Check For Fish

Selfie Of The Girls

Another Of Mrs F's Awesome Photography Moments

This Fella Thought I Had Bread To Give

 We spotted this frog on the path and nudged him over to safety

 

 Mrs F's Dad decided to take a little paddle in the river and said that the water was lovely and soft....we took his word for it! We got to a point where we turned around and headed back to the car as we were due to pick up Mr F's car in the early afternoon. Mrs F wanted to go to the Dungeon Ghyll for a quick drink but we didn't have time, so from the lake we headed straight to Blackburn to Mr F's fixed car. Thanks be to God that it was fixable and although damage had been done, that it wasn't too bad and the price was worth getting it fixed and pretty much a brand new engine.

Quick Photo Before Heading Back

Yet Another Of Mrs F's Fantastic Photography!

After Mr F had picked his car up, we all went back to The Hungry Horse for a meal before chilling out back at the house for a bit. It was nice to spend time together if only for a little while.

VERDICT OF THE LAKE DISTRICT IN JUNE 2014

Mr F: A much varied week, loads of good scrambling, good weather and good friends. Enough said.

Mrs F: As always and ever, the lake district never fails to offer and deliver amazement, beauty and lots of great climbing. I absolutely loved Jacks Rake as I love a good scramble and had wanted to tackle Jacks Rake. The same with Great End, although it was tough, it was thoroughly enjoyable. Fairfield was tough but good to knock off 9 fells in one day and was a great end to the day and way to celebrate Mr F's birthday. Our Lord was for sure with us as always and our group number went from 4 to 5 everyday. Having God to guide, protect and keep us from harm everyday was an awesome feeling. 214 Wainwrights, 35 done....179 to go!!! Bring on September.....