Lake District March 2023

LAKE DISTRICT - MARCH 2023

So you may have noticed that there hasn't been any posts since March 2020. You may have also guessed that a pandemic is somewhat to blame for this! That's not to say we haven't managed to get away or had adventures local to where we live. A lot has happened since our last post - which I only published in January 2023 due to it sitting in my drafts and not realising I hadn't published it yet! 🙈 However since our last post of being away in our beautiful happy place with Mr & Mrs S of March 2020, we have indeed moved. We finally bought our own house, moving from just outside of London to Colchester to the most amazing house that God has truly blessed to us. We moved to be apart of the church that Mrs F's Aunt and Uncle go to, as Mr & Mrs F joined the live services during lockdown (our own church were doing recorded YouTube services) We felt a strong calling to be apart of this church, so we started looking at houses in Colchester and on our first day of looking, the Lord blessed us with the house of our dreams and an abundance of fields and countryside on our doorstep that we have had the privilege and joy of exploring. 

We moved on 14th December and in March 2021 - due to having accumulated lots of annual leave throughout 2020 (lockdown) - we took 2 weeks off, which we never do. We decided to stay at home and explore our surroundings and in 11 days of walking, we clocked up 125 miles, mainly across Suffolk and fell in-love with where we live even more. Even to this day we are still finding hidden gems of local walking. We did the same in June 2021, due to the cost of cottages and B&Bs rocketing after COVID, we stayed at home and walked locally. Although Mrs F was dying to get her feet on Yorkshire soil, local walking had everything as good to offer, apart from the drystone walls! We had a Lake District holiday with Mr & Mrs S in September 2021, February 2022 and September 2022. I didn't write any post for the blog, because I must admit that after writing posts for the blog for 11 years, my heart was not quite in it anymore...

However, I recently read a few posts and really appreciated how much effort I have put into this and a lovely way to remember and document the great things we've done and in time to come - please God - we will look back and read about all the wonderful adventures we've had together and with our best friends on this amazing Wainwright journey together. So I decided that as Mr & Mrs S only had 7 Wainwright's left, it was important and only right to write about it....

So, 7 Wainwrights left and a mission to complete on this trip. The last trip, we stayed in the same cottage as we are this time, which was really lovely, spacious and comfortable and had Bassenthwaite Lake just a short walk away...so we went for a couple of wild swims! We have got into wild swimming as there is a beautiful place we go to just 10 minutes up the road from where we live called Wivenhoe and when the tide is high and the weather is hot, we head done and get in! 😊 However, Bassenthwaite Lake was somewhat much colder than Wivenhoe!!

As always, photos of the cottage. These were photos we took from our September stay; one of the bedrooms had a balcony overlooking the fells and lake, so we flipped a coin to see who would get this room! Normally we just amicably decide who will get what room , but this room came with a big perk, so it was only fair to flip for it...and we won!! 😁

Entrance Hall

Living Room with Amazing Views

Kitchen

Our Bedroom with Amazing Balcony

Mr & Mrs S's Bedroom...No Balcony! 😆

Bathroom

Conservatory

Once we had got ourselves settled and Tesco all unpacked, we decided to head down to play in the Lake...

Mrs f Displaying Just How Cold it Was!

So there was a bit of drama at the start of the day on the Saturday when we were due to leave from Colchester and Mr & Mrs S were due to leave from Hastings. The owner of the cottage said we couldn't check in until after 5pm, which was really annoying as we normally arrive around 3pm which is good for both avoiding key time traffic and settling in before the shopping is due, which we had already booked for 5pm. So we didn't leave until around 11am, however Mr & Mrs S had already left - as they had a longer journey - but had broke down 2 hours into their journey! They had a long wait for the AA man to arrive and sadly had to be towed back home as the car wasn't drivable 😔 They were going to see what time they got home and decided whether to make the journey in Mrs S's car that day or leave it until the next day. The annoying thing is, the whether wasn't meant to be great the week we were there but the following day was one of the best days. Anyway, by the time they got home they decided to drive up the next day instead.

Then comes drama number 2...due to the amount of traffic along the way and was at a stand still not too far from our turn off, Mrs F called Tesco to say we were going to be a little late arriving and conscious that our food delivery was due from 5pm. She called the driver to see where he was, who apparently said he was already there and couldn't wait as he had other deliveries to make which were 10 miles away, so will take the shopping back to the store and hope to get it on another van later than night. There was the option to go and pick it up from Tesco Workington but it would mean a near enough 40 mile round trip and after a 6 hour journey, this wasn't really an option. So Mrs called Tesco about 3 times trying to find out if they can redeliver it tonight, which they couldn't say until the van gets back to the store; so Mrs F then tried to call the store but couldn't get through to anyone, so we just left it to see if  they can redeliver which left us in limbo land. Then when we arrived at the cottage (about 5:30) the cottage owner (who is really quite annoying!) said she had been there before 5pm and hadn't seen any Tesco driver! So Mr F called Tesco to say the driver was basically lying about where he was and they said they will be able to see from his tracker if he was there and get the Home Shopping manager to call us. We spoke to the manager who said they can deliver our shopping between 8pm-9pm and will listen to the call between the lady we first spoke with and the conversation she had with the driver. Turns out, the lady who we spoke with told the driver we were going to be at least another hour away, which we didn't say...such a palaver!! 

So we went out to our trusty Weatherspoon's in Keswick to eat that night before the shopping was due and all was well in the world again...

We did have a bit of fun with the cutlery drawer, as Alison (the cottage owner) clearly has OCD with everything lined up and being just so; the welcome book is very detailed and particular shall we say, especially the notes around what we need to do when leaving, which she remains us of via text message 2 days before we are due to leave!!!

Alison's Lined Up Cutlery

🤣

DAY 1: BARF - 1,536FT

             LORD'S SEAT - 1,811

             BROOM FELL - 1,670FT

             3 HOURS 
             
             

So our first day was going to be just us 💗 We decided to head over to the trig points we could just about see from our bedroom window over the back. It was also Mothers day and got some lovely pressies and card from Muggles, Buggles and our 2 new arrivals, Mopsy and Smudge...our cats 😻😻 

We headed out in the car and drove towards near where we needed to be, which was a little layby just inside the forest area and headed straight up through the woods. Mrs F realised she hadn't taped her knees, which she always does but didn't think to do so as she thought today was only a little stroll to stretch the legs (which always turns into mega days) and we often take long local walk to where we live without taping, so just didn't occur to me. Thankfully I was fine...thank God 😇

As predicted, the weather was good - not too hot, not too cold, a little windy but fine. Mrs F had only tested negative after having COVID just 5 days ago, so was still getting over the affects of that and was a little puffy going up through the woods, but considering was laid up with COVID, done amazingly well. There was no gradual level walk before we were headed straight up for quite a while. We came to a gate and turned left which lead us into the open, again in an inclined direction. The terrain underfoot was a gravel path leading through what looked like a culling of trees, which is always sad to see...

Heading Up From The Car

Little River Crossing

The Bishop Stone on Barf

We had a little tricky area of making our way straight up on wet slippery rock, which was kindly pointed out to us by the man who was up ahead of us. There was a group of middle aged people and 2 small dogs, so no idea how they go them up! We we quite exposed on top of the fells now and our routes were clearly visibly laid out for us to see. Once we got to Barf, we were at a good height to then head on over to Lord's Seat, where we done our video for applying for Race Across the World application...

On Top of Barf Enjoying The Views, Including Our Cottage You Can See Behind Us (The Small White Dot..

Heading to Lord's Seat

Our Path Ahead of Us

Lord's Seat Trig

Stop For Lunch Next to the Trig

Heading Towards Our Last One, Broom Fell

On our way back, we looked up ahead and could see the uninviting steep bank up and over a mound, which we had come down on our way to Broom Fell. We had a little skirt around to the left to see if we could go around it, but alas, up and over we had to go! To be honest, half of these steep inclines aren't as bad once you're on them...some of the time!

So...on our way back, Mr F decided it would be much better and safer to head down via a slightly longer diverse route along the top of the forest we parked by to avoid the horrible wet rocks and potential injuries. We ended up trailing through a marshland area, doing a big loop just to avoid the slippery rock. Mrs F asked a few times if he was sure this longer, somewhat arduous route would lead us back to the car and not miles away from it and was assured it would. However...as we were on a zig zag path leading into what seemed like Narnia, Mr F finally admitted he may not have been so confident with this route and turned out we were heading away from it and needed to be on a road further down than where we were. We had to crawl down a steep verge to get to it and popped out where two people were walking and the look of bewilderment on their faces was priceless, the kind of expression that said "Where the hell have you just come from?!" 

The Point Where Realisation Hit Mr F!

Mrs F's "I'm Not Convinced" Look!

The Verge To The Road

And Finally, The Right Path!!

By the time we got back, Mr & Mrs S had just arrived...and so was Alison! 😂 We gave them the room with the balcony as only fair because we had it last time. We made tea and had a natter in the living room for quite a while, having a good catch up, running out of tings to say for the mountains!! 😁 We gave Mrs S her birthday pressies, which were two Nintendo Switch games and then Mr F wanted to go for a walk. He had entered a walking/steps competition with work where everyone was in a league on a tracker app. His aim was to use this to try and lose weight but was really enjoying it. Mrs F said she will make dinner that night and was in the bath when Mr F knocked to say that Mr & Mrs S was going with him. Over an hour later, they decided to finally come home by the time dinner had been ready for ages but had shrunk with it being kept warm in the oven for so long (peppers and chicken in a bag) Mrs F was not happy but dinner was enjoyed by all and all were ready for bed...

DAY 2: GLARAMARA - 2,560FT

             ALLEN CRAGGS - 2,572FT

             7 HOURS, 55 MINUTES

So day one of our final Wainwright bagging trip together begins on this day and it's looking moody! Mrs & Mrs F remembers this climb well from where they first done it and recall it being quite a long tough day. Mrs F remembers getting to the top of the brown and looking over at Allen Craggs with a rather large huff of "We've still got to go al the way up there?!" We parked in Seathwaite Farm and walked along our trusty route we've been alone many times in the past. Mr F & Mr S was keeping an eye on maps and Satmaps to ensure we didn't miss our dive off to the left to start making our way up the nasty step and long bank. Considering Mrs F was still getting over COVID, she was steaming ahead, trying to work  out the way up as the path wasn't clear at all, so a case of making it up as you went along. Her legs however were really struggling and felt like they had weights tied around them and were aching quite a bit...

The Moody Day awaits Us - Walking From Seathwaite

The Slog Begins

It was quite a relentless slog up and took quite a while before we reached the top, which was a welcoming gate for us to have a brief rest. We looked back and could a very faint path that we should have been on further over but our approach of 'pick the best route that suits you' was working well enough. As we neared the top - desperate for the end to be in sight - we came across a little scramble. Mrs F and Mr S went left and climbed up to the top, whereas Mr F and Mrs S took a straight up through the middle which was less complicated...

Mr S Over By The Scramble Section

                                               

Mr F lost his rain cover for about the third time and his new one that Mrs F bought him for Christmas was still in Colchester. So he improvised as he did on his Coast to Coast walk and used a black bag and a shoe lace to tie it to his rucksack...resourceful, but annoying that he left his brand new cover at home!

Makeshift Rain Cover

Girls Resting By The Gate

Once we finally reached the top, we still had a way to go to get to the summits and with very little visibility, navigation was really tricky. It was nothing like Mr & Mrs F remembered, but when they done it, it was glorious sunshine, there were quite a few people and you could actually see where you were going (See 2015 July entry Day 5) This time it was wet, boggy, it was quite a challenge and it was just us! Call it madness or just having the approach of 'No such thing as bad weather, just the wring clothing!' 

Poor Visibility

Still, There's Always Time For a Photo 📸

Mr F was keeping an eye on his Satmap to see where the summits were and Mr S pointed out what looked like a sheep trail diving off and up to the left, which we took. However it was like that scene from Carry on Follow That Camel where they walk around in a few circles and backtrack. We struggled to find the summit and turns out, we walked right past it a little while ago when we were trying to find it! You can have all the maps and gear i the world and should - most of the time - be able to navigate in zero visibility, however it really does help to have a visual point of reference, to which we had none. However, both summits conquered, we wasted no time making our way back down as we were all at this point wet, from rain that was relentless and from the boggy terrain...

A Patch of Snow From The Week Before

A Small Glimpse To Appreciate

A Rather Bewildered Look on Mr S's Face!

Glaramara Summit 

On our way back down, we came to a point where we could either dive off to the right and tick off Seathwaite Fell and add another hour onto our day or come back the next day and do it when we will be dryer and more comfortable (probably in a better frame of mind too!) It made logical sense to just nip off and do it and it looked like we were heading towards doing it, however simultaneously, we all just decided that we'd had quite enough and decided to call it a day. We were heading going past Sprinkling Tarn when we heard someone shouting and then was able to make out a young man not far ahead of us who was making his way up. He was wearing a t-shirt with a fleece, sport shorts and everyday trainers and was absolutely soaked through. He was trying to make his way to the stretcher box at the bottom of Great Gable and at first we thought he had a friend with him who was injured and he was off getting help. Turns out he had parked his car in Langdale and made his way to Scafell Pike but came down the wrong way and ended up miles from his car. He said he bumped into another hiker who advised him to come this way (when he really shouldn't have!) We all instantly said he needs to come down with us and we will give him a lift back to his car; he was young and clearly very inexperienced and already wet and cold and we all felt a responsibility for this guys safety. His name was Michael and he lived in Manchester and decided on his day off he was going to climb England's tallest mountain. To our surprise he was only 19...we all thought he must be in his early 20's. We stopped briefly at Mrs F's favourite Tarn, Styhead where we had a little snack and asked Michael to take a photo, bless him. He squeezed his gloves and they poured with water...

The Photo That Michael Took

We still had quite a way to go back to the car; we had to make our way past the big (pointless) cairn not far from Styhead Tarn, the wooden bridge leading over the other side. The clear path disappears for a while and it's a bit of a boulder field you have to navigate through before you pick up the path again which is a nice level walk. Eventually, this leads you over the flat top and to the steps that take you all the way down to Stockly Bridge...and thee are a lot of steps!

Mr F went ahead with Michael to try and warm him up as he was shivering. Mrs F wasn't far behind with Mr & Mrs S not too far behind her. Mrs F never likes taking the step route if she can dive off and make her way down on the grass, as she likes to run down and kinder on her knees, which is what she done and caught up with Mr F and Michael towards the bottom. She offered Michael her fleece, but as we were only 20 minutes form the car he said he would be ok. We waited at the gate just before Stockley Bridge for Mr & Mrs S and headed off towards Seathwaite Farm. Mrs F walked with Michael and was able to have a really nice chat with him; he told her how he struggled a bit with his mental health which was why he was getting away that and was bullied at school, which Mrs F was able to relate to both. She was then able to share that she is a Christian and it's God who helped her through those tough times. Michael listened respectfully and really do hope and pray he took that on board and gave it some thought.

We got the heaters o in the car to warm us all us as soon as we were in, then we were headed to Keswick to drop Michael off where he could get some food and catch a bus back to his car, where he planned to sleep the night! Normally we would be rolling our eyes at people who make such poor decision that cost mountain rescue an unnecessary trip, but Michael was clearly young and very inexperienced and actually felt sorry for him. In the car heading to Keswick Mr S suggested he called his Mum to let he know he was OK, to which he said he wouldn't have thought to do 🤦 When he got on the phone to her, he started speaking fluent Polish, which was a surprise to us all! Turns out he was born in Poland and moved he when he was only a baby, hence the Mancunian accent...

Good deed done for the day, we headed back to the cottage. The cottage is at the end of a long narrow country road with fields either side and as we were driving down it, we saw two beautifully majestic stags on the field to the right of us. We all got out of the car to have a look and hopefully take photos, but they caught scent of us and ran over the back...standard for when trying to take a photo of wildlife, it's like they know!

We took no time in fully utilising the radiators and fireplace to dry all our wet gear. In all the time Mrs F has been hiking, she has always gloated that she has never had wet feet. However...today was the first day she experienced the grim pleasures of wet feet, due to the constant rain and wet marshlands up on top. Nothing some newspaper and a wood burner can't resolve. All showered (in one of the worse showers we've had!) we had a welcomed dinner of lasange, chips and red wine which Mrs S made. Our evenings were very quite chilled out and involved the odd Baileys; Mrs S and Mr & Mrs F would wither be playing on Mrs S's new Nintendo Switch, Mr S would be reading or we'd watch a film, as Mr & Mrs S brought their entire DVD collection in a folder! 

DAY 3: SEATHWAITE FELL - 1,970FT

              5 HOURS, 21 MINUTES

So today we were heading back to do Seathwaite Fell. A long way to go just for one but it couldn't be helped with what was left and there was nothing else around or nearby, apart from the Gables but they wanted to finish on Great Gable. So just the one it was. We parked up at Seathwaite again and made the same journey we made just 17/18 hours ago but in reverse. We parked up at Seathwaite and sat in the car for some time, feeling very uninspired to get out due to the hefty rain! We literally just sat in silence, watching it beat down on the windscreen with the occasional let up and then another gush of wind would bring it in again. We had the conversation of, can we do it the next day but would be too difficult and make it a very long day, then Mrs F needed the toilet so braved getting out and walking to the farm to use the public toilet there and could appreciate just how grim it was once stepped outside the sanctuary of the car. Once back, the group (in Mrs F's absence) had leaned towards, lets just get it done we're here now, we're not shy to rain, albeit not fans, but we layered up and headed for Seathwaite Fell...

The Start of Our Walk From The Farm

The Gushing Waters By Stockley Bridge

Lots of Water Running Off The Fells

Heading Along The Valley Towards Styhead Tarn

Great Gable in The Distance Covered in Cloud

The weather stayed pretty grim throughout the day with the occasional let up from the heavy rain, but still cold with the wind. We made our way along the very familiar route towards Styhead Tarn and turned left shortly after past Sprinkling Tarn and then another left up a steep sheep track towards Seathwaite Fell...

A Very Nasty Looking Gully Of The Path!

Seathwaite Fell itself is hidden over the back beyond Sprinkling Tarn and can't actually be seen from the Corridor Route (the path that leads from Styhead Tarn up towards Scafell Pike) You have to walk along the edge of Sprinkling Tarn, which is quite easy to navigate even in low visibility...but even better on a clear day...

Our Route Towards Seathwaite

Heading Past Sprinkling Tarn

Just 4 More Now To Go!!

We didn't hang around for very long, but still needed to find somewhere in a somewhat sheltered area for lunch. It's really no fun eating lunch in the cold and rain, but necessary, a apposed to in the summer when you have glorious views all around and eating lunch is a joy! We took the same rout back as we did the day before, only stopping for a quick snack and a drink by Styhead Tarn...

Familiar Wooden Bridge Over The River

Our Pit Stop

Mrs F once again enjoyed the route off leading down to Stockley Bridge, running down alone the grassy bank rather than the knee-killing stepping stones and able to get a good photo of the others following suit...

                                             

Stockley Bridge and a few last photos of Borrowdale...

Our Walk Back To Seathwaite Farm and The Car

💖

Water Still Gushing From All The Rain

Once we were back at Seathwaite Farm, Mrs F got talking to the farmer (this as the same farmer who let us see his newborn lambs when we were there during lambing season (See 2014, April entry, day 2) Mrs F was interested to talk to him because Mr & Mrs F done their first lambing near Tiptree just the week before, which was amazing! The farmer was saying that since the lake District has become a World Heritage site, there has been restrictions on where the farmers can allow their sheep to roam as WH want to encourage more wilding areas to grow. This is quite ridiculous because sheep are the natural gardeners of the fells and help to keep the grass down and help fertilise, so this idea is just insane. Mrs F spoke to him for quite some time before catching up with the others; she does love anything to do with farming and would love to be a farmer herself.

We headed into Keswick quickly to pick up a few bits and pieces we needed and we literally just made closing time for most shops, including Mountain Warehouse where the woman was on the door guarding it to stop anyone else going in. Mrs F put on her best desperate persona and told the woman all we needed was a rucksack rain cover as Mr F lost his...basically, we weren't up for a peruse, we knew what we wanted and will be quick! £7.00 later, rucksack rain cover for Mr F was bought 😊 Mr F also bought some webbing for his gaiters for about 50p as his one broke the day before...all round results for all! 

Once back at the cottage it was 'pick your radiator of choice' all over again! It's a real challenge to get clothing, boots and rucksacks dried and ready for the next day; it's not very nice at all having to put wet or damp clothes on. Thankfully, although the heaters wee electric, they were really quite good. The radiators in our bedrooms however were digital and locked so they couldn't be adjusted. Mrs F however Googled the make of them and looked up how to unlock them to turn them up! 🤣 She made sure to lock them again before we left...covering up of course! That night Mr F was on dinner duty with pie, new potatoes and veg, which was a welcoming dinner and enjoyed by all. There is nothing better than having a hard day on the fells, coming back to a warm cottage, getting showered and into your PJ's and enjoying a well-earned dinner....even better when you're not the one who has to make it!! But we do have a rule, whoever didn't make dinner has to clear up, so it's all fair in love and war...

DAY 4: ROSSETT PIKE - 2,106FT

             ESK PIKE - 2,903FT

             BOWFELL - 2,960FT

             8 HOURS

It was a welcoming surprise to wake up and see the sun shining with blue skies! The chickens were already at the conservatory door waiting to be fed. Alison provided bird feed which we used all of by the end of our trip! She had 4 chickens roaming in the garden and lots of birds for the bird feeder just outside on the tree, which was really lovely to see all the variety you don't see down south...

Mr F Making Friends With The Locals

Muggle & Buggles Loving It!

This beautiful coloured peasant made a regular appearance too...

We had a little way to go to get to our starting point of Dungeon Gyhll, which is one of Mrs F's favourite places in the Lake District, so very excited to learn we were going there today 😬 It's where we got the bus to once when we done Bowfell for the second time, true Wainwright style (See 2014 July entry, day 4 post) When we arrived, we parked near the hotel and saw that we needed to pay, but was free if we were National Trust members, which technically, Mr & Mrs S are. We were however in Mr F's car so didn't have the card to display in the windscreen. It was going to have to be a pay for the day, which was an extortionate £8.00 all day. Mr F went inside to ask about paying, as we were members and the pay machine did say we needed to have a membership number as proof; the lady in there said they are never checked, which isn't surprising since it's so far out for anyone to come check on a daily basis...so we risked it and left without paying...

We headed right from the car park through a familiar gate and headed up along the Ghyll that was to our right. It was a little while of going up before we eventually levelled off and was a really lovely path walk with stunning views all around, which we could actually see this time with the weather being much better 🌞😎 We were on this path for quite some time before we started to head into the thick of the fells and towards Rossett Pike over the back. The path slowly started to become less of a defined path and blended in with the vast land around us and took us to a bridge to cross over the gushing waters, which we were pleased about because we were wondering further back how we were going to get over before we saw the bridge. We had a quick drink and delayer once over the bridge and started to make our way up the very long winded road which was a rugged rocky route for plenty of foothold options. Although Rossett Pike was literally just next to us, we had to head away from it, almost zig-zagging around to get up to it; we had to head away from it diagonally towards the left and turn right further up through a gully to come around with the summit on our right...

Awww...BFFs 👭

Slight Water Feature on Our Initial Path

Lovely Group Photo

Rossett Pike in the Distance

Sun-shining Photo

Almost At The Bridge

                                                                                     

A Little Look Down The Valley

Saw This Shortly After The Bridge...Daffodils 🎕

Making Our Way Up To The Zig-Zags

Rossett Pike..So Near, Yet So Far!

This Shows How Far Away We Had to Walk away From It

Our Group Photo in the Gully

Finally, The Top!

For some reason (have no idea why from memory!) we didn't take anymore photos after this...you will just have to use your best imagination! 😅 We still had a fair amount of height to gain before we were at Esk Pike and was a gradual ascent, so not too arduous. We didn't intend on adding Bowfell on at the end so we could do it again, it made sense from looking at the map to head over it to get back down, rather than backtrack via the way we came. We did however seemed to still be going up in order to get down, which made no sense to Mrs F, but was assured it was the way. The as we walked past a path that was continuing to head straight up - literally - another fell, Mrs F and Mrs S voiced how glad we weren't going up there because that's where we thought we were heading and carried on past towards what looked like a ledge to a downward way. Then, looking at his Satmap, Mr S called us back and said we did indeed need to take that path! 😣 So Mr & Mrs S started making their way up and Mr F double checked and good job he did so not long after we headed up that path, because we didn't need it after all...phew! Apologies from Mr S, we headed along our way. Our route back was a circular route that lead us down the really long farmers track back to the Dungeon Ghyll. This meant we had to walk through a couple of farms, which meant Mrs F - and Mr F - could chat to the farmer! 😁 He was an old boy with a walking staff and bad knees and we enjoyed talking to him whilst his dog sat on our feet. He was a chatter, but we found that farmers are actually quite grateful when people take an interest in what they do. By the time we finished chatting to him, Mr & Mrs S were quite far ahead on the farmers track.

The sight of the car was very welcoming, as it was a long but all round good day in terms of weather and the route was really enjoyable. There was no ticket to say we didn't pay, so even more of a welcomed sight! We were having fish & chips for dinner, which was our last meal cooked in the cottage; tomorrow night we planned to eat out as per custom on our trips and to ensure we have a celebratory drink for Mr & Mrs S's Wainwright completion 😊🍹🧉

DAY 5: GREEN GABLE - 2,603FT

             GREAT GABLE - 2,949FT

             FINISH DAY FOR MR & MRS S! 🗻😀

             7 HOURS, 20 MINUTES

Today is the day...almost 10 years in the making (with COVID lockdown in between) from Mr & Mrs S's first Wainwright on 23rd September 2013 on Blencathra, to this day, finishing on the nighty Great Gable on 23rd March 2023. The weather was just horrid and not a nice day to be finishing on and felt quite sorry for them. In all honesty, if we'd have been here without Mr & Mrs S there's no way we'd be heading up to Great Gable via Green Gable and certainly not Windy Gap today. But today was the day to finish their Wainwrights and the Gables is where that journey ends, so we packed accordingly and made our way to Honister Slate mine. Mrs F was in favour of heading up Sour Milk Ghyll and through Gillercomb Valley, which is one of her favourite routes in the Lakes, but Mrs S had two frozen shoulders and coudn't have managed the scramble beside the Ghyll, so we opted for the stepping stone route from the slate mine and head left off the track towards Moses Trod and Green Gable...

Getting Ready With Gaiters 

    

Pointing The Way to the Final Wainwright

                                              

The Gradual Stepping Stone Route Begins Immediately From The Car Park...

Pausing For Breathe & Checking Progress

The rain covers were on straight away....apart from however, Mrs F's who managed to lose her one the day before and didn't even noticed until someone asked where her rain cover was, thinking she had put it away. But alas, it was somewhere in Scotland no doubt by now rather than being tucked away nicely in her rucksack stowaway section of her rucksack. So today, she had to endure the black bag of shame!! It was a really windy day and it made a racket flapping about!! 

As we neared the top and end of the stepping stones, we were on a level path for a brief while before diving off left over the grasslands towards Green Gable...

Heading Left Off The Stoney Path

The weather was quite relentlessly brutal with wind, we all had our faces covered to protect ourselves from the sting of the cold that went with it....at this point we were all dreading Windy Gap, as you can imagine where it gets it's name from!  

Mr F & Mrs S wanted to be sure of the route and not make today and longer or harder than it was already going to be, especially with very low visibility. Mr F and Mrs S tend to wait around and take a few pictures while the boys are checking the route. We always say that the boys are very fortunate to have such willing wives, as not many would endure the hardships of the fells like we do...but we do enjoy it, so it helps! 😁 We don't however, enjoy having to backtrack due to missing a turn or going the wrong way, so best all round the boys know where we are going!

Boys Checking Satmaps

Girls Having What We Called The Eyebrow Photo! 😄

We had a steep and brutal climb to make for quite some time that lead to Green Gable, as you can imagine we had already gained quite a bit of height, but still had a way to go and it was a slog of a straight up route and the wind was just savage!! We were only able to move at a glacier pace with the battle being against the elements and Mr F spotted a wind shelter where we huddled in and had a hot drink. The issue there is, we had to then eventually step out of the protection of the wind shelter and carry on heading up in the horrendous wind. We weren't even able to talk to each other and even if we were standing next to each other you couldn't hear what the other person was saying!

Group Photo Before It Became Impossible!

As you can imagine, we didn't have much opportunity to get cameras out for a photo, so we pushed through. Visibility was still awful and couldn't see very far ahead of us, so trying to see the summit of Green gable was literally impossible and had a few false summit moments before we found the right one. The iconic iron post in the summit cairn was missing, which didn't help as this would have been a real visual to look out for...but eventually, we found it!

From Green Gable, we then had to start making our way down towards and through Windy Gap. We were all quite prepared to face the G-force gale that would certainly batter our faces and make us take more steps sideways than ahead of us. However, as we headed down the steep path that lead us onto Windy Gap...the wind was still! We were fully expecting - having been through here before and by the sheer notorious name of it - that we would have a full scale battle with the wind on our hands, but the Lord held it off for us and we strolled on through 😊

Again, the next section of the walk leading up to Great Gable was nothing like Mr & Mrs F remembered it, especially when we had to scramble up a steep rocky section that we literally have no recollection of at all!! It was a good size scramble too, so how neither of us remember is quite incredible...

Our Scramble up Onto Green Gable

Green Gable Conquered, One More To Go!!!

Mr F Also Conquering Green Gable...Again!

It was a rocky route to Great Gable and in an upward manner. We had a few false summits on here too; Mrs F was behind filing Mr & Mrs S making their way onto their final Wainwright, but turned out to be a bit further on...then the same thing happened again! Eventually, we go it right and Mr & Mrs S stepped onto the summit of Great Gable which was their 214th Wainwright!!! 

A Few More Hand & Feet moments

214th Wainwright...Done!!! 😃

Mr S Having A Solitary Celebration

As we were taking our photos, a man and woman with their dog and they were waiting to have their summit photo. Would you believe it, in such awful weather with literally no one in sight the whole day, we get to the summit and there is a queue for a photo! We had lunch literally by the summit plaque, but didn't stay for very long as it was nasty weather...we didn't even have any miniatures to drink which we normally have in cold weather 😞 It was a long way back to the car and a fair amount of descension, so we didn't hang around. We headed down towards the Moses Trod route, although I'm not sure that was the intended route back. We had quite a steep section of down to navigate first. Mr & Mrs F were ahead of Mr & Mrs S and came across a gully which Mr F said we had to make our way down. It was really tricky getting down into the gully and carefully and Mrs F went on ahead slightly to see if there was a safe way down. The -however - after Mr & Mrs S had caught up and Mr S triple checked the map, we didn't need to go down this gully at all! Needless to say Mr F was not a happy bunny! After clambering out of the gully (to be honest Mrs F was thankful that wasn't the way after all!) we had a narrow zig-zag type route with a few steep sections to climb down. This is where Mr F fell over and twisted his ankle, quite badly. He often has little falls, it's no unusual, but this fall however, he went over on his ankle and felt something twinge as he did. He wasn't then able to bear any weight on it and we still had miles to go! Mrs F tried to get him to take ibuprofen to help with the swelling, but no...she then offered to strap it for support, but no...she then offered her walking stick to lean on for support, but no. Eventually she left him to it. There is only so much you can someone who is unwilling to be helped...

Our Steep Way Down

This Just Shows How Bad Visibility Was!

The we came across another obstacle, which can only be described as a sea of lose stones that literally moved along with every step we took. It was a steep scree slope but the stones were so highly piled up underfoot, we were practically surfing our way down, as only one step would take you sliding down quite far, which was obviously a nightmare for Mr F and his injured ankle. It was impossible to stay upright and so Mrs F decided that to sit down and push herself down like a sledge was easier than trying to ski down it. Mr F done the same. Then Mrs F heard Mr F shout with an extremely loud voice 'MOVE!!' Mrs F looked back to see a big rock hurling straight towards her and in a kneejerk reaction, put her hand out to stop it from crashing into her and it caught the same two fingers she injured when she slipped and fell on Esk Pike in 2016...needless to say it hurt....A LOT! So with Mrs F's fingers throbbing and Mr F unable to walk properly we were ready to get off this slope and even more ready to see the car!

Once we were down and off, we looked back and thought there is no way you'd look at it and even think it was a way down! We have had many a times where we've looked back on routes we've come down off and thought...how?! We needed up on Moses Trod with Haystacks in our sights. We were at this point able to have a view with a break in the clouds. It was quite funny because all around we were able to see but the one mean looking cloud was sitting like a blanket over Great Gable!

Our Views From Moses Trod

Moses Trod Ahead of Us

As we made our way along the well carved out route, Mr S realised he didn't have his hat. Mrs S never likes him wearing his sherlock hat at best of times and certainly not for a photo, so she made him take it off for a photo and then it went missing after that. Mr S then retraced his steps and luckily found it. This was a good opportunity for Mr F to sit down and Mrs F handed him her walking pole to hold until she took care of nature, but never asked for it back 😉 We still had a long walk before we were back at the stepping stones leading down to Honister car park, but at least the weather had turned nice for us and were able to get a few nice photos along the way...

 

Heading Up There

Looking Back At Where We'd Just Come From

Mr F Grimacing As He Steps Over The Stile

By this time, Mr F was in quite a bit of pain and the pace slowed down quite a bit. We were on the grassland area just off the path leading to the stepping stones when we were overtook by a man who was doing some of the Coast To Coast and was a shame that he was ahead of Mr F as I'm sure he'd have liked to have chatted to him about it...

The stepping stones was a real killer for Mr F and so Mrs S stood right beside him and kept an eye out for if he stumbled again and ready to catch him. What a good friend he is 😊 We were all up for the idea of having a cup of tea in the café at Honister, but by the time we got down it was closed. It did take quite a while to get off the stepping stones as Mr F really couldn't bear weight on his ankle and thought to himself that he might need mountain rescue out to help him 🙁

But he did make it back to the car and what a glorious sight it was too...

Mrs F Took This Great Photo On The Path Leading To The Stepping Stones

As soon as we were back at the cottage, Mrs F went to get him his pyjamas to change into and and some painkillers and anti-inflammatories and Mrs S helped Mr F to take his boots off and once we were able to get a first look at his ankle, could see how swollen it was. It was very swollen! He then started to shiver and felt very tired, so we helped him to the sofa and put frozen peas on his ankle and he fell asleep. Think the ordeal of having to walk for miles on an injured ankle must have got his adrenaline going and wore him out, but it's also quite draining having to walk with an injury. Mr S suggested going to the injury clinic in Keswick, but stubborn Mr F said no, so we left him to sleep there for a while and topping up his frozen peas to help bring the swelling down... 

His Poorly Swollen Ankle 🙁

Mrs F's trousers were pretty mucky due to sliding down the scree on her backside!

Mr & Mrs S Filling in Their Final Wainwright on The Map! 😁

Once Mr F woke up, he was determined to drive to Weatherspoons in Keswick, because Mr S had driven to Honister that day (we generally took it in turns to drive each day) and had the idea that he needed to see if he could drive because we were due home the after after next and needed to see if he could drive. As he was quite adamant to do so, we piled into r F's car and rove to Keswick for our faithful Weatherspoons. We had a bit of trouble finding somewhere to sit at first but then Mrs F spotted that one of the old dungeon cell rooms was free...result! First time we'd sat in one of them (there are about 3) and it was a nice little private space. Apart from Mrs F's steak needing to go back because it was over cooked and not very nice, we had a nice meal out and had a cheers with our drinks to mark the occasion...

Mr F's Ever Increasing Swollen Ankle!

DAY 6: REST DAY

We had an extra day in hand and planned to use it if the weather was particularly bad during the week, we still had a day to use in comparison to the number of fells left to climb, but it was a good job we didn't climb today because the weather was shocking!! We had pancakes and bacon sandwiches as per usual on our trips and then spent the morning chilling out. Mr & Mrs F was in the conservatory catching up on Married At First Sight and Mr & Mrs S was in the living room. The in the early afternoon we headed out to Keswick for a mooch and Mr & Mrs F bought presents from Ye Old Sweet Shop for Mrs F's Aunt & Uncle who were looking after the cats. We always like to have a mooch about ton but never really buy or do anything different, we just always by tradition go to Keswick, it's like it's the rule! Once back at the cottage we done our usual packing up ready for the long drove home early the next day and the girls divided the remains of the food. This would be the last time we stay in this cottage as Alison was giving it up as a cottage let and there would be no need to come back to this part of the Lake District anyway, other than the fact it is a nice comfy cottage and Bassenthwaite lake is just down the road for a wild swim...

We weren't too late to bed as we were all up early the next morning ready to hit the road for a long drive back 6 hours for Mr & Mrs F and 7 hours for Mr & Mrs S, although they were stopping at Manchester to see Mr S's Daughter and their Grandson. The last time we stayed here, Mr F left his Berghaus fleece inside the house and we'd already closed the door and put the key through the letterbox that was caught by a hanging hessian bag on the other side. Luckily, Mrs F managed to put her little arm through the letterbox and reach down for the key, so we made 100% sure we had everything to avoid a repeat break in! We said our goodbyes and headed on our way...it's always a sad moment saying goodbye but this one had a bitter-sweet tone to it, after so long, we knew we didn't need to come back to be on a Wainwright completion mission...mission had been completed.

VERDICT OF THE LAKE DISTRICT IN MARCH 2023

Mr F: A trip filled with emotions. The end of a long journey for Mr & Mrs S, potentially the end of Lake District adventures as their are other mountains to climb, and a very swollen ankle!!

Great to be threre on the final day of Matt & Suzy's 214 shame the weather was an absolute shocker!! We have experienced so much as a 4 over the years some incredible weather, some horrendous weather, being lost, being stuck in bogs, falling into frozen streams, banging heads on trees, angry horses, forgotten lunches, injurys, sunburn, tears and lots of laughter...been an amazing few years and a special time that i  will never forget.

Mrs F: What can I say. This trip had so many emotions attached to it; over the past 10 years we have had some of the most amazing adventures and times with our best friends, Mr & Mrs S. This time, it was the end of an era; a life-long mission for all the Wainwrights to be completed and for that journey to be done together. Although it was a momentous occasion for Mr & Mrs S to finally finish their Wainwrights, there was an element of 'Well that's it, all done!' I felt really sorry for them with the weather being really rubbish on their last day and wasn't able to enjoy it as much or even get a good photo...then Mr F twisted his ankle which added drama to the day, but I'm just glad to have been there when they stepped onto the summit of their final Wainwright. I often think about the times we've had and shared in the mountains together and smile; our friendship is so dear to both me and Mr F and made even more special by sharing a passion for the great outdoors and such a blessing to share that passion with each other. But our adventures together aren't over, there's still the 3,000 peaks challenge of Wales to do and we haven't stepped foot in Scotland yet. Although this trip was a dampener with the weather, it was still, as always, an enjoyable one. I particularly liked day 4, because Dungeon Ghyll and all it's surroundings is one of my favourite places and the weather was one of nicest days we had, so could actually see where we were going and enjoy the views! I always enjoy chatting to a farmer too 😊

Despite Alison being annoying, the cottage is one of the most comfortable we've stayed in (apart from the shower that lacked power!) it had everything we needed, including chickens and a variety of birds right outside the conservatory, which was a nice place to sit and enjoy in the mornings. 

As said, the ending of the week was very much bitter-sweet, but the it's not the end of our adventures together by any means...just the end of this one; a 10 year, character building, friendship strengthening, endurance testing, body breaking, Wainwright bagging, most amazing time that has meant so much to me and will stay firmly fixed in my memory of 'Good Time Had'...long may they continue 👫💗👫