Scafell Weekend - the big walk!

Everyone was awake very early on Saturday morning, not least because in the b&b we were in the loft conversion with Velux windows and inadequate curtains - once it got light the whole room was bathed in light and we were awake! Early breakfast and then the rather nerve racking drive over Birker Fell and down to Wastwater and on to the car park at the foot of Scafell.

Everyone was excited and up for the challenge.



Please note that on the Friday when the rest of us had been enjoying a leisurely drive up the M6 James and Ross had climbed Helvellyn. Just because they could, with no thought to saving their legs for the challenge of Scafell. Fit doens't quite cover it.


"Lions and tigers and bears" was my first thought when I spotted this. Scafell safari anyone?


Malcolm and Kirsty with Great Gable as backdrop. They don't look nervous at all.



The obligatory team photo. Well, I have to justify my existence some how!


And they are off! I walked with them til the bottom of Great Gable, or until the path stopped being almost completely level and started to have an incline. You will notice at this point that there is no sign of James, Ross and Chris, all that was left of them were some footprints and a cloud of dust.

I decided to have a bit of a climb up Great Gable, just to get enough height to have a reasonable view back over Wastwater.

Glorious isn't it. It was so peaceful sat there in the sun.




Ta da! My 2nd photo of the 100 strangers project. This chap was walking up Great Gable with a lady and another gentleman and we had a bit of a chat, they are all very keen walkers and had come up from Norfolk and Essex for their annual pilgrimage to walk in the Lakes and were delighted to have been blessed with such fantastic weather. I didn't get his name but I hope they had a great day.


After taking his photo I whacked on the zoom lens and began to scan the hillside and there, just at the bottom of the picture you can make out Steve, Rachel, Nu, Kirsty and Malcolm! and if you look really closely, up above them you can see James, Ross and Chris, at least I think its them.

I had a lovely walk, once I had managed to get back down from Great Gable, nimble I am not and I usually have Steve to hang onto, was very glad to get back onto the level path. There is a small church between the car park and the hills and I decided to have a mooch.



Lovely little place. Found this and decided to google their story when I got home.

Seems they were climbing and fell to their deaths.


Had never seen one of these before and luckily there was no sign of the beast that it was warning of, phew!


I checked, this isn't him either!


Went for a walk along the river and sat by the bridge and watched the birds dashing back and forth underneath this bridge.

Kirsty decided that great as her love for Malcolm was her need not to stomp up Scafell was greater and she nipped back to join me in the pub for a drink. Everyone else got to the top, and back down again and was suitably proud and knackered! Well done everyone.

Scafell Weekend

Since the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge that Steve has organised he has been dying to drag some of our friends up Scafell Pike, most very sensibly had a whole big load of stuff to do and were unable to commit. I swear if he keeps this up we are going to end up with no friends. But the one's we will have are going to be uber fit!

James, Ross, Nu and Chris who did the 3 peaks decided they were man enough for the challenge. Nu, manly. NO. Nu is tiny. And made of steel. Seriously, one scary woman! Chris's sister Rachel was celebrating some seriously hard work in the gym and enjoying the hard earned results and wanted to put her fitness to the test, Malcolm was up for a challenge and Kirsty loves Malcolm. It's only been 2 and a half years, give her another 6 months and she'll be sending him up hills all by himself, for now she thought she should at least try, god love her.

We all met in Seathwaite on Friday evening. A glorious Friday evening I might add. Steve and I had a bit of a preprandial amble. Over the fields, along the stream and over the hills far away. Well not that far, I don't do hills.



Steve as always is in his element, he likes nothing better to be preparing for a long walk or a steep climb, anything as long as it challenges him. Hey, now do you understand why we are still married?

The stream had been damned at one time and the result was this beautiful pool, with a gentle run off, there is nothing quite as soothing as the sound of running water.



This is where we were staying looking back across the fields. Steve and I, Malcolm and Kirsty were in the b&b which is the stone building that you can see the end of. The white building is the pub and everyone else was in the flat above it.



So cross that this photo was rushed and is out of focus. How fab is that old boot? Would love to know the story of how it ended up wedged under this rock.



Friday night was good, nice food in the pub, few drinks, the trauma that is watching the England team play football, dear god what a disaster and then an early night. I had thought that the strange feeling of nervousness under cutting the evening was down to the football. Actually I think for everyone bar James, Ross and Chris it was nervousness about climbing Scafell on Saturday!

My baby?

Today is Tom's last day at school, he has a geography exam that as I type he is 5 mins away from finishing and then that's it - he isn't a school boy any more.

Not by the hair on his chiny, chin, chin! So proud of him.


He is hoping to get the grades he needs to go to Greenhead College in September to study Geology, Modern History, English Language and Sociology. Results day is August 24th, it's going to be a heart stopper!


And so is he. One day, when he can be bothered. My baby, all grown up.