Let's go to the Lake District and enjoy some walks in the beautiful countryside that inspired writers such as Wordsworth. We'll go in the summertime, when the weather will be lovely, you might need a light rain jacket, just in case. Yeah, right!
This had me thinking of a gentle stroll in the gentle sunshine . Today was a torrid trudge in blustery conditions.
We had planned our walk at Aira Force, just down the road from where we are staying. It has a fantastic waterfall. We had had a hearty breakfast and got a packed lunch from our Guesthouse and were ready to go. The weather forecast was for showers and temps of 7-12, (the sort of weather we would bunker down inside if we were at home and you would consider whether going to the footy was worth it. Probably not for your average Dockers fan!). We had layers and waterproof jackets. Everyone is really kitted out in gear, with waterproof pants, hi tech jackets, covers on their backpacks, serious shoes and some have hiking sticks. We had at least bought some decent shoes.
The trek to the falls is really beautiful. The trees and plants growing around are lush and green. All this rain is good for growing. We saw only one red squirrel and not a lot of other animals. The walk climbs up over a few sections and the waterfall is pretty spectacular. It took us about an hour and a half to complete . The sun shone a little, the rain fell a little, but it was pretty good overall. We thought we had been everywhere but it is hard to tell. There are not a lot of signs letting you know where things are, but there are no barriers stopping you getting close to vantage points or falling over the edge of a giant waterfall either.
We returned to the carpark with the idea of going to another walk over at Glenridding. While buying a coffee we were talking to one of the local guides and he encouraged us to head back up Aira Force, where we had just come from, but continue up the hill and around the escarpment to Gowbarrow Fell to get the most spectacular views of the lake. The weather was going to get quite bad but it would be worth it. He showed us where we needed to go on the map and we took it with us and went back up.
We quickly made it up to the point where we needed to deviate off the path and head up. The track was nice, in a paddock with cute sheep running around and gorgeous views of green fields.The sun was shining and we concentrated on following directions . There were instructions about becks and fells, but we have no idea what the heck a fell is or what the hell a beck is! (It turns out they are Northern English terms, a beck is a swiftly running stream and a fell is an upland pasture, moor or thicket. I should have been studying Northern English, not French!)
So this is where it got more difficult. From here on we walked through bog and mud and streams over rocks and it was up and up and up. It was still relatively warm with the occasional drop of rain.
As we reached the summit (after a long and agonising climb!) the weather turned. The wind was trying to blow us off the top and the rain was driving down. The hood on my rain jacket turned into a sail, offering me a faster way down. A quick photo and off we went, making the descent. Unfortunately the rain was obscuring all the views we had come to see.
Going downhill was slippery, but easier than the uphill struggle. The views were pretty amazing, on a sunny day it would be absolutely fantastic. The further around we got the more expansive the views were, until the whole panorama was taken by the lake vista. It is a really pretty spot.
We met some people who were waiting for a yacht race on the lake. They had intended sitting up on the hill and having a picnic while they watched, but today was not the day for it. We sat and watched some of the race for a while but it was just too cold.
Heading down the last couple of kms the rain was pelting down. Our jeans were soaked through and our shoes covered in mud. But we made it back. This would be a really great walk to do on a fine day. Today was not a fine day.
We headed back to the guesthouse and dried off.
We rested for a couple of hours, catching up on writing and resting the legs.
We were not wanting anything much for dinner, so we went down to a pub a few miles away, the Brackenrigg, and had a drink. It looks ok, we might come back tomorrow for dinner. Back home I made myself a gin and tonic at the bar. It is an honour system, they have a full bar and you just write in the book what you take. Ken had a beer back in the room, should be ok room temp! We dipped into our supply of snacks and watched the end of the game (Germany beat Italy in a drawn out penalty shoot).

Steps 18,074
Kms walked 12.7