We were back from the Lakes this week. Unfortunately, we had to cut the trip short as A was having trouble with a tooth which had to be extracted, so Beattie and I came home early.
We had five good days walking and climbed another twelve fells. Beattie has climbed 69 fells this year - her first fellwalking season. This is just about one third of the fells known as 'Wainwrights' after the 214 fells described by Alfred Wainwright in his seven Pictorial Guides. I have now climbed 175 of these fells, 41 this year.
The highlight of the week was our walk to the summit of Low Fell in the western Lakes. For the most part, the ascent was along a grassy track which led gently up to the summit. When we arrived at the top we were rewarded by superlative views of Crummock Water and the surrounding fells. My photo does not really do justice to that wonderful view.
On another day, I had planned a walk to climb four fells, one being Base Brown, which was a single fell in a group that I had not yet climbed. To make a day of it I planned a circular walk to take in three other fells that Beattie had not climbed. We started off in sunshine although I could see that there was cloud on the highest tops, but not those that we would be climbing. However, as can happen, the cloud dropped down as we ascended to the first top on the round. By the time we stood by the cairn on Grey Knotts, grey was a good description of our surroundings! We battled on to the summit of Brandreth, the mist getting thicker and conditions more unfriendly by the minute. When the summit cairn appeared out of the gloom, I decided to retreat and tackle Base Brown another day! We retraced our steps and descended to Honister Pass. We had dropped down out of the cloud by this time and it being past lunch time, I found a suitable rock to sit and munch my ham and pickle sandwiches, helped as always by Beattie, who is always up for the ham filling even laced with sweet pickle. She is not fussy!
Considering the lateness of the year, we had some lovely autumn weather on the other days, often misty, but with enough warm sun to burn off the cloud by mid-morning. The conditions were just about perfect for walking and we made the most of our five days there.
With another 39 fells to climb in my own 214 Challenge, I am hopeful that I might finish the task by the end of next year. By then, Beattie should be well on course for completing her own challenge!
