Captain's Log

Greenup Edge

I awoke early again and didn’t fancy waiting around in a gradually warming tent. I wasn’t hungry and so I didn’t have any breakfast. The view out of the tent was just as good as yesterday with layer after layer of mountains to the west. I packed everything up and was ready for my walk to get underway by around 7:00 am. I found my way back to the top of the pass on Greenup Edge and the trail of the C2C. I started following the slabs westwards.    

Today’s walk would initially take me down the western side of Greenup Edge towards Borrowdale. A 3 mile descent would deliver to me Rosthwaite where I might get a mug of tea from the cafe there. I’d then follow the Borrowdale valley to the youth hostel and then on to Seatoller at the foot of Honister Pass. The C2C uses a bridleway to transport WeBos to the top of the pass. I’d probably call in at the cafe at the Honister Slate Mine. From there, I’d climb that old tramway up on to the top of the fells and head over towards the Ennerdale valley. I’d then descend into the valley on a steep path next to Loft Beck. There was supposed to be an honesty cafe at the Black Sail Hut (YHA) near to  the head of the valley and I hoped to catch that open before it shut. Today would finish with a wildcamp, but I wasn’t quite sure of its location. There were a number of possibilities. There was even one near to the Black Sail Hut. Camping there though would make it a 25 mile day tomorrow though. On the other end of the scale, I could camp in the pub garden at the Fox And Hounds Inn at Ennerdale Bridge. That would make today a long haul though and my first impressions was that it was going to be another breezeless scorcher. The most important thing was that I had options and the best thing was to see how the day progressed.  

Descent To Borrowdale

The slabs delivered me to the top of Lining Crag where there was a wonderful view of the valley I would be descending to the north. The route down alongside the crag was steep and rough, although I could see that some work had been done to make it a bit easier. It’s one of those paths where it's probably just as easy to go up as it is to go down. The path headed for the beck that followed the centre of the valley. When it reached it, I found a convenient point to stop, refill my bottles and make a brew. A German sounding woman approached and she told me that she was heading to Patterdale. The destination seemed far away now for some reason, which seemed odd since I more or less came from there yesterday.  She advised me to take a swim in Ennerdale Water to cool down. She’d done that yesterday and said it was refreshing. 

I continued down the valley. A couple of groups of Duke of Edinburghers passed me. As usual, some of them looked like they were hating the experience and others had smiles on their faces. The view of the spectacular Eagle Crag opened up. This really is an impressive valley. The beck merged with Langstrath Beck and formed the Stonethwaite Beck. There didn’t seem to be that many campers in the campsite on the other side of the beck. The track became stony, the further down the valley I progressed which made the walking more arduous. Eventually I reached Rosthwaite and crossed the bridge to enter the village. 

Rosthwaite

The walk down the valley had made me quite thirsty. I called in at the Flock-In Tea Room and ordered a mug of tea and some tea loaf that looked like it had been cut with a ham slicer. The combination didn’t really satiate my thirst or hunger and so I decided to move on to the youth hostel on the path towards Seatoller. It was only about a 10 minutes walk to reach the place. I ordered a pint of iced diet coke from the bar and a packet of crisps. I sat outside at one of the patio tables under the shade of a parasol. It was a busy place with people doing all sorts of activities. A young woman was painting at the patio table next to me. A chap was riding a mountain bike in circles and testing out its breaks. An elderly bloke was sunbathing on the grass. When he stood up, his speedos looked more of a mankini type design. It was a bit grim and nearly put me off my crisps. A school party of 6-7 year olds then descended to the shade of a tree next to him. Thankfully he did the decent thing and put on some shorts. This reinvigorated my appetite and I went back to the bar to see if there was any food I could order. I went for a cheese and onion toastie and then was non-plussed when the girl said,
‘You also get a free drink and a bag of crisps with that too.’
So I ended up with another bag of crisps and a pint of iced diet coke. The diet coke went down without a problem, but I put the crisps in my rucksack for later.
The track to Seatoller had a bit of excitement when it included a scramble along some rocks. A chain had been bolted into the rocks for walkers to hold onto if they felt the need. It was more awkward than dangerous. The day was really warming up again now and I was not looking forward to the next stretch - the ascent of Honister Pass. 

Honister

I’d never walked along the bridleway along Honister Pass before. I’ve driven up and down the road plenty of times, of course. Access to the bridleway was about 100 metres up the road from Seatoller. Initially the bridleway started heading back towards Rosthwaite, but then it swung around 180° to eventually run parallel to the road. The road has quite a few very steep sections. The curious thing about the bridleway was that the gradient seemed pretty consistent from the bottom to the top of the pass. This definitely made the walk easier than I thought it would be. Some parts of the surface of the track  was quite stony though which made it harder underfoot. The main problem was the heat. I’d benefited from the shade of either the hills or trees on the walk so far today. Now I was fully exposed to the sun…and it was a searing heat. As per the last couple of days, there was no breeze. The long grass was as stationary as that in a photograph. I was soon dripping with sweat. There was nothing for it though, but to plod on and gain the height, little by little. There weren’t any sections that were on the road, but I did have to cross it before reaching the top of the pass. I felt well dehydrated when I walked into the welcome shade of the seating area outside the Honister Slate Mine cafe. 

A sign said that the cafe didn’t provide free tap water. You had to buy their exorbitantly priced bottled water instead. That seemed mean to me since I would be pretty sure they’d have unlimited supply of water to the works. Given all the C2C walkers and day hikers giving them additional trade, surely they could have provided a tap to refill water bottles. The cafe was decently presented inside but the prices were taking the mickey. All the food was out of the price range that I’d be prepared to pay. I wasn't going to buy their expensive water (I’d filter some later) and so I bought a bottle of beer for £6.50. I drank the beer outside,  sitting on one of the benches. Admittedly it was a nice IPA, but I could get 3 bottles of beer for that price at my local Tescos. The place was certainly busy both inside and out. Just across from the cafe, a group of people were being given last minute instructions for their via ferrata course. I dread to think what that cost (I looked it up: £70 per person for the Xtreme version - 3 hours, £55 per person for the basic version 1.5-3 hours). I wondered if any of that came with a free bottle of water. 

Fell Walking

I plodded up the old tramway to the west of the café. It was a case again of taking it steady. Walkers passed me, but I didn’t care. At Drum House, I turned south and the views started to open up to the Buttermere and Ennerdale Valleys. This really was a stunning area of the Lake District. I caught a glimpse of the lake at Buttermere in the far distance. The C2C has another high level option here. This traverses Haystacks, High Crag and High Stile, before descending into the Ennerdale valley at Red Pike. The lower route simply drops down into the Ennerdale valley near to its head. I’d given up on the idea of ever getting a breeze higher up and so opted for the lower route. There was also a short scrambly descent on Haystacks that would have been awkward with a heavy pack. The lower route headed over towards Loft Beck. A group of EaBos had climbed up the C2C path alongside the beck. They looked exhausted. 

Ennerdale

It was actually quite a steep descent alongside the beck. A lot of it had stone steps. At one point I tripped and tumbled forward, but it was more of a slow motion fall and so there was no damage. The problem was that the views across the valley to Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar were stunning. It was hard to drag your eyes away from them. I finally made it to the junction of Loft Beck and Tongue Beck and I started to follow an easier track along the hillside. It didn’t take long to reach Black Sail Hut. I reached it 20 minutes before the honesty cafe was scheduled to shut. I bought 2 bottles of refrigerated lemonade for half the price of the beer at the Honister Slate Mine. There were two guys and a woman who were taking a break at the hostel. They looked to be in their late 20s and were planning to climb to the col between Kirk Fell and Pillar and drop down to Wasdale later on. I’d walked that path before (see Captain’s Log, Tour De Kirk Fell) and I didn’t envy them that climb to the col. It was a bit dark in the hostel and I went to sit outside in the sun to admire that view of the mountains. One of the blokes followed me outside and we started chatting. He was a software engineer based in London. I asked about the impact of AI and whether his job was safe. He had to admit that AI was a pretty useful tool, but he didn’t think it would replace his job at the moment. The three of them headed off to the footbridge over the River Liza. 

I assessed my options. I could walk another 9 miles to Ennerdale Bridge and camp in a pub’s garden. Given that it was now 5 pm, I didn’t really fancy rolling in there at around 9pm. I knew of a wildcamp pitch on the south side of Ennerdale Water. But there was only that one pitch; if anyone had taken it already, I’d have to continue on to Ennerdale Bridge. There were other camping options further down the Ennerdale valley, but they were in the forestry sections and not particularly glamorous. I opted for the easiest option which was crossing to the other side of the River Liza and camping on the river bank. I remembered seeing an ideal pitch the last time I was here. It had an incredible view of the mountains surrounding the head of the Ennerdale valley and it was very unlikely to be disturbed by anyone. The only downside was that it made my walk tomorrow a rather intimidating 25 miles to the C2C finish at St Bees. Admittedly that would be over flatter terrain than I’d traversed over the last 3 days. Even so it was a long way. I could be lucky though and it might be a lot cooler tomorrow. I headed off to the footbridge to cross the River Liza. 

Wildcamp

The 3 walkers hadn’t got very far on their walk to Wasdale. I found them fully immersed in the water just below the footbridge.  
‘I’d write an email sickie saying you won’t be in work on Monday’ I shouted to them.
‘Yeah, we’ve thought about that,’ one of them replied.
I made my way about 200 metres down the other side of the river to a grassy area near two trees. The ground was stony and a bit rooty, but the air was so still, I only put up a couple of guy lines and used stones for anchors. It was a good decision to camp here; it was a lovely spot with that incredible view of the mountains. I watched the 3 walkers struggle up the hillside to the col. Rather them than me. I saw maybe half a dozen people altogether make their way down the valley during the evening. They were on the other side of the river and so didn’t disturb me. I kept my tent door open again during the night in order to capture any breeze. None came. At least I got that wonderful view of the mountains as I laid on my mattress. 

It was only a 10 mile walk today and slightly easier than the previous two days. The heat was a killer again though. Tomorrow would be my last day on the C2C with a 25 mile haul to St Bees. That would mean another early start. I wondered where the Terminator was tonight and whether he would be finishing as well tomorrow.