There really were some well placed check points today! I think that the last time I walked through this valley was with Paul on my Gold DofE expedition! I was pleased to find it’s still just as challenging. Stationed with my binoculars, I had a good giggle watching one team deal with a navigational error and subsequent river crossing!
Eventually, everyone made it over Black Sail Pass and down to the YHA, where John was waiting, having driven around to Buttermere earlier in the day.
After hiking up to Blacksail (and halfway back down to check on a team) and back up again, I thought I might just walk down the same way or nip up nearby Kirk Fell. However, it was such a glorious day and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been up the mountain called Pillar. I was pretty close and decided that if I was fast I could bag the summit.
I’m still not sure if it was my first time up there, but the views were fabulous and only vaguely familiar.
This is the summit cairn, where I got enough reception to be able to speak to Clare (who had just ridden a motorcycle up a mountain in the Philippines after a morning’s snorkelling!).
Up the coast, I could see Scotland and the Isle of Mann was also clear to see out west.
All that remained was to get back down! You can see the minibus and car park if you zoom in below!
After racing down the screws from Windy Gap (not particularly recommended), I was a sweaty mass on reaching the valley. The idea of a swim in the lake seemed the perfect finish.
And so it was! It actually felt pretty warm and I got in with minimal procrastination.
All freshened up, to took on the nearly two hour drive around the national park to Buttermere where the group was now camped up. I was delighted to find that John had cooked dinner and had left overs for me! I wolfed it down as the light faded. Brilliant!
No comments:
Post a Comment