We woke up on the first day of our hike very excited. We were packed and ready to go and headed down for the breakfast part of our bed and breakfast booking. The place we were staying at certainly knew what they were doing and we had some great breakfast options all hearty and full of energy. (full English fry up basically)
Loaded up we set off around the lake towards Wasdale. The sun was almost out and the weather was pretty perfect as we started our ascent up towards a peak called Hay Stacks. The going was really pretty good but as we got nearer the top the wind picked up and some of the gusts were so strong that they almost blew us over so we had to be a little careful as to where we put our feet. As we neared the top the path disappeared and we were more scrambling up rocky crags. The way up wasn’t always obvious so it was lucky that there were another couple of people up there at the same time so we could get a little bit of an idea as to where to go. By this stage we were using hands as well to help get up the final few climbs to the top. I have to admit it was lucky that the path took us out of the wind most of the time as it would have been very difficult in the brunt of the wind.
We made it to the top which obviously had no protection from the wind and we both managed to stand for a quick selfie before we descended down the other side to try and get some shelter. The wind was pretty strong by this stage but at least we were dry.
The next part of our walk was to take us along a ridge towards the Great Gables and it was at this point that the rain started. It was horizontal and meant that we really couldn’t see much at all. In fact all we could really do was toughen up and follow the path and make sure we didn’t get lost.
We didn’t see the Great Gables as we passed them. Visibility was just not good enough to see much further than about 50m.
Still we were on the right path and knew that we had to carry on down a ridge towards Wasdale Head and we would be able to dry off at the hotel. It was pretty tough going and while not demoralising it just wasn’t particularly great. We were laughing about it as we descended.
I stopped at one point and thought I could make out something in the valley and it was quite amazing to see the green of the valley floor appear through the cloud as the rain stopped and the clouds parted to reveal a quite spectacular view of Wasdale heads. The fields separated by stone walls and the lake in the background with the red heath stretching up the valley walls was one of the most beautiful views I have seen. I think made all the better by the terrible weather of the previous few hours!
While admiring the view and the dry weather we thought we would take the time to sit and empty our boots of water. We realised that we had made a basic error and not put on our waterproof trousers which meant that the rain ran down our legs and filled our boots. A mistake we won’t make again.
The remainder of the descent was dry but did involve us sliding down what I believe is scree. A loose rubble that meant we more or less had to slide down the mountain which was both fun and daunting at the same time and it felt as though we were pretty much out of control the whole time. It was pretty fun.
The Wasdale head Inn was our destination and the building itself has been in existence for over 200 years serving as a refuge for hikers and climbers. It had a refurbishment in the 1970s and as we walked in it felt like we were walking in the footsteps of thousands of like minded hikers who would have arrived after a similarly rainy day hiking up and down mountains.
There was a friendly welcome and the walls were adorned with photos of people who had climbed various mountains around us. The older photos were particularly impressive with gentlemen dressed in trousers and shirts with ropes tied around their waists standing on the edges of cliffs. The place felt exactly as I expected it to and we were happy to have arrived.
It wasn’t long before we had our wet gear hanging in the drying room and had both had a shower and we were sitting enjoying cups of sugary tea laughing about the day.
Downstairs there was a pub and we headed down to enjoy a pint of ale and look over the maps to finalise the plan for the following day. It felt quite fun to do it as there were loads of groups doing the same as us. The atmosphere was quite special but we were fairly knackered and after a delicious meal of slow cooked “Lamb Henry” we headed to bed wit our fingers crossed that the rain would clear for the next day. T