Spring Hiking in the Lake District

People come to Keswick, Cumbria to enjoy nature.  Hiking is very popular. We like to hike at home, so it only stands to reason that we would like to hike here.  We got instructions and maps from our host, Robin, at the Ellergill Guesthouse.  Even though it was a misty morning, with a forecast of steady rain, we are from Oregon, so hiking here should be a piece of cake.  I even brought rain gear, so I felt especially prepared, even though I would wear sneakers instead of hiking boots.  The mountains aren't that high here, after all.

We walked from the B&B to the footpath that would eventually lead us to Castlerigg Stone Circle.  Finding a community race in progress assured us that hiking would be a "walk in the park."

The start of the race. This is also the start of our hike.

Soon the crowds thinned out, and after a "steepish pull" we arrived at Castlerigg Stone Circle.  The misty weather provided drama to the scene, and while I caught my breath I slipped on my rain pants.

Castlerigg Stone Circle.

After enjoying the stone circle, we continued on our way, admiring the sheep in the fields.

That's Walla Crag in the distance - it doesn't seem too far or too high. Total feet of climbing is 1000 feet.

We passed through several kissing gates, and climbed over stiles. This is a kissing gate.

We slipped our way through a muddy farm!  I can't imagine that this would ever be allowed in the U.S.

You can see that it was chilly by the horse wearing his coat.

We couldn't believe that it was okay to walk through a private farm, but this is England, not the U.S.

  

Part way to the top, we starting having spectacular views of Lake Derwent Water.  We continued to get wetter and wetter.

At one soggy moment, we were rewarded with a rainbow!

At last we arrived at the top of the crag.  The views were spectacular but the rain continued to pelt us, and the wind was bitter.  We didn't linger and I gave up trying to take photos.  Going down was more challenging than climbing up.  Shortly after starting our descent, Taylor slipped on some boulders.  Further on, I had a spectacular slip and slide in the mud.  Fortunately I came to a stop before the edge, but by then I was coated in gritty mud.  We both pulled ourselves together, and soldiered on through the muck, the mud, the rocks, the rain, the wind.  If we hadn't run into other rain soaked hikers we would have thought we were out of our minds, and in serious trouble.  As it was, we figured with other crazy people out and about this must be standard for a Lake District hike.

Finally, and not any too soon, we arrived at a road and Ashness Bridge.  It turns out that we were standing on a famous bridge, but the honor escaped us.  You can see that my camera was all steamed up.  What you can't see is the mud caking my backside and both of our legs.

From this point, we walked down a narrow, but real road and finally found the lake.  Normally we would have turned right and hiked on to Keswick - another 3 or so miles.  As it was, we both marched right up onto the boat pier, and waited for the next launch to take us back to civilization.  Thank goodness for the Lady Derwent Water!

Cream tea, laundromat, Doris Day on TV.  That's the way we choose to end this adventure.