Sunday was billed to
be a better day weather wise however it looked pretty grey when we
awoke. I didn’t feel well and had been sneezing and spluttering
all night and had a pretty horrible runny nose. Not really in the
mood to get out of bed I managed to get dressed and hoped to feel
better as the day wore on. Achy and head cold symptoms were a bad
start.
Buckbarrow,
Seatallan and Middle Fell were our targets for the day and I must say
Buckbarrow and Middle Fell both looked attractive prospects and with
Seatallan tucked in behind I hoped it wouldn’t disappoint.
As with any hill
really it was a bit of a slog to begin with. As we continued upwards
it wasn’t really long before we came upon the summit of Buckbarrow.
The last part of the upwards climb was through some rocky bits and
the views were outstanding. The weather wasn’t being kind to us
with intermittent rain and there was our old friend the wind again.
The sun kept peeking through the clouds but not anywhere near us. We
could see its shadows cast upon the surrounding hills but alas no
where near us.
Cold update: I feel
rubbish, sneeze splutter, sneeze!
So after Buckbarrow
it was onwards to Seatallan and this was the first time I thought “oh
I'll just go back” I really couldn’t get a grip and my head was
throbbing but I wandered on. It didn’t seem that bad a walk up to
Seatallan that was until we lost the summit in the cloud. It closed
in and obscured views on all sides. Drizzle and a brisk breeze made
the last part of the walk up quite tedious indeed. One of those
moments we you really need to remind yourself why you do this and why
its so important. Today it wasn’t for the photography as cameras
were firmly tucked away whilst we endured the mist and drizzle.
Thankfully there was
a shelter at the summit currently occupied by a nice couple and their
dog. I offered the dog some of my Pink Lady apple which it licked
and then ignored. How very dare it!!! It really was a lovely dog
but just having a picky day.....weren't we all !
We were up and off
as soon as we'd finished our snack and heading down to the plateau
area between Seatallan and Middle Fell. It was quite steep and the
path is poorly mark but easy to see where the path meets down in the
valley below. The best bit is that the cloud was starting to lift
and we could see Middle Fell, in its entirety, for the first time
today and it was beautiful.
I wasn’t sure I
had the energy to do another climb and worse still another descent
but I waited until I had reached the plateau below and the start of
the upward path before making my mind up. Once there it was an easy
decision to make and I couldn’t let this gorgeous hill pass me by
today. That and that the ground underfoot in the valley was quite
boggy and the thought of trudging through bog to go down the valley
was really not an option. So upwards we went.
It was a lovely
rocky path up and views were opening up all around. Great Gable
stood proudly to the left with Yewbarrow in front and it just took
your breath away. The route from yesterday was ahead of us with
Waswater below and all in all it was a lovely fell.
The downwards was
tough as I'd reached my limit for the day. I was exhausted, coupled
with the fact that I hadn’t had a good nights sleep meant I felt a
bit wibbly wobbly. Nevertheless I kept going with the occasional wee
sit down and before we knew it we were back on flat land and the sun,
as like the previous day, was splitting the trees.
At the campsite
we'd arrange to keep the tent pitched during the day so we could get
an early start and the thought of having to dismantle it when we
returned wasn’t a great thought but it wasn’t too bad actually
and quite enjoyable in the sunshine.
Great weekend, great
walks, great company and looking forward to more camping weekends in
the weeks to come, love it!
