A Bit'er Ruff

Breakfast is substantial, particularly for those who had a cheeseboard last night that they shouldn’t have had. That's not to mention feeling a bit ruff after A Bit'er Ruff.

For once we’re in the Lakes with no weekend run planned. I’m they’ll be plenty of ‘round that peak and back’ fell races if we’d looked but we hadn’t. Deliberately. They’re not really our thing or rather they’re not really our sort of navigation.

Instead we take a rather pleasant jaunt up the low lying fell of School Knott. After which we take a wrong turn of sorts and end up in Windermere, when it should have been Bowness. Once we’ve corrected ourselves we can stop for a break at one of the pubs there, the Royal Oak. Which is in fact the official finishing pub for the Dales Way.

It’s a bit fraudulent though, as we’ve only done about 2 miles of the Dales Way, rather than the full 84 mile hike from Ilkley. Tomorrow perhaps, if we're up to it.

Doggo needs this break more than the rest of us. Both of Doggo and I are limping but he’s worse than me. In fact we even consider taking the bus back to Ings but he seems to recover and we get him back home by foot. Sadly with the old man now approaching 12 years old, we may not be doing much more walking with him, keen though he is. He needs the Dogth Vader tonight more than me.

Funnily enough though, we eventually end up on OP.

(Saturday 12th January)

Tarn To Tarn

It’s a bit misty on them there hills this morning but it's not too bad up by the Stickle Tarn where we head first.

However, it's still misty enough for us to miss the path to Easedale Tarn, which is our second target. So after having a ‘lost’ moment, we backtrack before finding the correct route and getting it right second time. It's such a large tarn it’s difficult to miss really or it should have been. Ah, there it is.

Then it’s the little matter of a fairly tricky descent down to it. Made more difficult for L by Doggo, whom she repeatedly falls out with over his pace setting. MD though, seems quite chilled beside me.

We reach Easedale just as it starts to rain, so just in time really. Then it’s the fairly easy, although quite long, walk down into Grasmere.

All of this for a bit of shopping. In Grasmere L buys a waterproof for the race tomorrow. Bright yellow, she’s being very safety conscious ahead of the weekend fell races. Then after a quick cafe break and with darkness falling, we get out the torches and switch on the dogs flashing red lights. Told you we’re safety conscious.

We head back over by road, over Red Bank, to reach Chapel Stile and the Wainwrights Inn for evening refreshments (e.g. copious amounts of Snecklifter) just before 6pm. It’s ‘only’ a 3 miles stagger to camp from here. The route was around nine miles on the map with a total ascent (and descent) of around 700m but we added a mile or so to that by getting a bit directionally challenged in the fog.

Not one but three dark ales on the bar tonight. The nearby Watermill Inn at Ings supplies Dogth Vader, a strong stout, that appeals to L but quickly runs out. It’s usually me that happens to. Also dark is Ulverston Brewery’s Fra Diavolo (The Devil’s Brother).

Ulverston was the birth place of Stan Laurel and all their beers celebrate the great comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Fra Diavolo was one of their films.

The food is good. I have chilli just to try the tear and share garlic bread which I don't share obviously. They’ve also added a cheeseboard to the menu which has to be tried and is impressive.

(Thursday 3rd November)