Overall the weather wasn't too bad to us. A bit of rain towards the end of the first week, and the second week was mostly dry. But we did leave a day early as it was going to chuck it the next day and we could get out tent down and packed away all dry!
On our first day in the lakes we scrambled up the Yewbarrow, then traversed and came back down the valley below the northern side of the mountain.
Our second day took us on a circular walk around Harter Fell, visiting Hard Knott pass and Fort on the way round.
The third day we had booked a double top ocean kayak to go out on Windermere and explore the waters by boat. The weather looked a little dull in the morning but once we had driven south t Windermere the weather was great! We'll certainly be looking to do some more kayaking soon.
The next day we planned to go and scramble up Winstow Crags on Pillar. But the rain beat us to it by the time we had gotten to the bottom of the crag, so we descended back down the valley and retreated to the car. We did stop at the 'Y' boulder on the walk in, and I climbed nearly every route/crack on the boulder. Worth a visit if you're passing!
Next we walked up the Eskdale valley towards the Scafell massive. We had intended to take a swim in Tongue Pot below Eskdale Falls but the weather wasn't that bright so we skipped it. We carried on up the valley towards Cam Spout, another great waterfall on this side of Scafell. After taking my shoes off to wade through the river I scrambled up the side of the waterfall (barefoot) to take some pictures before we turned around and headed back. We took a different route back which took us over higher ground and dropped down near where we started. By the time we got back to the valley the Sun was out and we wished we could of stopped at Tongue Pot to cool off!
On our last day weather was a bit wet, so headed out to the coast to have a look around. We also found a Roman Bath house!
Once we started heading south on Saturday signs were looking good for brighter weather. We camped in Blackwell and had a great view out of our tent sat on top of a hill.
Our first day took us to Creswell Crags - not for climbing - but to see caves that were inhabited by our Ancestors 13,000 years ago. We had a great tour of the caves and saw the first and oldest know cave art in Britain! Well worth a visit! On the way home we also stopped at a 17th century castle in Bolsover and had a look around.
Once we got back to the campsite I wanted to checkout the nearby crags of Blackwell Dale and Chee Dale. So we went off on a stomp, which turned in to a jungle exploration down in Chee Dale, but the scenery was brilliant, and you felt like you were in another country with all the steep limestone cliffs, mist in the air and tackling stepping stones across the river! Good fun, but a bit longer than expected!!
Monday was an easy start and a bit of climbing at Stanage Edge in the afternoon.
Tuesday we hired bikes and cycled the Monsal Trail. The trail is 8.5 miles long and goes from Blackwell to Bakewell following the old railway line that once lay there. It took you through beautiful scenery and long dark tunnels through the hillsides. Really worth doing, on bike or foot!
The next day we went to Castleton and took a walk over Mam Tor. We also stopped at the castle too. After making a slightly early turn on our walk we came to a dead end and had to wade up the hillside through wet grass. This completely soaked my shoes so I slung them on my backpack and walked the rest of it barefoot. Someone did ask if I was looking for the beach!
Thursday we walked along Curbar and Froggat edge, then dropped down to the valley and followed the Derwent River Heritage Trail, which took us back to Curbar. Whilst walking along the river we caught a rare glimpse of a Water Vole swimming across to the other side. Take a look in the photo album to see that one!
Our last day we packed up the tent, then went climbing at Windgather Rocks. Cerian and I lead about 6 climbs before she headed to the car to warm up, and I quickly soloed pretty much all of the Moderate and Difficult climbs on the crag before we left around 6pm. About 14 in all, not bad for an afternoon!!
It was an excellent break, and good to try out some new things. I certainly want to spend a bit more time in the Peaks as there is so much more to explore there.
Back home now, my leg seems to have benefited from some good ol' walks and gradually seems to be getting there. I've managed to do a couple of short slow runs this week, totalling about 6km. Still taking it easy though but hopefully I'll be through the other side soon.
All the photo's from the holiday can be found here.
https://plus.google.com/photos/102932116196842266851/albums/5782144836450275217
You can also see the activities we got up to on Endomondo by clicking the workouts link on the side, starting from the 12th August through to the 23rd.
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