Perfect Parting

This week I said a temporary good bye to my 22 year old son.  He has gone off to NYC to study for three years.  A very different life from mine here in the Lakes.  As a parting present I took him on a walk!

A good friend of mine accompanied us, along with her nephew, currently living in France, whom she had been given the auspicious task of re-anglicising for a couple of weeks.  What better than a hike in the hills, as opposed to the Alps, where he usually resides.

A steamer ride is so typically Lake District that an Ullswater walk was an obvious choice, though followed by a hike a little higher than the last week’s.  Place Fell was one I had not walked and ticks that Wainwright list for anyone into their ‘bagging’.    So, we took the steamer from Glenridding to Howtown and walked the 7 miles back. 

Route  if you click here, the link is to OS getamap which will give you all the fancy stats, elevation time etc. 

The walk is easy to follow, for the most part.  Though with the waist high bracken on Sleet Fell made for a slight digression up the hill from the planned way.  Just added a few more minutes.  Aside from that OS map OL5 is all you need to keep on track. 

Reasons for doing this walk?  I had such a good day that I did have a think about what made it so , aside from the excellent company.  At 657 m it is not the highest and that top of the world illusion which comes from not being able to see the valleys from, for example High Street, does not happen.  The dips and climbs are very visible.  The folds down to the valleys of Boredale and Bannerdale, not to mention Ullswater added a different drama to landscape.  The nooks and crannies of the Kentmere and Highstreet, folded to the east while Helvellyn and Fairfield were a mere arm’s length away. 

There was the usual climatic variation from sunshine to showers, but for the most part the cloud sat to the south beyond Borrowdale and over Kirkstone.   The cloud and intermittent rays just added to the atmosphere.

As a finale we enjoyed the rain in a slightly different act, tea at Side Farm.  Perfect end to the day, and highly recommended.

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