4 Wainwrights from Hartsop.

27/08/2018.

After yesterdays wet washout we were promised a much better day, well that's what Tomasz Schafernaker told us...sunny spells for most of us with higher temperatures. Thanks Mr weatherman. We awoke and drew back the curtains expected to be blinded by sunlight..Nope just grey skies and a light drizzle...oh well this is the Lake district after all. After a leisurely brecky we were off with a prompt 10 o clock start. Waterproofs on...Im sure we will be able to take them off later when the sun breaks through we thought..Fingers crossed..We passed through the hamlet to find the steep path rising up the grassy slopes...im not keen on steep /grassy slopes neither is Karen...we were both soon completely buggered...we stopped often to look back down to Hartsop and the Patterdale valley...a valley that I have now officially changed the name of...to Pitter patterdale.

We eventually beat those Steep/Grassy slopes to arrive at the days first Summit..Hartsop Dodd standing just above the magical 2000ft ..Some say that  the criteria for Mountains is that they are above 2000ft..no...for me Mountains are rocky..there is no doubting that this is a hill..there is also no doubting that this is a bloody good hill.. A quick photograph as we passed the summit cairn heading off for Caudale moor a mile or so ahead..an easy walk that followed an old wall all of the way.

Caudale moor deserves far more respect than it usually gets as its a huge hill with no fewer than 6 ridges leaving its 2502ft summit.The summit is known as Stony cove pike which I think is a far better name.For a second or two I toyed with the idea of visiting a nearby Birkett top called John Bells banner but the swirling mist came down so we headed off towards Threshthwaite mouth cursing that smarmy Schafernaker..The col between Stony cove pike and and Thornthwaite crag turned out to be the highlight of the walk for me, there was no doubting the fact that we had moved from Hill to Mountain as we had a gruelling rocky decent followed by a steep path on scree to reach the summit of Thornthwaite crag, the days third top.

We slipped and slithered but eventually made it up that steep slope to arrive at the tall pillar of stones on top. Thornthwaite crag occupies a commanding position overlooking four valleys, its also our highest point for today..Thornthwaite crag is really a subsidiary summit of nearby High street..but this proud top refuses to play second fiddle to the broad plateau, its one of the better known fells east of Kirkstone and always worth visiting. It is sometimes difficult to recall the details of some summits but those that climb here will never forget the 14ft column that stands on the top here as it is one of the most distinctive cairns in the whole of Lakeland...also to its merit it has a wicked view down the length of Windermere.

Our packed lunch was enjoyed here tucked behind the wall, along with several other Lakeland devotees...Cheese and coleslaw being the filling of the day, not that im getting much as I shared my scran with a ravenous Alfie..As we ate people came and went..one bloke fell on his arse on a slippery rock...he said he was ok but was clearly in pain..We eventually moved on, raising a numb posterior wasn't easy but we were soon going again...hats and gloves came into play as we walked the lofty Gray crag ridge...every single finger was numb..

Some great view along this ridge...to our left the Fairfield massif to our right lies High street, Kidsty pike and the Knott while ahead we saw Brock crags ,Angletarn pikes and Place fell....so many great hills..we hoped that the slopes off the hill were not going to be as steep as our earlier climb...sadly not..feet took a battering...any hill walker will tell you that it is far easier going up than it is going down....

Boy was I glad to get down from those slopes to eventually reach the track alongside Hayeswater gill. Almost back now...it had been a great day..boosting Karens Wainwright list by three to 143 and my second round to 40..Days this good are rare, but we are on holiday so I am hoping for more to come this week...there will be more believe me...im not a weatherman....lets get in and get these waterproofs dry ready for tomorrow.