England Coast to Coast

On September the 6th Eric and I took the train from Bath up to Penrith so we would  be ready to meet our fellow hikers on the 7th for our Mountain Travel Sobeck hike across England.  I personally had been having some concerns about this hike and these first three days have proven to be he toughest yet most rewarding hiking I have ever done.  The trails are very rough and one is often jumping across creeks and rivers or simply getting wet. There are lots of loose rocks,mud and uneven surfaces so one must watch every step.  The elevation gains in the Lake District are steep and hard work.  Having said that the views are outstanding and it is such a treat to be walking through hills dotted with hundreds of sheep and lined with beautiful rock walls that are hundreds of years old.

Day one

We hiked from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Ennerdale Bridge.  Hiking along the cliffs would be spectacular except that it was raining so hard that views were rather dampened.  Turning inland we did our first long climb up.  Definitely a workout, the views were wonderful as the rain abated.  We covered  

29 kilometers and climbed 2700 feet before we reached our hotel.

Day two

Today we were hit with everything but mostly weather.  We started with a lakeshore walk along the shore of Ennerdale Water(they do not call them lakes here in the Lake District.  Go figure.). The trail was extremely rough and quite wet but the hardest was yet to come. We had a long steep ascend up Honister Pass which we did in driving rain and winds of 50 miles per hour with bigger gusts. At one time I literally did get blown over. More than once I did question what I was doing but there was only one way out and after the long wet and windy descent to Borrowdale we were all quite happy to reach the end of the hike for the day.  We had done 32 kilometers and 3490 feet of ascent.

Day three

Due to the heavy rains of yesterday we skipped ahead and did section four as section three would be too flooded so we will do it on day four. Something to look forward to.  The weather Gods were smiling on us and he weather was perfect as we walked out of Grasmere, the home of William Wordworth to climb up over Grisdale Hause to the foreboding ridge walk of Striding Ridge.  Once again the trail was rough and arduous and of course steep but with constant encouragement from Eric I made it to the summit which provided magnificent views of waterfalls, a large lake and wonderful hillsides.  The trail down was long and tricky but give me down anytime compared to steep up.  Today we did 18.94 kilometers and 1890 feet of ascent.  No guilt drinking a cider after that hike.

Putting on our gear in St Bees in less than ideal weather.  The wind was blowing  and it was pouring but we were on our way.  

We went down to the Irish Sea and each picked up a stone we will carry across England and throw into the North Sea and then we followed tradition and dipped our boots into the sea before starting our hike.

I think we are a bit crazy.  Little did we know what lay ahead.

If you use your imagination you can see the ocean through the rain and wind over the side of the cliffs.

The bright green pastures dotted with sheep and cows are very picturesque and are mostly divided by ancient stone wall built without any mortar

It always feels good looking down to where you have come from as opposed to up to where you are going

A rocky wet path leading up to the hills

This is one of the better pathways

Heading up in the vicious wind and rain

A good motto to strive for

Spectacular views

We are heading up to the top of the hill to the left.  Does not look bad from this angle but trust me looks are deceiving.

Tricky bits of pathway

And we keep going up

With a sigh of relief we were over the top and on the way down

Countless waterfalls and many creeks to cross over.  Every night one has to spend time drying out the inside of wet boots.

Friendly sheep all over the hills gave me an excuse to stop and catch my breath.

One has to watch every step as he rocks are slick and unstable.

More than we bargained for but what a sense of accomplishment 

Thank God for the occasional bridge so one does not have to figure how to get across that body of water.

Farmers stone house built in the last century.

Multitude of sheep on the hillside with a lovely stone wall and bridge in fore ground.

I hold hope that the walk will level out some as we leave the Lake District and that each day will be a little easier but only time will tell.