On Wednesday, Mary, Andreas, and Patty dropped me off at the Blencathra Field Study Center, my starting point for a hike up to Blencathra, the 14th highest peak in England. While I was gone, Patty, Andreas and Mary drove over to a lake called Ullswater and hiked up a stream called Aira Beck to see the waterfalls called Aira Force, High Force, and High Cascades. Later, we would go to Grasmere, where we toured the shops, including the Gingerbread Shop. From there, Patty and I hiked our way back to Ambleside along the Coffin Road. That evening, we had dinner at Zeffirelli’s in Ambleside, followed by a walk around town.
Photo Notes:
On my hike, this was the view looking west from Scales Fell (2000 ft), on the eastern slope of Blencathra (2848 ft, on right, also called Saddleback). The body of water in the distance is a lake called Derwent Water. The town of Keswick (pronounced ‘Kessick’), at its northern end, is obscured by the ridge. The mountains on the other side of Derwent Water include Cat Bells, which I climbed on Day 12. The town on the valley floor is Threlkeld.
I climbed 2.3 miles up Blencathra from the Blencathra Field Study Center (1043 ft), to Blease Fell (2641 ft), and then to the peak of Blencathra (2848 ft) in 2hours, totaling 1805 ft of ascent. I returned via the path down to Scales Fell (2000 ft), and then on to the White Horse Inn in Scales (760 ft). The total hike was 4.7 miles in just under 4 hours.