Thursday 21 June 2012 - Shap to Burneside

After a still night, light rain started shortly before the tent came down. It rained all day, so the phone was stashed after snapping Obi (above - pitched better than it looks!).

Thanks for your comments, Alan and Gibson. The media card is working again - I must have knocked it when changing the battery. Good to hear from you Norma, and Gibson - you will be pleased that we've seen off some of this summer's wet weather before you venture in this direction.

After seeing a dozen or so folk on the fells on Tuesday, and a crocodile of over a hundred on the C2C path yesterday, I saw just two other walkers today, ascending steeply into the mist on my last hill of the day, Great Howe. Before that I'd spent some time extricating myself from the environs of Shap, which is a very long village surrounded by an intricate network of footpaths.

Wet Sleddale had lived up to its name as I rose up to the (sadly locked) Lunch House, where signs indicated that I was welcome so long as I used the footpaths. There were no footpaths so far as I could see. Which was only a few metres, so the footpath police would have struggled to see me breaking the rules. At least the sign wasn't as threatening as the one in Patterdale threatening to shoot dogs, and do untold damage to cyclists bold enough to venture onto a particular footpath. Not all farmers are uncaring though - on yesterday's approach to Shap we found a bucket of cold drinks and a large slab of ice, courtesy of the local friendly farmer. Good value for a pound, but where were the ice creams?

Anyway, today's soaking wet walk involved intricate navigation through deep bogs and over peat hags, eventually reaching the stupendous summit of Sleddale Pike. Well, it may have been stupendous if you could have seen much. I was soon on a roll and the mighty peaks of Wasdale Pike, Great Saddle Crag, Harrop Pike and Grey Crag all saw my soggy boot prints before the final descent from Great Howe and the long but satisfying walk along footpaths and bridleways to Burneside from Sadgill.

A quick train journey to Silverdale followed, for the next action packed episode, for which you'll have to wait as there's not time at present to do stuff and write very much.

Hiya Gayle - good to hear from you, and yes the cuckoos have been in good voice in the Lakes this week.

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