Saturday, April 28, 2012

Day Four - Patterdale to Shap - 27 April

Time Departed: 8.45am Time Arrived: 6.30pm Distance: 26.5kms Percentage Completed: 31% Weather: Sunny and chilly Accommodation: New Ing Lodge What a difference a day makes! We woke to a sunny, chilly day with a maximum of 9 and we only had to complete one summit today, Kidsty Pike. It is the highest point on the Coast to Coast walk at 780 metres. The path was much easier as it wasn’t so stony and there wasn’t flowing water running through it. The path quickly rose out of Patterdale and as we climbed higher we started to have stunning views over the village, the nearby Ullswater Lake and the surrounding mountains.
We could see Helvelyn in the distance and it had quite a few snow patches on its ridge. This confirmed for us that we had made the right decision and not attempted to climb it the day before. At ten thirty we took a break at Angle Tarn and had morning tea overlooking the very dark lake. We had a packed lunch from our B&B and as they were different I horse-traded my biscuits for chips from Neil.
Food becomes very important for walkers! Numerous walkers passed us while we sat in the sun and many were also undertaking the Coast to Coast walk. When we started again the path sat high above the tarn and we had stunning views over it and the surrounding mountains. The path became steeper as we neared the summit. We stepped over a stone plaque on the path which was in memory of a Dave Roberts and was partly covered with water and mud. We wondered what Dave would have died from and decided probably a heart attack! Before we reached the summit of Kidsty Pike we came upon the High Street Roman Road which is a legendry highway linking Penrith to the north with Ambleside.
Many walkers make the mistake of continuing up the Roman Road rather than taking a sharp left turn at a cairn to walk along the ridge that leads to the summit.
It is said that Mardale shepherds met on the Roman Road to reclaim sheep and once this was done horse racing would take place. We wondered how they would have got the horses up the incline. When we reached the top it was twelve thirty and we had lunch overlooking the Haweswater which was converted into a reservoir sixty years ago.
The village of Mardale was lost to the reservoir and in drought thousands of people come looking for the lost village. We were very fortunate to have a sunny day and we could see for miles. Ron pointed out Cross Fells to the north east and it had snow across its top. We walked across this three years ago on a very cold, windy day. The descent from the summit was very steep and took us straight down to Haweswater. There were some considerable rocky outcrops we had to get through.
I had told the team that it was all flat walking once we got to the bottom but my recollection was completely wrong. There was quite a bit of up and down as the path followed the edge of lake. We had afternoon tea at three thirty. Ron and Chris stayed longer and Henk, Neil and I pressed on as we were getting cold. The remainder of the walk was around the end of the reservoir and across undulating farming land.
We passed Shap Abbey on the way but as it was getting late we kept on walking. It’s very close to Shap and we may revisit it tomorrow before setting off to Orton. Our B&B was at the end of the road on which we had been walking and we walked straight into it.
Last orders for dinner was six thirty and we made it in time. Ron and Chris arrived at seven thirty and after a thirst-quenching beer went off to the pub for dinner. The B&B was formerly a working farm and is run by two young enterprising brothers with lots of energy who obviously love the outdoors and walking. It was a good place to stay.

No comments:

Post a Comment