Day Two - Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite

Time Departed: 9.50am Time Arrived: 6.30pm Distance: 23.5 kms Percentage Completed: 14.7% Weather: Overcast at first, driving rain, some sleet, cold Accommodation: Gillercombe B&B. When we arrived at our B&B at the late hour of six thirty our B&B lady said, “Where have you been? I expected you hours ago.” It was a very challenging day. We set out later than planned as Ron and Chris had to walk two kilometres from their B&B to join us at Ennerdale Bridge and they were sidelined on the way trying to rescue a lamb which had wandered out of its paddock. The lamb wouldn’t cooperate and they had to leave it. We walked a few kilometres from Ennerdale Bridge to Ennerdale Water along a tarmac road and we were immediately hit with a strong headwind which stayed with us for the entire length of the lake. It took us about an hour an a half to walk the five kilometres along the edge. The walking was slow with the strong headwind and the path was mostly stony which made for difficult walking. The views over the lake and the upcoming mountains were lovely. We could see that the weather was not looking good. We had early lunch at the end of the lake eating the goodies put together by the Fox and Hound at Ennerdale Bridge.

When we started walking again we had only gone a short distance and realised that the time had come to don our wet weather gear. The path took us through Ennerdale Forest and alongside River Liza. The further we walked up the valley the worse the weather became.

By the time we reached the YHA Hut, Black Sail which was a former shepherd’s bothy we were ready for a break from the weather. There was no-one at the hut however instructions told us we could make a cup of tea or coffee and pay through their honour system.

We spent an hour at the hut warming up and it was a welcome reprieve from the weather and a chance to gather our strength. When we left the hut to start climbing Moses’ Trod it was particularly gloomy with strong winds and some rain. The climb up Moses’ Trod took some effort as we were in our rain gear which hampers climbing. Moses’ Trod climbs steeply to 610 metres over distance of one kilometre.

The surrounding mountains shielded us from the nasty weather whilst we climbed over many rocks but when we hit the summit the rain and wind came in full fury and we walked straight into it. We could barely see Buttermere Valley which was a pity. It was very difficult to walk. The rain stung our faces and we all kept our heads down trying to avoid the stinging rain. At some stage it started to sleet and the temperature dropped even further. When we reached Honister Pass the weather grew particularly nasty with very strong winds. We were keen to get off the mountain and headed down towards Borrowdale which is apparently one of the wettest areas of England. We were very pleased to get to our accommodation. Our B&B lady was an experienced older walker and she was set up for walkers with hooks for drying our gear. It took us no time at all to shower and change and meet up with Ron and Chris at the cosy Scarfell Pub. They stayed at the YHA close by to us. The pub was packed with many walkers.