River Derwent

From the carpark we headed off towards the River Derwent. Not surprisingly, the river's water was running well over the stepping stones and we had to make the short  detour downstream to cross by the stone  bridge. We made our way back upstream along the bank of the river and reached  the Youth Hostel. A few people were walking about between the buildings, the tents and the glamping pods. This was the first time that I'd been on the path beyond the youth hostel and was surprised to find an easy scrambly section. There were even some chain handrail along the rocks at one point although this was probably a tad over the top. We crossed the river at Folly Bridge and crossed the B5289 to start our ascent up to Glaramara. The skies seemed even darker and I'm sure that I felt some spits of rain.

Thornythwaite Fell

As we made our way up the path towards The Combe, the weather  did indeed close in and it started to rain. We put our waterproofs on. No sooner had we got them on, then the sun appeared. It was a slow plod up to the ridge line to Thornythwaite Fell. The snow was soft and this made our route very slippery on the grassy sections. On reaching the ridge, we were rewarded with a wonderful view into the Seathwaite valley. We attached studs and spikes to our boots in a half-hearted attempt to get more grip in the slippery conditions. They didn't help. I could see that with this rate of progress we'd never be able to complete my proposed walk. I suggested that we should make our way back down into the valley and have a rethink. The Cabin Boy and the Kapitan didn't object. We didn't quite reach the summit of Thornythwaite Fell, although we weren't far off. At one point, the Cabin Boy decided to slide down on her backside on one particular steep section. 'Watch me' shouted the Kapitan and he hollered for me to film him. Dutifully I took out my camera and took a video of him sliding down the hillside. As he got up he was muttering. He'd broken the waist buckle on his rucksack and created a 10 inch rip in his gortex overtrousers. I'm sure the £250 he'll get from You've Been Framed will just about cover the damage caused.

Stonethwaite

Back at the bottom of the valley, I proposed that we should make our way to Stonethwaite and then take a wander along the Langstrath valley. The Cabin Boy and the Kapitan had never heard of these places and so they were in no position to disagree. They nodded dumbly in agreement. A little road walking and a field hop brought us to the quaint little Stonethwaite church. Despite it being Sunday, there wasn't a service, and we sat at some benches in the churchyard to have our lunch.

We headed off along the road into the tiny village of Stonethwaite. No sooner had we entered it, then we headed out on the other side. Our path followed Stonethwaite Beck and offered wonderful views. The fearsome Eagle Crag dominated the valley ahead of us. Just before we reached the junction with Langstrath Beck, we met about 20 women coming along the path in the opposite direction. Most of them were wearing the long gowns favoured by wild water swimmers. They placed some towels down on the ground above the river and looked like they were going to have a picnic rather than a swim.

Langstrath

We headed off up the Langstrath valley on its western side. There were wonderful views of the ramparts of Eagle Crag and Sergeant's Crag across the valley. They look unassailable from this side. A farmer gradually approached us on his ATV from up the valley. His Border Collie was working hard to round up some sheep on the hillside above us. The sun was out now and it was quite warm as we plodded our way up the valley. We went as far as Blackmoss Pot where the beck narrows into a very impressive gorge with waterfalls and pools. I think the better view is from the other bank (see Leap Day On High Raise), but the footbridges across are quite a distance from this point. The Kapitan scrambled down the ravine rocks to try and get a better view and I wondered whether he wanted me to film his manoeuvre for another You've Been Framed submission. Time was progressing and so we decided this would be our turnaround point for our exploration of the Langstrath valley. 

Return To Rosthwaite

Back below Eagle Crag we crossed Langstrath Beck to the east side using the footbridge. We then carried on to where the beck joins Greenup Gill and used that footbridge to get on to the Coast To Coast path that leads to Rosthwaite. It was hot and sunny now and the rain, snow and grey clouds from this morning seemed like a distant memory. It felt almost like a summer's day. We trundled down the valley passing Stonethwaite on the other side of the river. 

'Where have you come from?' Two young woman were walking a German Shepherd in the opposite direction. As usual when somebody asks for assistance, the Cabin Boy and the Kapitan took a step backwards and hid behind me. Where have I come from? It was a bit of an open question. I wondered if I should start with my humble upbringing in a mining town, and my limited, subsistence career. Or maybe they were only after our route for the day: 'Rosthwaite, Thornythwaite Fell, Blackmoss Pot, Langstrath.' In the end I just settled for 'From up the valley' and I pointed back up the valley. They seemed disappointed with this and so I added '...beyond Stonethwaite.' At the mention of Stonethwaite they looked relieved; it was obviously their intended destination. 'Just continue along this track and in 15 minutes take the stone bridge over the river to the houses on the other side of the valley.' I needn't have wasted my time giving them directions; the two women and dog had disappeared long before I'd taken breath to start the sentence. 'Why do I bother?' I wondered.

It had been a wonderful walk, helped by the sun and blue skies in the afternoon. It was a good job that we'd had to turn back from my original plan of traversing Glaramara and Allan Crags, since to have continued would have definitely resulted in an epic. The Cabin Boy and the Kapitan seemed happy, which is always the main thing.