Sixth Walk Day - Grisedale (Patterdale) to Bampton Grange

At breakfast our hostess, Christine , told us about an alternative route for the day.  Instead of 12 miles climbing to 2500 ft at Kidstey Pike and descending on the steepest trail on the C2C, the alternate route involved an 8 miles journey on a lake steamer along Ulswater (widely thought to be the most beautiful of the lakes) and then an 8 mile walk with a moderate ascent to about 1000 ft.  Guess which one we chose!  Alfred Wainwright would have approved, as he stated in his book "make your own path".

Our passage on the steamer "Raven" provided a welcome opportunity to survey the Lake Land without extensive effort.  The beauty of lake was revealed eloquently in our journey.

The path from the steamer dock at Howtown rose gradually along the shoulder of the mountains, with expansive views of Ulswater and the surrounding fells.  The weather was unsettled, but the rain held off and we were mostly dry - although we did spot a rainbow (look carefully at the photo below).  There were many small sailboats on the lake enjoying a brisk breeze, adding to the overall ambiance.  We again played "leapfrog" with our trio of new friends (Nick, Judy and Barry) until reaching the "cockpit", an ancient stone circle. Joe tried playing Druid, to no effect.

We left the Lakeland National Park at about this point.  While we appreciated the challenges and experiences, we were not saddened by this departure.  We can rightfully claim that we did not get lost even once - of course, there is always tomorrow.

After much discussion, our trio diverged to the high road, while we took the low road, singing "we'll get to Scotland before ye...."  Although we did not get to Scotland, we did beat our trio to the next junction.  We got a taste of future days, with vistas of much gentler hills, stone walls, and pastureland.

A Cumbrian road sign - red squirrels are endangered here!

We stopped for lunch in a sheepfold, leaning against one of the ubiquitous stone walls.  An hour later we arrived at the Crown and Mitre in Bampton Grange, with plenty of time for a pint and a rest.