Cumbria Way 2

Day Two

Day two arrived and surprisingly, I felt ok. I ate breakfast and chatted to another Cumbria Way walker. I say Cumbria Way but he had in fact set off from Dunbar and planned to end up in Ulverston. 

It was a lovely sunny set off, out of the village and then up through the lanes. Pleasingly half the route is laid before you as you see the path winding its way up High Pike. 

 

I enjoy a climb, probably more without the big rucksack. It’s always a joy to get to the top but I’m not always that convinced of that half way up. I decided that the distant ‘pile of stones’ as the map has it, would be the place for lunch and pressed on.  Reaching the top there was a sudden crowd. A man with his lunch on the bench. A couple hiding at the other side of the cairn. A mum and son pair celebrating his first climb. The mountain biker I passed earlier about to begin his descent. I sat and ate as they all moved on then set off down the other side by myself. 

You’d imagine that the descent would have been a speedy affair. It was at first, so much so that I stopped at the bothy for a little break so that I didn’t arrive at the youth hostel too early. After that the path - and we use the world loosely - follows a stream through a bog. It was a very slow couple of miles.

The final third of the journey was a meandering three mile walk through the valley.  A bird spotters paradise I’d assume from the number of species that I didn’t recognise. 

I arrived at the hostel just as I’d planned, just as they opened, to a warm and cheerful welcome. 

Skiddaw House is a simple but charming affair. Heat is provided by a log fire so the dorms are unheated. The duvets are lovely and fluffy and hot water bottles are provided.

The Youth Hostel is off grid. I spent the evening with my book in front of the range listening to the group of women also staying - all seasoned walkers - chat about their adventures.  Most seemed to consist of the horrors of young people today and their attitude to the fells. Although I share many of their sentiments and am fully laden with all necessary safety considerations I feel sure they would be horrified to hear that my main means of navigation is a range of OS map - safely downloaded onto my phone.