Day 7 - Keswick

Distance Walked: 15km, Actual Time Taken: 4 h 37m, Estimated Time Taken: 4h 30m
Ascent: 841m, Descent: 845m, # Times Lost: 0
Beer: 1/2 pint Singha beer

I thought about getting the bus back to Buttermere and then walking to Keswick the way I was supposed to yesterday.  However, that was as a 22.5km trek with a lot of climbing and descending, estimated to take 7 hours of walking, never mind the time taken to catch your breath - sorry, admire the view, or stop for a drink or some lunch.  The earliest bus wouldn't get me to Buttermere in time.  I briefly considered doing the walk in reverse, but decided the combination of blisters and new boots meant that wasn't smart either.  I ended up settling on a shorter, easier circular route.  Note, the time given is only the walking time, not the total time.  It actually took me in closer to 6 hours in total.

There is a u-shaped ridge linking a series of peaks between Buttermere and Keswick, with the two towns at the ends of the U.  The original plan had been to walk the entire length.  Today I was sensible(-ish) and climbed up the Keswick end of the U, walked the ridge linking Cat Bells, Maiden Moor and High Spy to the base of the U and then dropped down into Newlands valley between the two arms and back along the flat of the valley floor to Keswick.

When I say back to Keswick, I'm leaving aside the fact that the start of this walk was 3 miles out of town.  I took the bus there and back - more sense on my  part.  I had originally planned to ask the bus driver to let me know when we got to my stop, but when I saw how all the other passengers on the bus were dressed and what they were carrying, I didn't bother.  I assumed about 2/3rds of the bus would be getting off at my stop.  In the end, it was only me.  Fortunately, the bus driver told me when we got to my stop without me having to ask.  This was helpful as we had been slightly delayed getting there by a flock of grouse (!) blocking the road so I wasn't sure if it was the right stop.

At the start of the climb was a sign saying Cat Bells 1 mile, 1 hour.  The climb was steep, with a nasty bit where you had to scramble up using your hands, but it only took me 1/2 an hour to get to the top.  I was feeling very smug.  Until I realised I'd only got to the top of Skegill Bank and the peak of Cat Bells was still ahead.  It really did take an hour to get to the top.  Below is a photo from the actual top looking towards the first, halfway peak that I climbed with such smugness.

The tramp along the ridge joining Cat Bells to Maiden Moor and High Spy was spectacular.  The views were amazing and the walking was easy, after the climb up to Maiden Moor.  Then came the descent into Newlands valley which was not nice at all.  There was no clear path, instead it was mostly scrambling down wet, slippery rocks.  Newlands Beck did produce a lovely waterfall but my knees were not at all happy.  The descent took about as long as the climb to Cat Bells (the blip at the 2km mark).   I was so happy to get to level ground.

I ended up getting back to the starting point (bus stop) at about 10 to 4.  There was a bus at 4pm and a launch across the lake at 4:40pm.  I did think that given I was in the Lake District I should spend some time on the lakes, not just up on the fells, but I couldn't be bothered waiting that long, so I just took the bus.

For dinner I ended up at the Asaya Thai restaurant.  My first two choices were booked out, my third choice had gone out of business, and when I walked past two others I was considering I could see they didn't have any free tables either.  This Thai place was largely empty which was a worry but the food was Harmless.  In fact, it reminded me of home as I was able to have dishes I've had plenty of times back home in Australia.  I started with fish cakes, then had stir fry pork with basil and chilli.   Lots of chilli.  Perhaps that is why it was not popular.  They use the right amount of chilli in their food, not the white amount.  For dessert I had the not at all Thai dish of baked blueberry cheesecake with a layer of lemon curd - delicious.

Below is a picture of my stylish new boots, which are also comfortable!