Castlerigg

Another weekend and another adventure in our campervan. It was our longest weekend away as we stayed at Castlerigg Hall campsite Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. We also tried out our new posh inflatable tent awning, which amazingly stayed up through the winds of storm Kathleen.

Castlerigg Hall campsite was very friendly with immaculate toilets and showers. Definitely a popular spot, with views across Derwentwater and onto Catbells. The Catbells light festival was the main reason for our trip. Unfortunately, it was cancelled due to the storm, which was the right decision. It has been rescheduled for the summer and we’ve booked a spot at Castlerigg Farm campsite, as Castlerigg Hall campsite was already fully booked.

Anyway, Friday morning the weather was mostly rain free, so we walked into Keswick. Gordon wanted to make friends with some cows.

Keswick wasn’t too busy, but with a break in the weather we opted to walk up to the top of the nearest Wainwright, namely Latrigg, one of the smaller fells. Being an idiot, I mapped the shortest route to the top, which appeared to be almost vertical. The view from the top wasn’t too bad, as we were just below the clouds.

We took the easier route back down, sensibly, returning to the campsite to dry off. The campsite had a mobile pizza van on a Friday night, which was a good alternative to cooking. That evening was wild in the van, with the wind and rain howling. We survived, albeit with very little sleep. The people in the campervan nearest to us had decided to take down their awning, we probably should have done the same as we had to dry it out when we were home.

Saturday morning was dry and sunny. The forecast wasn’t great. However, it was pleasant enough for me to run into Keswick to join in with Keswick parkrun, which was celebrating their tenth anniversary. The run director also mentioned that the previous weekend, Easter Saturday, there had been over 500 runners and walkers. Hats off the volunteers. My advice would be to avoid the Lake District at Easter, if you can.

After a shower the three of us returned to Keswick, which was far busier. We bought some snacks for Gordon and had a coffee and cake in a very pleasant little dog friendly cafe. Gordon was too friendly and far too excited, so we sat outside, just as it started raining.

That evening, the weather was even wilder, if possible. The funny thing was that down in Keswick you wouldn’t have known that there was a storm at all it was so calm. After another restless night worrying if the whole van was going to blow away, we packed up and headed home.

This was our first three nighter and once again we learned a lot. We learned that we needed better tent pegs to hammer the awning into the hard standing pitch. We also learnt that the awning wasn’t too difficult to put up or take down, even in the wind, although we will probably won’t use it every time.

Here’s to our next weekend away, wherever it is.

Catbells

Catbells in the lake district is my lovely wife’s favourite fell. We first went there together 18 months ago (read about it here) and it was about time that we climbed it again.

We stayed at the brilliant Mary Mount hotel on the shores of Derwentwater, in the shadows of Catbells. After a hearty breakfast, including a sausage for Nelly, we set off directly from the hotel, stopping off briefly to look at the frozen Lodore Falls, which were a little disappointing. From there we found the lake perimeter footpath, walking around the southern tip of the lake. We then started to climb, crossing a small road and taking a footpath along the lower section of the fell.

We continued along the lower slopes of the fell before turning west and heading up. From experience there are a couple of places where you need to scramble, often on all fours. It can be difficult to select the best route, so I would scout ahead and then suggest the best route to Helen and Nelly. Catbells is also made up of a lower hill with a saddleback before the tougher climb up to the summit.

The photo above indicates that we were blessed with amazing weather once again. In the distance is the main summit, which looks far harder than it actually is.

At the top the trig point has been replaced with a stone plinth with details of every fell and hill that can be seen on a clear day. We could see every one of them.

The previous evening we’d looked at the Garmin route that I had plotted, and we were worried that the route back down would be incredibly steep and treacherous. However, after a quick Google search most people stated that the route we were on was the best one.

From the top of Catbells we continued towards Maiden Moor. To climb that particular fell would be a long day as there isn’t a short route back to the hotel. We’ll save that for another day. Instead, we headed down on a steep but safe set of steps, which was far easier than the scramble up the other side.

Once we reached the bottom we had a gentle and flat walk back to the hotel. Less climbing than the previous days walk up High Seat (read about it here), but slightly longer.

Feeling fit and healthy, we had a quick brew at the hotel before driving into Keswick for a look around. We found a dog friendly café and had yet another brew and cake. As far as I can tell, all cafes and pubs in Keswick are dog friendly. I then bought a couple of half bottles of rum to enjoy over Christmas, if they last until then.

Another brilliant day in the lakes.