Day 5 - Scafell Pike

Memories are strange things. They can become distorted with time. For example, I remember trips to the lake district as great adventures under cloud-free blue skies and amazing views. Im sure there were horrible rainy days on that trip, but I cannot recall them. Today, however, is one horrible rainy day in the Lake District I will always remember.

The rain eases and we head towards Great Langdale

We checked the weather forecast the night before and found that a cloudy but dry day would await us in the morning. This optimism didnt last long though as we woke up at 7 to persistent drizzle. No matter, we thought, we only have a couple of hours of cycling to the next campsite and it's beginning to stop. It didnt. The next hour was spent climbing hill after hill in heavy rain. We were soaked again, but this time there seemed to be no end to the shower in sight.


Pulling in to a pub for a hot drink and some sneaky breakfast we checked the new forecast: Today: rain. Tomorrow: rain. Tuesday: rain. Sitting there, dejected, we seriously considered throwing in the towel. We could not cycle another mile in that downpour let alone another 450km. Had we really expected anything different from the UK?

But, as we planned for the worst the weather improved. Maybe, just maybe we would make it to our campsite and climb Englands highest mountain today as planned. Despite more drizzle the route to our campsite was a beautiful one and our spirits began to lift. And by the time we had arrived, put the tent up and had some lunch we had decided to go for it.

Setting off for Scafell Pike

The highest peaks of the Lake District were shrouded in cloud as we set off and we knew not to expect good weather on top. The 9km hike to the summit was split into two. The first section steeply climbed out of the Langdale valley up to a more gentle plateau. In the latter section we rose up inside the cloud over a labyrinth of razor-sharp rocks and false-summits. Up there all we saw beyond 10m away was a white wall of cloud. Other hikers occasionally emerged from the mist, but it really felt.like.we we were alone. Even with a detailed OS map and compass we were lucky to find the summit.

Unlike on Snowdon, there was no nice view from the top and the strong winds and frequent rain meant taking pictures was dangerous. It was also already 5pm by the time we reached the summit, and we needed to be down by 7.45 to watch the football.

The whited-out view from the top

Fuelled by chocoloate digestives and Sainsbury's midget gems we headed back down the scree slopes. After 6 hours of hiking we reached our bikes and, with shaking legs and tired heads, found the Dungeon Ghyll pub. After such a long day we definitely felt we deserved a hot meal, cold pint and proper sit down!

The forecast for tomorrow and our aching legs mean we will probably be taking an unscheduled rest day tomorrow and will attempt to reach the Scottish border by Tuesday evening. Weather permitting we will make Fort William (and Ben Nevis) by Saturday.

Stats:
Distance: 35km cycled, 21km walked.
Total distance: 353km
Average Speed: 16kph

Day 4 - Preston to the Lake District

# Lack of Orange 3G signal means this wasnt published until Sunday night. Apologies. #

The days route complete with an uber-hilly last 25km 

Some touring cyclists might say that taking a train to avoid a 25km round-trip is cheating. We, however, see it as just... opportunistic.

The morning was spent dodging rain showers as we moved up through Preston and followed the M6. A similar route is taken by Lands End to John O'Groats cyclists, a few of which we passed and met on Lancashire's back-streets. Im not saying theres such a thing as tour-envy, but LE-JOG is certainly more impressive than our route.

The incriminating train journey took place just north of Lancaster, where we had stopped for a late lunch and met up with Vicky, probably the only person we know living on our long route to Scotland. Having set off along back roads northwards we noticed that the route to the southern tip of the lake district needed a huge detour inland around a wide estuary. The local train, however, took a serious short-cut and hopped across the river in 10 minutes. Without much deliberation we decided to pay the £1.20 and enter Cumbria in style.

The sunny view from Arnside Station towards the 23km round trip we avoided.

Sometimes opinions of things can change extremely rapidly. Take my thoughts on Cumbria today, for example. We had just arrived in Grange-by-Sands, a busy and picturesque sort of place stuck between a steep hillside and the sea. Maybe it was the sun on the well-kept trees and bushes, maybe it was the bustling streets, but whatever it was - I liked the feeling of the place. Cumbria, I decided, was my kind of county. Fifteen minutes of jelly-legged, 15-percent-gradient hill-climbing later the honeymoon period was over and I was hurling abuse at the place. Steep hills definitely aren't a cyclists best friend.

The final hour of cycling was spent getting lost in Cumbrias rolling hills. The great thing about getting lost while cycling in england is that all it takes in a 20 second glance at google maps and you're back on your way again. We finally struggled up a long dirt track to our campsite of choice and, having paid, found a slug-filled empty field with a metal shipping container for a toilet block. Exchanging nervous glances we explored the loo block and found the nicest (and free-est) hot showers we have encountered thus far. I guess, with toilets and counties alike, first impressions arent always insightful.

Tomorrow we cycle 30km to our campsite in the langdale valley and spend the next 6 hours climbing England's highest point - Scafell Pike.

Stats:
Distance: 104km
Total Distance: 320km
Average speed: 18.5kph

Rain score: 2/10.
Cumbrian slugs squished: 23.