A lovely morning greeted me at Dungeon Ghyll – so lovely,
indeed, that several people were having breakfast outside. As delightful as the
morning was, it wasn’t a southern Utah morning, so I opted to eat indoors. Still,
I faced a quandary: do I enjoy a leisurely breakfast or get outside and start
walking on such a perfect morning. Walking won.
As I joined the Cumbria Way, sunshine reflected off the high
peaks to my left – peaks on which I had been walking three weeks ago with guide
Ian Carter, when we looked down upon Dungeon Ghyll from the ridge near Stickle
Tarn. The Cumbria Way follows Langdale Beck to the pretty village of Elterwater,
where the path assumes a park-like setting with manicured trees, benches,
families, dog walkers and picnickers (even though it was still morning).
Beyond Elterwater, the path became less populated and
resumed the typical footpath characteristic – a narrow path with only a few
serious walkers. Surprisingly, two of those walkers were Etty and Mieke, from
the Netherlands, whom I had met at the B&B in Caldbeck, so many days ago.
They’ve been walking in the Lake District since I first met them, and just happened
to be on the same footpath as I was today. Tomorrow they return home.
The lovely day grew progressively overcast, until light
sprinkles started to fall – enough for me to put the waterproof cover on my
backpaci, but still walk in my T-shirt. As I walked through Coniston to my
hotel, the sprinkles were growing heavier, and by the time I had checked into
my room and decided to run a few errands, a steady rainfall had commenced. I
would have been caught in it had I not foregone the leisurely breakfast.
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| Tarn Hows |
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| First view of Coniston Water |
