Myself and Jimmy were already dressed for the walk. I was trying out my new Brasher AT20's and Jimmy had on his running shoes. Sarah decided to put on her new Merrill's straight from the box, I did not think this was wise as I had been wearing my Brashers in for a few weeks. John put on his new base layer and all this took some time. Me and Jimmy had a wander over the road from our parking space and found one of those forestry commission tracks. We waited there until John and Sarah were ready and then set off along the track until we reached a stile that marked the start of the path up towards The Edge. The path from the stile headed straight up and within a few steps the calf muscles were screaming at us, well me and Sarah admitted that ours were! We were following an elderly gent upwards but he soon stopped to let us pass. I would have welcomed a stop here as well because it was one of the steepest starts to any walk that we have yet done! John and Jimmy had no intention of stopping and I soon realized that they would be setting a fast pace. I'm sure it felt normal to them but to me it was too fast.

Above the woods that surround the Ravenstone Hotel we stopped on another forestry commission track for Sarah to sort out her shoes. I new they would cause problems but Sarah only wanted to adjust her socks, she was adamant that they were fine. John also took the opportunity to remove his new base layer and replace it with a sleeveless T Shirt. So much for the breathability of his base layer! But then again it was quite warm! We made our way up a great path that led away from Ullock Pike. Although it was going in the wrong direction it did lead towards The Edge and there we would gain the ridge that led up to Ullock Pike. Again I found it hard work to keep up with the pace and consoled myself by going into solitary fell walking mode again! At a point where the path turned towards the ridge the others were waiting for me and I decided that a sit down, a quick drink and some nicotine was needed! This lasted until the elderly gent came into view and with him catching us up John decided it was time to go. The fact that I was mid coffee and smoke break did not seem to matter to him. Oh well!

We soon reached the ridge and turned upwards to follow the great path that led up it. For the first time the summit of Ullock Pike came into view and I told Jimmy that it was only the first of many today. Apparently Jimmy has a sort of fear of heights, as well as spiders. John was making the most of this as he warned Jimmy about the sort of creatures that can be found high up in the mountains! I am still not sure if Jimmy believed John but he did have a worried look on his face!

Again I was left behind as I stopped to take the odd photo. It was a nice warm day and we were sweating a bit (well I was!) with all this steep walking so the breeze that appeared once we were on the ridge was most welcome. Again I found myself in solitary fell walking mode as Sarah tried her best to keep up with John and Jimmy. Once the distance between us reached a certain point I stopped to look around and take a few more photos looking back. It gave me an excuse and from then on I just walked up at my own pace (I am so predictable now!)

Behind me around the area of Watches I noticed something strange. I could just make out someone getting ready to go Paragliding. Before I knew it the pilot, I think that is the right word, was in the air and trying to find a thermal to gain height with. At first he did not seem to have much luck but soon started to cross over the ridge one way and then another gaining height all the time, what a way to travel! By now Sarah had been left behind and I tried to catch up with her. At this point the path started to do the odd zig and zag instead of the usual straight up the ridge , so I thought I was catching Sarah only to see her disappear around another bend! This got me back into slow mode again and I kept thinking to myself that I was the only one actually enjoying the views every time I stopped to look around!

At the end of one rather steep section I rounded a corner to see everyone waiting for me. I decided it was time for another drink and gratefully sank to the ground. John decided that it was time to change into his shorts now so he disappeared for a bit and returned with his shorts on. Yet again this break was interrupted by John who noticed the elderly gent catching us up again! I decide that I needed to finish my drink this time and carried on with it while the others set off upwards again! The elderly gent came up to me and with a smile on his face said something about the story of the hare and the rabbit being true! I had a few suitable replies in my head for him but I must admit that he was right, I saw the look on his face, he looked just as worn out as me but he still managed a smile, I think I had to agree with him!

I decided that I needed to catch up with the people that I was supposed to be walking with and set off after them. I knew that I was walking too quickly for myself and after I had put enough distance between myself and the elderly gent I stopped to take a photo looking towards Skiddaw. I have done this walk once before and look back at it with feelings of a great ridge walk. I was finding it harder than I remembered (my age once again!) but one thing that is still the same is the view over to Skiddaw. It looks huge! It is just a big mountain from here. From the ridge I could look down over Basenthwaite and think that I was high up, then I could look over to Skiddaw and fell like I was really low down. Skiddaw is a massive mountain when viewed from here!

The view was very impressive from here. The ridge from Ullock Pike to Long Side and Carlside was visible, coupled with the sight of Skiddaw was what walking in the Lake District is all about. When done on a nice warm day like today with views all around, it was one of those special times. Yes I was finding it hard work, but I could not think of anywhere else I would rather be at the moment! Even though I was lagging behind the others I was really enjoying this walk.

With me in solitary mode again I just plodded on upwards at my own pace. Sarah could not keep up with John and Jimmy and I was way behind her. I had to smile at this because I admit that I walk slowly whilst Sarah tries her best to keep up, today she was losing the battle! The higher up the ridge we went the narrower it became. Towering in front was Ullock Pike and I started to think about how good this walk was. It must rank up there in the top ten, there is just something special about seeing a sharp pointy peak above you as you walk towards it! (I need to get out more I know!) This was great!

Above me I could see the others walk around a section of rock. This actually seemed to be the longer way so when I arrived there I decided to go straight up it, I thought that it would make me feel like I was doing a bit of scrambling. It was hardly worth it but when I came to the top of it the view forwards was well worth it. We were quite high up now and at last Long Side and Carl Side came into view. In fact the whole of the ridge could be seen, all the hard work had been done now and the way forwards just looked like a stroll.

Just a few more feet upwards and I caught up with the others waiting for me at the false summit. I think I surprised them all by just walking past them, I think John expected me to stop for a rest but when I walk at my pace I don't need one! All together again, I had the chance to chat with Jimmy. He was enjoying it, although I think he was wondering why I was so slow!

The summit of Ullock Pike was now in view and we headed off towards it. We passed a large group of people who were sat enjoying the views having a lunch break. Down below us to the right was Dodd. When I pointed it out to John he came out with a few derogatory comments about it, after all, it had been one of the few hills that we had bad weather on, in fact it was the worst weather we have ever had on any of these walks! I think it looked quite nice, most of the trees have been felled now and I started to wonder if the trees that have been recently felled were the ones that AW complained about back in 1961, or were they the next generation of trees, how long does a tree have to grow for before it is felled? Are we talking second, third or fourth generations of trees that have been grown on Dodd?

Soon we reached the summit of Ullock Pike. I had found this hard work but really enjoyable. We stopped for the usual photos and John had to explain to Jimmy what I was doing. Whilst I took the panorama another walker who I had seen chatting to the elderly gent that was following us came marching past us. What was unusual about this bloke was that he was accompanied by a few dogs. He actually had one on his shoulders whilst the other dogs followed behind him, perhaps they were taking it in turn! This caused quite a stir with John and Sarah, they always have a soft spot for dogs, and these were cute!

With all the photos taken we set off for Long Side. This little stretch of ridge known as The Edge or Longside Edge must be one of the best half miles in the whole of the Lake District. On either side is a great drop down, and you walk along one of the best ridges in the area. Long Side from Ullock Pike must also be one of the easiest “Wainwrights” to do. Jimmy seemed a bit confused as to why we had taken so long to do the first summit of the day and then just a few minutes away was another, don't worry mate I often have the same thoughts!

More photos, and John was itching to get off as the group of people that we had seen below the summit of Ullock Pike were approaching! As it was I had not finished taking the photos so we let them pass. What is it with John and crowds of people? He does not like to be amongst the crowds when we go walking, I must admit that I prefer to have the fells to ourselves, but on walks like this, especially in weather like this, we must expect crowds.

Once the crowd had passed us I took a few more photos to give then time to get a fair way in front. We then headed off towards Carl Side, the next summit. As I stopped to take some more photos the others soon raced ahead. I caught up with Sarah who had now come to realize that trying to keep up with John and Jimmy was a game she would never win!

We turned off the main path and started to follow a much smaller path towards Carl Side. The main path skirted Carl Side summit and headed towards Carl Side Col. As soon as we started to walk uphill again the gap between John and Jimmy and us increased. Me and Sarah chatted away about the pluses and minuses of trying to keep up with John and Jimmy and I felt like my case of going at your own pace prevailed, but then again I would say that wouldn't I ! I kept looking over towards Skiddaw, the path up from Carl Side Col became more noticeable and I must admit that it looked quite daunting! With Sarah having a few pains in her legs I was beginning to wonder if we would actually do it. I kept these thought to myself as I did not want to upset Sarah. I seem to remember saying that the path was one of those that looked much worse than it actually was!

Once I had taken all the usual photos from Carl Side summit I had a walk over to the other side of the path that comes up from Millbeck to have a look down into Slades Beck. This was an impressive sight. The summit area of Carl Side is flat and uninteresting but a few feet away is a fantastic view down the ridge to Carlseddam and down into Slades Beck. The reason that I wanted to have a look at this was because it was via Slades Beck that I had first done Skiddaw as part of the final expedition of my outward bound course in 1981. We had already walked from Ullswater and gone via Helvellyn and Scafell Pike and had been carrying all food and camping equipment for 3 days with us, it was hard work!

By now I realized that the others had set off towards Carl Side Col and the path up to Skiddaw. As it was slightly down hill I was able to catch them up by the time we reached the small tarn there. From here the path up to Skiddaw looked OK but as soon as we started walking up Sarah and me just started to lag behind. I think this path was seen as a challenge by John and Jimmy and soon we had difficulty picking them out from the crowds in the distance!

Sarah had to stop to make some adjustments to her footwear and I took the opportunity to change the card and battery in the camera and then take a few snaps. Looking back over the way we had walked just went to highlight what a great ridge walk it was, it looked really good!

This path up the shoulder of Skiddaw was tough on me and Sarah. I think that Sarah was suffering from trying to keep up with John and Jimmy before and she was finding it hard work, I was managing better than I thought I would! There is nothing special about the path, it is just a scrape in the loose slate that covers the shoulder, it just goes on and on at a steep and unrelenting angle. In fact I am sure it gets steeper the higher you go! Any breeze that we had before was gone and it was very warm, I am sure that we could see a heat haze above the side of the path, the heat was reflecting off the rock and made it feel even warmer!

With John and Jimmy no longer in sight we just kept plodding on upwards at a nice slow pace. We could see some people in front of us using hands as well as feet to get up the steeper section! I mentioned to Sarah that perhaps this path was as bad as it looked. She agreed whole heartedly! Because the path followed a convex slope, the higher we got the less we could see in front of us. It did get steeper but one good thing was the view back over to The Edge

Considering how bad Sarah felt I thought she was doing realy well up here, I think that I could have walked much quicker up here but felt that I needed to stay with Sarah as she seemed to be struggling. This got me all confused as I began to think why no one had a similar thought about me before! Sarah told me that John's reason for not stopping and waiting for me was that when I caught up with them I would want to stop as well, and that would take just too long, fair enough! Now I know that I will be in trouble with John again because he says that sometimes when I write these pages I always seem to have a go at him! I realize that I cannot keep up with John most of the time and I accept that, in fact I am glad when he looks on a section of a walk that challenges him and he leaves me behind. He enjoys the challenge of getting somewhere quickly whilst I like to take my time and go at my own pace. As far as I am concerned there is no problem at all, we are both enjoying doing the same thing at the same time, only I do it slower! (I'm just jealous, that's all!)

Having thoughts like that whilst walking up a path like the one we were on has only one conclusion, you reach the top before you know it! For the last half hour or so we had been mostly looking at the path in front of us, it was that steep that there was nothing else in sight. Gradually the gradient eased and we could see more sky. This made us feel much better and every pace we took was easier than the last. This gave us the opportunity to catch our breath and look more like we were enjoying ourselves! Within a few steps we could see over the top and down the other side, the feeling that it gives when this happens is great. Sweat and tired leg muscles and nothing to see but a steep path in front of you changing to broad views that seem to go on and on for miles and that feeling of reaching the top of something are special. In a sadistic sort of way this is one of the best things about walking up hills!

The gradient continued to ease and we soon reached a wind shelter were John and Jimmy waited for us. I felt great, Sarah was relieved and John and Jimmy seemed pleased to see us again! I took a few photos of various places and we sat for a while at the wind shelter whilst I had a drink. We discussed the path up from Carl Side and I think we all had different opinions on it. Sarah hated it, John and Jimmy thought it was a nice challenge and I still can't make my mind up! It was steep and hard work, but at the same time the nearer the top you get the better it becomes, the views once at the top, really make you forget about the path. It is best described as an interesting way up!

Over in the distance the summit looked very crowded so we sat at the wind shelter for a while. I pointed out some of the next summits on today's agenda and some old favorites like Blencathra. When I pointed out Mungrisdale Common to John he made a comment about in being nothing more than a field, that just about sums it up correctly! After a while we set off towards the summit of Skiddaw. This bit, the walk along the summit plateau, was a delight after the steep path up from Carl Side Col. The sun was shinning and we could see for miles even if it was a bit hazy. Its walking in places like this that make all the sweat and aching legs all worthwhile!

Sometimes Sarah does have deep thought such as these, they make you stop and think about them, but only for a short while! The views from Skiddaw today were great, on one side are the rolling grassy fells that comprise the rest of the northern fells and on the other the ridges of the north western fells. You can see Scotland and the Pennines, the eastern fells and the central fells. It does not get much better than this! The only down side was the number of other people at the summit, they seemed to want to sit here all day long, perhaps John does have it right about the crowds!

We soon decided enough was enough and left the summit heading back towards the wind shelter and the south top of Skiddaw. John and Jimmy seemed to be in deep conversation about the meaning of life and stuff, so for the first time today Sarah and me led the way, it made a nice change not to be seeing the rear end of John and Jimmy in the distance! After passing the south top we started to descend towards Skiddaw Lower Man. I stopped to rake a panoramic photo that showed the next two summits of the day, apart from the rise up to Skiddaw Little Man it seemed to be mostly down hill all the way, at last!

I had looked at the rise up to Skiddaw Little Man from Carl Side, I must admit that from there it looked like it was a bit steep, but from here it looked like just a gentle slope, time would tell!

We had a full length view of Derwent Water, it looks so small from up here! From here the north western fells looked so inviting, we must visit more of them soon! Heading down the path I was reminded of my first time up here, I still think, as I thought then, that you could drive a car all the way up this path! It was wide, gradual and had nothing that could deter you from doing so, apart from the odd gate in a fence of course! Sarah and me chatted away about this and that, it's so much easier for me to talk going down hill than up, for one thing I was not alone, and secondly I was not out of breath!

We looked behind us to see how John and Jimmy were doing, it must have been a really deep and meaning full chat as they were a long way behind! In front of us a paraglider was trying to gain some height around the col between Skiddaw and Skiddaw Little Man, before we knew it he or she had succeeded and was way above us, even allowing for us walking downhill I still think he was ascending quicker than we were descending!

We reached a junction of paths and headed to the right following a fence that headed straight up towards Skiddaw Little Man instead of following the much more obvious path that led down to Latrigg. The nearer we got to Skiddaw Little Man the steeper it looked! In fact the path was not steep really but as soon as we started to walk uphill again the leg muscles started to complain. It seemed like me and Sarah had only taken about 5 steps upwards that John and Jimmy caught us up and then passed us! Life's just not fair!

As usual when this sort of thing happens I consoled myself by stopping and taking a few photos! Derwent Water and the north western fells still looked great and looking back we could see that we had climbed a fair way up from Carl Side Col to Skiddaw and then dropped a fair amount on the way to Skiddaw Little Man. This made me feel a bit better about my sore leg muscles now !

After a shrug of the shoulders me and Sarah just got on with it and soon joined John and Jimmy at the summit of Skiddaw Little Man. I took the usual photos and had a drink. John went off for a jimmy riddle and without hanging about too much we headed off again. By now Jimmy was totally confused about the time we spent at each “summit”, he did not realize what photos I was taking and why it seemed to take so long. I guess the terrible trio have a set routine now every time we reach a summit! Quite often I have voices in my head saying “are we done now?” or “where do you want us?” I tried my best to explain it to Jimmy but I guess it fell on deaf ears!

Heading down the steep path towards Jenkin Hill we came across two blokes walking up. They asked for some directions to a place that I could not quite get the grasp of, after a few questions we agreed that they wanted Threlkeld where they were supposed to meet someone! I pointed out that they were a few miles away from Threlkeld but undeterred they continued on upwards! Not long after this John managed to slip and fall, unfortunately I missed this but Sarah thought it was hilarious! Was this John's first real slip on these walks? I think it must have been because I am sure that I would have remembered it if he had previously.

Once back at the main tourist path we continued straight across it and started to follow the fence towards Lonscale Fell. The whole nature of the walk changed now as we followed the faint path. This was nothing more than a trudge across moorland! Soon we reached a small cairn that indicated the top of Jenkin Hill. Somehow we all managed to stay together and started to chat about the up coming camping barn weekend. John and Sarah had decided that for a change we would have a fancy dress evening on the Friday night so we all took it in turns to try and improve upon some of the ideas that they had already come up with, it helped pass the time of day along this boring stretch of the walk!

Just about at the point where total boredom would have set in the fence changed direction, it was as if the person who had built the fence had realized that the boredom threshold would be reached here and decided to do something to liven things up a bit i.e. Change direction! It helped a bit and the sight of a wall in the distance made the last stretch towards Lonscale Fell slightly more interesting, am I being too harsh? Not really because the view in front of us was not exactly captivating, but at least looking back towards Skiddaw made up for it!

The summit of Lonscale Fell was reminiscent of Mungrisedale Common, flat and uninteresting. In its defense there did seem to be a discernable drop in altitude somewhere near the top! Jimmy thought that it was a wind up, but no, this was the 6th summit of the day! We did not stay long and soon retraced our steps back down the wall to join the path back down to Latrigg. I had suggested a detour to look at the crags of the east peak but that idea did not seem to appeal!

On the way back down I received another text message. I mentioned these messages before and I will now explain them. On my way to Preston I received a message from a number that I did not recognize. The message called me “Ste” which only people from Liverpool do, so I had narrowed the geography down but was no nearer figuring out who it was. When I sent a message back asking who it was, there started a humorous text conversation with things like “have you forgotten my number already?” and “give me a clue?” These messages stopped all of a sudden and I had forgotten about them until I received this one saying”not talking then!” This was hours and hours later and I was more intrigued than ever! I asked Sarah is she recognized the number but she said that she didn't, I even borrowed Jimmy's phone (can't be too careful!) to ring the number only to be put through to an answer phone mmm!. Jimmy thought that this was funny as I handed my phone back to him; all of a sudden it came to me! The texts had stopped when Jimmy had got into my car, I then rang the number that had been texting me and Jimmy's phone rang. No wonder I got an answer phone when I used his phone to ring! Ha, Ha, Ha it had been fun and I was well and truly wound up!

From the wall the map showed a path that led down Whit Beck before joining the main path. I had looked for this path on our way past but did not really see much of anything. We found a sheep track and followed it down besides a fence, we were heading in the right direction at least! The one thing that I really remember about this walk down was that we did not seem to be loosing too much height. It seemed to be ages before we could see the car park at the end of Gale Road and Latrigg, my thoughts would be confirmed later when we joined the main path, now that was steep!

In front of us we had a great view of Derwent Water and somehow we still seemed to be overlooking the north western fells, we did feel high up still! When we reached the main path I was surprised by the sight of it. The path has been repaired / renewed and I must say that I approve. I have often criticized repaired paths but this one has been done in a sensible and safe manor! This must have been how the Romans built roads, drainage ditches on both sides and the actual path raised up and seemingly constructed of various materials with a top layer of grit. This made for a nice easy surface with no trip hazards that would still be safe when wet, the only problem that I found was that it was so dammed steep! This was one of those paths that meant the ankles extending to such an angle that it made it hard work!

Needless to say I struggled to keep up with the others going downhill on such a steep path! My ankles found the path just too steep, no one else seemed to mind though! I suppose it makes a change to talk about my ankles instead of my feet or knees! We passed a few people walking up the path, one bloke in particular was struggling with a huge back pack, I presume it was one of the paragliders on his way back up for another try, it looks so effortless once they are airborne but I guess it must be hard work carrying them uphill to start with!

Eventually the gradient started to ease and I somehow managed to catch up with every one else, they probably stopped and waited for me! We now had to decide whether to carry on and “bag” Latrigg before going to the car. I thought we could drop all of our stuff off at the car and then continue on to the top of Latrigg. Latrigg had been in view for quite a while now and a faint path led from the car park up to the summit, it looked so easy, so just a short distance away! I knew that as soon as I started to walk uphill again my legs would complain but I was all for doing it, Sarah seemed to have the last word when she said that enough was enough and we should leave it for another day, fair enough!

We picked up John's car and set off to the Cross Keys in Tebay. Jimmy was still hoping to go out with his mates later but somehow I thought he would not make it! The Cross Keys held up to the reputation we hade told Jimmy about and we all had yet another great meal there.
For the first time in ages I had no problems with my feet. Ankles yes, but feet no! Thank you again to Mr Brasher. Sarah had no problems with her new Merrils and John of course was overheating in his new base layer. Jimmy was wondering what all the fuss was about as he had been wearing jeans, a tee shirt and his trainers! Needless to sat he did not make his night out, prefering a long soak in the bath! My ankles hurt all of the next week but I will still look back and thing of this walk as one of the best! It has taken me nearly a month to write this account, we have done two other walks since and I have not even uploaded the images of these yet! I suppose it is the time of year, this year we have a horse to look after and take to shows and things, so I seem to have even less time than usual. I hope it was worth the wait to read about it!