Coast 2 Coast - Birthdays & The Cystic Fibrosis Trust : July 2013

Day One: St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge, during which many new and imaginative descriptions were devised for the honourable Mr Wainwright!!!!

After a very comfortable nights sleep at the Stonehouse Farm B&B, and the first of many delicious full English breakfasts, we headed down to the beach to make a start.

Ben was being a pirate in the hope of attracting more sponsorship, which raised a few giggles as we walked through St Bees.

Obviously much posing was necessary before the business of the day could commence...

The walk was devised by Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991), a well known name among those interested in fell walking, especially in the Lake District. He suggested a route, and it is this that most people roughly follow, but he encouraged people to invent their own route to suit themselves - so choosing an alternative doesn't mean that you've cheated!! (Unless it's in a taxi of course).

Along the walk there seem to be many conflicting ideas as to how long it actually is - at this end it says 191 miles, at the other end 196. By the time you've got lost a few times and detoured to your digs each night I guess it's all a bit irrelevant.

The views back over the bay were beautiful as we started to climb up to St Bees Head.

We even got to see Sellafield in all it's glowing glory!!

However the point at which the word "sadist" sprang to mind in connection with the dear Mr Wainwright, (for the first, but probably not the last time on this journey), was close at hand as we realised that, idyllic though this walk so far was, we were actually headed in completely the wrong direction - away from the fell that was close to our final destination that day and north along the coast. Why Mr W? Why? We know that this is the coast - we saw it yesterday - today we want to head for "them there 'ills"!!

But still being Coast to Coast Rookies (well 5 of us anyway), none of us yet had the confidence to differ with the learned Mr W and so we continued... on & on along the windy coastline, past hundreds of nesting birds...and a lighthouse which I seem to have forgotten to photograph....

Until finally we turned inland and the journey really felt as if it had started.

There, in the distance was Dent Fell - today's high point.

Poor Jonny was still recovering from a nasty bug at this point - hence the intermittent pics of him sitting down looking pale. His was a Lemsip fuelled walk!!

Dunno who this guy was meant to be, but he didn't look over impressed by how far away from the coast he'd got in the past few hours either.

Aaaah....cute!

This reminded me of Italy

We began to climb up away from the plain into a more wooded area, where Grey squirrels were obviously not hugely welcome. I wonder what Muir Lachlan does when someone reports a Grey squirrel sighting?

Barbecue? Spit roast?

At this point there was supposed to be a great view back to the coast, but the weather was closing in fast and only those who were first to the top of Dent actually saw anything.

But we all made it to the top, at which point it started to sheet down with freezing cold rain. almost horizontal because of the wind - first test of the waterproofs & no more pictures for a while.

We came down off Dent, along the side of a steep slope, and then down a very steep, slippery grassy descent. I'd hurt my foot prior to starting the walk, and at this point it really began to complain about the treatment it was receiving!!

Once down in Nannycatch, a lovely deserted little valley, the walking became easier, but by this time the bravado of yesterday was a distant memory - all we wanted was to see the farmhouse that we were staying at for the night. We trudged down the valley in the rain and I remember thinking "I want to be enjoying this - I can see that it's beautiful (or would be if the sun was shining & the rain had stopped), but I just can't feel anything anymore except my feet". Dad kept turning round to see if we were still keeping up, and the valley twisted & turned on through the rain.

And then eventually there it was
"Low Cock How" - the most beautiful sight in the world!

There was a friendly welcome, a roaring fire in the woodburning stove, warm showers & the MOST comfy beds known to man (or was I just biased?). BLISS!

After collapsing in a heap for an hour, then eating takeaway Indian (to which Dani had an allergic reaction for some unknown reason), life seemed to take on some meaning again and it bagan to look as if we might be able to attempt Day 2 tomorrow after all!

(Final pics courtesy of Dani)