Day 3 Keswick, Braithwaite, Buttermere

Date : Tuesday 4 October 2011

Area : Cumbria

Walk : Keswick to Buttermere

Start At : Eskin Street

End At : Buttermere YHA

OS Sheet : OL4

Distance M/k) : 8.9 / 14.3

Ascent (ft) : 2245

Descent (ft) : 2010

Route

From Keswick head west to across to Portinscale, and on to Braithwaite. From here the path runs south west up to Barrow Door, to the south of Outerside and up the East side of Long Comb.to the pass and down in to the valley below Sail past Blea Rigg and Whiteless Breast and in to Buttermere.

Journey

Another misty, chilly morning. As we walked to Portinscale and on to Braitwaite we recalled last year’s walk when we were caught in an epic rain storm close to the mines at the head of Coledale. The streams were flooded and impossible to cross so we ended up scrambling up the side of a rock face to enable us to get to the path up to Coledale Hause

This year our route took us up the gently ascending path from Braithwaite past High Coledale, between Stile End and Barrow and up to Barrow Door. Looking back Skiddaw and Blencathra were almost invisible in the mist.

Finally as we approached Barrow Door we both felt “the feeling”, this was it, this was what we came for, what keeps us coming back not the tops or the high fells but walking from place to place along ancient paths through the hills and over the passes.

As we passed below Causey Pike we could see the path ahead winding around the humps and hollows towards Outerside and High Moss. We stopped for lunch and a brew in the lee of an old sheepfold. While there we met our first walkers of the walk.

A short walk brought us to a point where we could look down on the Coledale mines, and see the tin hut where we had sheltered in last year and the route of the scramble up towards Coledale Hause.

As our path swung from west to south we could see how it climbed the side of Long Comb, clinging to the slope taking us up to the gap between Causey Pike and Sail our highest point of the day. The view here was fabulous the Derwent Fells and more behind them with the clouds sitting just above their heads.

From here it was a long, long descent along a sometimes indistinct path high above Sail Beck as we worked our way down into Buttermere.

We stayed at the Buttermere YHA for 2 nights, where the over sixties hostellers outnumbered the under thirties ones.

Day 4 Wednesday was always planned as a short day with the idea of having a rest but doing a local low level walk or maybe Haystacks from Honister. However the weather was poor so we took the bus to Keswick, had a look visiting various Cafes, shops and pubs.

Both evenings were spent in the  Fish Inn at Buttermere where we enjoyed good food and beer, great company and some lovely people to talk with, including a lady who was celebrating climbing her 214 Wainwright that very day.

Hi, to Norman and Diane from Crich, who didn’t complete a Wainwright.