Only In My Dreams.......

......did I imagine such places exist.

Today was as near to perfect as you can get and the scenery simply indescribable-you really have to do it yourself-photos, no matter how lovely, just cannot do it justice. We set off at 9 again, I was fed and watered well, tinned all day breakfasts, as rank as they may seem from the comforts of your own kitchen, taste heavenly when you're on the trail. The weather was cold, breezy, but dry and the cloud was occasionally pierced with bright rays of warm and very welcome sunshine. What we didn't know then of course, was that the weather was going to get better and better.

Jacko has a great memory for mountain names and is generally able to tell you which peak is which-a great skill to have and one which I'm envious of-my memory, as Lol keeps reminding me, is worryingly beginning to wane. In fairness it's never been that good, I never forget a face, but names, whether of people or in this case mountains-it really is pants. But what I can tell you is that the combination of mountains, rivers, woodland and valleys along today's walk was beautiful beyond words. Ironically the one thing that was conspicuously absent today was a lake! That aside, it was a wonderful walk, really tough in places-the seemingly never ending climb up Stake Path was of particular note and certainly left us all with a real sense of achievement when we finally reached the top. We passed through a glacial valley, finally reaching a glacial head before climbing out-this is quite a weird experience, the valley in question was huge, wonderfully imposing and the acoustics actually changed as you neared the head of the valley. We passed by a riverside oasis just above the village of Stonethwaite, waterfalls flanked by stands of pine, fantastic. And as I mentioned earlier, the weather got better and better, in fact as I write there isn't a cloud in the sky. 

Disappointingly, no one came a cropper today-I had rather hoped to see Jacko fall on his arse at some point, but it wasn't to be-he did however spill milk all over Tim's anorak, which as you can imagine was as welcome as a fart in a space suit. And talking of farts, that all day breakfast came back to haunt me later in the day, or more to the point to haunt my fellow hikers! 

Enjoy the photos and apologies for being a day behind with the blog-the result of no phone or wifi signal in Borrowdale.