It was late Autumn and i was itching to get up to the lakes one more time before winter set in. I rang my mate Dave up and he was up for it too, so we arranged a couple of days there. We’d planned a walk on a Monday in November, a stay over in keswick and tackle another one on Tuesday. Bowfell was the choice on the Monday and Great gable on Tuesday, we would also win the quiz in The Golden Lion on Monday night. Perfect. We set off about half 6 as usual to avoid the traffic chaos around Manchester. About 9 o clock we were parked up in the National trust car park by the Old dungeon Ghyll and it was freezing.
From the old Dungeon ghyll it was a gentle stroll towards Stoolend farm.
We set off in the freezing cold of the shaded Langdale valley, but as we climbed up the band and into the sunshine it got warmer and the layers started coming off.

You can make out the path veering off to the right. This would take us onto the climbers traverse which would lead to the Great Slab
We were both excited now, we couldn’t wait to get to the top as the views were getting better and better. This was our third visit to the lakes and we hadn’t seen much what this amazing place had to offer due to the weather. This was our time and we were going to enjoy it. It didn’t take long to get to the top of Bowfell and we were blown away by what was on offer at the top.
It was great to see the Scafells as we could see the route we took to get from one to the other, something we couldn’t see when we did it a few months earlier.
After having lunch, we set off for Esk pike down through the Ore gap.
The climb up to esk pike was straightforward and the great views kept coming, but for some reason i never took any photos here. Gutted.
The walking was going to be pretty straightforward from here to the car, onto Esk hause then down to Angle tarn. From there we would go down Rossett gill and meet up with the Cumbria way and a gentle stroll back to the car park.
Despite the long arduous walk down to the valley floor, it was still very enjoyable. Looking back at the Great slab and thinking it still looked impressive even from here.
The sun was setting now and you could feel the temperature dropping as the shadows enveloped the valley.
As we reached the valley floor and joined the Cumbria way, i saw this sign and thought it would be a good idea if they put more of these uobtrusive guides on the hills. One day I may write to the National park authorities about it. Then again i may not!
Walking along the valley we had time to think back about what a great day we had walking these fantastic hills. You forget all about your tired legs and how tired you are in general when the end is in sight, and the end was in sight.
What a great days walking, a great route and glorious weather. Its a great feeling sitting down with a pint, and talking about what you have just done. We’d had a few laughs and been spoilt with the weather and taken in some wonderful scenery. Perfect… Now we had to head to Keswick for the night and win the quiz at The Golden Lion followed by another walk on Tuesday to Great Gable… What a difference a day makes.
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