The summit of Wrynose Pass, was only 11minutes from the house, so we set out before breakfast to secure some of the limited (especially during half term!), parking so that we could access the crags on the way up to Bowfell.

Luckily for us, I discovered, only five minutes into the half an hour walk-in that the rope was not strapped across my rucsack and was still in the boot of the car! It was slightly overcast and feeling cooler, but the rock was bone dry and we had the place to ourselves.

We ate breakfast at the crag between ticking off some lovely single pitch routes on great rock.

Although we could have stayed longer, we had promised to meet the gang down at Coniston in time for a boat trip down the lake on the famous Gondola. When we used to camp at Coniston as a family years ago, we’d always dream of one day taking the ride and finally, some thirty odd years later, Mom got to make it happen for us!

And we couldn’t have asked for a better day. By now, the skies had cleared and it was delightfully warm as we chugged down past Peel Island to the end of the lake and back, pointing out all the old and distantly familiar landmarks from all those summers of years ago.

Then to cool off, we had a hoot diving off the paddleboards and swimming together at the end of the lake, before returning to more fine foods and wine at the house, where it was still warm enough to eat outside.

Long Scar Climbs:

Green Treacle HS 4a *

Sam’s Saunter HS 4b *

Katie’s Dilemma VS 4b **

Long Scar Groove S 4a **