Our final Lakeland day was yet another beauty! I can’t remember a week quite like it!

After packing up the house, loading cars and waving off the ‘Mees’, Clare, Mom and I drove around to nearby Elterwater, leaving a car strategically placed at Skelworth Bridge along the way. Thanks to some fortuitous parking (the last place in the car park again!), We followed a lovely trail alongside the river to the end of the lake, where we got a replica photo of the view that hangs in the hall at Fort Martin.

Further pleasant strolling gave more views as we chatted in the warm morning air.

We stopped briefly to climb down to admire Skelworth Force.

Then, thanks to Clare planning skills, the hike ended at ‘Chesters by the River’ – a cafe that surpassed all expectations! We arrived in time to find a vacant table overlooking the river, then feasted on wonderful and interesting fresh food.

And I couldn’t resist going for a second round of coffee, this time with an amazing cherry bakewell ‘for Dad’!

The slate workshop (where the Fort Martin fireside hearth was sourced), had closed down, but we had a good browse in the gift shop instead, before shutting ourselves back to our respective cars. Mom returned to the Duddon Valley to inspect the ‘other spot’, while Clare and I walked up to the quarry above Chapel Stile, to climb on Thang Crag.

It’s not the best cliff in the world, but we’d not climbed there before, and it was so close by, it seemed silly to go elsewhere. In actual fact, the route we chose was excellent, so we were very happy.

After one route, there was a peel of thunder and some rain drops began to fall, indicating that perhaps it was time to finally go home!….

The drive south went well, and by late evening, we had arrived back at The Cottage.

We’d missed a big storm earlier in the week, that had brought down a big slice of one of our favourite Beech trees. There was 8mm of rain in the gauge, and despite having turned off the heating, it was still nearly 22 degrees Celsius in the house. Time to rest…

Climbs at Thang Crag (west)

Mitosis, VS (4b)** Thrang Crag West