Too Much Fun

After a day trying to avoid the rain, during which we still managed some fun stuff like traversing the cliffs round Humphrey Head, we decided to head over to Wasdale Head and have a go at scrambling up Ill Gill on Kirk Fell.

Turns out this is definitely several stages harder than the ones we'd been doing the last few days.

The volume of water coming down wasn't too much of a problem. But when we got to a bit we couldn't pass I foolishly suggested we climb up the side of the gorge rather than go back downstream a bit. After a worrying climb through mud, heather, gorse and crumbling rock we were relieved to get onto solid ground.

After a short breather we went back into the gorge, but soon found ourselves avoiding the algae-covered main stream and on very fragile, crumbly rock on the edge. After a bit of a fall we decided we were fed up of trying to kill ourselves and headed back down.

Our original plan had been to climb Ill Gill one day, then bivvy out somewhere again and go play in the River Esk the next day, But after our trials we decided to head down the Duddon Valley and go for a swim in the Froth Pot.

While it looks a beautiful spot, and a great place to swim, the amount of water coming down meant getting very far against the current was really difficult. So I decided to head further upstream to jump in and drift down. There I learnt the true meaning of the phrase "look before you leap".

Jumping shin-first into a boulder just under the water's surface was the last straw for that day. We were done feeling like we were in Final Destination, so packed up and came home.

The next day we decided for something more sedate. As we'd been driving home we'd seen a sign for a 'geocaching megaevent'. I'd kind of explained to Charlotte what geocaching is (a man leaves some stuff in a box in the woods for other men to find) and we thought we'd give it a go. After an unsuccessful first attempt we were becoming frustrated so for the second one used map, gps and website instructions and hints,

And we found it. I'm not sure it was as rewarding as we'd hoped, but we celebrated by eating some blackberries.

Further on through the woods near Milnthorpe we found an old abandoned cottage in the woods. Spooky, what would we discover inside?

An old dirty photo, obviously.

Overall a good excuse for a day out.