Friday 10 May 2013

Wandering Ullswater fells

Returned from Ullswater with a severe case of achey leg.  Maybe should I get the moaning out of the way first and then say how brilliant the rest of it was? That way we end on a high and I possibly seem less of a miserable bugger. 
Well first of all then to summarise the pathetic moaning;

  • my legs are aching 100% from top to bottom
  •  I've annihilated my feet and towards yesterday could hardly walk due to blisters, swelling, sprains and strains
  •  I got soaked in heavy rain on the last day while waiting for a bus and hadn't taken a proper water proof jacket (also at this point my feet were throbbing and i was in what i deemed at the time to be a justifiably bad mood)
  •  I didn't sleep great on the hard floor in the pod we stayed in and hadn't brought any kind of camp bed, it was also cold at night and I hadn't brought suitable warm clothing to sleep in.

Right then, moaning done! and apart from all that it was brilliant! We stayed in a 'pod' (which is basically like a wooden igloo) on a camp site in the hills called the The Quiet Site, a nice environmentally friendly park in a quiet rural setting with great panoramic lake and mountain views.
Each day began with a long fell run before breakfast which although was very tough and probably the cause of my ruined legs it was also an amazingly invigorating way to start the day.  8am, fresh air, birds tweeting, morning dew on the ground, first rays of light spreading across the awesome views of the fells..... and me panting heavily like an over zealous old dog thinking about breakfast to keep me going, meanwhile my triathlete wife floated along the trails like a butterfly making 20% gradients look like a gym treadmill.
Our second day was a glorious sunny day and perfect for a 15km circular walk via Aira Force waterfall trekking through woods, across high ridges and alongside streams and rivers.   We hardly saw anybody else on the trails which really made it feel like we were out in the wilderness and almost felt like we were back in Nepal again, trekking the Himalayan foothills.
The next day was a bit rainy but didn't deter us from a morning run and another full day of walking.  We walked a few km down to Pooley Bridge hoping to hire some mountain bikes only to find the cycle shop had closed down and nowhere else hired them, instead we set out on another long walk.
The rest of the time was spent wandering by the lake and the nights sitting by the open fire in the traditional old pub on the campsite.  Although it was only four days it feels like I've had a really good break and despite a bit of moaning, it's only jestful moaning and nowhere near mars enjoyment of such an amazing part of the country.

ullswater fell running

lake district

lake district

lake district

lake district




vegetarian

ullswater

ullswater

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not sure who this person is but I live in Ullswater and these pictures are not where I live or where he says he is!

Anonymous said...

I also live in Ullswater and I can clearly tell the scenery as being local to the area. Maybe the previous commenter should spend more time in the glorious countryside rather than moaning about the amazing pictures posted on this blog.

jonny brand said...

Well if I haven't just been to Ullswater then I have just lost 4 days of my life and had a bloody brilliant dream about a place called Ullswater (wherever that is?)

Anonymous said...

I don't know who this 'Jonny' is but I like his gumption. Have it to 'em son.