WALK 207a: Irton Pike (751 feet above sea level, number 310 of my second round). 9.75 miles, 1,800 feet of ascent.
WALK 207b: Middle Fell (1,908′, no. 311), Haycock (2,618′, no. 312), Crag Fell (1,716, no. 313). 15 miles, 3,800 feet of ascent.
It’s a while since I did a proper two-day walk. There have been some walks that have taken place on consecutive days, but a ‘proper’ 2-dayer means that I was staying somewhere overnight that could not be reached other than by walking, and the last time I did that was September 2018 (walks 152a and 152b, to Pillar amongst others.). But at least one more such expedition was called for if I am going to finish this second round. Hence the plan; walk 207a over from Ravenglass rail station to the foot of Wastwater, and then walk 207b up onto the Ennerdale ridge and westwards back towards the sea, and the buses at Cleator Moor.
The weather played ball in the sense that fine, dry forecasts have become something we are familiar with; it’s about four weeks since there was any significant rain, or other change in the weather. Blue skies, particularly predictable ones, are valuable commodities when planning such a hike. On the other hand, while day 1 involved fairly low-level walking, with a decent amount of shade, day 2 was 15 miles of open moorland, and without much of a breeze. A real test of endurance (and of sunscreen).
Still, it all got done, and without dropping dead of dehydration or sunstroke. And my sense of achievement was heightened by the fact that, small and rather inconsequential though it is, Irton Pike, reached on day 1, was the 116th and last fell I still had to rebag from volume 8, The Outlying Fells, which becomes the second of Wainwright’s volumes I have completed a second time (after volume 5). According to the Long Distance Walkers’ Association register, I am only the 11th person to claim to have done all of these twice: a pleasing achievement.
More detail, as ever, on the walk pages (207a and 207b) — enjoy. I knocked three more off the count of Birketts (though Great Bank, reached on day 1, was a drag: for pure baggers only). Wainwright-wise I have now done 313 of the 330 on my second round, meaning I have 17 to go. I hope to be back at some point during my summer break in July.
The 214 Wainwright fells: without a car 