13th June - Scarfell Pike - England

Friday 5th June saw us heading up the M6 for a camping weekend in the Lake District. Despite the rain and traffic we arrived 5 hours later.
We set up our tents next to Coniston Water the scene of several successful attempts by Donald Campbell to break the world water speed record. In 1967 his desire for record breaking brought him back to Coniston for a final time, the craft, 'Bluebird', shot up into the air and disintegrated into the lake killing Campbell.

Our goal was to ascent Scafell Pike in the village of Wasdale. At 978 metres (3,209 ft), Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England; Wasdale incidentally is also home to England’s deepest lake, Wastwater 79 metres (258ft). The ascent of Scafell although steep is regarded as straight forward.

Saturday morning saw heavy rain but kitted out in our waterproofs we set out from Wasdale Head at 12.55pm with a target 2.0 hours climb, 1.5 hour descent. The lower paths are generally well defined becoming very steep and unrelenting towards the top. The rain eased after a hour and it was clear to see why the Wastwater was awarded the prestigious title of ‘Britain’s Favourite View’ in the ITV show of the same name”. Wastwater is remote and unspoiled, and surrounded by steep valleys that give the illusion of sharply disappearing into the vast expanse of water.

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