The weather forecast for today wasn't very promising so when I woke up and heard the rain hitting the windows it looked like today would be a non walking day. I got myself ready anyway as I noticed that despite the rain, the hills opposite the Youth Hostel (Illgill Head and Whin Rigg) were clear of cloud which gave me the idea of walking them as a circular walk from the hostel rather than sitting about hoping other hills would clear.
Originally I had planned to walk the hills as part of a longer walk which would include Scafell Pike. I headed along the long road to the Wasdale campsite and car park by which time the rain had gone off. It was no longer raining and more summits were clear but not the larger ones that included Scafell Pike, I had yet to really see it's summit and was beginning to wonder if I'd not only see the summit clearly on my visit to Wasdale but also be lucky enough to climb it while I was here.
I headed alongside the car park and soon reached the junction of paths where you turn left for the Scafell hills or right towards Illgill Head, I turned right. After some nice track, it soon turned into a steep grassy path which just seemed to go on and on, my legs felt very heavy today. The top of the hill just never seemed to get nearer but I stopped often to take in the views, including the three hills across Wast Water that I'd climbed the previous day ( Click HERE to read about it )
I had started the walk late in the morning and I soon realised that it was 1pm and decided to take the opportunity to have my lunch sheltered behind a large rock. The wind was quite strong today but thankfully it was mainly behind me. When I set off after lunch I soon saw that the hill was leveling out and I could see the summit plus a shelter ahead of me. I felt much better after lunch, my legs felt better and I knew that from the summit that it was quite a nice ridge walk to Whin Rigg with quite easy stretches of uphill to walk. I kept looking over to the hills over Wast Water.
Soon I was at Whin Rigg, the views even on a grey day down towards Nether Wasdale and beyond were still spectacular. From here it would all be downhill on a nice grassy path for a while before turning right and heading down the slope towards a wood, this part was a bit soggy after all the rain but the rest of the walk was fine, I couldn't complain.
On reaching the wood, I turned right at the Wasdale signpost and along a nice path through ferns and farmland down to the track that would take me over the start of the river and then around it back to the youth hostel. I would also walk along this path the next day when I decided to walk around Wast Water due to even the low hills being covered in cloud and occasional heavy rain during the day.
It was just over 10 miles and quite a nice walk apart from the steep grassy start but it was a bonus to do any hill walking with all the other hills under cloud and with no rain on my walk. Again, this is one that would make a nice late summers afternoon/early evening walk and I would do it again.
