Lakes weekend

I was joined by Paul last weekend for some walking in the Lake District. We were looking to boost his Wainwright count, but also get a good bit of hill mileage under our boots. The first day we decided to take a walk up Helvellyn, via the lengthy route of Sheffield Pike, Raise and then down via Dollywaggon Pike. I have done this route before, once in Winter conditions, so was comfortable with the directions. However, with early morning clag hanging on, we were forced to take a bearing off Raise to find Whiteside. However as we approached our target the cloud lifted as if switched off, leaving us with a fantastic view off the top of Helvellyn. The return to the car seemed to go on for ever, but a quick pint of local beer in the pub revived spirits. The second morning was met with sore legs, so a shorter walk was called for. I decided that a ramble around the head of the Easedale valley, bagging a few Wainwrights plus looking for some potential wild camp sites seemed about right. The walk still ended up at around the 9 mile mark (A standard "Wardle" being 10 miles). By the end we were both gagging for a pint which Tweedies bar (A regular in this blog) was happy to provide.