Good evening! How are you? I hope you are well and enjoying the (now much more changeable) weather we’re having at the moment. How are you feeling now that we have officially seen the longest day of the year go by? Looking forward to shorter days and darker evenings?! Thankfully we shouldn’t notice too much of that in the next few weeks at least…
There’s quite a lot to catch you up on. For starters, I spent a week in Cumbria – in a heatwave – hiking the Cumbria Way and bagging three Lake District mountain summits. Skiddaw, Blencathra and Helvellyn have each been ticked off my list. It was quite the week, a really fantastic week.
That has been followed, some might say unsurprisingly, by a week of quite intense business catching up at work and home. I don’t know, if all things could pause while I’m off on my adventures would help life to be much less stressful! But hey ho to that!
Cumbria in a Heatwave
I can’t write this weekly blog without including some words on my week in Cumbria – and trying to explain just how hot it was hiking in the heatwave last week. There will be an adventure journal series about my Cumbria Way hike soon, which I will start as soon as I’ve finished my Cotswold Way series – the next episode in that tale should be with you in the next few days.
I don’t think I’ve ever visited the Lake District before and not needed a jumper, let alone a waterproof coat. We did get a storm the night before we started, and got caught in a shower at the end of our first day, but even with those, I didn’t put my waterproofs on – not my gaiters, over trousers, or jacket – once during this trip.
It wasn’t just unseasonably dry, it was also very warm for the UK. I reckon I put on a jumper once; and that includes the evenings and mornings. One day it reached 31 degrees (reportedly), and I don’t think it dropped below 24 during hiking hours – which I have to admit was a challenge to deal with. I was so prepared for normal British weather, complete with puffy coat and gloves (!). And yes, I was wearing my trusted Meindl Bhutan walking boots – much more suited to more traditional conditions than a heatwave.
Hiking in the Heat
We dealt with the high temperatures by walking very slowly and taking every opportunity to have boots-off breaks, especially when there was water to paddle in. Given that we were very nearly at the summer solstice, we had all the daylight we could ever need for the kinds of miles we had planned. And we used a lot of it; I did my best to make the most of being forced to slow down, take lots of breaks, and take in as much of the scenery as possible.
We carried and drank a lot of water – I had up to three-litres and did run out (not far from the end) on two separate days. We stopped for ice-cold drinks and ice creams when available, finding ourselves sat in pub beer gardens regularly, at least once a day if not more. It really was the only way to do this one.
Some of my favourite moments of the six days were those spent by bodies of (nice and cool) water, including Beacon Tarn and Red Tarn as well as the stream at the top of Stake Pass, taking more than a moment to enjoy the peace, tranquillity, and being in nature.
A Bucket List Tick
Our week was very much ‘inspired by’ the Cumbria Way, rather than being dictated by it. We had no real desire to do the last day into Carlisle, it felt like a bit of an anticlimax, especially with the diversion (now rescinded) that involved a very long road walk. Instead, we decided to still do six days on trail, but made the last three an opportunity to bag a few mountain summits rather than stick to a specific footpath.
Back in my bucket list reset post, I mentioned one of my hopes for 2023 was to stay in some kind of walk-in only accommodation. Given that Skiddaw House – the country’s highest hostel, which is 3.5 mile from the nearest road – is right on the Cumbria Way, it seemed like the perfect opportunity have an adventure within an adventure and grab that bucket list tick.
An Adventure Within an Adventure
We followed the Cumbria Way from Ulverston to Keswick, and then left went off-piste a bit, in terms of the guidebook at least (I used the Cicerone guidebook). From Keswick, where we’d stayed the night in the YHA by the river, we started by walking up Latrigg, because it would be rude not to given it was so close and promised “the best view for the least effort” according to the chalk board in the hostel!
From Latrigg we took the incredibly steep zigzagging path up towards Skiddaw, choosing to scale Little Man before heading up Skiddaw itself. We headed down to Skiddaw House via Sale Howe, which was probably one of my favourite footpaths of the week – remote, wild, and nice underfoot.
Skiddaw House was everything I hoped it would be. It absolutely lived up to my expectations – and then some. We spent a beautifully sunny evening chatting with manager Sue and a handful of other hostel guests, cooking in the camp-kitchen set up, and making the most of the solitude. We enjoyed an impressive sunset, and it genuinely felt like we had the mountains to ourselves – with no noise other than those which nature produced. Bliss.
After our quiet and relaxing night, bucket list item successfully ticked off, we (eventually) left Skiddaw House for more mountain action. We hiked up Blencathra via Cloven Stone, Mungrisedale Common and Blue Screes, before heading down the more traditional route past the Field Centre and back into Keswick.
More words about Skiddaw House and the rest of my Cumbria Way adventure soon – but if you want more pictures there are some in a couple of instagram story highlights.
YHA Festival of Walking
YHA – who kindly supported my Cumbria Way hike by providing overnight stays in Coniston and Keswick – have announced their next festival of walking. They actually launched it back at the National Outdoor Expo, but I’ve recently had the information from the team, and I thought it would be good to pass it on.
The 2023 YHA Festival of Walking is taking place across England and Wales from 3 September to 19 October. The aim is to encourage more people to discover the health and wellbeing benefits of walking, and to do that, YHA has partnered with Ordnance Survey, The Ramblers, The BMC and Cotswold Outdoor to put on six weeks of walking activities.
To inspire new and seasoned walkers, YHA has produced more than 180 free-to-download circular walking routes – ranging from easy to severe and across a range of terrains, including towns and cities. The routes, which are all tested by experienced walkers, range in length from easy one-milers to challenging 20-mile routes. Naturally, all the routes start from and finish at a youth hostel.
Social Walks
As well as these routes, the festival also features free-to-join social walks. Led by qualified walk leaders, these walks offer a supported and safe space for people to get involved with walking, meet other walkers, and build their confidence in the outdoors.
I’m sure that as a Splodz Blogz reader you already know that walking not only helps improve physical fitness but also provides an opportunity to connect with nature and meet new people, as well as reduce stress, and explore local communities. It’s a low-impact exercise that can be enjoyed individually, with friends and family, or as part of organised walking groups. And it’s great to see YHA putting real effort into getting more people outside.
All the walks (self-guided and social) are free to attend, but if you did want to stay in a YHA the night before or after taking part in one of them, there’s a 20% discount on youth hostel accommodation during the festival. There’s a list of participating hostels on the YHA website.
To find out more about the YHA Festival of Walking, join a guided social walk, download a map or book a stay at, visit the YHA website.
That’s Entertainment
Audiobook: The Treeline, Ben Rawlence
I’ve been working on The Treeline by Ben Rawlence since weekly blog episode 112. It’s taken me a good while, but has been an incredibly interesting and thought provoking listening. Subtitled “The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth”, it’s a meaty book, providing a rather worrying wander through the world’s most northern forests.
I did my best take in all the information, enjoying the stories told about the people who live in the forests, taking heed of the environmental message while also enjoying the beautifully descriptive writing.
This isn’t a book to read before you go to bed, but it’s well worth the effort on your lunchtime walks or a couple of long drives.
Amazon | Waterstones | Hive
If you’re looking for other audiobook suggestions in this adventure/exploration genre, do give my adventure books post a read next.
See You Next Week…
Have you got plans for this weekend? Outdoor plans, maybe? It looks like the weather might be reasonably kind, so I hope you – and I – can make the most of that.
I’m looking forward to some more catching up on home, writing, a walk on my local patch, cooking on my fire bowl, seeing my friend get ordained, and (hopefully if there is time), going to the Prescott Bike Festival.
And with that I’ll get this post online and will see you next week. Note I’m not committing to Tuesday… that just hasn’t worked for me so I’m sticking with the weekly blogs but you’ll get them when they’re ready rather than to a self-inflicted schedule. Hope that’s okay!
Buy Me a Cuppa?
If you enjoyed this weekly blog episode and fancy supporting me and my mini adventures in 2023, you can “buy me a coffee” (well, tea, if that’s okay). Head over to Ko-fi to find out more. Thank you.
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