An average walking day in the Lakes for us, starts the night before; bag packing. Neil is more organised than me and has everything sorted the night before, I get distracted and end up running around in the morning doing everything I didn't do the night before. The day of the walk is always an early start, as we have to travel there and like to have plenty of time to complete our adventure (and I don't really do peopley places).
We have our little morning routine, I am an early bird, Neil is not. But the promise of coffee and an adventure will get him out of bed at 5am! We fill our flasks, check our bags, get the walking book or route ready, and off we go, usually stopping at a particular petrol station on the way, picking up cola cubes or jelly beans, and eating them aaaalll the way there. Breakfast of champions right there.
The excitement begins as we find our parking spot; a lot of the time it's a bit in the middle of nowhere so satnavs don't pick it up, and we have to look on google maps and drop a pin, and hope our phones have enough signal to find it nearby! Once we're parked it's boots and bags on, and I usually set off with about 5 layers on because I'm always cold. Sometimes a visit to the Lakes also involves finding 10 pound coins for the old school ticket machines, that you can't pay online or with a card and have to use cash. Learning a lesson from years gone by, I now have a special purse in my rucksack full of pound coins for these occasions. No wonder I get shoulder aches.
Off we go on our adventures, Neil is always prepared with his maps and compass, walking step by step guide and directions. I just follow him, and hope he knows where he's going!
The Wainrights walks are always tough, it's usually a biggish climb to start, and the first hill, I find anyway, is always the hardest while your legs warm up and body acclimatises to what you're putting it through. When the views start coming in, the higher you get, that's when you remember why you do it.
We go about our adventures, steep climbs, beautiful views, a coffee stop, or brew with a view, take a million photos, eat even more sweets, and somehow end up back at the car. Some walks we've done I think we've both been relieved to see the car again, others, we feel a bit sad that the day is over and it's time to go home. We always have that feeling that we've done something to be proud of, a good 12 or so miles walk, a handful of Wainrights ticked off, some a lot more technical a climb than others, muddy boots, and a full heart, going home feeling happily tired.
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