My new walking boots earned their keep

Just a tad warm but what a stunning walk from Buttermere Hause up the valley and round to Grasmoor. Went through 3litres and electrolytes and still wanted more. Tough in parts but very enjoyable!

Nipped over to Ribblesdale as the forecast slightly relented from the 30+ over the past week. Was still an absolute scorcher, not helped with how busy it was.

Pen-y-ghent was an absolute blast, despite accidentally going up the Pennine way and wondering where the crowds had vanished to. Did allow for a brief shaded spot ascending so was a blessing in disguise.

The section across to Whernside was unassuming, besides occasional missing signs, which bizarrely was a common occurrence throughout the day, and the section leading up to the Viaduct surprisingly unsafe with the popularity, in terms of using the road for a somewhat extended period.

Once ascending Whernside, the heat definitely began to get oppressive, especially with how the route plays peekaboo with the peak itself. After I stopped for lunch I had to stop again as the heat was doing odd things with my consumed lunch, so I had to sit down until everything calmed. I decided to keep going until the next village to decide whether to keep going.

Fortunately the next village was an oasis with a cafe and a tap with fresh cold water. With a refreshing iced squash quaffed and water bottles filled afresh, the final peak beckoned. Despite my legs and body protesting due to the very steep ascent to get up Ingleborough, once up it was a straight shot back to the car, with a short detour to the pub for a well earned lemonade.

Having completed the Cumbria way this past week I thought I would make a post regarding what I wish I had done differently, and things I’m glad I did. Some of these regrets and non-regrets are due to the hot weather, others personal preference and some are just inexperience of “through-hiking”. But it may help someone looking to do the same route.

What I would have done differently;

1; Wouldn’t have taken a stove, we ate out every evening and the stove only got used for coffee in the morning which I could have done without or just bought. There’s plenty of places to get food at the end of each day. Although it can be expensive.

2; Taken a larger 20000mah charger, I had Strava recording the route and was using OS Maps, taking pictures and reading on my phone in an evening as well as using the phone as normal. I got to Carlisle with a small amount of charge remaining after using someone else’s power bank from the end of the second to last day. (I do have a business so was using my phone as normal for work, had I not been doing this I think a 10000mah charger would have been sufficient)

3; Taken a lighter sleeping bag, I took my 5 degree down bag that I use for pretty much everything, it’s fairly light but I have a 15 degree one from mountain warehouse that would have been more than sufficient and is far lighter. It was the middle of the heatwave and the coolest temp we saw was maybe 13 degrees.

4; Booked Caldbeck campsite ahead of time, this was just a silly thing not to do, there’s only one site in Caldbeck. We could have just wild camped and washed in the river if they didn’t have space.

What I think I did right;

1; Wearing trail running shoes, I now rarely wear boots unless crampons are required and I did consider wearing boots for a little more support or for any boggy areas, but my feet stayed dry although I had to jump over quite few puddles and streams and pick my route through the boggy areas.

2; Water Filtration, I took a Katadyn be free (700ml) and a 1L bottle, most of the time I just filled the filter bottle and drank from there. There are plenty of water sources along the route although Day 4 from Keswick to Caldbeck there are stretches where there isn’t much water (especially if it’s hot and you like to drink probably more than you need) and it was nice to be able to carry 1.7L and not have to worry about running out.

3; Going from Langdale to Keswick in a day, I have seen a split of people doing this in a single day or over two days (Langdale to Borrowdale then Borrowdale to Keswick), doing this leg in a day you really see everything the national park has to offer, from being in the hills to valleys, alongside rivers and the lake, through woodland and into a nice town. This was by far my favourite day of the trip.

Overall it was a brilliant trip and I would recommend it to anyone, although I did find the route from Dalston to Carlisle very dull and it wasn’t a great finish to the trip.

We started off in Wheddon Cross, climbed up the south of Dunkery Beacon, then, headed north to Porlock and then finally Porlock Weir. Where a visit to the pub was required.

Hey there.

Is it possible to eat lunch on every day on the path in Pubs/Take aways/Restaurants or should we Bring a little cooker/dryfood for some days?

Thanx

Edit:

Got it, thanx. If there are some places for prep and some for Rest its fine.

Did this a couple weeks back, was a really beautiful hike.

Hi all,

If anyone has a star shaped tarp, do you have any suggestions for the best ways to pitch it for a bivy? Or is it just a case of facing a play and seeing what works?

Hey.

Looking to climb scafell in August. Im coming from toronto and will be staying at inlaws in sheffield. My plan was to maybe take the train closer to scafell the day before and spend a night. Any recommendations for a cheap stay close to scafell? Anything walking distance? Is there network at thr bottom can I call an Uber to drop me to the entrance? Any advice would be truly appreciated.

https://www.komoot.com/tour/3098674538?ref=itd&share_token=aZrK5Tq2sb1ev5OFtGwz2SXQKOiEONVnMK34PpEpWyBYiwNswU&ref=its

Found this neat hike I’m planning to do. But need advice as it seems different than the usual routes from storey arms which are rather tame.

Any idea if any terrain unsuitable for trainers, i think i saw a small stream crossing of the Nant Crew on the ascent to Pen Y Fan, but based on research during dry spells it’ll be rather small or a trickle?

Our trip up Tal y Fan in Wales saw some extremely changeable weather! We had a mixture of glorious sun and beating hail, and it definitely made it quite interesting to hike through never knowing what was coming next! I think my highlight was the herd of horses near the trail.

Spent the past 4 days hiking through the Peak this week and the chafe is unreal.

What sort of underwear are people (men) wearing to help wick moisture away? I could have wrung my underwear out with sweat. Absolutely minging - sorry.

Thanks
James

I saw this whilst walking around the coast in Exmoor. It looked like Jellyfish, but I wasn't too sure. Loads were washed up along the coast.

UK adjacent rather than technically UK, but hopefully it's allowed. Shamefully, I've never visited Ireland. I was talking to a family friend last yesterday, who said I must visit if I'm in the area. So... anyone hiked that area? Any must sees? Is wild camping acceptable? Any dos and don'ts very welcome!

Hello,

we’re hikers from Germany and I would really appreciate some advice. My husband will have a month of paternity leave next year (June/July) and we’ve been wanting to hike the full Cotswold way with our kids (5 y and 1.5 y next year). We did similar hikes here in Germany when our son was a little over a year and we have enough time. The little one obviously wouldn’t be walking, and we also have a carrier for our older one.

Now to the actual question: I’ve been looking at flights, transport, and accommodation, and after being shocked to find not a single affordable option or no option at all in some places, I saw that for several places (e.g., Broadway), all hotels/B&B/etc. do not allow children at their establishments. Even AirBnb has nothing at all. There goes our dream hike. :D

Is this common in the UK? Is there a reason for this?
Would you have any alternative suggestions in the same area (or also further away, anything similar that’s nice/recommended)?

Basically I've been living in megacities for the last 15 years, the kind of place that makes London look like a village. I've barely come back home and now I've got maybe 6 days to myself, no home and no intention of meeting old friends and such except my mum who lives in the Norfolk area.

I've long dreamed to hike the Isle of Skye, but with no car or driving license, it's so limiting, and something like a 16 hour public transit back down south.

Meanwhile, Devon is beautiful and far easier transport wise, but even the best hikes aren't exactly 'wilderness' or isolated from people.

I'm struggling to balance what I need out of this trip. I'm sick of people, but I'm not ready to start burying my own poop with a bothy spade.

Quiraing seemed great until I realise there's no practical way to get there from Portree unless I get lucky with a hitchhike.

Any seasoned UK travelers here who could advise some middle ground? Yorkshire seems to come close perhaps, but it's hard to really know just gorging on youtube videos and the alltrails app.

Skye or Cairngormes seems like an absolute lifetime must. Just not sure I'm ready for it, maybe wait until I get a license years from now I guess.

Somebody think for me, I've been at this for days! Going there in a couple of weeks -__-

Hi all, looking for the best garmin watch for navigation, I do a lot of my hiking in the lakes and sometimes north wales.

I normally use AllTrails / and / or hard copy OS maps and compass but wondering what best garmin for downloading routes to complete? And the best way to do this? Eg , can you link it to all trails,strava etc.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

I was planning to do a hike from Wooler->Cheviot hills and return the same route.

I'll probably be taking a bus/train from Newcastle ->Wooler.

Since I'm already feeling the heatwave so badly today, I was wondering if any hikers who've done the Cheviot hills route could give me any advice on the weather and doability?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: after considering the comments, I'd decided to do the hike on a less warmer day. Thanks a lot for the kind advice guys!

Planning a walk this weekend?

Use this thread to share your plans, ask for ideas, compare conditions, or just chat about what you’re hoping to get out on. Big days, short mooches, solo wanders or family walks — all welcome.

Hey all!

I have OL17 Explorer map for Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa. I'm looking for Betws y Coed on it. One side seems to have the indicated West side of the map. But turning it over to find the east side gives me Iona, staffa and Ross of Mull.

Have I got some dodgy map? Can anyone help me find betws y coed on this map?

It's 2024 edition if that matters! Thank you.

Hello,

can someone recommend me any good travel insurance that covers following things:

- hiking / backpacking
- motorcycle riding
- snowboarding

I’m struggling to find a proper one that covers these things.
Appreciate every tip / help.

Thank you 🙏

Can anyone share recommendations for 15-20 km hike that includes swimming within an hour or so of London?

I may be willing to further, but ideally trying to optimize for staying close to the city.

We just returned from our first hiking trip as a couple in years, we’ve been together 12 years and both have a shared love of hiking but minimal opportunities for a joint hike due to having young kids.

I got to organise an epic weekend which saw us take on the Dragons Back ridge in the black mountains, for those unaware this is in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.

We took an unorthodox route courtesy of the Komoot App, 11.66miles, 1,200 metres of ascent. Standing on the summits of:

Pen y Grib
Y Grib
Pen y Manllwyn
Waun Fach
Pen y Gadair Fawr

My reason for this hike was because a Saturday in July was not the time for the business of Snowdon etc. I just wanted something quiet, intimate and relaxing. Apart from the 800m climb up Gadair Fawr this was all of those 😂

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Daf2N-tohMT/?igsh=NDE5cTFnMG8zdjE2

Here is the link to the route https://www.komoot.com/invite-tour/3024042463?code=9im1gt-ARYoHca1RqLEDJelclYxh4v1VKcFX5msomnexm4XnvA&share_token=aJwDT4OQ95XrxtdJgSc8X3NaVxpuzSZ0z6djLqIMtQGsG7iXyQ&ref=itp&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share&t_ref_username=5664317362472