Big Loop of Ullswater

from Yew Crag looking over a dead calm Ullswater.  We tried to find the path down to the lower Gowbarrow Fell track but that bracken is a force to be reckoned with eh?

I'm still a little under the weather.  My snot rockets aren't quite the right consistency to fly freely and every now and then I need to stop for a good cough.  Having missed almost a week of training, I was hoping to get a decent length run in today.  I planned a 25 mile run taking a high level route around Ullswater.

our route, pretty much as planned - slight deviation at Yew Crag and a few unnecessary road miles

beautiful day at Pooley Bridge

the path we took goes over fields coming out at the hamlet of Bennethead

we picked up another across fields footpath before getting onto this really nice single track around Priest's Crag, Little Meldrum and through Swinburn's Park.  We saw a number of runners on the Lakeland 100 and had to explain to a few that we were not in the race (we were going in the opposite direction).  It's nice to know we looked the part though.

sat at Yew Crag watching Lakeland 100ers going past

in the other direction...we will eventually be running along that skyline

I tried to find a path down off Yew Crag that would have taken us to Aira Force.  Heavy bracken meant that I missed the right path and we ended up bushwacking to the road and running along it for about three miles until we got to Glenridding.  We refuelled here and then carried on to Patterdale where we crossed to Side Farm and the path to Boredale Hause.

looking back from the climb to Boredale Hause.  The route took on a distinctly more 'fell' feel from here on in

Jonathan on Angletarn Pikes Wainwright Summit.  Brother's Water in the background.

Angle Tarn.  Just near here we met a couple from South Carolina, "Y'all doing that Fell Runnin'?"

15 or 16 miles and starting to feel tired.  It was a relief to see the Rest Dodd cairn but I knew there was a big climb ahead to the fells in the background.

The climb up to Rampsgill Head was the hardest part of the day for me.  Here looking over to High Raise which was the next fell we ran to.

 

at High Raise, High Street is visible to the left of the cairn.

from here on the running got a lot easier but we were tired from an early start and a very hot day.  Here we are at Wether Hill.  There was no ledge to balance the camera on, hence the worm's eye view.

Jonathan at Loadpot Hill.

"Are you going to jump on top?"

"I'll stand by the side of it"

me too - the near easterns in the back ground

Loadpot Hill was the last Wainwright of the day.  We ran right past Arthur's Pike.  I had been there a few days ago and Jonathan was more interested in getting to the shop for a drink.  We carried on towards The Cockpit, a stone circle which acts as a bit of a navigation turn off point, but then turned down Aik Beck and went through the campsite at Park Foot.

Well, we didn't quite make it all the way through...