No rest for the wicked!

Lake Windermere

Our 8 mile walk on Sunday wasn’t in our schedule as Sunday was supposed to be a rest day so today’s walk was changed to be a gentle one of only 4.5 miles!  The only real testing part of the walk was the end but more of that later.

Despite having walked 11 miles over the previous 2 days I’m suffering from no aches and pains.  The Dartmoor walks we’d done over recent months and the loss of weight since the start of the year are obviously paying off.  Today we’re blessed with having all of our children joining us for the next few days and accompanying us on the walks.  Our challenge is to out walk the kids!

We set off from Red Nab on the banks of Lake Windermere with the path skirting the end of the forest and lake.  One of the problems with forest walks is the scenery as it’s mainly hidden by the trees (doh!), but this didn’t stop our enjoyment.  After a while we branched off the lakeside track and climbed steadily up the Sawrey Bridleway to a point where on a good visibility day we would have been able to see Bowfell, Coniston Fells and Crinkle Crags.  After a brief stop for a drink and something to eat, the path took us back in to the forest on to a very muddy and rocky trail – a good test for the knees.  The final part of the trek was down a path of rocks which on rainy days no doubt become a stream and then finally down a man-made path of very slippy stones.  This final part wasn’t particularly enjoyable as we were all constantly fearful of slipping.

It was nice to reach the car at the end but there’s still a lot of walking left in these old legs!

Photo’s of today’s walk can be found here – Lake Windermere

Tip for the day:  Wear a good base layer.  I’ve been wearing Paramo base layer tops and they’re fantastic for wicking away the sweat and keeping you warm at the same time.  Whatever you do don’t ear cotton tops as these hold the sweat and reduce your body temperature.

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