Sunday was a day off to plan the next passage and to get ready to climb Scarfell Pike on Monday. I was determined that for the first Sunday in over a month I was going to have a proper Sunday dinner. This was going to be a challenge considering I don’t have an oven! In the end I managed to find pre-cooked chickens on sale (sold hot) at Tesco, so after boiling some vegetables I had a gourmet feast – or nearly!

The timing was perfect as just after tea mum and dad arrived. Just as mum was about to swing into her normal speech about eating “properly”, I was able to point out the dinner I had just finished! It’s a pity the rest of my food is not quite to the same quality! After saying good buy to the parents and arranging for them to pick me up in the morning (what service), I wandered back to Silverwind with 5 weeks post in hand. Monday morning started with a force 7 wind blowing from the northwest and me trying to work out why I had chosen to park the boat with the stern into the wind!

After a quick call to dad we agreed to have a look at Scarfell, despite the wind. Two hours later we were sitting in the car park at the head of Wastwater in what appeared to be another world. With the sun shining and a little wind we started up the valley to the Northwest of the Mountain. I figured that if it did get windy it would be behind us. The steady climb was enjoyable with a continuingly expanding view over Wastwater and the coast (only slightly spoilt by the sight of Selafield!).

As we followed the river up the valley we seemed to be in continuous competitions with a Scout group proudly carrying their Union Jack to the top (I will have to remember the Cornish flag for Nevis). After completion the last rocky section of the mountain we made it to the top after 3 hours climbing. Finally on the top we started to feel the wind that was battering the coast and the stay on the top was shortened to a quick snack and some pictures. Having said that our short stay on the top was blessed with views of the Lakes and out to sea as far as the Isle of Man.

A year ago when I first climbed Scarfell Pike we had come up a long but enjoyable route on the east side. As it is pretty easy going we decided it would be good for our descent today. The route takes you around the back of the mountain before taking you down the valley beside “Great Gable”. The main advantage being that you get to see the views from all the way around the Mountain. It was a spectacular trip down and three hours later we were in the van checking out the photos on my laptop. We returned to Whitehaven for the biggest fish & chip tea money can buy!