A Worthy Last Day

After the last three fantastic days our limbs were tired and our joints hurting. The weather forecast for Tuesday had turned from thunder storms to light rain to bright sun all day whilst we were here, so there was really no excuse not to go up a mountain.

We chose a slightly shorter route starting at the other end of the valley just opposite Helm Crag which we had climbed on day one.
Heading up Stone Arthur was steep enough for some sweat again and we were glad to wear our fell running trainers today. It had been so dry recently that those light shoes were perfect for walking, no slipping at all.

The views back down into Grasmere were stunning! We could make out our route from day one as well and the higher we got the more peaks we could spot. I'm slowly getting better at this, now having been on quite a few of them. The Old Man, Pavey Ark, Bow Fell and even Scafell Pike could be seen amongst many more. Wow.

Headed up to 750m high Great Rigg which offered fantastic views towards Fairfield, Heron Pike and Ambleside on Windermere. Totally worth it!
The wind was blasting up there so we headed down a bit and over the Heron Pike, then down into Rydal.

Our knees didn't like the way down very much but a pub was waiting at the end so we were quite happy to keep on going.

We had passed by the Badger Bar a few times and it looked quite inviting. Good to have the time to check it out.
There we sat in the sun with proper cider after a three hour walk having climbed almost 3000ft. Goes without saying that those two pints went straight into our heads. Soaking it up with a very tasty light lunch didn't help much.

Quite reluctant and sluggish we rose and walked into bustling Ambleside. Enjoyed browsing the numerous outdoor shops even though we were not looking for something specific.
Payed a visit to a friend who works at Adventure Peaks and had a quick chat before we picked up some ice cream and sat by the lake for a bit.

Food at The Priest Hole was as good as it sounded on the menu and since the next bus was more than an hour away, we walked to Rydal for a quick pint at the Badger Bar and then jumped on board. £3.50 for an 8 minute ride. Wow. That was unexpected. 

Back in Grasmere we headed for one last holiday treat on this great last day: a gin & tonic at the Red Lion hotel. Being asked what kind of gin I'd like and what kind of tonic... that took me by surprise. Proper G&T is what we got. Yum!

A worthy last day indeed with a great walk, great food and sun, sun, sun. We'll sleep like babies tonight.