Great Spontaneous Walk on Day One

So here I am in the Lakes once more and the weather is back to normal. The couple of sunny days I had with Rich End of May were definitely not normal.
Rain persisted all through the night, still I caught one of the rare pauses to make a run for the lol in the morning. From 9 to half 10 it was a continuous downpour. So I stayed in my tent all snug and warm and read, waiting for the rain to ease.
I had planned to do Walla Crag, walk into Keswick for some shopping and then drive over to "The Mell Fells". But as the cloud lifted I decided to just stay up after Walla Crag and walk along the ridge to Bleaberry Fell and High Seat.

I started off in full kit and soon took it off one by one. My delayed start had been the perfect decision. Views from Walla Crag down to Keswick  were stunning and we'll worth the short climb. Often it's not the highest hills that offer the best views.

View from Walla Crag towards Keswick and Derwent Water

Some cloud passed by as I walked the last steep bit up Bleaberry Fell... or should I say "Bleak berry" Fell? It's not a very interesting hill compared to many others in the area.
I still enjoyed it and the sparse views from the top. Not a glimpse yet of Skiddaw or Blencathra. Boo. Stupid clouds.

Bleaberry Fell... kind of... false summit of :)

On Bleaberry Fell

Walked over the very unspectacular and fairly boggy (no wonder after all that rain plateau to High Seat. More clouds robbed me of any view at all so I started the at times steep and slippery descent. Again nice views of Dessert Water and the hills on its other side. Nice preview to tomorrow's walk!

On High Seat, Wainwright number 3 today

Derwent Water, wow.

After almost 8 miles without a break really I was getting a bit tired. The walk along Serpent Water was nice and being fairly hungry I managed to arrive just a few minutes after 3pm in Keswick and there was no pub or cafe that would serve me any food. Kitchen closed until 6pm. Ahhhhh!
Had a coffee instead and got some food for a chilli before I walked uphill back to the campsite.
I was indeed quite knackered, but had genuinely enjoyed the day. Three more Wainwright's off the list.
Shower and food later I felt quite refreshed and went for another local ale to the pub residing directly on the campsite. For the first time all day I even had some sunshine!

Plan on walking the hills on the Western side of Derwent Water to Buttermere tomorrow and back via a different route on Wednesday. At least tomorrow looks like the hilltops are mostly cloud free. Wednesday not so much. Uh well, can't have it all. Weather is gonna stay windy, cloudy and rainy for the next week or two. Yay... So better do what I can in a good weather window.

The plan for the next two days, 14 Wainwrights in a big loop