Walk 54 (C2C 5) - 12.8 miles - Total 738.6 miles - To Go 261.4 miles

A walk for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS
Patterdale, Angle Tarn Pike, Satura Crag, The Knott, Kidsty Pike, Birks Crag, Haweswater and Bampton Grange.





Wainwright

'What I shall never forget is my visit to the small settlement there, the hamlet of Mardale Green, I walked down the lane to it in between stone walls draped with ivy and stained with lichens aware of an eerie stillness and absence of movement in the scene: there was no sign of human life and the cows and sheep had gone from the fields. I came to the Dun Bull, which for two centuries had kept an open door for passing travellers, only to find it empty and unoccupied. The tiny church in its surround of yews was deserted. The few nearby cottages had been abandoned. I felt uncomfortable, a trespasser. The birds were singing and the hedgerows were fragrant with flowers and wild roses, but over all was an awful silence. It was the silence of death. The place was doomed.'

Describing a memory that had stuck from a walk a long time ago and since then Mardale Green is now below Haweswater Lake behind the dam now providing water to Manchester and around. At occassional droughts the church spire pokes through the surface eerily calling out its stories of visitors and dwellers from the past.

Today is supposed to be the hardest day of the whole Coast to Coast according to Wainwrights Guide. After our day in the torrential rain of yesterday it doesn't seem so bad. We start out in rain again and ascend up and up and up until we reach Angle Tarn Pike. Just like passing Eagle Crag out of Grasmere it is wondrous to look up at a peak with trepidation and a couple of hours later to be looking down on the same peak with satisfaction. The views are just so stunning all around. Another day of every ten paces Rob having to stop to take another shot.

About three hours in and with just 4 miles of walking behind us I get a text from Karen telling me to 'tell Rob I just got an email from a friend telling me how amazing the photographs are'. This is great and they are great photos but Rob made me read the text to him ten times and preened himself a little more for each of his next shots. Across from Anlge Tarn Pike is an amazing ridge and down below we look on Brothers Tarn before approaching a turning point to High Street or Kidsty Pike. I had thought we were going along High Street and had continuosly been coaching myself to stay in the moment and not fear the future footsteps along the frightening ridges of High Street. As we were ascending I met a group of experienced walkers who told me they were going round High Street as it would be far to dangerous today on the top. I stop at the top and wait for Rob and look ahead at the High Street path ready to take it on. Rob ambles up and tells me we are turning left to Kidsty Pike as only a fool would do High Street today. Just shows stay in the moment. If I had worried there would have been no value from it.
Not that Kidsty Pike doesn't have its moments as I look ahead and see people standing at the peak. It looks scary. I keep breathing easy and in the moment focus on the path ahead and say it will be fine when we get there and it is when you turn the corner.Rob working for the team has a momnent at the top where he is looking smug. Smug about heights, smug about his photography and just smug.
We marvel at the adaptive capabilities of the human body. Our own in fact. Two days ago struggling to descend ten steps down stairs in a hotel and now easing our way up 2500 feet and then down 2500 feet and actually enjoying it.


It is the end of the Lakes and all of a sudden the terrain switches from great fells and lakes around us to gently rolling dales ahead of us. It was truly amazing and we have enjoyed it so much.





Once again we meet lots of great people contributing to our cause and wishing us well. Every mile counts, every pound counts and we hope research can make the progress we want for a treatment for Patsy, Sarah and everyone with MS.