We successfully woke up at around 5.45am (still dark) as we wanted to leave at around 6.45-7am when daylight would greet us. Chris's knee was painful as were his and Tom's feet with the blisters and they were sceptical about the day/rest of the walk. Anyway we had a generous portion of cereal each and we were on our way just after 7. The start of the day was cold and there were low lying clouds hiding the peaks of the hills were about to walk up. The hill started almost immediately and was very steep involving clambering up some rocks and stepping over a stream before a steep rocky ascent approaching the cloud line. After about half an hour of climbing we reached the top and we were in the clouds so could not see much more than the piles of rocks marking our route. However the cloud soon cleared offering spectacular views of the landscape (including a lake in the distance which had low lying cloud and we were higher than the cloud!!!) We then walked remaining at the same level using the rock piles to help us stay on course. After a while we reached a descent down to a slate/stone warehouse (we'd seen a quarry a bit earlier so this is where they cut and sort the slate/stone before selling). Anyway when we'd reached the warehouse Chris's knee's were very painful so we slowed to an easier pace. From here it was pretty easy walking to our scheduled break destination of Rosthwaite. We saw from the icon on our map that there was a place to eat there and managed to find a tearoom easily. I opted for a hot chocolate to warm up and a homemade pasty. I think Chris and Tom had a tea or coffee and also something hot to eat. The food and hot drinks were very good. After about 45 minutes we dragged ourselves out of the tearoom and continued on our way. The break was to long and we'd seized up and it took a little while to loosen/warm up again. The next section of the walk was lovely as we walked alongside a river at the foot of the hills for a while. The sun had come out which made it even better. Anyway eventually the river changed direction and our path carried on straight which took us up another massive hill which again offered amazing views from the top. The next bit was (against what the map showed) pretty hard to navigate/ stay on our path. After consulting the map and compass we crossed some boggy/mossy terrain to join back onto the proper path. There were lots of other hikers here (before now we had only seen the odd walkers but there were a lot here - maybe this was because it was a nice saturday afternoon or maybe it was a sign we were close to Grasmere (what we were hoping)). Anyway seeing hikers was a good thing as it meant we could see where we were supposed to be going more easily (by looking at others) and gave us the opportunity to ask for directions. The path was challenging and although we could now see Grasmere in the distance, but due to our tricky path, the fact we were descending for a long time and Chris's knees hurting it was taking forever to get there. Eventually we reached the foot of the hill, crossed a foot bridge and thankfully onto a much better track. Now Tom was the one suffering the most as his feet were extremely sore and he was seriously starting to struggle. Thankfully the outskirts of Grasmere were not too far away and after a few phonecalls we found Grasmere Youth Hostel which had spaces for us. Our original aim at the start of the day was to push on past Grasmere and wildcamp next to a lake a bit further on but due to the knees and feet this was out of the question. So we found the hostel easily and checked in (around £22 each for room and breakfast). The hostel was more like a hotel with washing facilities a kitchen we could use, drying room for wet stuff, lounge area and even a sauna!!! We didn't bother with washing anything (even though we really should have done) as this simply meant more to do, and didn't use the sauna as you had to pay for this). After a quality shower and change we were all up for going to the nearby pub to get a decent meal - the only thing was Tom was 100% not up for putting his boots back on which resulted in me giving him a piggy-back most of the way to the pub and him going to the pub in his socks. At the pub we got a pretty decent meal each and walked back to the hostel with the aid of the headtorch. Back at the hotel we went into the lounge area and watched a Peter Kay DVD whilst amending the destinations and altering the route a bit for the remaining days of the hike to make it more manageable. Then we went to bed.
Reviews
Blacksail Hostel - 8/10: Rather expensive for a hostel but free dinner/ 50p cereal/ helpful staff were great!!!
Rosthwaite Tearoom - 9/10: Friendly service, very good food, not overly expensive.
Lessons Learned
Don't stop for too long for a break due to seizing up/stiffness, again consult the map and compass more.
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