Borrowdale

I think I hit my stride today which is a good thing if you are on a hiking trip. I got up and got going earlier. I had my luggage down for pick up by 8 and had finished breakfast and was away by 8:30. The weather was cloudy and overcast but no rain.Essentially the hike was climbing out of one valley into another. The start of the hike was pretty flat for the first 45 minutes before gaining elevation gradually and then more sharply to very steep. I met a young Canadian woman and her English boyfriend out camping and backpacking for 12 days. They were on part of the C2C but we're not doing the coast to coast. It was fun chatting with her. At one point the trail looked like it was taking us up a small waterfall. The brothers were visible but quite out in front of me which was nice as I could follow them without having to keep checking my phone as it's not always obvious that one is on the trail. The hike took us up 500 metres to Lining Crag. At the top the Forestry service had laid out huge stones to walk on which was easier than walking on the boggy ground. It made for a fast trek across the top of the ridge. I caught up to the brothers a few times but would let them go ahead for several minutes before heading. A Scottish woman Dawn hiking by herself caught up to us but was happy to chat but wanted to walk by herself so would let me go and follow several minutes later.There was an easy route down into the next valley or a more difficult ridge walk which I chose which went up a little higher and kept us at a higher elevation for longer before descending into Grasmere. The author in no uncertain terms recommended this ridge walk and implied you were a wimp if you did not attempt. There were RAF typhoons flying through the valley beneath us which were fun to watch fly by followed by the sound wave. Made it into Grasmere by about 2:45 and said good bye to the brothers before finding the Victorian hotel. Grasmere is the quintessential lake district town with lots of touristy shops and tourists. I went and checked out Wordsworth's Dove cottage where he lived and the cemetery where he was buried. Otherwise I had a quiet evening with supper next door at a Bistro. I am just lying on my bed listening to the sheep and lambs baaing. It is very idyllic.Les mer