24/02/24 - (Most Of) The Hartsop Horseshoe for the Brotherswater Inn

 Still got a few mountains in us.... but the clock is ticking

Plenty of things to concern yourself when knocking off the Wainwrights in your fifties. Not least the parking. Alas, three middle aged men cannot navigate the M6 from the Midlands without making detours at Keele, Knutsford and finally Carnforth. Disappoint abounds that we missed out on the Greggs at the more traditional services stop at Lancaster.  When we could do the trip as a one stopper.

It with a huge amount of luck that we grab the very last parking spot in Hartsop Village. 2 minutes later and the pubs of Kendal would have got a hammering from lunchtime.

But I've got to admit, that we don't feel that lucky when boots on, we look at the ascent.

We need to follow the walk on the RHS to the FALSE summit of Hartsop Dodd

It's unrelentingly steep and a challenge for three blokes that have all recently taken advantage of NHS pre-paid presecription certificates. Despite the fact that I am the "walk leader", my frequent stops to get my breathe back take photos mean that I am definitely bringing up the rear. 

We hit the snow and the clag at Hartsop Dodd. A good mile of relatively flat walking across Cauldale Moor to Stony Cove Pike provides some easier walking even if we can't see much.

A challenging "hands on rock" descent across Threshwaite Crag, where we are back under the cloud cover. A decision needs to be made after lunch. The planned route required climbing back into the mist and snow.  

Pasture Bottom - with its handily placed escape route path - proved just too much of a temptation.

Why go up, when you can go down?

I'm delighted to say that through this blog, I can determine that I've missed nothing in the quest to tick the 214 Wainwrights. Was it really 9 years ago since Gray Crag and the Thornthwaite Crag beacon were ticked? Has my mountain speed really dropped by 25%? No bloody fun getting old, is it?

The only thing to do is to retreat to the pub to ponder these, and other questions.

The Brotherswater Inn is handily placed and we are grateful that it is open, having passed the skips outside the Kirkstone Pass Inn earlier in the day. England's second highest pub remains closed. WhatPub's listed reason for closing, "Building Work", enters its third year.

Back to the Brotherswater Inn

The Brotherswater Inn is open for business. A remote pub that no doubt gets most of its business from the attached campsite. Of course, this means the usual table reservations of an itinerant clientele. But 3pm, we are OK to be seated and sample a beautiful Tirrel's IPA, admiring the views from the floor to ceiling windows. 

2 more Wainwrights ticked - bringing me to 86/214 - over 17 years.  

The post pint consensus is that the frequency of charging up the M6 needs to significantly increase in our last good years.

Walk Details

Distance - 5 Miles

Walk Inspiration - Trail Magazine January 2014 Walk 1

Geocaches - 1