The Fittest Survive (that's all of us!)

As we told you yesterday, we were able to bound down the descent into the Langstrath Valley a lot faster than our minders. We therefore had plenty of time to stand beside some of those rain swollen becks, becoming mesmerised by the power of all that water. This was nature at its most awesome and some of these spontaneous waterfalls seemed a lot more impressive than some of the waterfalls that have become tourist sites e.g. Colwith force that we'd seen on the previous day.


The downside of the rain swollen streams and all that white water, was that on the occasions when we needed to cross them, what might normally be a simple crossing, became very tricky and several times we had to spend several minutes looking for a safe place to cross.

At the bottom of the descent, we were pleased to find that there was a substantial bridge across a real torrent of foaming water. While we waited for our minders to join us, we took advantage of the bridge to enjoy the world's fastest game of pooh sticks.


Wooly was acting as our line judge, but even with his sharp eyes, that water was moving just too fast for him to be able to tell whose pooh stick was through first.

It was a beautiful walk out to the head of Borrowdale, and when we reached Rosthwaite, a mile further on, shortly before 4.00 p.m. we thought we must be close to journey's end (for that day). We gave a collective gulp when the holder of the map and guide told us we had only covered half that day's distance and we still had 8 miles to go! We therefore took on energy boosting refreshment of sugary drinks and chocolate bars.

Fortunately the remaining miles were rather easier walking, much of it being along the shore of Derwentwater. The miles seemed long, but the going was faster. In the Manesty woods we found a lovely sculpture of a pair of hands.


It provided a very comfortable place for a few minutes rest before the final push into Keswick. We all had very sore paws/hooves as we hobbled into Keswick after a very long day. But what a walk we'd had: there's a lot of truth in that saying 'no pain. no gain' and when you've got a very comfortable B & B awaiting you, and a comfortable pair of Crocs to slip in to, the pain is soon forgotten.

Lots of love George, Yorkie, Isaiah, Dale & Wooly xxx