Friday 20th June
Haweswater - High Street, Mardale Ill Bell & Harter Fell
So after my recently failed attempt at commencing this walk (due to the severe lower back issue), this the 2nd attempt, I drove up the previous night, not realising it was nearly 3 hours, arriving at 1130pm....a fair chunk being the tiny lanes after Shap, only 12 miles or so, but very slow going, and really praying that nothing came the other way!
The forecast continued with high temperatures for June, which actually made the views from the tops quite hazy, but mustn't complain!
I chose a classic Wainwright route (having my Dad's original books from the 70's!), ascending High Street via Rough and Riggindale Crags...with some low level scrambling, and drops on either side...including a great view of Blea Tarn and the best dramatic cliff views of the range. 
High Street summit is not the most interesting, but plenty of boyhood memories for me with my Dad. Including getting lost on Nan Bield Pass, and descending into Kentmere (the wrong way), then paying a farmer to drive us all the way around to Haweswater 🙄. However, no problem some 50 years later! Where Harter Fell gave the best views of Hawes Water....and via Gatescarth Pass I descended back to the van...a quick dip in the nearby stream, and I was off.
Firstly to inspect a telephone box, in the nearby village of Bampton. I met 3 "Mackams" on the walk, and they were big fans of the film Withnail and I....and apparently certain scenes were recorded locally, including the telephone box! See photos!!
Trying to find somewhere to stay the night, with plans to perhaps climb Blencathra or maybe the NW fells...ended up driving around Bassenthwaite. Eventually found a layby, but got frustrated driving aimlessly...this was on the east side of the Lake. Certainly much more difficult to search out off grid places, than in Scotland - but that's to be expected...more to follow...
Saturday 21st June
Lake Bassenthwaite, Ullock Pike, Carl Side
Although next to a main road out of Keswick, I slept OK...but the number of motorbikes racing up the road as if in the IoM TT was bloody annoying...apparently a Friday ritual 🤷♂️
Checking Komoot, the following morning, there was coincidentally a good circular route on the Skiddaw massif, which was included in the Wainwright guide (Northern Fells), this was Ullock Pike - a conical shaped mountain, like a mini Matterhorn...cracking ridge climb to its summit, extended to Carl Side, on the shoulder of Skiddaw. However extended the route to firstly wander down to the Lake side...hoping to see an Osprey....I didn't, but it was v pleasant. The climb up onto the Ullock Pike ridge was initially super steep...but the rocky tor like ascent on the ridge was "grand". Skiddaw loomed in the background, but it is a mountain that never appealed to me...so I had no inclination to conduct the out and back from Carl Side, just to do it!
The rains started near the end of the hike, and arduous stony descent (aren't they always) very slowly causing issues in my right ankle and right upper knee 😢
After I drove over Winlatter Pass to Loweswater, and even though it was generally a very sunny Sunday, I decided to check out one of my favourite areas: Crummock Water and Buttermere...they were seriously packed...eventually at Dalesgarth (the last opportunity before the rise to Honister) I turned around and escaped.
One discovery (in the van context) was that those Nazis the National Trust own a large percentage of the Lakes, and are anti off gridding...with signage a plenty for no overnight slumber and apparently wardens or even the police conducting late night checks. But NT campsites at £30 a pop PER VEHICLE. W@nkers!!
Never a fan for various reasons, but I think it started when we hiked what was a lovely valley in Shropshire near Church Stretton, that the NT had turned into a huge free for all carpark, with ticket machines! At the same period, banning mountain bikes from there land, then jumping on the popularity in cycling by organising sportives!
The next day was always going to be a chillax day, but the forecast was quite poor too.
I decided to head over to the coast, and check out Silloth. I'd been there once before, my first job after University, arriving on a coastal vessel delivering or collecting grain, I cannot remember which!
Quite a nice spot actually, on the Solway, looking across at Scotland, and the Galway hills.
Just south of the town, courtesy of Park4Night, I dumped the van on top of a sand dune, overlooking the Solway with a rather nice sunset.
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