Coast to Coast walk Day 2 – Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite
Coast to coast walk day 2 involves our first day in the Lake District. The day looks like having an easy start with a walk along Ennerdale Water, onwards alongside the River Liza and through Ennerdale Forest. We pass the famous Black Sail Youth Hostel and then begin what looks like a killer climb up Loft Beck to Honister Hause and the slate mine.
I’m anticipating stopping for lunch at the top of Loft Beck. In fact we will need to plan what process we expect to have made by what time for each day. I’m not a fast walker at the best of times and will need to make sure we keep up the pace. Don’t want to be arriving at the b&B in the dark each day.
We will also have to have the contingency plan for each day sorted in advance. Alfred Wainwright himself advises against taking the high routes if the mountains are shrouded in cloud. I’m not sure there is always a practice alternative.
There is a caff at the slate mine so we will no doubt avail ourselves of a hot cuppa therein. Apparently they also have log fires.
We will still have a fair old descent before arriving in the B&B for the night. Although the day is touter as Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite we don’t quite make it as far as Rosthwaite but are stopping at Seatoller. I quite like the name Seatoller :).
Update
Was a wet start to the day but the forecast was for it to improve which it did. We set off around the South side of Lake Ennerdale which was very slow going with the path often flooded with the previous day’s rain. Took us quite a while to get past the lake and we then crossed the magnificent river liza in full flood. It’s not a long river but quickly fills up from the hills around.
The notion of stopping for lunch at the top of Loft Beck was pure fantasy.We stopped in a clearing in Ennerdale Forest at around 2pm. The walk was a long haul though the forest with little to tell you how much progress you were making. Tom reminds me of a funny incident.
A fell runner was ploughing his way past us and I jokingly said to him “faster”. Unfortunately he couldn’t hear me because of his earphones so he stopped and took them off. Oops. The exact opposite of what I was suggesting.
We arrived at The Black Sail Youth Hostel at around 3pm.10 miles in to the walk. It’s impressively remote. Had a cup of tea and a 30 min break chatting to other adventurers. After setting off again at 3.30 it took us 45 minutes to find Loft Beck, which was where we were to climb. Impressive mountain stream. Took us an hour to get to the top which I was pleased with. Incredible views.
Thats where the difficulties began. Really difficult terrain that seriously pounded the knees and exacerbated a niggle I picked up yesterday. Moreover whereas it looks like quite a small plateau on the map in reality it was a fairly long distance to travel. You wouldn’t want to be stuck up there in cloud.
My knee gradually got worse and to cut a long story short it was gone 7.30 before we got to the quarry visitor centre, long closed for the day. We passed the youth hostel near to the visitor centre to find three lads waving at us. We had seen them at Black Sail.
Although it was only 2 miles to Seatoller it was all downhill, which is what was causing problems for the knee. We called in the hostel and they called a cab – cost £18 because it had to come from Keswick! Had a welcome beer whilst we waited. I’ll finish off this story another day.
Check out the coast to coast day 2 video.
starting B&B | Thorn Trees, Ennerdale Bridge, CA23 3AR |
forecast/actual km | 21.17/22.56 |
forecast/actual time | 6hrs 16min/11h 33min – wow see notes |
weather | wet to start but turned out nice |
forecast/actual ascent m | 625.4/630 |
breakfast | another full English |
lunch | cheese and pickle sandwich |
dinner | soup, ham sandwich and a trifle – the kitchen closed well before we arrived but they looked after us. |
finishing B&B | The Glaramara Centre, Seatoller, Borrowdale CA12 5XQ |
Link to Coast to Coast walk Day 2 Google Photos Album. Photos will upload as soon as there is connectivity and I will move them into the shared album each evening when I get to the pub for dinner or if there is a decent connection, periodically as we go along.
While I am walking I will be using Runkeeper to live track my progress. You can find the link for each day’s progress at my twitter page or at my Facebook profile page. I will also be pinning photos within Runkeeper as I progress. I am also using a Fitbit Surge to provide me with additional monitoring data.
Don’t forget I’m raising cash for Cancer Research UK whilst on this Coast to Coast walk. JustGiving page here. The start date of the walk coincides with the anniversary of my mother’s death on May 1st last year. Mam was Chairman of the Marown & District branch of the IoM Anti Cancer Association.
Forecast numbers are based on Ordnance Survey mapped route. I add 1 hour for each approx 500m climb plus an hour for lunch.
A lot of people have helped me in the preparation for this walk. Firstly Mat Kiddie of Amigo who I met on a plane coming back from Mobile World Congress and who sent me a mobile battery charger. Then there is Aideen O’Colmain of Fitbit who very generously donated a Surge. Finally there is Dan Cunliffe and his team at Pangea who provided me with a mobile tracking device that allows me to track my progress independently of having to use my phone.
—–Update—–
Tref and the team are falling victim of the limited connectivity on the first few days of the walk. They’ve had some appalling wet weather in the lake district and are very soggy but undeterred nonetheless. Below is a video of the first two days that I’ve put together using the clips that dad has managed to share with me but hasn’t been able to post. Let’s hope they can get a decent connection at their next stop over.
– Joe Davies