The New-Yorkers in the Lake District.
We had a great father and son team out over the last 6 days, Steve and son Elliot came over the pond from Brooklyn, New York, both had never visited the Lakes before and wanted a guide to show them the local sites as well as tackling some great Lakeland activities.
The first day was wet, so we headed to Glenridding and boarded a steamer and took a round trip of Ullswater stopping for lunch in Pooley Bridge, the views didn’t disappoint with some of the peaks still holding snow, we then spent the afternoon looking around the Cathedral caves recceing a couple of Abseils for later in the week.
Thankfully the weather was better for the next day, so we decided on some rock scrambling in Yewdale, both guys were a little unsure with heights, but coped well and gladly, the confidence built as the day progressed, this would help with other activities I had planned for the remaining days.
The following day required a rest day, the guys were still a little jetlagged and were also a little stiff from a day of scrambling so we took a low level walk taking in the Langdale views, we headed over to little Langdale and walked around Little Langdale tarn, this really is a gem and the guys were suitably impressed, we finished by climbing up and over Lingmell fell back into the Great Langdale valley.
The guys were nicely rested for the fourth day, so we headed into Langdale again to tackle some great Rock Climbing, we headed for Stickle barn and ticked off all the routes on this small crag, we covered technique, movement, basic rope work and belay techniques during the morning, then after a lunch at the Stickle barn pub we headed over to Wrynose and walked up to Black crag, this crag has great views down into Eskdale and some great single pitch climbing.
We had a skills day arranged for the following day, the guys wanted to learn how to navigate using a map and compass, so after an hour in the café learning the fundamental basics, we headed out over Dow bank and put the theory into practice, we covered timing, pacing, contours, and attack points, both picked up the skills well, and successfully navigated over 5km to Easedale tarn, I always enjoy helping people pick up a new skill, especially one that is as important as mountain navigation.
Abseiling was planned for the last day, we headed back to Cathedral caves to learn the basics on the small wall, with an aim of hitting the main 160ft wall in the afternoon, unfortunately, the fear of heights started to resurface, and Elliot could not pluck up the courage to “Go over the edge”… however hard he tried, great effort for trying though! For the afternoon, Steve and Elliot really wanted to “Summit” a mountain, but were feeling a bit tired from a full week, so after a bit of thought, we decided on the 400m Loughrigg fell, this is a fairly easy ascent with great 360 degree views of Grasmere, Langdale, Ambleside and Windermere, the sunshine spurred on our ascent, and we arrived at the busy summit in time to watch a lucky lady get proposed too! (She said yes by the way)
I have really enjoyed this week, Steve is a natural story teller, and I have revelled in his brilliant Brooklyn accent, and Elliot has big plans for his future, cheers guys, it has been a blast! please keep in touch, below is a small selection of photos taken throughout the week.
Tags: summer