It's been another unsettled and dare I say unseasoned week of weather with flooding affecting not just Cumbria but the whole of the UK. I'd booked a couple of days off from work a few weeks ago knowing my weekends were going to be busy with other stuff and in between all the yellow warnings I spied a weather window on Thursday afternoon so I thought about planning a walk up Scafell Pike, something that I haven't done since May 2018.

Despite all this rain I knew it wasn't going to be just me who would take advantage of this weather window and choosing to climb England's highest mountain during the Summer holidays meant it was going to be a busy ascent especially as I was walking the popular Brown Tongue route from Wasdale Head but I had a plan to alleviate this where I'd leave the crowds at Hollow Stones before climbing steeply towards the Mickledore ridge, an ascent flanked by some of Lakeland's best rock scenery.

From Mickledore I'll ascend the summit shoulder while taking in the breathtaking views over Great Moss before re-joining the crowds on England's highest ground. After taking in the views I descend to Lingmell Col before ascending steadily onto Lingmell summit where the view opens out over Piers Gill onto the Corridor Route, Broad Crag, Great End, Sty Head and Great Gable before descending Lingmell's steep West ridge under late afternoon sunshine.

Ascending Brown Tongue felt tougher than it should under the heat of the afternoon sun but I have always enjoyed this ascent and today was no different. My head tends to sweat a lot so after years of complaining and doing nothing about it today I have brought along a wash cloth instead of using the front of my T-shirt which worked wonders leaving the ascent that bit more comfortable with the added touch of the smell of fabric softener which reminded me of home!

Tempted by the strong sunlight I reached Mickledore by which time I was overheating and in desperate need to lose the layer I'd added below. I heard voices and two young girls appeared from the area around the Stretcher Box, we greet with a Hi as I de-layer and we soon break into conversation. It turns out they are from Norway and have gained Mickeldore from Great Moss/Eskdale and were asking the best route to Lord's Rake, I advised them to cross Mickledore first then to descend down onto Rake's Progress (their original intention was to descend the way I had just come up) but this was advised against.

We chatted for a while and they asked where I was from - I'm guessing Wigan isn't very well heard of in Norway so Manchester had to do (close enough as I work there) I had total admiration for these two explorers after all it's not very often you would find two young girls from another country climbing England's highest peak by one of the least accessible routes.

It was at this point was my ascent interrupted by the noise of a dog barking from around the location of Fox's Tarn which is the shaded area in the left of the photo, it wasn't so much of a bark but a constant 'yap' which grew my attention to look further, I had spotted a sheep being chased by a small dog brown(ish) in colour and although the sheep didn't appear to be in any harm cleverly out running the dog my concern was for how much ground this dog had descended with no owner in sight which I estimated to be around 300ft from where I first saw the dog to its last location.

Anyone who knows me will know the love I have for all dogs and right now my stomach was churning in knots. With still no sign of the owner the barking stopped but I could still see the sheep but no dog now followed by the owners screams; CHARLIE, CHARLIE, CHARLIE !! I do not know the fate of the dog or if the owner got it back, I do hope so but this is one reason why you should never take your dog of its lead when not familiar with sheep especially in mountainous surroundings.

Prior to reaching the summit I spotted three walkers heading towards the top of Goat Crags, these would have been the same people I'd seen from Scafell Pike earlier and now it appears I have the summit to myself.

Fantastic.

With my lunch stop over I re-shouldered and made my way off the summit shoulder via a narrow grassy trod towards the top of Goat Crags as I took sight of some really clear views of the Scafells.

With a hot afternoon sun on my back I made my way back to Wasdale Head this time I had the path to myself accompanied by the glorious views into Mosedale and its surrounding peaks. Wasdale Head was still busy minus a few cars leaving here and there and just as I had earlier I made my way to the far end of the car park to capture this photo of Great Gable domineering the head the Wasdale valley. I make my way back to my car and drop the windows to let the heat escape while a young girl sits on the bonnet of the car parked next to mine. I kit down, boots off first I run my hand tightly over the soles of my feet easing away the miles of pressure.

Before leaving I sit on the edge of my boot absorbing the view, the sun is beating down and by this time tomorrow it'll be blowing a gale while the rain lashes in sideways which is hard to digest as I sit here in the tranquil of a Lakeland Summer evening.