Initially the forecast wasn't great this weekend and after arranging to walk with Father Shaun Church, Rod and Michael I needed to come up with a walk where we didn't have to concentrate too much on the route whilst possibly being rained on from above, Birketts Great Calva walk suited all of our needs perfectly.

Both myself and Shaun have been trying to arrange a walk for sometime yet availability always seemed to get in the way, a couple of months ago Shaun emailed informing me he had a week booked in the Lakes this week so this time I made sure I was available, also joining us today are Rod and his mate Michael.

I'm quite fond of routes like todays which predominently targets just the one summit whilst eating the miles away along the Cumbrian Way, it wasn't just the forecast which lured me onto this particular route but a section of the Cumbrian Way from Peter House Farm to Skiddaw House, it's a route I haven't walked on for some years and this week I felt compelled to return, all the while catching up with great friends and to top it all off, it even managed to stay dry.

We had arranged to meet at the slightly later time of 08:30am if only to allow any overnight rain to fade away which worked out well, although it was clear there was a lot of standing water about both on the roads and footpaths. I arrived first and parked easily soon followed by Shaun and we caught up between the cars as the brisk morning air nipped at exposed skin. We were soon joined by Rod and Michael who mirrorred our own concerns explaining about the torrential downpours they'd driven through to get here, well, all of that rain is hopefully behind us but we kit up knowing it's going to get pretty wet underfoot especially once the Cumbrian Way is left behind.

With the cars locked we opened the gate onto the Cumbrian Way to be greeted with strong sunlight streaking through the Dash valley, the further we walk the more we are exposed to the strong light which causes my eyes to water! Soon the gap between Bakestall and Little Calva widens allowing the sunlight to drench the valley, what a fantastic start to the walk.

We left the Cumbrian Way after locating the path which will lead us onto Great Calva summit, the area around here is notoriously boggy and after weeks worth of rain the path had turned into a quagmire.

Hey ho lets go.

That's Meal Fell over on the left seen beyond Trusmador.

White Hause was soon reached by which time we seemed to have lost the light as the cloud continued to build. You might be able to spot Dash Farm hidden in the trees below, Birkett recommends to descend directly towards the farm then pass through it before linking back up with the Cumbrian Way but since the book was published the Farmer has put up signs noting 'No access to Walkers' meaning we had to find an alterative way around.

To get around the farm we descended White Hause towards the corner of the field (marked Sprs on the map) keeping Dash Farm on our left shoulders. On reaching the corner of the field we passed through the gate, through the field and headed towards the farm access track, cross Dash Beck once more via the wooden bridge and then linked back up with the Cumbrian Way.