With the unsettled weather continuing frustrations were building if and when I was going to walk during my week off. I also had to paint the shed and a good deal of fence paneling which also required dry weather, I had one day to do both.

Fridays forecast was the driest so by 9am I was painting my shed and by 3pm I'd painted the fence too, trouble was I hadn't eaten all day and to be fair I was knacked but, if I ate a late lunch, hydrated I could then relax during my drive to Lakeland.

After a quick shower by 4pm I was packed and ready to go and if I was honest I was looking forward to the two hour drive if only it meant I could sit down. The plan was to arrive at Scales by 6pm then really take my time ascending Blencathra hopefully summiting by 8:30pm leaving half an hour to watch the sun go down north of the summit.

I knew some of Lakelands highest summits had received a blanket of snow given my last outing, in fact while driving home along Newlands Pass on Wednesday I watched a freak blizzard pass over Blencathra then Keswick only adding to the summits accumulation of snow. Today had been a dry day but nowhere near warm enough to start a thaw, the snow was still going to be there which meant I would have to adjust as I went along.

The drive north allowed the rest my body needed and by the time I'd parked up at Scales I was feeling fresh and ready to go even though parts of my fingers were coloured in Harvest Gold fence paint. I managed to park behind two other cars at the lay-by opposite the White Horse Inn, Scales and before I kitted up I watched two walkers descending the steep path directly behind the Inn.

It was bright and pleasant but still a tad on the cool side so I add my soft shell before sweeping the boot making sure I don't leave nothing behind especially my head torch which I zip into my packs waist pocket. Allowing nearly two hours to ascend Blencathra was excessive but it also meant I could take my time, I mean really take my time!

I made my way back towards the summit then located the top of the zigzagged path which was also under a foot of frozen compacted snow which required little effort and soon I was zigging and zagging my way off the summit. The amount of foot traffic had thawed out one side of the path where I could pick up pace, cast in shadow and with a pink afterglow to the north east I continued my descent over Doddick Fell then Scales Fell before the A66 came into view. Traffic was sparse now but in the fading light what headlights I did see came as a strange comfort, I was close. The path leading down Scales fell was heavily eroded in places and new paths had been cut through the undergrowth which are also starting to get eroded, Scales Fell needs a solution but I know this has been tried before with little affect.

I pass the point where I left the footpath for the traverse above Mousthwaite Comb and flick my head torch on and the footpath is illuminated before me, I should have switched it on ten minutes ago but I guess my eyes had started to adjust to the fading light. The rear of the White Horse Inn appears and I take in the last descent of the week. The Inn is quiet for 9pm and so too is the A66 which I cross without having to negotiate any traffic. With my car unlocked I throw my gear into the boot not forgetting to take out the sandwich I'd made for the journey home. I glance at my watch it's 9.05pm It had taken me two hours to reach the summit and only forty minutes from summit back to car, christ, my knees are gonna pay for it in the morning.