I hadn't been back long from an 18 miler on the mountain bike last Sunday evening when I received an email from David suggesting we opt for a more quieter day on the hill and use two cars to take advantage of the Shap and Wetsleddale fells. I'm sure I can speak for Rod when I say it was one of those emails we couldn't return quickly enough and although it was only twelve months ago since Rod and I walked a section of this route we were eager to return to this special corner of Lakeland which is home to what I personally refer to as 'Lakelands best mile'

By using two cars David and Rod would leave one car at Wetsleddale Reservoir then take the short drive south to meet me at Shap Road summit. Picking up the track directly from the A6 we would follow the stone wall over Whatshaw Common, Little Yarlside, Great Yarlside, Harrop Pike from where we would track westerly to Grey Crag. Leaving Grey Crag we head north westerly crossing a very damp Greycrag Tarn before ascending Tarn Crag from where we will descend into the Mosedale valley. After paying a quick visit to Mosedale Cottage the return stretch would see us collect Scam Matthew, High Wether Howe and finally Seat Robert before descending back to Wetsleddale, we didn't have the best start weather wise but boy we ended the walk with a hot sun on our backs before the forecasted showers arrived.

It wasn't the best forecast but we decided to go ahead anyway hoping that the showers forecasted for later this afternoon would arrive once we had completed the walk and it was low hill cloud which greeted us as David and Rod joined me at Shap Road summit where the cloud was so dense the only way we knew the electricity pylons where there was by the humming noise they gave off. It was dry and even mild and that was main thing. Despite the cloud we all opted to wear shorts topped up with a soft shell or fleece. Instead of picking up the track behind the Bothy we continued along the A6 for a short distance before turning right at a gate which I tried to open inwards, I laughed my stupidity off with "ahh it's an outie not an inny gate"

Continuing up the track we picked up the stone wall which would guide us all the way to Great Yarlside and beyond but before that we caught up on David and Rod's epic Langdale Pikes wild camp and my Cam Spout Crag walk which we did on what was possibly the hottest day of the year all of which felt a lifetime away as we passed the humming monsters on route to Whatshaw Common.

We'd only just turned our backs on Whatshaw Common when we were forced to detour around a particular boggy area, each going our separate ways David wasn't too far behind me when my left leg sank almost up to the knee cap before screaming "get me out!" if it hadn't have been for a quick thinking David I reckon I'd still have been there now.

I was of course the butt of the next ten minutes jokes and at only a mile or so into 12.5 mile walk I had one very wet left sock and boot, however the good news was the cloud was beginning to lift.

...you might think I'm 'puddlelt' as my Dad would say but here's another area of Lakeland that I have strong connections with which, after walking between Great Yarlside and Harrup Pike sometime ago I aptly named 'Lakelands greatest mile' yes it's bleak and offers hardly anything in the way of views but that doesn't stop my stomach churning each time I return here.

I truly feel I draw in the bleakness of the landscape which was what created that memory all those years ago.

Although named Greycrag Tarn what little body of water there is lies beneath bog which isn't commonly seen. However, that isn't to say the area isn't wet because the area is notoriously boggy with the exception of the back end of the heat wave last week which we all agreed would have been a much less boggier crossing.

While tucking into lunch David then spotted a herd of Deer up on the ridge in the left of this photo by which time the sun had found its way between the cloud leaving us to finish off our lunch in warm midday sunshine.

The forecasters had hit the nail on the head with todays forecast, rain indeed was pushing from west to east allowing us to enjoy these pleasant hills without taking a soaking, well, at least two of us did David and Rod chuckled.