I had to miss the fells last weekend due to a rather nasty case of Covid which seemed to go on forever, suffering with loss of taste and smell, a total lack of appetite, and headaches that lasted for days, to say it knocked me for six would be an understatement and although I'm free from Covid, I'm far from fit. I have some leave coming up, and as usual, I wanted to plan those bigger walks yet despite the routes being in my head, there was no way my body would allow me to do them, so I'm starting to regain my fitness and walk what I consider to be a classic Lakeland ridge route from Cat Bells to High Spy with a hidden kick, descent via Nitting Haws. I left home around 5am and arrived at the parking spaces at Gutherscale around 6:50am to find just three spaces left.

I'd followed a couple driving a Nissan X-Trail from Portinscale, and as I kitted up the woman looked over and dissapointingly said, "It's sad that it's got to this now." I knew instantly what she was referring to, having to time our arrivals much earlier due to the popularity of the Lakeland fells which seems to be growing year on year. As it turns out, the couple were from Holmefirth which is on the doorstep of the Peak District, and I had to reply, "You've left a beautiful part of the country already" I replied, "Yes, but we do prefer the Lakes." I'd left home at 5am and this couple had left at 4am, During the course of this walk, I would meet people who'd left earlier. With my car locked, I left the car park and began the steady ascent through wet bracken, which spread a nice damp patch across the front and sides of my shorts, nice!

I last visited Nitting Haws in the Spring of 2022 on a very wet grey day with David and Rod and I was gripped by the area and vowed that I'd return on a clearer day. From High Spy I back-tracked back along the path until I reached the cairn at NY 235 167 and veered steeply down the fell side.

Goat Crag (seen far right) initially domineers the descent until Nitting Haws comes into view seen in the centre of the photo. The path is steep in places but clear and easy to follow. It was here I spotted movement below, a lone figure wearing all black - it looked like the lad who'd mistaken High Spy for Grange Fell but I couldn't be sure.

The sound of traffic travelling through the Borrowdale valley along with tent poles being hammered into the ground at Hollows Farm Campsite brought me back to civilization as I took in the sun-dazzled views into Borrowdale from Swanesty How, where Castle Crag dominated the near skyline. I was just yards away from the road that links Portinscale with Grange, and I could see it was starting to get busy. The footpath ended at a sty opposite the Borrowdale Gates Hotel, where I turned left ready for the two and a half-mile road walk back to Gutherscale. The traffic was quiet, and I was able to walk in the shade of the trees without seeing a single car sometimes for ten minutes or more. Couples came and went, and despite being under the weather, I managed to overtake them all. When I first penned this walk, it included a return to Gutherscale via the Cat Bells terrace path, which I could see beyond the woodland was getting busy but I didn't see any point in spoiling the peace and quiet I had by the roadside.

Flanked by Cat Bells footfall began to get busier, and so did the parking where dozens of cars had parked over the double yellows. Little did the owners know there was a traffic warden in high-viz at Hawes End about to ticket them all. The road climbed for the last time, where I was treated to a wide open view across Derwent Water. Its surface was busy with sailboats and paddle boarders under the approaching midday sunshine. I'd never seen so many little boats moored off St Herbert's Island. Gutherscale was just around the corner and I wondered how busy it would be as one car crept towards the parking spaces, narrowly missing the door mirrors of the cars whose owners had parked downwind from the spaces; first one car, then the next; christ, it's midday and they're still coming. I started to feel anxious. With the parking spaces reached the owners of another car must have spotted me collapsing my walking poles and waiting patiently for me to kit down. It was my first walk in two weeks, but it felt longer according to my aching limbs.