Despite a poor forecast for the fells south of Dunmail Raise, I'd set my sights on Pike O' Blisco and Cold Pike from Wrynose Pass. I was so fixed on the idea that I even left the M6 at Kendal half hoping the forecasters had got it wrong but they hadn't. As I drove towards Ambleside I could barely make out Loughrigg Fell through the low cloud, but I turned left at Waterhead anyway, pulled over, and weighed up my options. It wasn't looking good. I re-joined the A591 and headed for Grasmere, where the cloud base sat slightly higher than Helm Crag, but not by much. Looking north over Dunmail Raise, however, the cloud thinned and I could've sworn I saw chinks of blue between the gaps. Continuing north, the contrast between the south of Dunmail and the north was like night and day. By the time I was driving through St John's-in-the-Vale the cloud had cleared revealing blue skies and high level cloud.

Another wowzer moment just like the one at the beginning of May, and for the second time in a month I couldn't quite believe it. The trouble was, I had no idea where to walk. I've got leave booked this week and I was saving Blencathra for another day, so I turned right onto the A66 and headed for Mungrisdale, route still unconfirmed and likely to be made up as I went along. I was only the second vehicle to arrive at the parking spaces the first was a motorhome, its owner and Spaniel pup eating breakfast at a nearby bench. We exchanged a morning nod across the gravel. No rain was forecast, in fact, it was incredibly mild which meant I'd be setting off in shorts and a T-shirt. That didn't mean I was travelling light, though. What my pack lacked in gear it made up for in hydration, and as always it landed against my back with a thud once shouldered. I passed the campervan and strode out through the village, losing the warmth of the morning as I walked below the woodland alongside the River Glenderamackin where the road began to rise towards the old schoolhouse.

I was met with a cool breeze back on Bowscale Fell, the kind that makes the hairs on your arms stand on end, but it was confined to the summits and by the time I'd descended, the warmth of the morning had returned. I'd already made my mind up to head for Mungrisdale Common next, which meant crossing ground that's usually boggy at the best of times but today it had dried hard with much of the expanse blooming with acres of cotton grass.

With the traverse of the east ridge behind me, I continued my descent, flanked by vibrant bracken, until I reached the base of the slope at the River Glenderamackin. I crossed by the ford rather than the footbridge just a few yards away which was comically occupied by four sheep, all of whom watched me with suspicion as I stepped across. The path to the right which flanks the Glenderamackin has been closed for some time due to structural damage, of the river bank though access is still allowed for the first 500 yards. Eventually I reached a makeshift gate with a sign nailed to it instructing walkers not to continue and instead take the detour over a wide bank of marshland. The ground was semi-dried but still holding onto water. I followed three marker posts that led me back onto the very path I'd used to gain Bowscale Fell four hours earlier, descending to another bridge where I crossed the Glenderamackin for the final time. I was surprised to find a woman sitting on the edge of the bridge who looked more like she belonged in a trendy bar than out here in the valley but we exchanged a quick "hi" all the same.

I joined the concrete slabs and took in the views up through Bullfell Beck, flanked by the steep hillside that forms Bowscale Fell's east ridge. Three fell runners were descending a path I never knew existed - a steep line that seemed to cut directly onto the ridge halfway up. I tucked that one away for another day. Half a dozen sheep were blocking the same gate I'd passed through earlier, and I offered a verbal apology as I squeezed past. On the other side of the gate the owner of the cottage in the photo was mowing the back lawn as a patch of yellow poppies caught my eye something I'd completely missed earlier. The sun was blazing now, and I'd made great time on a walk I hadn't even set out to do this morning. With an unsettled week ahead I'll be weather watching over the next few days looking out for gaps in the forecast such as todays.