Fortunately, both cars of eager hillwalkers arrived at the campsite within 10 minutes of each other. All agreed that the site was not for us and so we made for the site at Bowber Head, pitching noisily, much to the consternation of the other campers at 11.45pm.
The morning brought two lots of bad news. Firstly the weather forecast was terrible, and secondly, we had picked the one weekend of the year to visit these unfrequented hills that some sort of marathon brought hundreds and hundreds of fell runners through the Howgills. We were lucky enough to avoid them on the hills but the acres of tents around the pub meant that getting to the bar would prove difficult.
A late start in the rain on Saturday morning saw us walking up to Cautley Spout ,decidedly lacking some of its attraction in the rain. Despite dropping many subtle hints, including leaving my food in the campsite, we pressed on regardless up a steep grassy slope up the side of the falls, Andy approaching perilously close to the edge of the drop to the falls. Still not content with our degree of saturation, we slogged on up to The Calf in dense cloud. A hasty retreat over Great Dunmacks and down a steep grassy slope (The Howgills have many) found us back in the pub by late afternoon, enjoying soup and a pint and steaming nicely. After a brief break for dinner back at the campsite we were back in the pub, James and Toby promptly clearing a space for us in their very own style!
Sunday made up for Saturday by being clear and sunny. After a mad dash around narrow country lanes to the western side of the Howgills, we ascended a steep grassy slope up Fell Head. As we climbed higher the view of the M6 slipped away and the whole of the Lake District opened out in front of us. After waiting in the sun for a decrepit James to catch up, we carried on round a gentle ridge, just aiming for the next top and a stop and a snooze. The Calf was busier and brighter than the previous day, with dozens of people. However, the ridge curved on round to Arant Haw and our last snooze break of the day, and back down to where we had left the cars, descending down one last steep grassy slope! Certain members of the party were noticeably redder than when we had left that morning.
Last modified: Wednesday, 25 April 2007, at 19:58 (BST)