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We have been holidaying in Keswick for over 10 years and usually have 2 single weeks of mainly easy family walking each year.
Driving westwards from Penrith the view of Blencathra and Sharp Edge is always captivating and I have always fancied getting dropped of at the White Horse Inn and then walking over Blencathra and onwards to the Keswick Bridge lodges where we often stay.
Last Saturday the weather was good and as we were arriving in two cars it was the ideal chance to try this.
It was very windy and i thought ascending via Hall's Fell might be too exposed. I thus decided to ascend via Sharp Edge which would be in the lee of the wind and hopefully less exposed. The ground was luckily dry and i thought the ridge would be too.
The Edge was as delightful as usual and i never tire of doing this. A great combination of non-scarey scrambling but at the same time never boring. Spied a peregrine when half way up the edge.
I had never come down the western ridge before and was thus surprised by the fantastic views of keswick and Derwent Water. -was in too much of a rush [no parking spaces to drop me off] that i forgot my camera.
Descended to the Blencathra Riding Centre [which had caused me route finding trouble when mountain biking in the past] but this time manged to find the initially very narrow path leading down to Derwentfolds.
On reaching a small narrow tarmac road, bore left to descend to the old railway path and then a 30min walk back to KB where my beer was perfectly chilled in the fridge.
What a perfect start to a week's holiday in the Lakes.
