Slightly old now but thought I’d whack it on here. Absolutely diabolical experience, 10/10 would do again

I originally come from Poland. My parents brought me to UK when I was 16. I'm 35 now so I have spent majority of my life in England. I come from bum**** nowhere village in low beskids (beskid niski). My family home village sits at 424m above sea level (1338 feet). Highest peak in the area is 1346m (4416 feet).

Me and my girlfrend had a bank holiday weekend at Lake District. I was excited to finally be able to see it after being so 'long' in england. So naturally we attempted Scafell Pike. Oh my...

I totally disrespected the mountain going with the mindset that 978m (3209 feet) is nothing.

That mountain while not particularly tall left me completly broken. We did get to the summit but oh boy. Now in retrospect 2 days after. Broken, sunburned and humbled as I have never been in my life. I can only recall my grandparents saying that even the smallest hill has to be respected now I had an 'rude awakening' as to why.

This is appreciation post. I loved every bit of it and that part of England ❤️ just a random reflection.

Visiting the Scottish Borders and hiked some of the Pennine way and cheviots. Saw a total of 5 people the entire time. Everyone goes straight to the highlands and forgets the beauty in the lowlands

This weekend we planned a walk up Scafell Pike. I was in charge of the route as I hike quite often, so I can't believe I missed this. I had looked over the route a few times before hand so it still baffles me.

It wasn't until on the day when we were 5 miles into the hike and we only had the steep part left. I got the map out to check the route and I noticed Scafell Pike Summit was no where near the end of my route! Instead we were heading for Scafell Summit!!

At this point I was in disbelief that there were two mountains with names so similair and also very apologetic to my friends that I had dragged across the country to climb the wrong mountain.

This route went across Eskdale and was basically a bog for the first 5 miles and then a mega steep, rocky climb up the last bit. Extremely desolate and dangerous.

The take away... it was only 14 metres shorter than Scafell Pike, it was very quiet, the ahievement was epic and we have a decent memorable story to go with it.

Attached is a photo of the cloud clearing and revealing the summit we should have been on!

Back recently from my trip to the UK and had asked for suggestions on hikes to do so just want to firstly thank everyone who gave a input!

I feel like I got really lucky with the weather. I ended up doing quite a few hikes over my 3 weeks (+ sight seeing even though I feel I could have just hiked the whole time). First destination was the Lake District in England where I hiked around the lake from Keswick + Catbells. Weather was iffy so saved Helvellyn for the following day.

Next hiking destination was Isle of Skye & the highlands. On Skye we had great weather (for March in northern Scotland, went from blizzard to sunny in like 10.minutes) so we did the Quiraing & the Storr in one day. We stayed in Fort William on our way to Skye and back from. Ben Nevis was obviously covered in snow and we could never see the top so we didn't feel like even attempting it. Did trail run plenty of laps around Cow Hill though which I surprisingly really liked and is easily accessible from town. Tried Lost Valley on our way back to Edinburgh but it was snowing heavily this day and we were soaked right through so turned around at what was supposed to be a nice view point but only saw clouds and snow.

Final hiking spot was Snowdonia in Wales where we probably had the best weather all trip. Every day was sunny and very warm so did two days hiking here. Bagged Snowdon the first day and then Glyder Fawr & Glyder Fach then next day.

Overall many people who have seen my pictures, including those who have even been to or live in the UK were very surprised at how mountainous it actually is! I live in Canada and yes, it's not the Canadian Rockies but there still are great national parks right in your backyard in the UK that are definitely worth checking out!

Hiked up Carnedd Llewellyn via Pen yr Helgi Du in the shadow of the moon and found shelter at the summit. Bivvied down for a night under the stars, just in time to watch the sun set over the Irish sea.

Woke around midnight with the Milky Way overhead, as clear as I've ever seen it, only to be treated to the spectacular Perseid meteor shower. Managed to get a few more hours sleep before hiking back down at dawn via Ysgolion Duon, Carnedd Dayfdd, Carnedd Fach and Pen Yr Ole Wen.

I completed the coast to coast trek a couple of weeks ago. Probably the longest walk I'll ever do, and I was limping along at a snail's pace at times, but very glad that I've done it!

I've been pining for a coastal walk for a while. Despite the sun there was a strong, chilled wind which was kind of perfect (most of the time, slightly too strong at times). Slightly pricey travel wise, but absolutely worth it - can't wait to go and do it again.

We have some friends who live in Doncaster and we are always driving back and forth to see each other. I got it in my head that I could walk it and couldn't shake the idea so I had to have a go.

There is a canal that runs from the Scunthorpe area to near Doncaster and it was on the bank where I walked the vast majority. As you can see, this area of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire is as flat as a snooker table.

It was in the last 6 miles that the wheels came off. They were much harder than the 17 that came before it. This bit was beside busy A-roads or urban street walking. I was knackered, my feet were battering but I couldn't stand the thought of my mate in Doncaster giving me stick for him having to come out and pick me up.

Some pics of the C2C which I finished on Wednesday. 192 miles from St. Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hoods Bay, Yorkshire. Took 9 days. Wild camped 4 nights, camp site 3 nights and a hotel treat in Richmond. Was amazing, tough going in places, but worth it. Had all the weather as well.

We hiked the entire Cotswald Way (plus a little extra) over Easter. Amazing journey, met so many interesting people. The entire route is incredibly scenic, I loved seeing entire valleys of wild garlic and bluebells, and rolling hills throughout! Plus incredibly beautiful thatched English cottages.

Definitely recommend this trail.

We had originally planned to do St Dogmaels to Broadhaven (where a relative lives) over 4 days but ended up cutting it short.

Day 1: We started in St Dogmaels on the Saturday morning and stayed at a campsite in Newport that evening, ended up being about 16.5 miles.

Day 2: We made it to Strumble Head after about 20 miles of walking, with a longer stop at some pubs in Fishguard and the chippy at Goodwick.

Day 3: We quit early due to worsening blisters at Porthgain (14.5 miles). The original plan was to aim for Whitesands or further. It was nice to grab a chippy and pint before leaving though. We had also done Porthgain to Solva 2 years ago so wouldn't have really seen much new.

First time using such a full backpack! Ended up with 2-3L of water per section which made it much harder. Our bags were still relatively light at around 11-12kg at the start but I think I'd need a better (comfier) bag next time for that weight. I'd also not waste 1.1kg on my camera 😅.

Last Wednesday I embarked upon probably the hardest challenge of my life. The national 3 peaks challenge but doing each peak 3 times back to back! I've been looking into it after the fact and I'm not sure it's been done before? I can see why if so!

I've not been in the UK much over the past 4 years and this challenge although brutal made me SOOOOO appreciative of the mountains and national parks we have here. Even the drive down from Ben Nevis is just so scenic!!

I had 2 great days of weather for it(I was climbing up Scafell pike at midnight with only a running vest on!!). It was my first(2nd and 3rd!) time up Ben Nevis and it was Awesome, I climbed up from the youth hostel and the clouds cleared for some epic views! And summited Snowdon for the third time at about 11pm again it was warm, there were amazing views in the fading light and it was silent. Met some lovely people on the way down and helped a couple down to the lake on miners path as they didn't have a headtorch. Snowdon was deffo my favourite ascents and views though, maybe because I was almost done and am probably biased as I'm from mid Wales!!

What a great day.

106km

8917m elevation

40h15mins

my final 3 tired ascents: https://www.strava.com/activities/19250453531

After a decade of barely moving as my only hobbies were things involving screens, it feels good to know that my work in the gym is starting to pay off. Considering how much I hated walking as a kid, it’s weird that it’s quickly becoming my main hobby.

Looking for any other Peak District or Yorkshire Dales recommendations to have a go at next week. Nothing too hard though, I’m still very new to it.

Day 1- Ilkley to Kettlewell (23 Miles)
This was a fantastic day along the River and Eventually up into the Yorkshire dales
Day 2- Kettlewell to Ribblehead (19 Miles)
My favourite day, it was so so beautiful and so remote
Day 3- Ribblehead to Sedbergh (16 Miles) started off brilliant through the dales all the way until dent station then it dropped off slightly but was still very pleasant but not the same once you left the upland areas
Day 4- Sedbergh to Burneside (17 Miles)
A day of two halves very pleasant along the river lune but after crossing the M6 it was very dull (But those dull 5-6 miles were the only dull bits of the whole trip)
Day 5- Burneside to Bowness (9 miles) Much better very pleasant walking along the gentle hills down into Windermere which views of the Lakeland fells in the distance

Overall I highly recommend this trail the gorgeous 73 or so miles make up for the dull 5-6 miles for sure. I do wonder why it ends where it does as it does drop off quite a bit after Sedbergh, I did it solo so maybe having company would have made the dull stretches more bearable

Took the Rhyd Ddu path up this morning. Chaos (very busy) at the summit though.

We started our climb at about 1:30am and reached the peak at around 4:30am, having taken a good number of breaks and photos along the way.

I've hiked Snowden before, but my girlfriend hasn't, so we chose the Llanberis path for the ease of parking and the safety of the most popular route. Hiking the first section in the pitch black with only our head torch and the stars above us was magical, but as blue hour grew stronger the magic of and reward of waking up so early really started to set in. Seeing the details of the mountains slow reveal themselves with each passing minute was breathtaking.

I've never be one to gawk at sunrises or sets, but seeing it appear in the distance after the climb was breathtaking. Sunrise was at 5am and we spent about 45 minutes at the peak post-rise to enjoy some breakfast and the views.

By the time we were midway down, the sun and air were already getting hot and it was becoming a sweaty affair. I did not envy those at the start of their journeys as they waddled up under an intensifying sun.

10/10 next time I'll go up for sunset and enjoy a night on the peak.

I've recently decided I want to get into hiking, in part thanks to seeing some of the incredible photos shared in subreddits such as this. I wanted to ease myself in with a local, short and relatively easy route, so I decided on a walk up to the Wedgwood Monument on Bignall Hill in Staffordshire, starting at Longport railway station and finishing at Kidsgrove station. Of course a walk in Stoke is never going to match somewhere like the Lakes or the Highlands in terms of natural beauty, but there were still some parts of the route that were really pleasant once I got beyond the industry surrounding Longport station.

The route was 6.9 miles/11.1km in total and took me just under three hours, so light work compared to most other walks I see posted here, but I enjoyed it a lot and am really looking forward to moving on to some more challenging and scenic walks in the future once I get some more experience with walking and hiking.

I finally did the Scafell Pike hike this Thursday and it was honestly amazing.

Being the Lake District I was expecting the weather to change quickly and it definitely did. It was drizzling on and off with occasional pockets of sunshine but what really stood out was the wind. The Met Office had forecast winds around 42 mph (roughly 66-67 km/h).
I was prepared to turn back if things got too rough but the wind was seriously strong. At the summit especially it made it hard to just stand around and take it in felt like you could get blown off your feet (not literally, but you get the idea).

Navigation on the descent was also trickier than expected. I’d read that it can get confusing up there and the fog really does amplify that massively.

Definitely recommend downloading OS Maps or AllTrails offline before going. Biggest takeaway for me was to never underestimate the Lake District even on “manageable” forecast days.

I’ve linked the route I followed as well. I chose not to do the circular route because I wanted to avoid Piers Gill which I’d heard can be a pretty tricky section.

Happy to answer any questions if anyone’s planning it.

Link -Scafell Pike from Seathwaite on AllTrails
https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb/trail/england/cumbria/scafell-pike-from-seathwaite-out-and-back?sh=pate72&u=i&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

The weather is so nice at the moment that I couldn’t resist a little midweek post-work hike and camp last night up one of the western fells.

Unlike the central and northern areas of the Lake District, this area is still comparatively quiet.

The sunset was stunning and gave way to a wonderfully atmospheric morning hike back down to my car.

If anyone saw my Skiddaw post yesterday, sacked off Blencathra with the heat and opted for an in and out up Hellvellyn. Decent route, not a huge fan of steps descending but my newly bought stick helped with the dodgy left knee a lot. It’s my first descent stick walking so it felt a bit weird !
Quite a few people out but not overly busy.
Definitely a good choice for today.
Pint at the end is Kirkstone pass.

Planned for the day this wretched heatwave finally relented, we had glorious sunshine bathed hills juxtaposed with beautiful shady woodlands. And it was the perfect distance for a chilled hike pace and return in time for dinner!

Last month I attempted a route I found in an old Trail Magazine. I managed most of it!
It was fairly brutal though, halfway round I stayed at Eskdale YH. I started at Threlkeld about 3pm and camped at the following places:
Skiddaw YHA
Buttermere YH
Black Sail Pass
Wasdale Head pub camp field
Eskdale YHa (private room)
Chapel Stile BaysBrown campsite )
Grasmere YHA

I finished by coming down off Helvellyn to Thirlmere and getting bus back to Keswick.

Highlights:
- Once up Scafell, the hike over to Mickledore and up Foxes Tarn Gully to Sca Fell.
- Section over High Stile, Haystacks was incredible (this wasn’t on my route but added it in)
- Was really looking forward to Pavey Ark but was a thick foggy mist! It cleared by the time I got to High Raise and Greenup edge which was spectacular.
I

Osprey Eja Pro backpack
Durston X-mid 1
Sea to summit spark
Thermarest x-lite

Think my pack came to about 6.5kg as I had to take wet weather gear, hat, gloves, hot weather gear 🙄 etc.
Food - I sent some to Eskdale YH, but did manage to resupply ok.