Hiking in the Lake District & Scafell Pike (England’s Highest Peak)

Having ruled out any possibility of getting out of the UK (it just didn’t seem worth the hassle), I set about planning 2 weeks of roaming the place I’ve called home for the past 20+ years but have ignorantly seen so little of.

Real talk: I never saw the point of holidaying in the UK. It’s not particularly cheap (unless you’re camping, but no thanks) & the weather is certainly not guaranteed. Plus, the landscape never really blew me away. I always thought England was flat and boring compared to the exotic beachside cliffs found dotted around the Asian coast. When assessing value for money, England just didn’t have the appeal. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I’m joking of course. I had holiday to use & I saw an opportunity to do something a bit different.

Immediately I was drawn to the idea of exploring some national parks. I started to do some investigating & it wasn’t long before I landed on The Lake District, which I then learnt is home to England’s tallest peak, Scafell Pike. How, I didn’t know this information before, I do not know. But I went from discovery to, ‘that’s what I’m going to do’ in about 30 seconds.

When it feels right, it feels right.

Location: Keswick

I called my mum who by now, I hope has accepted that bucking the trend, will continue to receive an ever-growing number of phone calls from me, the older I get. I told her about my idea & it just so happened that her & my dad were going to be in the area at the same time and that my dad quite fancied climbing Scafell too. So that was that. She booked us an apartment in Keswick & we booked onto a guided walk with Ambleside Adventures – who I would recommend.

The Lake District is unsurprisingly named after the lovely big lakes in the park. Keswick is situated just North of ‘Derwentwater’. It’s located fairly North of the park but we found it perfectly situated. It’s a 45 minute drive from Windermere – another popular place to stay in the park.

I’d stay in Keswick again in a heartbeat. I had one of the best burgers at The Round. There were ample pubs if you’re that way inclined and a couple of minutes walk gets you off the high street to this…

I mean even if you’re not an avid hiker, who doesn’t want to leisurely walk around a lake?! The town itself is kitted with the usual outdoor shops like Black & Cotswolds so if you’ve forgotten something or outdoor paraphernalia is your calling, you’re in the right place.

Walks

To warm ourselves for Scafell, my parents & I hiked the day before. They happened to own a book of Lake District walks (they’re avid Ramblers don’t you know). We picked one around Loweswater. There are quite a few free walks with downloadable maps available on the Lake District website.

If you’re new the world of walking, public footpaths – especially in areas like this where people flock to hike – are clearly signposted. I wouldn’t recommend you run into the wilderness alone of course because accidents happen to even the most experienced. But you don’t need to be an orienteering expert either! If you’re starting out, pick shorter, flatter routes & make sure you have a good stock of necessities with you. Ramblers have a pretty extensive list of items to bring – don’t be put off, you don’t need it all, just exercise your common sense. Unless you don’t have any. Then you should just stay home & never go out.

If like me, you’re a novice, booking onto a group walk is the best way to get it done. You get a guide & if you’re lucky, a fun group to share the day with. If you’re looking at doing something like this for the first time, I recommend booking a guided walk at the start of your trip. It’s a good way to get introduced & you’ll be able to ask the guide any questions – and maybe even get some recommendations for good beginner routes.

Scafell Pike

On the big day, we drove to our meeting point at Seathwaite – mum dropped us of (which is incredibly handy btw because meeting points are often busy & if you’re late in the day, you might struggle to find somewhere suitable to ditch your car).

Scafell is England’s highest peak which might sound daunting but it’s only 978m. In comparison, Snowdon (Wales highest – which I tackled next!) and Ben Nevis (Scotland’s highest) are both over 1000m & Scotland has many over 1000m.

We set off shortly after 9, summited just before 1pm and were back down between 4 & 5. I found the walk to be very enjoyable until about 45 mins out from the peak and again the first 45mins back down. It was the terrain, you’re simply hopping from rock to rock & there’s no flat ground so concentration is required.

Side note: I hadn’t done much in the way of exercise since lockdown 1 hit. I found it all manageable but there were people running up there – yes running. I saw people carrying babies, lazy dogs and there were folk of all shapes, sizes & ages when we got to the top. A member of our group even had a fear of hights & totally nailed the entire thing.

The views on the way up and down were beautiful – from the top not so much but you win some you lose some. And it feels so good to reach the summit. Not once did I think I would climb Scafell to admire the views from the top, it was to show myself I could do it. Mission Completed.

Lake District

I was totally blown away by the beauty of the Lakes & would happily go back – and hope to for some Machu Picchu (now coming May 2022…) training! It really is stunning & you don’t need to be much of a walker to enjoy the views – though it would certainly help. We stayed in a lovely apartment but there are some fancy looking spa hotels in the area, or at the other end of the spectrum, plenty of camping spots. It’s a super dog friendly place too, just to top the whole thing off!

P.S. I’m happy to admit when I am wrong & I was very wrong about England being flat a boring. I paid the price for my ignorance having to wait so long to witness the Lakes.