New Boots

I needed a new pair of hillwalking boots.

It would have been easy to catch the train to Glasgow or Edinburgh to buy them but we hadn’t been away in the van for a while so we went to Keswick.

We started Friday morning in the usual way; climbing wall for Colin, cardio dance for me. After a short trip to the supermarket across the road from the Sports Centre to stock up we were away. We reached Keswick before the shops shut. First stop NeedleSports, my favourite outdoor shop. The staff are friendly and know what they're talking about. I was soon the proud owner of a snazzy pair of three season Salewa boots with funky blue laces.

New boots with plastic tag still attached

Next stop Braithwaite’s beautiful campsite with its stunning views towards Skiddaw (931 m) and only a five minute walk to the village. After we set up camp we wandered to the Royal Oak for an early dinner. The pub was pretty busy but we soon found a table. The local beer was excellent and so was the food, pork belly with crackling, mash and gravy - yum. Many of the diners were watching the football on the TV that played in the corner - Leeds vs Spurs so we joined them in supporting the northern team. Rain had threatened earlier but it was a clear, cold night as we walked along the small river back to the campsite. The forecast for the next day was for rain coming in at lunchtime so we set our alarm for an early start.

I wanted to test out my boots on Skiddaw, the only English hill over 3000 foot I haven’t climbed. The normal route is from Keswick but we drove the van a little further north and started from Dodd Wood. After paying £6.00 for the car park we took a good forestry track contouring below Longside Edge. We were on our own until we met the path coming up from Keswick and suddenly the hill got busy. The going was pretty good until the col between the mountain and Longside Edge. Here the path turned into a scree slope and proved to be very steep and slippy. The wind had picked up and clouds were beginning to gather in the west.

Looking back to Derwent Water

We reached the broad summit before 11:00 am but didn’t linger because the wind was knocking me over. As I skittered my way back down the steep slope I got a good look at Longside Edge, our planned return route. It looked a narrow but interesting ridge. The wind was still strong. I didn’t fancy being blown off a narrow ridge but I knew from experience that narrow ridges look less imposing close up. We went for it and I’m glad we did because it is an excellent ridge walk, a good wide path with bypass routes for more difficult sections. Because we were parked at the Dodd Wood carpark we came off the ridge early onto a steep grass hillside that led onto even steeper scree that moved like water with every movement. Many times I ended up skiting down on my backside. It was a good test for my boots, my trousers weren’t fairing so well.

Good path on Longside Edge

By the time we reached the forest track again small specs of rain were falling and we almost made it back to the van before torrential rain lashed us.

Back at the campsite I dashed through the rain to the cosy toilet block for a roasting hot shower. We thought we might go back to the pub from a pre-dinner beer but the rain held us captive in the van for the evening, but that is always a treat in itself.

The boots passed the test.