The Walk - Stage 2 - Ennerdale to Rosthwaite

Ennerdale is another SSSI and home to some of England’s most vibrant natural environments and one of the longest running ecological restoration projects in the UK. The area, especially around upper Ennerdale, was a medieval deer forest under the control of the monks at St. Bees. 

Around 1810, there’s a tale of “T’girt Dog of Ennerdale”, something of a cross between a mastiff and a greyhound and weighing eight stone (roughly 112 lbs). For months it ranged from Cockermouth to Ravenglass, St Bees to Wasdale Head, defying all attempts to capture and kill it, and savaged hundreds of sheep, often wantonly destroying seven or eight sheep in one night before finally being slain.

Did not sleep well last night. Finally decided to get up at 5am and have a cup of tea. The hotel is on a very busy thoroughfare and extremely noisy. 

Forgot to mention that I took 187 pictures yesterday. You can be thankful I was too tired to post that many 🤣

This is stage 2, which means it is time to press on from Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite, where we will stay at our next destination, Glaramara Hotel. It is 47 deg now with a high of 56 expected, clear skies until about 3 when it’s partly cloudy. Should be another glorious day.

It took a little longer than usual to get our sore muscles and joints in motion, but once we got the juices flowing we could move with ease. We are dressed and ready in a snap and go down for breakfast. 

Once again, it’s a full English with porridge.

After which we pack our backpacks with lunch and essentials, grab our poles, lace our boots, and we are walking outside once again to see what is in store on this day. We have taxi pickup this morning to take us back to the trail, where we left it yesterday. Or we were supposed to have taxi pickup. Apparently there are none available for at least an hour and we’ve already wasted too much time waiting on breakfast. There’s only one person working reception, chef, waiter and anything else needed. However, there is a lady who’s playing on her phone waiting for everyone to checkout so she can clean rooms. She heard our dilemma and said I’ll take them. I’m just killing time anyway. We tried to pay her what we would have paid the taxi but she wasn’t having it. Said to by ourselves a cake or something. So very blessed by her willingness to help us.

Back in Ennerdale Bridge, we say good bye! Until next time! It is a very quiet place and there is not much commerce going on here except for the pub. According to a book I read, this is one of England’s least developed valleys, and I believe it. There is not even a bus stop or train station in this remote little hamlet. But an interesting side note, I read where Bill Clinton proposed to Hillary here in Ennerdale Bridge! Aren't you thrilled to know that?

There are plenty of these slimy little guys around 

Wild blackberry bushes are everywhere. We had a few and they were delicious. 

We begin today’s walk following a zigzaggy road to meet the River Ehen and then follow a broad track to the foot of Ennerdale Water, which provides water for the West Cumbrian towns (over 80,000 people). It is a glacial lake with a maximum depth of 45 meters (148'). It is also renowned for brown trout and char fishing. Kim, you would love it! Wish you were here!

"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved." Psalm 46:3-5

The sudden impact of Ennerdale lake is awesome, quite a dramatic moment! I so wish you could experience it, as photos can't possibly do this justice. A good path traces the southern shore of the lake and continues uneventfully until we encounter the cliffs of Angler’s Crag.

Once beyond Angler’s Crag, the path continues into an area of stunted woodland and moss- and lichen- covered boulders.

We traveled a varied path alongside Ennerdale waters. 

Slightly rocky

Very rocky 

Gravelled.

Medium rocks

Through the heather

In the ferns 

Slabs of rock

Big and small rock

Tree root path

Long straight path 

Grassy path 

Water covered path

Forest service road path

And the path to Black Sail Hut 

Streams and little waterfalls were all along the lakeside trail.

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber." 
Psalm 121:1-3

Looking up at the Pinnacles, (a fractured spine of rock rising 80 ft above the angle of the slope), I just hope nothing decides to roll downwards!  

The view from Robin Hoods Chair (it was a bit early for him needing a sit down methinks!)

We clamber through the crag’s fractured base to get to a solid path on the other side.

It was a bit of a squeeze.

We press on to the end of the lake and take a look back. 

When the hotel packed our lunch for today they also included bananas and muffins. We decided this would be a good spot for a mid-morning break. 

We divided the walk into four sections today. This is the end of section 1- Ennerdale, (basically to the end of the lake). Section 2 is the walk to Black Sail Hut. 3 is The Hut to Honister and 4, all the way to Rosthwaite. Well, not actually all the way since our tour company booked us in a hotel over a mile before we get to Rosthwaite. But, nothing new there.

The valley is changing, so many trees have been felled and many logs are stacked, ready to be transported. 

The Mighty Pillar! What a wonderful mountain it is. There is an alternate route that is for very strong and experienced walkers. AW says, "Ordinary mortals should ignore the alternate path and keep plodding on along this road." Thankfully, it is not on the C2C walk but its presence cannot be ignored as it draws the eye for quite awhile as we (ordinary mortals) venture deeper and deeper into the valley.

Beyond Ennerdale water is the River Liza, thought to have been named from the Icelandic river Lysa, meaning the bright water, suggesting this area was settled by Norsemen.

It’s a long path to Black Sail Hut, a bit of a slog but it isn’t difficult. We just keep plodding along the forest road.

"All things come to an end. Emergence from the forest is like coming out of a dark room into sunlight." AW

I’ve always got time for a Herdy pic; they are so obliging.

Almost at the hut. Yay, it’s in sight and we will soon be able to eat (our designated lunch spot)! It seems to be the place most people try and reach before having lunch and the chaffinches are onto a good thing having plenty of crumbs to pick up afterwards.

Today we split a ham and cheese for lunch

Views from the hut

Photo of the hut

I really cannot describe the difficulty of hiking up this rocky trail on Loft Beck.

We’ve just come up this rocky path.

You can see where we started walking this morning if you look at the farthest end of the lake. 

I made it!! About 75% of the way up Loft Beck, Jo Anne said, I can't do it. I'm done. The choices were to continue over the top or go back down the rocky path. She continued on and collapsed at the top. Little did we know...

going down the rock trail was equally difficult and painful. 

The very lovely Haystacks is now in sight. The views open up and it’s indescribable. You can’t get the depth of the mountains from the pictures.  

Stacks of green slate

Honister is well known for its pass, its crag and its slate.

The route down to Honister where we were set to buy ice-cream and a couple of desired souvenirs was long and hard on the feet. Even though the signs say "made while you wait", it gets really busy up here this time of year so I did some checking ahead of time and it was recommended that we pre-order slate pieces (2-3 weeks ahead) to be assured they would be ready. As it turns out, that was a splendid idea! My tile is ready and waiting for me. Only problem is, they closed before we made it there. It has been an extremely long day bouldering. This is definitely not a walk but hiking to the extreme and it took us longer than expected. 

some pics of slate "sculptures"

Honister Slate Mine is still being worked, producing high-quality Honister slate. Working conditions at the quarry used to be extremely harsh and dangerous. Remarkable tales are told of men who worked in the quarries in the 1800’s. Samuel Trimmer once made 15 journeys in a day for a bottle of rum and a small percentage of the slate he sledged, and Joseph Clarke made 17 journeys, bringing down a total of 10,880 lbs in a single day. This highly dangerous method of obtaining slate ended in 1881, when a gravitational railway was introduced.

From Honister we head to Borrowdale, one of the most loved and popular of Lakeland’s valleys.

"The Lake District is the loveliest part of England, and Borrowdale is the fairest of its valleys....Not least of its charms are the clusters of white cottages set amongst its emerald pastures, the centuries-old settlements, happily little changed. The picture as a whole is entirely delightful; scenically it is informal to the point of untidiness, yet all things blend in perfect harmony." AW

Our lodging is The Glaramara Hotel.

It was dark when we arrived, and just before they were serving the main course for dinner, so we were allowed to order a main and a dessert. We had missed the appetizer course. Bliss is arriving 10 minutes before they stopped serving food after an 11 hour day of rigorous hiking.

Even though we missed the appetizer course they set us up with olives and bread. 

A bowl of vegetables 

I had Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni with a Provencal Sauce topped with Cheese

Jo Anne had Oven Roasted Chicken Breast with a Rich White Wine, Cream, Smoked Bacon & Leek Sauce

And we both had Sticky Toffee Pudding with a Pecan Toffee Sauce served with Vanilla Ice Cream

Todays stats 

38,291 steps

15.7 miles

74 floors

To say today was difficult is an understatement. I’ve never walked or climbed over (sometimes on hands and knees) so many rocks in my life. At the top of Loft Beck we stood at 1,960 feet. Our total elevation gain today was 2,754 ft, and total descent was 2,348. 

We prayed for strength and safety and can’t tell you how much your prayers and encouragement mean to us. 

I think we have both slathered deep blue rub from head to toe. Pretty sure it smells like old people in this room. 

The hotel is a fine end to a day, a good spot to prepare for tomorrow and a rare chance to sleep in a glacial embrace.