So as it was half term Theo and I decided to go to the Lakes to get a few more fells completed. The plan was to head to Buttermere and complete Haystacks and the High Stile ridge but, when we arrived, the cloud was so low we couldn't see the High Stile ridge!
So, Plan B. we went to our hotel (The Bridge Hotel, Buttermere) and parked up. Directly opposite the front door is a gate into Ghyll Wood which has a lovely walk alongside a ghyll.
The path meanders nicely along....
and then you see the stairs that lead you onto the open fell.
Once you get over the stairs there is a wide path running left to right or a steeper one directly ahead through bracken. Yep, the steeper one is the one you want!
It's really not that bad and gets the thighs warmed up nicely. You walk through the bracken for around 15 minutes before the path widens.
To head to the top of Rannerdale you basically get up higher and then turn left. The path is obvious and you have the obligatory couple of false summits! It's the far one you're aiming for.
As we got closer to the summit the wind was strong and I was glad we had made the decision to do this fell today.
If you look behind Theo you can see the low cloud that put us off a higher route today.
And so we turned round and headed back the way we'd come (more or less). You can make it into a round by going over the top of Rannerdale but we didn't today.
Back at the hotel we thought about heading down to Haystacks but decided against it and had to make do with a pint!
5 minutes after this was taken it poured down! Correct decision made!