Mum very happy, not knowing the difficulties ahead. Black Sail Pass in the background.
Black Sail Pass.
At the top of Black Sail Pass.
The 5 of us at Pillar Rock, thank goodness for tripods and 10 second timers!
Alex and I on Pillar Rock.
The top of Pillar with Great Gable in the background.
Wasdale valley from Pillar.
Good morning! What a good nights sleep that was, apart from waking up in the middle of the night sweating from the heat. Yesterday me and my Mum, Dad, Alex and Josh headed to Wasdale to tackle Pillar Rock and Pillar. It was the most beautiful day, which obviously meant there were hundreds of other folk who also wanted to make the most of bank holiday weekend but thankfully, there was an extra field open for parking and the majority of those people were heading up Scafell Pike and not in the direction we were headed. I noticed that there was one car parked on the grass verge that received a parking ticket, so just incase there’s anyone ever thinking of heading up there… don’t park on the grass verge! We left home at around 7am but didn’t actually get to Wasdale until gone 9am. I forgot how much of a drive it is there but well worth it, as I’d say it’s the prettiest place in the Lake District. Pillar Rock was where my Grandad fell during a MRT training exercise and this was the first time my Dad, brother and Mum have ever been to where it was he lost his life. Obviously it’s very touching and when I first visited last year with Josh, it was emotional to think that my Grandad, my Gran’s husband and my Dad’s Dad had lost his life there. It’s very surreal but knowing that he did die doing something he loved in a beautiful place makes it slightly easier to accept. It’s a hard walk and once you reach the top of Black Sail Pass, you have to follow a sheep trail round the backside of Pillar to reach Pillar Rock. I ended up slipping on a loose piece of stone and grazing the back of my leg but thankfully no broken bones! Just slightly sore this morning… After spending some time at the cairn overlooking Pillar Rock, we headed alongside the rock and up behind it to reach Pillar. It’s actually quite a nice climb, especially on such a warm, still day. I wouldn’t recommend trying this in the rain or snow, as it’s a very narrow path and quite steep but if you can plan a lovely still day like yesterday, it’s definitely worth it for the views over to Buttermere Edge, Haystacks, Ennerdale Valley, Great Gable and Scafell Pike to name a few. Once we reached the top of Pillar, we headed back down Black Sail Pass and down in to the valley where we stopped for a G&T before the long journey home. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my photos! I did film some snippets on the DJI Osmo Pocket, so I will put together a short video for my Instagram. The plan for the rest of the day is to finish getting rid of all the rubble at the house and begin picking the external walls ready for plastering, hopefully sometime very soon! Enjoy your Monday, whatever it is you’re doing and I will speak to you soon, L.