Over the Easter weekend I visited the Lake District for the first time since returning to the UK. Having been used to walking in Belgium and therefore not being used doing that much ascent I chose to tackle High Street first, as the route from Pooley Bridge is not very steep. The route is gentle enough that Romans used it as their main route between Penrith and Ambleside.

Starting from Pooley Bridge in the early afternoon I headed south-west onto the fells and then headed south-east along the ridge. Lots of people out for the day on the lower slopes but past Loadpot Hill there was no one around. Great views down across Ullswater to Helvellyn, with a couple of Ravens flying together over the hills. After passing High Raise I had run out of energy, one of my Achilles tendons was getting quite sore and this was making me walk inefficiently. Luckily there were many great flat, well drained spots to camp so I set up for the night.

Sunset across the mountains to east was spectacular to watch, the deer came up from the Ramps Gill valley and empty Ramps Gill valley was itself a great sight. However at around 800m up it can get quite chilly, so after eating and watching the sunset I turned in for a slightly worrying nights sleep. Woke up to frost forming on the outside of the tent and the nearby pond starting to freeze over.

The next day I continued south to High Street as it was now Saturday the hills were much busier but not crowded. I descended along Gray Crag, which got very steep along the last sections. After taking a break and studying the map I decided to walk east to Deepdale and camp another night. At the end of the valley before the waterfalls I found a great spot in the crook of the river between the moraine. I relaxed there for the evening before turning in and having a much warmer sleep than the night before.

The next day I broke camp and walked out before taking the bus back to Penrith.