We woke following the broken sleep that comes with the anticipation of an essential early start. Having pitched the tents in the rain last night it was a relief to find the night had remained dry. We efficiently broke camp, ate our overnight oats and set off for the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre. As we drove the majestic hills hid under a blanket of cloud.. never a good sign when your about to head up the biggest!
We reached the Visitor Centre in good time and set off up the mountain path at about 09:30. I won’t lie; having been limping for the last few months and having had a steroid injection into my hip last week I wasn’t convinced I would manage even the start of this mission.
The footpath lured us into a false sense of reassurance as it crossed a field then started up a gentle incline on a gravelled path interspersed with regular stone steps. However, quickly the gravel vanished and the path became a giant stone staircase made of large, uneven flag stones, with occasional rocky crops to clamber up.
The cloud base remained low so we stopped at the halfway point at the side of a small loch to have lunch (and a little of the left over Kendal Mint Cake the Old Wolf gave us on the JOGLE) aware that a few hundred meters further up we would enter the clouds. Feeling refuelled we set off, expecting more of the same.. if only!
At the next corner the familiar flag stones changed to a path that reminded me of climbing rock pools at the beach, before changing again to shingle that slipped slightly underfoot. As we ascended it got wetter and wetter and colder and colder. The kids had been curious to discover if there was snow at the top of the mountain and we found the first patch about an hour from the top that blended into the white of the cloud and mist. Ollie made a little snowball, just because!
As we got nearer to the top the visibility got worse and worse. We navigated looking for the silhouettes of the marker cairns and from pausing to until we saw people appearing out of the white walking back down the hill. The last ascent felt like it went on and on and on. With the bitter cold wind, and disbelief that the peak would ever appear we were tempted to turn back, then finally the shell of the stone bivvy at the top came into view. We were all so cold that there was no want to stay at the top to celebrate the achievement of the climb. Instead we forced ourselves to do the horrendous thing of stripping our outer layers off to put more dry layers on underneath, ate a quick flapjack, then headed off on the path hoping to get out of the cold as quickly as possible.
Whilst the way up was a challenge for my hip, the way down was a nightmare on the knees. We plodded on, descending far quicker than we’d ascended. After about 45 minutes we were back out of the clouds and found the day was brightening. The surrounding mountains and valleys had come into view and the scenery was utterly stunning.
Just after the halfway point, having started to embrace the giant stone staircase again Ollie fell twisting his leg. He bravely got up, and managed to slowly continue with the help of my walking sticks. Our descent massively slowed, but eventually we made it back off the hill to the welcome sight of Lynne at the vehicles with a warm cuppa and cake! She had brilliantly got dinner ready too which was fantastic. It had taken 10 hours. To get up and down in the end and we really were exhausted!
We set off for Ennerdale at about 20:30, with an ETA of 01:30.. then we found the only road out of the Highlands was closed! There aren’t many roads in this part of Scotland, and the only alternate route took us on a 45 minute detour via a very windy single track lane. With the thought of pitching tents at 02:30 after a bonkers long day looming we bailed and booked into a Premier Inn in Carlisle at 00:45, whilst the Youngs continued on in their camper van to Ennerdale.
Curious about todays step count I had a little look at my phone.. it’s no wonder we all feel tired!
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