Buttermere, Haystacks.  Wed 20 Oct 2004

Off to the lakes again this time without Boyd, he was busy getting things ready for his Himalayan trip at the end of the week.

But I had found another companion, this time my eldest son Eric. He had come down from his home in Newcastle for a few days.

We set off at 6.30 am on a really awful morning weather wise, pouring down and windy, we made our way to Keswick and then to Buttermere, we stopped off at the slate mine at the top of Honister Pass and found out the opening time, we thought if the weather stayed really bad we would have a look round the quarry.

Eric (snr) above Buttermere

We parked our car in the car park near the little church on the hill and walked back along the lake side.  By the time we had got to Gatesgarth, the weather had improved so we walked up the gully that takes you to Honister slate quarry and the little hut that Boyd and myself had found a few weeks earlier. We then continued along the path that took us to the top of  Haystacks, we met two other hikers just before the top, the weather was still dry but it was becoming quite cloudy has we left the top and made our way back down the mountain to Buttermere.  We walked back along the footpath that skirts the full length of Buttermere, it's a lovely walk.