Ullswater and Helvellyn

On the Friday of our trip to the Lakes, Tim and I decided to try our hand at hill walking. I was excited to try out my new waterproof jacket! Also to see some lovely scenery. We hopped into the car and drove to Ullswater to walk up to Helvellyn.

It was uphill for the first... forever... to get to the ridge line. On this particular hike you walk 700 of the 900 meter climb at the very start. It is a good exercise...

...and the views were beautiful. This is a picture of Ullswater on our way up the hill. When we reached the top of the ridge it was crazy windy, but really beautiful. The cloud cover didn't allow for all that much visibility. See that scary looking bit of a walking behind me? That is the summit of Helvellyn, a summit I was happy to see from this distance. Without waterproof trousers, being caught in the rain would be less than fun, and I was on holiday! :)

The view from the ridge was really gorgeous. Even though it was windy as heck we were happy to be there!

After looking at the map we decided that the best way down would be to go straight down the hillside! Tim went much more quickly than me when he slid on the red, plastic rucksack cover.

When we arrived at the bottom of the mountain we had to cross a river to get back to the path. Unfortunatley where we crossed there was not a convenient bridge like the one pictured below and the force of the water much more fierce. I have a bit of a fobia of water. Not all water, mind you, I love drinking glasses of water and going into lakes on a hot day is a good time. However I find that crossing rushing rivers on slippery rocks makes me a little uneasy. I remember from the high ropes course at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp that the longer you wait to make that scary leap, the larger a gap it seems and the more impossible task it becomes. I have found that to be metaphorically true for other aspects of my life as well as crossing rivers. So I was pleased to make it across with a little encouragement, a leap of faith and someone to catch me on the other side. hooray! Verdict on Ullswater and the surrounding area? Highly recommend.