Today looked like it might be one of the few dry days we are going to get for the first week of our holiday, so we decided that we would do a bit of fell walking.  My suggestion was that we went up Cat Bells, described by Alfred Wainwright as “one of the great favourites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved”.  Well, it might have been in his day, but our experience was of families with people of all ages not just struggling, but even giving up and turning back!

It is a climb up to a peak, down slightly and finally up to the summit.  The picture above (not mine) shows the route we took, from right to left.  From the summit, we continued down to the left and then back round the edge of the fell to where we started.  Many sections on the way up were truly climbs, where there are rocky sections needing at least one if not both hands to safely climb to the next stage.  No walk in the park!  However we safely made it and down a very rocky “staircase” down the other side, a three hour walk that was most satisfying and with spectacular views.