Expectations
Short 5.6 mile jaunt from Ennerdale Country House in Cleator to The Shepherds Arms in Ennerdale Bridge, with first significant climb up Dent Hill and back down to Nannycatch. Felt sad during the Coast-to-not-quite-the-middle that we skipped Nannycatch, so looking forward to finally seeing it this time around.
Dinner reservation for 6pm at the Fox & Hounds.
Realities
Updated at the next usable internet connection…at the Shepherds Arms, a bit slower and more sporadic than previous connections, though I’m surprised and grateful for anything.
Back to the start of the day: Woke at 8ish after a slightly better night of sleep. Breakfast was good enough. Took a surprising amount of time to actually get out the door and set on our way, but there was no rush on such as short hiking day.
A misty, drizzly start to the day, but not cold. Wore just long sleeved light wool shirt and full waterproofs (the forecast made it clear that the water volume was likely to increase!)
The walk up Dent started almost immediately, getting ever steeper. Got warm enough to shed the rain jacket for a while, but (except for M) we all had rain jackets on again by the time we reached the summit.
Pause to debate the route…
The top of Dent was boggy, and there was absolutely no view of anything but mist. On a good day, we’d have been able to see St Bees.
The descent to Nannycatch was as steep as we’d been led to believe–not a switchback to be found. Photos never capture steepness effectively. 
Nannycatch itself must be enchanting on a sunny blue-sky day. Pretty even on a grey, raining-quite-hard day! Photos are a bit blurry due to water on the phone pouch!
Joined up with the road for a short way, then a narrow overgrown path paralleling the road into Ennerdale Bridge.
Wonderful find on the outskirts of the village–a brand new cafe. Warm welcome, and hot drinks and cakes. Spectacular!
Loved their specials board!
Having warmed up and dried off a little bit, we then donned damp rain gear again for the short walk to our lodgings, arriving at around 1:30pm.
Tomorrow: three times as far and more elevation. Might see the sun too!
This entry was posted in Coast to Coast 2016