WMGT Day 3
On 22nd October 2017 by HelenDay 3: Was insane! It was the day of our big mountain hike. We started the day with breakfast and then all congregated outside the hostel for a chat with Mollie and to pick up a complimentary Graze box for the day.
We then headed to Glenridding where we were to be met by 3 guides to help us navigate through our day. This was the interesting part as most of Ambleside had road closures meaning we all quite literally went around the houses 3-4 times before the Sat Nav decided it might want to help! It took us all a little while to get there and the drive was very narrow, windy and foggy to say the least.
However once in Glenridding we took a quick register just to make sure everyone was there and then we got started. The very start of the hike was a little stop start due to a 10k race which was starting and which we had to make way for but once they had passed we were off. The first part of the walk hosted some spectacular views back down the valley and the weather was pretty fair. Once at the top of the first section we were told we climbed like pros and would we like to do a harder route? Naturally we all cheered for this and things became far more challenging. We took one more steep incline before we stopped for lunch. To say it was windy was an understatement. I asked our guide if anyone had ever been blown off the edge and his response was ‘not at this section’ which made me feel a whole lot more confident (not!). We ate our lunch overlooking stunning mountains in front and farmland below before we started to move on. Bad weather was approaching from the west and we needed to always stay ahead of it. This is where is got challenging. The descent down the mountains to the valley was steep and slippery. We were told if in doubt ‘Ass to Grass’ (please read in northern accent). My ass certainly went to grass on more than one occasion. Down we went slipping and sliding all over the place. I wish I had better balance and because of previous eye surgery I have very limited 3D vision so find depth perception at times quite hard. However we continued and we made it to the bottom. I think everyone was relieved to see a proper footpath.
The walk continued around Ullswater lake with about a 200m incline (speaking to the guides) it started even under foot then became more uneven as time went on. I did most of the walk after lunch with Lucy and we passed the time chatting about all sorts of random things and found out we have a fair few interests in common (obviously apart from travelling). Our conversation also included ‘is Essex really like TOWIE and is Cheshire really like The Real Housewives?’ Conclusion to both – No!
About half way round the lake I started to struggle quite badly. I’d had a back injury all week and since my ass hit grass so much it was starting to seize up and slow me down. I was so far behind everyone and it was just me and the guides. All of a sudden they stopped when they saw how far behind I was and gave me some hiking poles and over the top of the hill I saw a bobble hat and Lucy had waited for me which was super nice of her.
The hiking poles were a huge help and made sure I could finish the walk with everyone else as I could put my weight through them to help stabilise me. We got back to Glenridding around 5:30pm and were absolutely elated to have made it. We all met at a local coffee shop and cleared them of cake and coffee!
It was sad that because people had booked trains and lived so far away that we all had to leave and say goodbye so quickly. After a quick chat with Mollie and Lydia and a photo, myself, Shannon, Ellie and Lucy- who had been kind enough to drive – headed back to Ambleside where we all parted ways.
This is where the day got even more interesting…Once I had made it to the M6 there was a lovely sign saying it was closed follow diversions, which I did, got down one junction on for about 11 miles before the second diversion. Back on I went, awesome I thought, I can just go straight down the M6 toll road (literally now my fave road ever) and I’ll be home soon. Oh no way was the universe having that…I stopped at Nuneaton for a coffee and saw M6 closed to M1. Never mind I thought, surely the A14 would be open, oh hell no that was diverted too. I pulled off with the rest of the traffic at Rugby and pulled into a Premier Inn car park and googled the rest of my journey. All roads I needed to take had closures and I did not have any energy left for 4 more diversions, so I went into Premiere Inn and got myself a room for the night. I left at 7:30am the following day and due to a 3-car accident didn’t get home until 11:30am, so all in all a simple 5 hour drive took over 17 hours to complete. What’s life if it’s not an adventure?
The weekend was absolutely great. Meeting new people and obviously Mollie, Lydia and Sam was awesome. Mollie, Lydia and Sam are some of the nicest people you’ll ever come across. I was a little bit nervous to meet them as you often hear you shouldn’t meet people who you look up to or inspire you as they can disappoint and what you seen on screen isn’t what you get in real life. Not with these three. They are so grounded and easy to get along with. I can’t wait to see Mollie’s video, Lydia’s photos and Sam’s footage when we receive it. Where are we going next guys??
As always disclaimers are in the About section
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