I want Mountains Gandalf! Mountains!

Heading into the misty mountains, it was like realising you've been breathing through a cotton wool filled hessian sack for the past few weeks. If it's possible to breathe in mountainous misty views, then that's my oxygen.

There was a magnificent view from Kirkstone Pass down to Brothers Water. Dramatic skies, a classic V Valley, the lake at the bottom, hints of blue in the sky; I stopped to snap before we carried on to Hartsop which is our base for 3 nights.

For day 1 we arrived quite late and chose a shorter walk up to Thornthwaite Beacon, over High Street and down to Hayeswater, back to our base. About 8 1/2 miles. This photo is from near the beginning, the river in spate, the clouds broiling ahead promising interest.

Soon the clouds merged to become a thick clag which we walked into well before hitting the summit. Along the ridge, the wind picked up and gave us a good buffeting, but it was all magnificent.

Heading down to Hayeswater the clouds opened and I saw an incredible view of black bubbling clouds behind, white cloud rising, blue sky above and lake below. Truly an awesome view but I'd put my camera away to protect it from the moisture in the air and by the time I got it out the view had disappeared to a wall of grey.

We returned back in the dark and cooked up lamb shank with caramelised carrots and parsnips. One of the best meals ever :o)

My feet ache, my body aches, but it's a good ache :o)

Can't comment for a few days - this connection is dreadful. I'm currently uploading the photo and writing this in notepad - it'll be uploaded in about 2 hrs....

p.s. had to reduce image size and quality significantly to eventually upload this!