🌀 Thunder, Tendons & Troutbeck: The Accidental Ambleside Adventure

🌩️ A Stormy Start (and a Grumpy Mira)

Last night was a masterclass in how to not sleep. Thunder cracking like an angry sky god, rain hammering down.

The day for me kicked off with thunderstorms worthy of Norse mythology. No sleep. No hike. Just a frustrated Mira, pacing around her room in Keswick, side-eyeing the sky like, wow, thanks for nothing, weather gods! So I did what any slightly stubborn, waterproof-obsessed hiker would do: sat in my room for two hours, stared at the forecast, and plotted aggressively in my head 😅..

By the time the sky gave up on its tantrum, it was too late for my planned 10-hour hike. I pivoted to Ambleside for a shorter mission: Wansfell Pike → Baystones. A detour, but still a mission.

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🔥 Sweat Lodge Chic

The forecast still threatened storms, so I went full weather-paranoia mode:

🧥 Jacket

👖 Over-trousers

🦵 Gaiters

The result? Walking sauna - what I got was humidity, heat, and a very real chance of turning into a boiled hiker.

Took the jacket off halfway and hiked in a vest and still boiled from the inside out.

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🦶 The Limping Legend

Because why not make things dramatic, I stepped wrong on a flat pavement (!) the day before in Keswick and now my right foot is auditioning for a role in a medical drama. Sharp pain was developing near the heel, outside edge all morning.

Strapped it. Popped painkillers. Ignored all sense. Hiked anyway. Spoiler: still painful, just now with less feedback. 🤷‍♀️

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🏔️ The Ridge That Lied to Me

I’d done Wansfell Pike before but didn’t realise at the time that it’s not the actual Wainwright. That honour belongs to nearby Baystones.

So I redid the whole ridge. Again. In boggy terrain. But my gaiters held strong and my feet stayed gloriously dry. 💪

🥪 Cheese sandwich: eaten mid-hike, naturally, because breaks are apparently for amateurs.

🌬️ Wind: persistent but not offensive.

🧭 Pride: intense. Pain: still mysteriously quiet, thanks to pills doing overtime.

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🏡 Back to Base & Pub Fuel

Returned to Keswick...and the drizzle was still there. Honestly, great tactical decision to bail south.

Dinner:

🐟 Fish & chips at Lake Road Inn (defeated me, oversized)

🍺 Two pints of beer (did not)

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✅ Today’s Trail Stats

📍 Start/End: 2 miles away from Troutbeck (cause narrow roads)

🏞️ Distance: 14.4 km

📈 Elevation Gain: 541 m

⛰️ Peaks:

Wansfell Pike (Birkett)

Baystones (Wainwright), N 185 ✅️

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🧠 Reflections

➡️Wansfell Pike: still lovely, still not a Wainwright, still mildly offended.

➡️Hiking with foot pain = bad idea. Still did it.

Mira logic: if you’re going to suffer, you might as well bag a summit while doing it.

➡️I’ve officially unlocked the “cheese sandwich eaten mid-ridge with ankle pain” badge.

➡️Soggy forecast, dry feet, sweaty core, beer finale, a classic day out.

⚠️Tomorrow’s hike might be in jeopardy if the weather (or my tendons) don’t cooperate.