Lake District, Duddon Valley, 1–2 August 2026

This weekend, Lova flew to Manchester, and we took the opportunity to camping in the Lakes together. We very rarely visit the southern Lakes, as they are rather a long way from York. It was going to be a long day. We left Manchester early in the morning, so we were on the trail fairly early.

The blue and red lines show our tracks for 1 and 2 August. Shift-click the track link to open it in nakarte.me.

Day One

Our first summit was Stickle Pike.

We were supposed to walk past it, but decided to gain an extra 50 metres and visit the summit.

The terrain here is very different from the northern Lakes: gentle hills with outcrops of rock here and there.

A self-portrait on the summit of Caw.

We eventually found water for lunch, but it wasn't particularly easy.

Whichever way you look, there are deserted mountains.

A gentle ascent.

Goat's Water from Dow Crag, with the Old Man of Coniston above it. We climbed it last autumn.

The eastern slopes of Dow Crag drop almost vertically down to the lake.

The sky clouded over and a cold wind picked up. Mountain weather can change in five minutes.

From here we had a good view of our campsite for the night: on the left, in a corrie beneath the ridge, where several streams flow down.

Menacing clouds were moving around us, but we didn't get a single drop of rain.

The wind was getting stronger.

An ideal place to camp: a level spot sheltered from the wind, with a stream nearby and nobody else around.

Day Two

On the descent towards the reservoir. We saw several tents along the way, but, like us, people were camping on the hills rather than by the water.

The water level in the reservoir is very low.

It is nonetheless very beautiful. The water is clear and transparent.

A stream should have flowed out of the lake, but it has now dried up.

A large, wavy, freestanding rock.

Our next summit, Harter Fell, can be seen in the distance. We descended into the Duddon valley, walked through the forest and climbed up to it.

A bridge over the Duddon. Here the river flows through a beautiful gorge.

The slopes of Harter Fell are a dark red colour.

Maidenhair spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes).


Soó Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata (L.)).	Hartm. Deergrass (Trichophorum cespitosum (L.)).

It was rather hot on the way up, but a breeze picked up near the top.

Rocky outcrops on the summit.

Beyond this summit, the slopes became gentler and more grassy, with large isolated rocks.

On the way back, we passed several abandoned quarries where stone and slate used to be extracted. All that remains of this quarry is a neatly built wall.