I got back today from an interesting few days in the hills around Haweswater and High Street. We were supposed to be doing two nights but last night mother nature made sure that didn't happen, ten minutes after pitching the tents one got flattened by a huge gust and then when we turned in later on another tent got smashed by the relentless winds.
Angle Tarn near Patterdale is a place I camped at around 12 years ago and I was keen to get back there again for a night, the wind was strong from the NE all day on our route but I thought we might be able to seek shelter once we reached the tarn with good camping spots on all sides. How wrong was I, the wind was blasting up Bannerdale and then coming straight back down onto the water creating mini typhoons and wreaking havoc from all directions. Me and Andy did a loop of the tarn trying to find a sheltered spot for three tents but it was just as bad wherever we went, we decided to stay where we were and hoped the wind would die down eventually. I think I managed to grab around 3-4 hours sleep at some point but Andy and Mick only got half that between them. I think we all agreed that last night was the worst night any of us had spent out, it was one of those nights which was so noisy that you couldn't get off to sleep and then as soon as you did you got a face full of tent as the sides collapsed in again.
So with two broken tents an no sign of the wind dying we made the decision to head back for the cars this morning, we were all pretty knackered from lack of sleep so the return journey was fairly hard going.
It was all good fun though, especially getting airborne a couple of times in my hooped bivvy in the night :)
Our route plus a return down Kidtsy Pike this morning
Andy & Mick, on our way
The car's parked over there somewhere
Looking back up Mardale
On we go
Lunch stop next to a waterfall, out of the wind and before the big climb
Up we go
Heading for the summit of High Kop
Andy admiring the views across the rest of the Lakeland peaks
Heading up to The Knott
A breather above Hayeswater
The gloom of Angle Tarn
Camp for the night (before the tents got smashed)
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