Holidays in Ambleside
These last few weeks have been quite a blur here at Mountain Journeys HQ! A huge thanks to all you lovely people that have joined us on activities, and to all those who enquired but we simply couldn't fit in.
As the following series of photos suggests, we have been spending a lot of time in gorges and canyons, but still managing to fit in some rock climbing and even picking the sunny days for it.
Whilst we already know many of the gorges here very well, the intensity of our visits has made us even more familiar with each of them, and what's possible in different water levels. Only yesterday we found a really fun tributary gorge near to Stickle Ghyll. This gave us the perfect 'plan b' as Stickle Ghyll was far too high to go in.
And today, for the first time, I did a full ascent followed by full descent of Church Beck, including all the canyon section. This was a fairly long trip and so much fun. Certainly adds a new dimension for future trips.
But it hasn't all been in the water. There have been some stunning days on the crags too. A highlight being the Eskdale granite with Lucy, Albi, and Frida. The rock dried quickly after overnight rain and we warmed up on a few easier routes on the upper crag. Strangely it became quite busy, so we moved on to the main slab and this was sheer delight.
The rock was warm to the touch and provided magnificent friction. With far reaching views out over the valley and towards the coast, this is a wonderful place to climb, or just spend a day enjoying nature. Albi and Frida were clearly very able climbers, so we pushed the grades ever higher to keep the challenge, which they rose to every time, but not without a good fight. I left the family enjoying a paddle in the river and made my way home, over the Hardknott and Wrynose passes.
We are now full for August and September is looking busy already too, although still spaces in the diary. We are verty grateful to you all, thank you for joining in the adventure. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Lake District again before too long.
If looking for the perfect B&B in central Ambleside check out 2 Cambridge Villas
Mark
