Walk Two - Helm Crag & Gibson Knott

Ahh, sunny days in the Lake District when walking is a pleasure, the views are spectacular and you stride along with all the bounce and energy of a tennis ball. Aren't days like that just the best?

Well, this wasn't one of those days. No, this was a day where the rain ricocheted upwards into your face and the rustle of waterproofs accompanies your every move like a prison guard.

We started from Helmside, thanking goodness for our rain resistant maps with every soggy step. After a little trudge alongside a stream, we crossed a little bridge and headed up the slope in front of us. The zig-zag path can't be seen from the bottom of the fell but it is there and we squelched upward and eventually arrived on a little plateau between the two peaks with clouds swirling upward from the valley opposite. I am sure that the views would have been fabulous. As it was, I can only discuss the view two metres in front of me. Which was wet and grey with hints of grass and rock.

We turned left toward Helm Crag - the path looks impossibly step but in reality, it's a stepped rocky walkway and you edge peakwards quite happily. On the top, the famous Howitzer (the only peak not actually scaled by the legendary Wainwright who never climbed to the very top) looks fearsome and it's a short, slippery scramble to the very top. A cuddly toy awaits those who arrive at the top in some kind of Generation Game pastiche.

Retracing our steps, we descended then ascended to Gibson Knott, where the path skirts the left hand side of  the ridge. The mist thickened or it might have been the steam rising from Storm who was soaked to the skin and puffing along like a canine Thomas The Tank Engine. The top of Gibson Knott is a rocky grassy combo but again, I can't tell you about the views or the vista. So we amused ourselves by humming The Dambusters theme tune (in honour of Gibson of course) as we descended back to the stream.

Despite the weather (and Storm smearing herself from top to tail in sheep poo) this was a great walk - two Wainwrights ticked off in quick succession - a sense of achievement well worth the water in the boots.

We can recommend this little amble. And we can also recommend the stream at the bottom of the fell should you also need to wash off an oddly coloured and very pungent dog.