A five- day break in the Lake District, we arrived on Monday 23rd July to a wet and dull day (the sun was shining in Lincolnshire when we set off!). On arrival at our hotel the weather had improved a little, and we checked in at Lyzzick Hall, courtesy of KGB deals (£119 for two nights inc. breakfast)
The hotel was very nice, a large old looking building looking down upon its own gardens and the beautiful Northern fells in the (near) distance.
We unpacked a few things and as the sun was now shining (briefly) we sat outside on the hotel terrace with a drink admiring the views. Before long however the rain started, and so we retired back to the room and relaxed and changed for our evening meal.
Web Site: Lyzzick Hall Hotel
The dinner was offered at a reduced rate (for KGB deal guests) at £29.95 per head for 4-courses. This turned out to be very good value, as the food was exceptional in every way from choice, presentation, flavour and the service. The only negative comment from us was that the restaurant was very warm and could do with either air conditioning or some ventilation.
Tuesday was a wash out day also, and shopping in Ambleside and Windermere was the order of the day. We ate at the hotel again on Tuesday evening as the food was so good.
Lakes 25th July 2012 - Barrow & Outerside
(Pathfinder Guide North & West Lakeland)
(5.82 Miles,4hrs,50min) 2 Wainwrights
We woke to a much better day (and forecast) on Wednesday, and so decided to head out to Bratihwaite nearby and tackle both Outerside and Barrow Fells. Reluctantly we checked out of the hotel, as we would be moving on Wednesday evening to our next location.
We parked a short distance out of Bratihwaite village in a free (rather "hilly") car park on the left hand side on Whinlatter Road. From there we walked along the road back into the village, crossing a stone bridge in the village, left past the Methodist church, and up a stony track past the Coledale Inn.
From there we followed a lane and High Coledale farm, a rougher track led us out onto more open countryside.
After a mile or so along an easy (and fairly busy) track we diverted off right from the main track (and everyone else!) to a less distinct grassy track rising up onto Stile End.
This was fairly steep but we were soon at the top of Stile End, with good views ahead to our first objective of Outerside fell, and all the fells around such as Causey Pike, Grisedale Pike and Sail.
A short descent led us down onto boggy ground, before the ascent up Outerside.
Finally on the Summit of Outerside (1863ft) we bagged our 1st Wainwright of the day and stopped to enjoy the views all around (and a long rest).
After resting we descended from Outerside down a grassy bank (not too steep) and followed a very distinct path at the bottom leading between the fells of Outerside and Causey Pike. At Barrow door we took the less distrinct right hand track ascending slowly towards Barrow fell itself. The path rose easily and gradually to the top of Barrow fell (1492 ft), where we touched the cairn and sat down admiring the clear views down to Keswick, Derwent Water and beyond.
Before long it was time to descent via a long grassy track for about a mile, before reaching a wall end, and through High Coledale Farm.
We finished by walking back through Braithwaite village, unable to resist the blackcurrant & cream Lakes ice cream on offer at the local shop.
We arrived back at the car park at 15:00, having taken a steady 4hrs, 50 mins (enjoyed the views and the ice-cream!)
Our Walk Score: 7.5/10
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