Advance across England

Left the green grass of Grasmere to head over the valley to Patterdale, next to Ullswater lake. A straight-forward hike to waterfalls and a remote tarn at the pass under one of England's higher mountains, Hellvyllyn. Stayed at a B&B ranch style slate home with nice view and breakfast, but severe mildew issues. Looking out that morning at dark thick clouds, I had a feeling the low pressure keeping this weather pattern in place had not budged for one of the more rigorous days on the walk, a 16-miler with 3000 ft elevation gain and longer descent, to Shap. Climbed quickly up the side of the fell to Angle Tarn. Momentarily lost the way with fog and rain rolling in. We could still intermittently see a few hikers above us but didn't know if their route was the same as ours. Realizing we were about to climb a big hill for nothing, corrected and made our way across muddy grasslands to the rocky trail. Hiked up to High Street, an old Roman road, and turned toward Kitsy Pike, the high point on C2C walk, as the rain came down harder. Haweswater lake far below appeared through the fog. After carefully descending, walked nearly four miles along its rocky coast with a quick lunch stop in a dark dense rainproof forest. An English walker, who kept to himself with his waterproof maps and compass, like many of the local walkers here, was also having a boil and some tea. (No "bon appetit!" here like the French alps as the mountain culture is quite different.) Soon enough we reached lake end for the last five miles through farm villages to reach Shap, a mining town. Next day we passed a limestone quarry on way to Orton through fields of purple heather and nesting site of sensitive bird species like golden plover. Weather improved enough to break out iPods. Arrived quickly at the picturesque village, home of an early leader of Society of Friends (Quakers), we'll preserved mansions, and a chocolate factory! Lunch has consisted mainly of food from the breakfast table splitting up the high cholesterol English breakfast. It's the same every day so DS wraps a sausage, and possibly a slice of bacon, in a tortilla (store-bought). On rainy hike days, this welcome treat along with a peanut butter and jelly tortilla have enabled us to eat on the run. The pubs don't have much in the way of fresh salad so we'll need to find some veggies at next store opportunity in Kirby Stephens, tomorrow's destination 13 miles away. Understated reactions to this weather is a reminder of the country across which we walk. "Not too bad", shouts an elderly hiker as we pass by through mucky fields and heavy rain blowing sideways against our faces. As wet as its been, it's still no big deal here in the country that produced Admiral Scott, George Mallory and Ernest Shackleton.