Cat Bells has been my desired destination for a while. I don’t even know why- perhaps the unusual name, perhaps its popularity, perhaps being close to the lovely little town of Keswick.
So, for my Christmas hiking trip and also end of year trip I chose Cat Bells. And I am so glad I did. It turned out to be a wonderful hike!
I started from Keswick.
As I planned to film my first Kendal Mint Cake experience, I set off at local grocery shop. I bought two types of Mint Cakes- White and Brown.
I had planned my hike carefully so I knew my route. From the town center I crossed the river Greta and straight after crossing I turned left on to the Cumbria Way. The path was quite straightforward. I walked through the Portinscale village and Fawe Park, after following some woodland paths I climbed Skegill Bank and from there straight to Catbells summit.
The weather was mild with a little rain. I was so excited to get to the summit and enjoyed every minute of my hike. The path was visible, straightforward, and well signposted but some parts of the path were rocky and, as it had been raining for a while, they became wet. At some point I had to use my hands and knees to get past them.
As I gained height more and more wonderful views appeared of the nearby hills and Derwent Water; the views were amazing.
On my way up I kept my eye out for the possible camping spots and I found a nice place on Skegill Bank overlooking the lake and Cat Bells mountain. I decided that if I would not be able to climb to the summit in the rain with my heavy rucksack I will just stay at Skegill Bank.
Just before ascending the summit I faced huge slippery rocks and realised that it would be too risky to climb up with a heavy rucksack on my back. As there was hardly anybody around I left my rucksack behind and climbed up to the summit without it. The route up was very steep but well worth the climb as the views from the summit were spectacular. Luckily, there weren’t too many clouds to hide the view, but when I started descending the clouds came in and I experienced total whiteout. It was exciting and scary at the same time. Luckily I knew the way and I was soon back to my rucksack. I walked back to Skegill Bank to pitch up my tent and settle for the night.
The evening was mild and the rain had stopped, so I had my dinner outside the tent, admiring the views of the Derwent Water and Cat Bells mountain. Often I want to camp at the summit but sometimes its pleasant to find a spot overlooking the summit, so I can see the mountain.
I spent my evening filming some clips of tasting the Kendal Mint Cake. It was fun. I chose to eat the chocolaty one and I must say I liked it. It was sweet but I liked the taste of mint and chocolate.
As there was no wind I had a good night sleep. Morning greeted me with rain and at some point the wind picked up. I enjoyed sitting in the tent listening to the rain on my tent but a thought of taking down my tent and packing it away in the rain was not flattering.
After the morning coffee I packed up and started walking back to Keswick. Despite of the strong wind and rain the mountain was quite busy.
As I felt full of energy and desire to do some more filming, I walked straight down to Derwent Water and took a few clips. I enjoyed watching the raindrops landing in the water and the mist caressing the little islands in the lake.
Before going home I visited the cutest little caffee in Keswick- “Wild Strawberry”