I was going home on this day so the sun came out; isn’t that just typical! It was still cold and windy, but the rain had stopped and the clouds had lifted (though it was still a bit hazy), which left me with a lovely day to be out on the fells, so it was a pity I was going home. I had one more walk to do, so setting off early I headed up the Glenridding valley, across the beck and then up the hill beside Red Tarn Beck. On reaching the tarn I turned right towards the Hole-in-the-Wall to begin my assault of Striding Edge. To be honest now that I’ve gone along the edge I can't see what all the fuss has been about! I sailed over the very top of the ridge with huge drops either side and with the ridge no more than a foot wide in places. In wet conditions it may be tricky, and much worse with snow under foot, but in the dry and with only a medium cross-wind I had no problems at all. What had I been so nervous about all these years? I have no idea, but now I felt I could do any edge; bring on Crib Goch!
The summit of Helvellyn was as usual bleak in appearance, but unusually it was totally devoid of people at the relatively early time of 11 am, which was too early for the tourists coming up from the main road. I was merely lucky though, as I saw the advance guard approaching from Browncove Crags just as I was leaving. After a lingering look at the scenery from the top of Swirral Edge I headed out over Lower Man and down the ridge towards Whiteside; the fells now came thick and fast. Following Whiteside was the rocky Raise and beyond the Sticks Pass, the grassy Stybarrow Dodd was followed by the inconsequential Watson's Dodd and the massive Great Dodd.
My descent now began in earnest as I passed over Little Dodd and on to Calfhow Pike before crossing over to Clough Head. All that now followed for me was a steep descent down a steep, grassy slope just to the left of White Pike until I reached the Old Coach Road at Hausewell Brow. Turning left I walked along the old coach road until I reached a gate where I turned towards the north again and followed the fence down the hill of Threlkeld Common. At Newsham I joined a track that took me to Mill Bridge where a footpath beside the river took me over the A66 trunk road and to the church in Threlkeld. After a quick drink at the Horse & Farrier I caught the bus to Penrith and began my journey home. After nine days in the Lake District I was happy to be going home, but I will still miss it and I was looking forward to returning next year. I think an annual holiday in the Lake District is a must as there is no better place.
The wind and rain continued as I gingerly descended down to Deepdale Hause and climbed up to St Sunday Crag, where I was hit by a vicious southerly wind. The wind, however, quickly fell away as I descended the northerly side and would you believe it, the sun came out! The clouds broke and a rainbow appeared since, of course, it was still raining. The rainbow, with ends in Grisedale and Glenamara Park, remained as I clambered down to the bottom of Grisedale, lingering above me as I descended. The conclusion of the walk involved climbing over the hill beside Lanty's Tarn, descending into Glenridding and up the valley to the Helvellyn Youth Hostel.