The Last day. 19Km, 430m Climb.

6 days of walking, 70 miles, 11,000 feet uphill and feel full of energy. And a blister or 2.

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No one here. Our last day and we didn’t see another walker at all. A person having got out of her car and waddled 30m up a hill to have a wee, yes, but no one else. Very changeable weather, warm, wet, dry, windy, still, and that was the first hour. This area seems so remote and almost untouched by human development. Even fewer shaggy sheep. The landscape is punctuated by little nooks carved onto the hillside by the sheep – scant protection from the elements. The lambs must be pretty hardy as well as cute.

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Sometimes difficult to know if we’re following a sheep trail or proper path, and very steep at times. Coming down is harder for us than going up – on knees, and as Linda will know – elbows and bottoms. Only a small amount of blood lost, but a bit more pride.

No cuckoos until our slippy descent down into the valley. Such a change of view from stark steep hillsides to the edge of Derwent water and all the activity of groups paddling and kayaking from Nichol End Marina. Suddenly into crowds of holidaymakers and their dogs. And Lakes ice creams, so not all bad. Back to the real world. We will miss this rugged landscape. Having seen it at its most benign we look forward to a return trip.

The planning starts now. Not sure when, how, where or even if. But it starts.