A 12.5km jog, walking the ascent to Walla Crag and steeper late sections but running the alongs and downhills (except the unrunnably rocky ones).Route: leaving the car at the Great Wood NT car park (fairly empty on a Monday in late October at 11am) and running and then walking north on forest paths towards a transmitter. Turning right and ascending a path by the stream, crossing this to a road, and then back to climb steep fellside to the summit area of Walla Crag, taking a rocky path round its edge to the summit. Heading initially towards Bleaberry Fell but almost immediately turning off right to join a large sometimes rocky bridleway, slowly descending towards the Ashness Bridge road. Just before reaching it, taking a footbridge and then a permissive path unmarked on the OS map through Ashness Farm (the path being poorly marked but going through the farmyard) to strike the road a bit higher up than otherwise. After 50m of walking turning right onto a faint path to another view of the lake and continuing on this path (again, unmarked on the map) all the way to join the main path to Watendlath. Following this across a footbridge and then parallel to Watendlath Beck, very gently uphill on rocky paving, eventually ascending right on steep rock steps to a path higher up but still parallel with the beck to Watendlath. Following the bridleway past Puddingstone Bank and down, very slowly because of the rocky terrain. About 1km before the end, turning right impulsively to lengthen the route on what turned out to be a tricky descent (leaves on loose stones). In the valley, turning left on a faint (unmarked!) path within the woodland to reach the route we had left and hence to the Scafell Hotel, Riverside Bar. Afterwards, taking the 2:25pm bus back to the start.
Conditions: initially cool and cloudy but becoming sunny.
Pub: the Scafell Hotel for Carlisle Brewing Company Cumbrian Bitter and Corby Blonde.
