A nearly 9km run on a grey February day. Route: leaving the car at 11am at the layby near the phone box at Waterend (almost full by then on end-of-half term Sunday) and talking the path down across fields and up to Hudson Place, turning right to pass Jenkinson Place, slowly ascending a track onto the shoulder of the hillside. Taking a sharp left rising in the direction of Burnbank Fell but then left to descend on the obvious coffin route. After crossing Holme Beck, ignoring the left turn into the wood and continuing on the balcony path to its end, descending to and through High Nook Farm. Just after this, turning left through an unmarked hand gate to join a permissive path through fields to Watergate Farm and back along the lakeshore. Then rising uphill, at a walk, on a track and descending to the start - diverting before the gate to admire the renaturalised (rewiggled) Dub Beck.
Conditions: dry with low cloud and rare hints of hazy sun - sections of path flooded and muddy in some places never flooded before.
Pub? The Kirkstile Inn car park being full, canned craft ale (Steam Brew, Sister Session IPA, from Lidl) back at the cottage.
