A 5km run at 5:30pm in autumnal evening sun to start the weekend.
Route: leaving the car sneakily in the car park of the Kirkstile Inn (for the brief period of the run before having a pint) (getting full fr evening meals) and, for the first time, running south on the road then track past Kirkhead, taking the longer diagonal right, before the pine trees, then left laterally contouring round under the face of Mellbreak before a steep descent.
Turning right staying about High Park and ascending to s light saddle beneath Dropping Crag to gain views of Crummock Water and Rannerdale Knotts. Continuing a little further south before taking a bath diagonally sharply left, dropping down the slope through bracken and some marsh to the stony swimming beach.
Then round the ‘Horn’ anti-clockwise, ignoring the shoreside path to the foot of the lake and instead taking a handgate a little further on to boardwalks within a copse across marsh and thus to the familiar bridge over Park Beck. For once, crossing the bridge and continuing on a multi-gated track to Muncaster House, then left across fields to Gillerthwaite and back along the road to the pub.
Conditions: 14C but warm sun.
Pub: the Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater, for Cumbrian Ales <Loweswater Gold and Life of a Mountain.
