A History Lesson

What the Lakes didn't offer in terms of great weather and dry rock. it made up for in abundance with history.

Seeing a plaque by the side of the narrow, winding road we were on, we pulled up to discover a Roman fort ...


Apparently this place used to be home for up to 500 soldiers, and had a granary, offices and a fancy home for the bigwigs. It was surrounded by a stone wall (with four gateways, and a tower on each corner), and just outside it - there was a bathhouse! Complete with sauna, too.

And then later in the day (after our soaking, as discussed in Optimism), we came across a variety of stone circles. Why did they need several of them, all so close to each other?!

Although she's posing here, Jen did let the team down, as she could not be convinced to dance around them naked.

Optimism

Def: Carrying two ropes and a full trad rack, with the aim of climbing at a crag 6km away with 600m in elevation to gain, when you're in the Lakes, the weather is "changeable" and it's already after lunch ...

Shortly after this photo was taken, the heavens opened and the wind became a gale. We were soon soaked.

The wind and rain didn't last long, but by the time it stopped, our desire to keep hiking uphill to find these climbs had somewhat diminished.