- 1 night
- Wild camp at Santon Bridge
Paul Tynan decided to have an attempt at the Joss Naylor Challenger and James was down to support leg 4 which covers the Wastdale Valley. I hiked up with James to the start of leg 4 which is at the stretcher box at Styhead. Once we had cheered Paul through, James ran off to do [leg 4]() and I ran back down into the valley with one of the leg 3 supporters.
Whilst the runners were making their way over Great Gable, Kirk Fell and Pillar, I decided to swim in Wastwater. It’s the deepest lake in the Lake District and often one of the coldest so I was a little nervous. Kitted out in my wetsuit I hobbled over the rocky shore and into the lake. I swam out and back across the width of the lake, waving to some kayakers. I found the swim quiet challenging as I got quite sea-sick half way back and was glad to make it out on to dry land.
Once dry and warm, I headed to Greendale Bridge to await the runners. As they came running down the hill, Joss Naylor appeared to shake Paul’s hand and drink some fizz in plastic cups.
Paul was booked into the YHA Wastwater Hall, so we called in to join him for a celebratory pint, before driving around the corner to our park up, a small car park near Santon Bridge. We were the only ones there and had an early night.
The next morning we went for a walk straight from the van, up Illgill Head. It was a great ridge, and we saw hardly any people. It was very misty on top, but we did manage a couple of nice views of Wastwater.
After a cuppa and some snacks in the van, we drove around to Ravenglass for a short walk along the seaside. We stopped off at Crakeside Fish and Chips for dinner on the drive home.