Distance:8.7 miles Time: 3:42hr (exc. stops) Total ascent: 396m

We chose to walk from Waterside House Campsite, following the road for a short distance before veering off into farmland.

The presence of cows in the distance nearly caused an early abort for Sarah, but our path looked to be going no nearwhere near, so onwards we continued.

The going up to the main bridleway was pretty boggy, but once on the bridleway it was a pleasant undulating walk to Howtown.

At Howtown, Sarah wasn’t feeling up for a climb, and so waited with the dog while I made a quick ascent. The path up from the church was steep going in some very hot September sun, but it didn’t take too long to reach the summit.

It was definitely one of the more popular fells we’ve done, with around eight others at the summit pillar. The views from the top were excellent, and even though we’d looked down on Hallin from Bowscale Pike, it seemed higher to be on it! The views across Ullswater with a crystal clear blue sky were worth the climb.

Not wanting to keep Sarah waiting, I didn’t stay long, and descended following a path around the summit and back towards the church retracing my steps.

At the bottom, Sarah was waiting by the tea rooms, where we had cream tea while watching fast jets screaming over Ullswater on training exercises.

As Sarah still wasn’t feeling great, we opted to return via road, which was dull but did offer a lot of welcome shade.

On returning to the campsite, I took a kayak out into the lake and looked back towards Hallin Fell while the jets continued to put on a show overhead – the perfect end.

This brings our Wainwright totals to Sarah 18, Paul 33

(A year later, Sarah made it up Hallin Fell in very different weather conditions!)