We’re all starting to tire as we trudge up Beda Fell. The warm, muggy air is oppressive and we’d set off a little overeagerly earlier, energised by the Lake District scenery; now, with heads down, our laughter and chatter has been temporarily replaced by the sound of laboured breathing.
Suddenly, as we crest a rise and the vista opens out, we stop. Our heads are lifted now, breath held. We’re no longer looking at the featureless, grassy slopes under our feet; the mighty Helvellyn has appeared.
A spectacular example of glacial sculpturing, with sawtooth edges cradling deep tarns and windswept ridges teetering above high cliffs, it’s a sight that will stop any walker in their tracks. For the three of us on this trip, though, it holds special memories…
This is our fourth summer get-together. My partner, Heleyne, and I are regular fell walkers, but our friend, Helen, is a relative newcomer to it. In 2018, she asked if we’d take her up the Langdale Pikes to mark her sixtieth birthday.
Climbing these iconic Lakeland peaks had
