It's taken 3208 days but I've finally summited all the Lake District Wainwrights. A wee bit longer than Steve Birkinshaw's recent record of 6 days 13 hours but a great challenge none the less. I saved Mellbreak for last as there was a pint of Loweswater Gold waiting for me in the Kirkstile Inn at it's foot! For a slightly different approach we opted to swim across Crummock Water, stuff the wetsuits in our rucksacks and and follow the Frog Graham route up onto the summit, hence the tri shorts. The legs were still feeling good so we extended the day to include Red Pike and High Stile before retiring to the pub for the aforementioned pint and a roast dinner.

A good day out watching the the first day of the Tour de France which showcased the best of Yorkshire. We opted to park some distance away from the route and ran in over the fells in the early morning sunshine. Leaving the Pennine Way at  Great Shunner Fell we descended to the summit of Buttertubs Pass which was already pretty busy. We quickly claimed a good spot meters before the line marking the top of the climb. It seemed like most of the Lake District outdoor community had made the trek to Buttertubs and it was a very sociable morning.
There was a great atmosphere building and plenty of young cyclists were putting in a sprint finish over the line to great applause. I'm sure one tandem rider had a lot of explaining to do when he arrived at the summit only to realise he was missing his better half from the back seat! There was plenty of entertainment from the Le Tour caravan and some very cheerful motercycle cops from both sides of the channel. The riders eventually arrived led by a breakaway from veteran Jens Voigt and the peleton soon swept through in a matter of seconds.
We joined the mass exodus before cutting off over the fells where surprisingly we came across a couple of rarely spotted naked ramblers enjoying an afternoon stroll. A fitting end to a very British take on ones of the worlds biggest sporting events!

For a view from the other side of the road have a look at the Sterling Adventures blog!