We stopped a little while at Stockley Bridge and took a few photographs, before starting the climb up to Greenhow Knotts.  The higher we climbed the better the  views back down to Seathwaite.  In the distance we could see the silvery glints of car windscreens lining the road.  After a couple of stops, to get my breath back, we reached the very gently rising path to Styhead Tarn.  It was interesting to note the difference in water levels in the gill between today and last September when the whole valley seemed to be awash with water.  I took a slight detour to visit the edge of Styhead Tarn, where I could see the reflection of Great End because the water was so still today.

After a short stop for a little bit of lunch, we made our way over to the Corridor Route.  We took our time on the rough path.  There was no problem with route finding here, we could see the path stretching out in front of us.  As we gained more and more height, the view back to Great Gable and Green Gable just got better and better.  Our progress slowed just before Greta Gill.  Whilst we took our time getting down the slightly tricky rock face section we noticed and smiling faced chalked on one of the rocks.  Richard had left his mark.  We continued along the Corridor Route until we reached the obvious engineered path to Narrow Cove and Broad Crag col.  As we reached the bottom of the scree slope, Simon, Alan and Beth went on ahead.  I had to take a rest before I could consider climbing the scree.  After about 15 minutes I managed to get going again and climbed slowly to Broad Crag col.  Once I reached the col, I knew there wasn't much more climbing to do and it wasn't long before I joined the hordes on the summit plateau.

After another much needed rest and some food, I went for a wander across the summit.  I have never seen so many people up here before.  It was now time to  start to make our way back down.  We retraced our steps to Broad Crag col and followed the scratched rocks over Broad Crag and past Ill Crag.  As we reached the top of Calf Cove, I pointed out the summit of Great End and asked if anyone was going to make a detour there.  No one fancied the diversion and we carried on down towards Esk Hause.  Just before we reached the Esk Hause to Styhead path, the sky darkend and we were enveloped in torrential rain.  However approx 10 minutes later it had stopped and we removed our waterproofs.  We walked carefully down the path above Ruddy Gill, the rain had made the path slippery in places and extra care was needed.

As we walked along the path, we could see Ruddy Gill and its beckoning wonderfully clear pools.  I am quite sure that if we had had more time, we would have investigated some of these pools and soaked our weary feet in the cool water.  As we walked down towards the bridge ove Ruddy Gill, it started to rain again.  This time we didn't bother to stop and put the waterproofs on, the thought of a good meal spurred us on and it wasn't long before we reached Stockley Bridge.  As we walked back towards Seathwaite Farm we met a few groups of people heading up the valley, there were carrying very little with them and we hoped that the bad weather higher up wasn't going to catch them out.  From Seathwaite Farm it was just a short stroll to the car and a welcome sit down.  We had all enjoyed a wonderful day, good company and some of the finest scenery in England.