In Search of Armboth

Thursday, 30th June

I've got to stop climbing the fells I have never done just in order to tick them off in my walking books. There is good reason why some of these fells have not been climbed by me before and slowly but surely I am beginning to understand some of them. There are carparks by the side of Thirlmere lake for instance which are not marked on the map. They have footpaths signposted from the road which when alighted upon lead bloody nowhere! I found the right one at about twelve, even though I had started early. The right footpath, the one leading to Watendlath (Armboth on the way) was quite delightful. With the sun shining down and a wall of rock to the right, beck to the lift, with Dire Straits's Romeo & Juliet on the i-pod - great, until reaching the top. The OS map says that Armboth is on the right and Wainwright, on the left. I went left but although I scrambled through bogs and rocks I could not find a summit cairn anywhere. I consoled myself with the thought of maybe getting to Ulscarf, or the tarn at least but to no avail. I ran out of time and finally settled for the tea-shop at Watendlath, which was still open when I sailed in as was the pub at Rosthwaite. But whether I found Armboth, I shall never know.