Sunset & Sale

The word “Sale” usually gets me heading for the nearest shoe shop. On an August evening recently however, it was entirely about climbing a mountain called Sale without a pair of heels or sale ticket in sight.

On Lothwaite

I met Gina, Dave, Gary and Stuart at Eskin near Bassenthwaite Lake and we started our ascent. Stuart had brought his two Collie dogs with him and they were running around happily making it look easy but the direct route to the summit is very steep! I was (unusually for me) leading the way but regular view stops were essential as we made our way through the bracken. Looking back the way we had walked, you could see across to Ling Fell (which we were heading to later) and into the quiet woods and valley below. We hardly saw another soul all evening.

Worth the walk to Lothwaite for this view of Bassenthwaite

The higher we climbed the more of the Solway Firth we could see. The sun was casting a pink glow on the sea as it peered through the clouds. When we reached Sale summit, the views towards Skiddaw and the surrounding fells were striking as the cloudy sky cast dark and forbidding shadows across them.

We headed to a lower hill called Lothwaite as it has excellent views (although at the time none of us knew what this part of the fell was called!) Bassenthwaite stretched out below us towards Keswick and a patchwork of emerald green fields framed the foot of the Ullock Pike ridge. We all agreed that on an evening like this there was nowhere else in the world we would rather be than the Lake District. 

Group photo on the way down Sale

The sun was close to setting so we made our way back down to the valley and then up the fell opposite called Ling Fell. It is about the same height as Sale but, I am relieved to say a gentler ascent. The path snaked its way through grass and bracken and as we approached the summit the clouds around the sun cleared and we had a perfect sunset towards the coast. The colours were like the dying embers of a fire and cast a warm pink and orange glow all around. It was so beautiful and so peaceful I could have looked at it forever. 

Sunset of the Solway Firth

At The Pheasant Inn

As it was now starting to get dark we took the direct route down Ling Fell, which was a bit slippery in places as the dew appeared and we decided to finish the walk at The Pheasant Inn. A really lovely way to spend an evening and now I have two favourite sales.