Todays next walk starts conveniently just up the road at the next railway stop for La'al Ratty at Irton Road Railway Station but it was here that I forgot to pay a visit to the Station during my haste to find a parking spot which I needn't have been too worried about in the end but that short drive through a bustling Eskdale caused a slight panic until I managed to park at the parking spaces next to Giggle Alley.
I can only assume that relief got the better of me as I walked through Giggle Alley and started my descent into the Mitredale Valley because it was only during my drive out did I have that D'oh moment! Yes it was only a matter of a starting point but it was the official starting point of Wainwrights and that mattered to me no matter how small or medial.
Walk two from Eskdale collects the lonely Outlying summit of Irton Pike found on the most westerly tip of the Whin Rigg ridge and is gained via a steady ascent through the beautiful Mitredale Forest, a place that I grew fond of after my first visit, a place that yearns for exploration, despite its deforestation the woodland has always held that remoteness that only a thick woodland can provide. |