May 20

Today is one of our longest days because two segments have been squeezed into one day. In the first segment we walked up to the col toward Grasmere then veered off onto the high route on north side of the valley toward Grasmere. It was gorgeous with lots of views of the mountains, streams and animals; the latter were mostly sheep with their lambs. When the lambs nurse they are hilarious with their tails wagging at least 100 times /min. When we arrived in Grasmere we walked into town in search of a button battery for the camera and SIM card for the phone. This made us a bit late for the second segment over to Patterdale. By the time we arrived at the tarn it was too late to take the high route.  So we walked directly to Patterdale by the shortest route which got us there shortly after 6 pm. Over 10 hours is long enough.
My ankle felt better today and I was able walk faster. Yesterday it was quite weak going up the hill to Red Pike on the alternative high route. Perhaps the dose of NSAID was responsible. By the time we got to our hotel we needed supper but I couldn't face another plate of chips so we got garden salads with chicken.  Perfect match for Coast to Coast beer.