Multi-activity adventure days in The Lake District. July 23rd 2012.

John Smith booked a multi-activity day with Iain From Kendal Mountaineering Services for himself & his family as they took a short break here in The Lake District at the start of the Summer holidays.

John had Googled ghyll scrambling in The Lake District and found the Kendal Mountaineering Services website was offering just what he was looking for. A quick enquiry found that Iain was available on the day in question and happy to run an abseiling and ghyll scrambling session in the Ullswater Valley very close to where the family were staying at The Inn on the lake.

On the day, the weather was mixed. Streams were in spate on the Kirkstone Pass making Iain wonder if the activity sessions were going to be possible. Fortunately, it was a little less wet down in Patterdale although very windy. Photo one shows the family stacked on the ledge at Thornhow Crag ready to attempt their first abseil of the session.

Photo two shows John attempting abseiling for the first time.

Thornhow Crag is a great little rock climbing & abseiling venue in the Grisedale valley near to Patterdale and is frequently used by the local Outward Bound School and Patterdale Hall to provide introductory rock climbing and abseiling sessions.

There are a number of handy bolts to allow the crag to be rigged for rock climbing & abseiling sessions - but don't turn up just expecting to be able to use the crag without permission, there is a booking system in place.

The whole family tried several abseils here and did very well despite the weather. During the whole time there was a strong westerly wind blasting the crag along with heavy drizzle but despite this it was still warm. An unsual cloud cap remained over the mountains all day producing a steady drizzle although away from the mountains there was blue sky and sunshine!

After the abseiling session the family returned to the Inn on the lake for lunch whilst Iain went to check out the water levels at Glenridding Beck.

The family had collected the wetsuits, walking boots & cagoules before going for lunch and apparently caused some interest when they emerged from their rooms kitted up ready to go; and walked out of the hotel amidst a wedding reception!

We all parked up at Greenside Mines and put on bouyancy aids, helmets & harnesses before heading into the ghyll (photo three).

Despite the relatively low water levels, the lower part of Glenridding beck was very greasy and Iain had to use the rope often just to stop people slipping back down what would normally be easy climbs. All of the family received a thorough soaking but at least the weather was warm on this odd cloudy & drizzly day and they were all having a great time.

The final photograph sees the family at the getout about half a mile upstream of the hydro scheme intake on Glenridding Beck above which there was a considerably bigger flow making this section of the ghyll scrambling session more of a challenge. Despite that, the family thoroughly enjoyed their ghyll scrambling session in The Lake District with Iain from Kendal Mountaineering Services. Other photos from the familys day out with Iain can be viewed here.

If you would like to book a multi-activity adventure day or half day adventure activity session with us in the Lake District then check out what we have to offer on our website and you can contact us here. Remember - wherever you are staying, we are happy to travel to you to run your session. We look forward to working with you.