The 6th WW Summer Lesbian Break started at Glenthorne as the relentless hot spell was coming to an end. The Lake District was needing the rain - and some of us were glad not to be walking in all that heat...

Many old faces, and plenty of new ones too - which was great! We started to get to know each other, gathering in the lounge with tea and cake as women arrived.

After dinner, a largish number headed to the pub while others chatted, read, played Scrabble, or went to bed early. The rain fell steadily...

Sun and clouds greeted us in the morning, and after breakfast we split into 4 walking groups according to our aspirations for the day: Gentle, Low Intermediate, Intermediate, and High Level.

The Gentle & Low Intermediate walks headed for Grasmere and Rydal Water, following the same route along Loughrigg Terrace and above Rydal Water to Rydal Caves.

From Rydal Cave, the Gentle walk circled around the foot of Rydal Water with Ellie, had tea in Rydal village, then walked back along the Coffin Trail to Grasmere.

The Low Intermediate walk with Gillian had meatime headed up onto Loughrigg Fell, descended to Loughrigg Tarn, then had a lift back from Elterwater.

The Intermediate & High Level walks had set off in the opposite direction - to Easedale Tarn, taking two different routes from there up onto the Blea Rigg ridge.

The Intermediate walk (with me) reached the ridge below Blea Rigg, then turned down the ridge as far as Dow Bank, and back to Grasmere via an old Victorian path in the woods.

The views from the ridge were stunning in all directions.

We stopped on Silver How for an afternoon break with views of 5 different lakes.

We even detoured through high bracken to reach a delightful old, but hidden, woodland path - and tea at the Faery Glen tea room.

The High Level walk with Diane P had meantime headed the head of the valley from Easedale Tarn, reaching the top of the ridge at Sargeant Man - an outlying Langdale Pike.

From here then walked on across the tops to High Raise for some stunning views of the Central Fells.

For their return route they chose the path down the Far Easedale valley back to Grasmere.

We'd all had some wonderful views and great walking weather. A great introduction to the Lakes for some.

And there was birthday cake for Helen when we got back!

That evening there was a raucous game of Articulate going on in the conservatory, while others chatted or played table tennis, or headed for the pub....

Today we woke to rain and strong winds, with a forecast of showers continuing through the day. They did not joke.... so there are fewer photos today!

The High Level walk headed up onto Fairfield and spent much of the day in cloud.

Definitely a trust exercise as they headed into the wind & rain!

On the summit there was great relief all round when Ellie produced the group shelter for lunch.

However, by the time they got back to Grasmere, not one of them had stayed completely dry!

The Intermediate and Low Intermediate walks had meantime climbed the hillside with Gillian and me to Alcock Tarn above Grasmere.

The tarn was stunning as ever despite the rain, but several women looked at the weather, and switched to low intermediate at this point!

So Gillian took 3 brave intermediate souls on up to Heron Pike in the mist. From there they walked down the ridge to Rydal village.

Fabulous views down to Rydal Water from Nab Scar made their effort worth while - finishing with tea at Rydal Hall and a walk back along the Coffin Trail!

The Low Intermediate walk had meantime descended from Alcock tarn, walked along the Coffin Trail to Rydal Hall (for a hot chocolate, of course).

It stopped raining at Rydal, and the sun came out as we continued into Ambleside for a spot of retail therapy.

Later, after more tea at the Piano Cafe, we caught the bus back to Grasmere.

The Gentle walk with Diane P made their way to pretty Loughrigg Tarn with views of the Langdale Pikes between the downpours!

Later we comiserated about the wetness of the day, admired any new gear purchased (including waterproof trousers - much needed in some cases), and ate another delicious Glenthorne dinner.

Only 5 went to the pub tonight, and the numbers playing Articulate had increased.

2 games of Scrabble were going on, and lots of chat in other corners....

The forecast today looked as bad as yesterday, and the general mood was for a more restful or 'lower' day - out of the wind, please! We planned the walks accordingly.

The Gentle walk came with me to Great Langdale, driving over the ridge in cars, then walking from Elterwater through the woods and Great Langdale valley.

The views of the Langdale Pikes were superb, and actually it didn't rain as much - except when we stopped for a break! There was even sunshine between the showers.

After a drink at the New Dungeon Ghyll - during which it rained again - we headed for the Millennium Tapestry at Chapel Stile.

The Low Intermediate group walked with Diane P from Elterwater to Little Langdale.

They detoured to High Tilberthwaite, then circled back on the Cumbria Way via Colwith Force (waterfall) to Skelwith Bridge.

The river was in spate after all the rain - which made for impressive photos on the way back to Elterwater.

The Intermediate walk scaled Loughrigg Fell with Gillian and had great views at the top and all the way up!

From the summit they headed south towards Windermere, returning 'Under Loughrigg', and finishing past Rydal Cave.

The High Level walk headed for Elterwater on foot, then set their sights on the summit of Lingmore Fell.

The route chosen was not the easiest, but they had a great time tackling scree on the way up....

...and bracken on the way down...

From Great Langdale they headed back over the ridge to Grasmere. The route had made up for the day's lack of height gain!

More of the same in the evening!

'Heavy showers' were the forecast, and still gale force winds from the north. Needless to say, we planned routes that would be protected as much as possible from this direction...

Gillian took the High Level walk up past Low Rigg and High Rigg - the other arm of the Fairfield Horseshoe, returning down the sheltered valley of Scandale.

The wind they did encounter, but no where near as much rain as forecast.

The Intermediate walk , with Diane P, had meantime climbed the path to Calf Crag from Greenburn Bottom.

From the end of the ridge they turned towards Steel Fell for a change, and were soon heading down a grassy descent back to Grasmere...

The Gentle and Low Intermediate walks with Ellie and me had set our sights on Easedale Tarn, taking the path up past Sour Milk Gill waterfall.

Women from both groups swam in the tarn - some meeting in the middle, before we all headed down at varying rates to Far Easedale.

From here the Low Intermediate walkers headed up the Far Easedale valley, and tried out the group shelter for fun when a few drops of rain fell at lunch time!

On the way back we stopped for tea at the Llancrigg Hotel - and who should still be there but the gentle group!!

That evening we'd planned a pub quiz, followed by a party. There were contributions to the quiz from practically everyone - which proved very successful.

The party went on till the small hours....!

Last day - and guess what? Yes, we woke to brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies. Who got the dates wrong this year?!

Everyone wanted to walk together, so we all made for Greenburn Bottom - which proved a great choice as there was not another soul to be seen there.

On reaching the swimming hole in the beck, many of us threw our clothes off and indulged in the jacuzzi there.

Others soaked up the sun, chatted, took photos, or went for a stroll further up the valley.

It was a beautiful day - just to show us what the Lake District looks like in the sun.

Back at Glenthorne, there was a general reluctance to leave!

Women drank cups of tea, exchanged email addresses, planned their next WW holiday together, before finally hugging each other goodbye and heading reluctantly home. Thank you all for surviving such relentless weather!