Grace is too ill for the Old Man

I had somehow persuaded Caroline to steal Isabelle and Grace away for the day to climb the Old Man, since Evie was too little and we hadn't got to the stage of just carrying the youngest up to the top.

This was in the days before everyone had a phone and a camera, so no photos, but an approximate route map.

Difficulty: 4
Walkers: Tim, Isabelle (7)
0.0km 0m, Start (45)
11.8km 761m, End (45)

So the three of us bravely set out, even though Grace was a little under par.  From the house there was a shortish drive to Coniston village, then we set off up the typical path from the Sun pub.  We got a fair way up, probably a couple of miles, but it was becoming obvious that Grace just wasn't going to be able to manage the walk all the way.  So we took the decision to turn back, very frustrating but definitely the right thing to do.  Back to the car park, back to the house, and delivering Grace to Caroline and Evie, 

Isabelle and I were still keen, so we turned straight back again, drove to Coniston, parked in the car park (ticket was valid all day...) and headed up the path, now just the two.  The initial enthusiasm was wearing a little thin for Isabelle, and I had to really encourage her to make it up to the tarn, telling her that we could always turn back at that point.  From there, you can virtually see the route up to the top, so with more encouragement and sugary bribery we make it finally to the top.

From the top we took the route back via Goats Water, most of which is fairly gentle downhill.  I was very proud of Isabelle for making it to the top, and very grateful to the rest of the family for letting the two of us take the car for the day!