No idea why i thought gorge scrambling in the Lake District in October would be a good idea but here I was….

A cold but sunny day in October was the start of this adventure – we met Chris from live4adventure in the small Lake District town of Keswick and it was a short 10 minute drive from there to the start.

First challenge – get into a wetsuit- this is always a big challenge for me, I’m sure there must be an easy way to get in them but I’ve not yet discovered it! Chris supplied all the wetsuits, coats and helmets – we just needed old trainers, over trousers and swim costumes.

Then it was time for our walk to the start and a briefing from Chris. I should add here that I’m not exactly a fan of water… or being cold…

Chris described the route down and what we should expect, sliding down waterfalls into pools of water, a bit of swimming through a deep pool, scrambling over rocks and down the sides of the gorge… it all sounded ok if outside of my comfort zone. He also gave us a safety talk, go into pools with bent knees to absorb impacts, keep elbows tucked in etc.

Then we had to get into the water. Stream water in the Lake District in October is actually quite cold! Who would have guessed! But actually I was very surprised that once I was immersed in the water I warmed up quite quickly.

And then we were off – the first few slides into the pools of water were difficult for me – lots of channeling my 5 second rule… 5…4…3…2…1…go!!!

After a while I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to drown and relaxed and started to enjoy it. Watching Carly (Adventuremummy) going down trying to keep her head out of the water due to her fake eyelashes and not chip her fake nails was lots of entertainment!

We slid down small waterfalls, scrambled over rocks, through water up to out waists, along the sides of the steep gorge and generally had lots of fun. The group were very supportive and looked out and helped each other and had a fabulous time. Chris was an excellent instructor/guide and clearly explained each section, what we needed to look out for, and where to put our legs and bums to get across and down safely but with maximum enjoyment.

Our group ranged from late 30’s to 60+ and we all had a great time. Would I do it again? Yes, but not in October as by the time we got to the bottom my hands and feet were frozen.