Things I learned from my Lake District trip

with the intention that they will come in useful next time:

• Don't walk 17 miles and expect to be able to move tomorrow.
• The 77 Borrowdale bus exists for a reason. Don't be a hero.
• The sandwich shop in Keswick does a special filling of the day that is almost always interesting and delicious.
• In a day's walking on a sunny day more water will be needed than can be comfortably carried, so refill where possible.
• There is no better sight after walking many miles on a sunny day with a heavy rucksack than an ice cream shop or van.
• Taking sunblock, even in April, was very sensible.
• Doing the Castle Crag ascent from Grange 8 days after it's been on BBC2 will not result in a great amount of isolation or serenity.
• A camera with a 28-135mm IS lens attached is heavy and awkward around the neck and will likely remain in the rucksack most of the time as a result.
• A camera with a 50mm f/1.8 lens attached is light and unburdensome and results in the free and frequent shooting of many pictures.
• Carting a tripod to Keswick and back without ever once using it is stupid.
• I didn't need to take 3 camera batteries. One would have been okay this time, two to be safe. Wondered if I made the right decision leaving the charger behind, but there was clearly no way I would have ever needed it for this duration.
• 4GB/day is not an excessive amount of CF to budget on days when the camera is pointed at lots of animals.
• Should have taken my iPod charger. Even with the limited need for digital audio while I was there, the travel to and fro still drained my battery.
• The DS charging cable was a good thing to take, to avoid being deprived of Nurikabe and Slither Link.
• A 200 page book is not enough reading material.
• Most useful thing I packed: brimmed hat
• Least useful thing I packed: tripod

Photos from the first day of my Lake District trip are already up on Flickr, with more to follow.