Oh my god I have never been so tired in my life - why you ask? Because I have just come down from the highest point in the whole of England. Yes Dave Betts has officially conquered Scafell and Scafell Pike, at a whoping 974 metres high. I would say I did it in 2 hours flat - but that would just simply be a lie... 3 hours 15 minutes to the summit of Scafell Pike, not bad going me thinks! especially for a fat, overworked, underappreciated, fluffy haired pan european accounts exec...

So I set off from Windermere at 8am, and headed for Wasdale, which is by Wastwater Lake. Now I had no idea about how to get to this place or anything, but I did check the weather before hand. No point in making the climb if you couldn't see anything, or where you were going. Wasdale is suppose to be the shorter but harder climb. I drove through the second most scary drive in the world (well taht I have done) called Hard Knot - what a quality drive, very high altitudes, gorgeous views and a lot of concentration to stop swifty driving off the cliff. As I entered the valley of the giants, as I call it, there was Wastwater lake - my god how gorgeous was this... It reminded me of New Zealand, the lake mirrored the surrounding the mountains and reflected the sun like a mirror itself.

As I started the walk to Scafell Pike, I realised it wasn't going to be as easy as I suspected, esp after the first cliff. I set my sights on this peak called black crag, and then realised it was only the half way point... and as the first stop occured, mainly due to the fact I was overtaken by a chid of 7, an elderly couple of around 110... and the final straw came when a blind man overtook me... just playing I was like a possessed man. 3 hours later I was crawling to the summit, and I made it... success! and believe me I did prepare, I had on the climb, a lucosade power drink, water, Mars Bar and Nutragrain Bar.. and a lunch for the summit.

But what a view... seriously it was breathtaking! All the summits including Great Gable were visable, and the cloud formations kept moving, making the photography brilliant. So I walked a while after that to Scafell, but again the cloud came in, so I started the descent which took around 2 hours via an adjacent peak next to the Pike that gave even more great shots, and it was deserted. I was singing Counting Crows the whole way out loud... funny! Gave me some great time to chill and a great sense of achievement once complete.

Honestly though for a fly by night hiker, it was pretty hard going... but I do recommend it.