After a couple of abortive pandemic-struck attempts at a Paddy Buckley round, I decided to stop focussing on a load of hills I’ve already run across hundreds of times, and strike out for somewhere new instead. Abraham’s Tea Round has been on my list for a while now, and so I found myself outside George Fisher in Keswick at 07:30 on a Friday morning in early July.

© Haydn Williams 2021
The route visits all of the summits visible from the cafe upstairs in George Fisher, clocking in at almost 47 km and over 3,000 m of ascent.

I hadn’t really read much about it, and didn’t really know the route, so set off very much with a ‘suck it and see’ mentality. The one thing I had figured out is that it was easy enough to just turn around and head home at any point if I wasn’t feeling great.
Fortunately I went well around the top end of Derwent Water and Catbells, which I’d not been up for 25 years or more. Up onto Robinson, and I passed another couple who were also out on the round. The descent to Buttermere provided the day’s first bit of excitement, being a super-steep descent that dropped height at a ludicrous rate.

© Haydn Williams 2021
From there it was decision-time as to whether I continued on the Round route or skipped High Stile and headed for the return leg. Everything was going well though, so I turned left and skirted the lake shore.

© Haydn Williams 2021
The heat really started to kick in on the rising traverse below Low Crag, so I was glad to refill my water at Comb Beck and cool down with a general splash around. I had some vague timings in my head for a 10-hour round, and had to start pushing hard to the summit of High Stile to keep them in sight.

© Haydn Williams 2021
From there it was around to Red Pike – not visible from George Fisher, but the recommended route down to Buttermere to minimise erosion. Last time I visited Red Pike was on the Great Lakeland 3 Day in 2016, in zero visibility and finding the summit only with the assistance of some fellow Bowliners. It was much easier to find this time!

© Haydn Williams 2021
Down to Buttermere, and the heat of the valley. Fortunately the cafe was open, so I downed coke, water, a Calippo and some chocolate to rehydrate and refuel. Another pull uphill in the searing heat, and this was the first point at which I considered cutting things short. I was a bit worried that this section went a long way without any shade whatsoever, but the climb wasn’t as bad as I’d remembered.
Another refill of water approaching Coledale Hause, and I hit the first of two out-and-back sections. I knew it was coming, but hadn’t looked in any detail at the map, so was a bit demoralised to see just how far it was out to Grisedale Pike.

© Haydn Williams 2021
Fortunately it looked worse than it was, and I found a nice traverse line on the return leg to avoid having to go all the way to the top of Hobcarton Crag twice. A sit down halfway up Eel Crag and some mental arithmetic provided the realisation that I could probably still come in under 10 hours if I stopped faffing and carried on running. Thus, I knuckled down and knocked off the final couple of summits and descended on wobbly legs into Braithwaite.
From there the 10-hour deadline was looking OK, and 09:30 seems distinctly possible. I’ve never been a fan of running on the flat though, so I had to dig deep past Portinscale and around the throngs of holidaymakers in Keswick to the door of George Fisher.
At 09:34 as my final time I didn’t quite hit the revised deadline, but as a decidedly average runner I was pleased with a quicker-than-average completion. The contrast with the scene of my recent exploits, the Paddy, was lovely, giving good running and very little pathless meandering. I’m sure I could do sub-9 hours on a cooler day (and knowing the route now), but the newfound desire to visit other places means I’m unlikely to try any time soon. :)