Sleep in a cave

"What do we do if it's full?"

Conrad laughed. And I had meant it as a joke. Who else would choose to walk off rainy day to spend the night in a cave?  We were genuinely surprised when we met a family group of eight already snuggled up playing a game of cards, and taking up most of the cave.

We'd spent the day climbing in the lakes and parked the car by the Brothers Water Inn and walked straight through a perfectly good campsite.  A perfectly good campsite next to a pub.  We carried on walking in the rain and followed the Dovedale valley.

With the light fading and the misty conditions it required a bit of careful navigation to get to the right spot. Priest's Hole is marked on the map but when were sure we were in the right spot we still couldn't find it.  We looked up and down the bottom of the crag and then found a path leading up. After a short scramble we found it.

The family were nice enough to let us budge up and give us a narrow corner of the Hole to kip down.

In the morning, the mist had lifted and we were treated to a beautifully framed view of the hills around.  We were also treated to a mug of tea and a bowl of porridge by the much better equipped family. Thanks!