Lake District

Black Sail, Scafell Pike / Scafell (they're 2 different peaks), Great Gable, Pillar, Red Pike, Honister Pass, Fairfield Horseshoe, Wansfell Pike, Orrest Head etc - whether or not they're doable depends on your fitness, mountain ability, map reading & compass use, daylight hours - I'll leave you to check daylight hours at Lake District in late Sept (suggest you use Carlisle as a place name - it's further north, so table will give you slightly less daylight than you'll get), weather etc. If you have plenty of mountain experience - remember that UK mountains are not served mainly by waymarked trails through woodland, as in North America and mainland Europe, although there aer some cairns (piles of stones) and hills / fells are pretty exposed once you get above trees - you may have to rely on dry stone walls for shelter from wind on some days.

Obviously daylight hours will be close to 12 in late September, as it is near the equinox.

Asking a forum whether you can walk back to Honister after Scafell Pike, Red Pike, Gable and Pillar all in one day is a bit like asking "is it feasible for me to cycle 150 miles in a day or would 125 miles be enough?" - clearly most people can't cycle 125 miles in a day and have no idea whether you personally would be fit enough to cycle 125 miles or 150. But plainly there are fit amateur cyclists around who can cycle these distances, they are not infeasible for the fit well-trained amateur, but you do need to be fit and well-trained.

Personally I wouldn't aim to climb more than 2 of those hills in a day, and often one would be enough. Though starting from Black Sail you have a head start and maybe 3 is doable for the reasonably fit hillwalker from there without it seemin like a marathon. Finding your way up PIllar, at least by the classic route, is a bit tricky, best to have a detailed walking book to describe how you find your way through the rocks, in addition to the 1:25 000 map, as there is steep rough ground with a non-obvious path.

Often it rains a lot in late Sept in the Lakes, so you'll need a bit of luck.

Interestingly, I've been to the Lake District many times in my life, and even lived on the edge of it for a couple of years, but I've never been on, or felt inclined to take, a Lake Cruise. I know a lot of other people who have been there many times, and some who live nearby, and none of them has ever mentioned doing one either, or recommended it to me. And you think you want to do two. To me, a Lake Cruise seems like something someone who can't be bothered doing much physically active would do. Maybe someone can correct me and say I am missing something amazing and should definitely do it next time I'm there. But somehow I doubt it.

Fairfield Horseshoe is enough for a day too for most people. I've never completed it myself. After the wind picked us up and dropped us iin a snowdrift 10 feet away, we decided to turn around and go back.

On the Scafell Pike feasibility question, what you need to know is that it is dangerous to attempt to cross the pass connecting Scafell adn Scafell Pike, either as an ascent route for either of them, or to travel from one to the other. The access routes to the summits are from the opposite ends of the ridge in each case.

Hi copepod and iviehoff! Thanks for your inputs and advice. I'm starting to get a better picture now.

The thing is, I come from a hot and humid climate all year round, and I am not to familiar with the changing of weather and how it can affect me. I doubt walking 10miles back home is the same as walking 10miles in Lake District. So I think I will have to see how things are when I'm there. I will probably get a map when I'm there, I don't think the navigating portion will pose a challenge.

Thanks for your advice on the cruise, I'll probably give one a miss. I figured since I will be traveling so far I should just give it a go. There seems to be quite alot of recommendations on doing the cruise online. Oh and I definitely will not be aiming to climb four peaks on one day, those are just the options that I'm considering. I'm keen to do gable and one other before heading back to kewick. What's your take on which peaks should be the priority?

I doubt walking 10miles back home is the same as walking 10miles in Lake District.

One issue walking in the Lake District is the paths are mostly steep and rocky, sometimes with exposure (ie very airy with large drop) so how many miles they are often isn't the relevant factor.

Another issue is that the weather can from time to time become seriously unpleasant, low visibility, strong winds, rather cold, any time of year. Conditions can be very different in the valley from on the tops. I know my parents were once glad for a compass when coming off Gable in conditions of low visibility.

What's your take on which peaks should be the priority

Pillar is the most interesting, Red Pike isn't interesting at all, and Scafell Pike and Gable are roughly equal, though the latter gets a lot of traffic because it is the highest hill in England.

Conditions can be very different in the valley from on the tops

What is the best way for me to prepare for this? I will be bringing a waterproof jacket, and trail shoes with me. Will it be necessary for me to bring waterproof pants too, or will quick dry/water resistant be enough?

Speaking of compass, I will definitely be bringing one. And I will purchase the map too. These seem to be essentials.

Having just spent 3 days in Lake District, marshalling (collecting controls, recovering overdue competitors, treating cold / injured people, moving kit between remote campsites etc) on GL3D (Great Lakeland 3 Day) race, I can assure you that you will need waterproof trousers (not pants - in UK, pants means underwear!) for protection again rain / snow / wet ground when sitting, plus wind, particularly on tops, where winds tend to be strongest, and they're colder than base of hills / fells, as temperature falls with altitude gain - an easy conversion is 1oC decrease with each 150m climbed, but obviously depends on change of temperature during day towards time when sun is highest in sky, plus a bit after that, and cools as sunset approaches, plus a cold or warm front can pass through an area. You will also need a warm hat (to cover ears and scalp), gloves, minimum 1 extra fleece to waer when stopped on tope, perhaps a sun cap etc. You should also carry a bivvy bag (large plastic or goretex sack that you can get inside, in case of injury which renders you unable to walk down). Mobile phones do not work in all places - you stand more chance of getting a signal on a peak than in a valley - so you should leave details of where you are planning to go and when you expect to be back with someone who can alert mountain rescue via police if you don't report back in time.

You'll probably need more than 1 map, as not all those peaks fit on a single OS (Ordnance Survey) 1:25,000 sheet. Harvey's 1:40,00 might do it. OS 1:50,000 doesn't have as much detail - you'll vlaue the details such as walls and fences that are on 1:25,000 and 1;40,000, but not 1:50,000.

You should also carry a bivvy bag (large plastic or goretex sack that you can get inside, in case of injury which renders you unable to walk down

Few people actually do that. They'd look at the weather forecast instead.

Even knowing the weather forecast, you should still carry a bivvy bag.

See advice from Mountain Rescue England & Wales http://www.mountain.rescue.org.uk/mountain-advice

On Saturday, I climbed Loughrigg Fell, a very small summit near Ambleside, in order to collect a control point for a mountain running race. The trig point was surrounded by people getting far too cold because they didn't have any clothes to put on when they stopped climbing. On the way down, I was nearly knocked over by a couple of Dutch guys slipping down the grass, ignoring the stone stepped path, so I suggested they would find it easier on the stone, especially as their trainers had virtially no grip on soles - they only brought one pair of shoes as they flew with hand luggage only. A bit of self interest, as I didn't want to be delayed by one of them falling and having to put them in my bivvy bag, until they could be collected by Mountain Rescue, as I had another 2 controls to collect, including another from Helm Crag above Grasmere.