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| Date & Time: Sunday 25th June 2006. 11.15 pm start. ( Map ref: NY 387 184 ) Location of Start : Off road parking at the bottom of the lane to Seldom Seen, Patterdale, Cumbria, Uk. Places visited : Seldom Seen, Glenridding Dodd, Sheffield Pike, Hart Side, and back via Seldom Seen. Walk details : 7.3 mls, 2,975 ft of ascent, 6 hrs 20 mins including lunch on Sheffield Pike. Walked with : Jo, John, Ann and the five dogs, Jodie and Megan, Polly, Harry and Bethan. Weather : Damp and overcast, with a low cloud base at 1800 ft ( but forecasted to lift ) The weather as seen from Park Brow Hill, Ullswater, 10.40 am. |
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All ready at the start near Glencoyne Bridge, where the track leads up to the delightfully named "Seldom Seen" Cottages.
Climbing gently above Ullswater, with Gowbarrow and the slopes of Place Fell opposite. Enough breeze to give the sailing boat chance to tack up the lake.
This was a slight nostalgia trip for Jo as she hadn't visited these cottages since she stayed in one of them with her family at the tender age of fifteen. She recalled the small rooms, low ceilings, less trees with the front and back of the cottages looking out onto the more open hillside. For her they really had lived up to their name.
The middle stretch of Ullswater opening out as we climbed through the midges. Good old Avon "Skin so soft". It seemed to ward off the worst of them. The cloud seemed a little higher now and there was a hint of sunshine to the east.
Mist rising out of the trees, as we climbed up alongside the wall towards our first summit.
A rather circular route has brought us across towards Glenridding Dodd. We need to lose a little height as we follow the wall across, then it's a short ascent to the excellent viewpoint above Patterdale.
The partially covered Keldas, Arnison Crag and Hartsop Dodd line up in this view of Glenridding from the turn of the wall.
The first summit of the day Jo, John and Ann on Glenridding Dodd.
It's June the 25th today, and so we are looking down on the gathering at the Patterdale Country Show, down in the sports field beyond Patterdale Hall. A few muffled words from the loudspeakers would be the only other voices, apart from our own, that we heard on our walk today.
Oh yes, and June 25th (2006) was the afternoon of the first England game in the knock-out round of the football World Cup. John made his excuses, and disappeared from view down the Mossdale Beck path back to the car, to returned home to get the full benefit of his TV licence money. Jo, Ann and myself continued on with the walk up Heron Pike.
Unfortunately the cloud base, although higher was not high enough to clear the two hundred feet of Sheffield Pike but did create a nice ethereal effect across the Heron Pike tarns. "Oh summit, summit, wherefore art thou summit ?"
"Try following the path" came the mystical (mistical) reply.
And there we were, Sheffield Pike in the mist, with the damp air and a light breeze giving the girls a slightly bad hair day !
As we drop down to Nick Head (Nick-coll perhaps papa ?) the cloud clears briefly to give us a view ahead and of the Glencoyne Valley.
The damp conditions today may cause the cotton grass to look drab but for this fella they were probably ideal conditions for travelling.
The Common Frog ( Rana Temporaria ) as opposed to the Common Toad which is different. Bright eyes peering out past a green leaf in the foreground. The dark patch behind its eyes is distinctive of the frog.
Living in the Lake District as we do, there is a great temptation just to walk on the fine days when the the sun is shining. That way you get easy walking and fine views. Deciding to walk all the Wainwright hills again also provides the incentive to walk different areas and to vary the routes used on the first occasion. However, it is days like today, when you commit to a walk with friends but the weather fails to deliver, that you experience a different sort of enjoyment. The low cloud makes navigation with map and compass essential to actually reach the summits, and the satisfaction of walking straight onto the top cairn becomes a real and different reward.
Finding your way back to Nick Head in the mist is rewarding too !
The path from here descends under our second summit, Sheffield Pike, and down into the Glencoyne Valley. Opposite are the fells of Brown Hills and Swinside Knott.
Clearer views as we drop down towards Ullswater.
A return to Glencoyne Woods, Seldom Seen Cottages, and the end of the walk. A good day out, if rather damp from the knees down due to the long grass and wet ground. |
- - - o o o - - - Technical note: Pictures taken with a Canon IXUS 400 Digital camera. Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder. This site best viewed with . . . map and compass. Go to Top # © RmH # Email me here # Go to 2006 Archive Previous walk - 17th June 2006 Sallows and Sour Howes with John and Jill The previous time up Hart Side -28th August 2001 ( Sorry no pictures on-line, and it was misty that time too ! )
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