Holme Force & Loweswater Bothy

Date & start time: Tuesday 9th November 2010, 4pm start.

Location of Start : Maggie's Bridge car park, Loweswater , Cumbria, Uk ( NY 135 210 )

Places visited : Watergate Farm, Holme Force, Loweswater Bothy and back via the lake.

Walk details : 2.4 mls, 375 ft of ascent, 1 hr 15 mins.

Highest point : Forest tracks in Holme Woods, 672 ft - 205 m above sea level.

Walked with : Our son Gareth, Ann and the dogs, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : Late afternoon sun after a damp day.

[ Alter the settings to zoom or change the Map, use Everytrail to download the Gps route ]

Very rainy days and superb blue-sky winter days have been interspersed with cold and damp interludes.

No two days the same at the moment.

This walk was local again as the weather only cleared towards the late afternoon.

The first real snow of the winter on the high fells.

The photo shows the High Stile Ridge from Loweswater but recent rain has started a slight thaw. I'm sure it is very cold and damp up there today.

A late afternoon walk today after the rain has cleared.	The farm road from Maggie's Bridge passes these old trees.

Look like I'm the one who's hanging behind taking photos today.

This is Ann and our son Gareth on the farm track to Loweswater lake.

The cows are still out on the meadows but they are pretty docile without young calves about.

A few more weeks and they'll be inside the barns again, partly due to the temperature but also in order to avoid trampling and damaging the last of the grass with their narrow feet when the soil gets soft and partially water logged. The sheep will need to graze it over winter.

Weak afternoon sunshine on Low Fell as we walk towards the lake.

The large bulk of Grasmoor dominates this end of the valley

and is looking particularly cold and wet with a recent covering of snow.

Down by the lake, the water levels are up and there's less of the fence visible than usual.

Looking back across the meadows to Grasmoor, Whiteless Pike and the heavier snow on Robinson.

Entering the woods beyond the farm, there's no boats moored up today.

They've all been pulled up and stored elsewhere for the winter.

We take the diagonal footpath that leads up straight from the gate.	Recent windy days have stripped most of the leaves from the trees.

The third track leads back down towards the waterfalls.	Holme Force from the small bridge.

One of the younger beech trees has retained it's leaves for a little longer and provides a colourful display.

The new footbridge is blending in better now.

All traces of the old bridge (which was next to the first tree) have been removed so as to avoid the tendency of the stream to flood the path at this point.

Gareth and I walk ahead towards the Bothy . . . The clearance of many of the non-native pines has improved the light but has also reduced the protection offered to many of the older trees. As a consequence there has been quite a bit of minor damage in the recent gales.

Not this one . . . it has been deliberately pruned.	No-one staying in the bothy at the moment . . .

. . . so we can sit down on the beach without intruding on anyone else's space.

There's a great view across the southern end of the lake to the high fells beyond . . . but we could do with a little more sunshine.

Harry continues his hydro-therapy . . .albeit without warming the water first.

He doesn't seem to notice the cold . . .

. . . and just enjoys swimming for sticks.

Is that a time to go look or have we had enough of photography ?	But I'm just enjoying a quiet sit down on the rope swing.

[ Move your cursor over the photo to see if I notice the photographer ]

A cold and damp wooden bench as we return to the boat moorings and the wall back out of the woods.

The daylight is fading now as we look north across the lake.

The last patch of colour in the sky as the westerly sunset over the coast reflects on the underside of a few high clouds.

The top of Whiteside just catches the evening glow . . .

Zooming in on Grasmoor at just the right moment.

. . . and father and son make their way home across the fields as the sunlight fades.

- - - o o o - - -

Technical note: Pictures taken with either Ann's Canon 75 or my Canon G10 digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . a warm log fire instead of a cold looking hearth in the cottage in the woods.

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Previous walk - 3rd November 2010 Crummock in the Rain

A previous time up here - 16th February 2002 A Loweswater walk

Next walk - 10th November 2010 Mosedale Pool for Harry