" Scale Hill and the Snowdrops "

Date & start time: Monday 14th February 2011, 4.30 pm start.

Location of Start : The red phone box, Loweswater , Cumbria, Uk ( NY 143 211 )

Places visited : Scale Hill Bridge, Brackenclose Hows (Scale Hill) and back via the lake.

Walk details : 2.75 mls, 550 ft of ascent, 55 mins.

Highest point : Scale Hill, 675 ft - 208 m.

Walked with : Myself and the dogs, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : Cloudy with hill fog, occasionally spitting with rather cold spits of rain.

There have been some great days this last week

and others have done nice walks while I stay in and watch them through Keswick work windows.

On my next day off it's raining and cold which brings a touch of winter to home again.

Several poor days of weather and cold temperatures have brought back that feeling of winter.

There's snow on the high fells as I look up Buttermere Valley.

White on Whiteless Pike . . . a contradiction in terms.	Plenty of water in Puffin Tarn here in the valley.

After crossing the river using the conveniently placed road bridge

the dogs and I make our way up onto Scale Hill . . . Harry close at hand, Bethan a little further away.

Close encounter of the sheep kind.

The farming year has started again as the ewes have been put to tup in anticipation of a new generation of lambs next spring.

The red colour is indication of a successful mating of the ewe as it is the tup that carries the red dye on his chest.

More sheep lower down . . . one of them seem to have a coat on against the weather ?

No . . . it's one of the two the sheep-coloured ponies that also enjoy their freedom here on the hill.

Looking across from the summit of Scale Hill

I notice that snow topped Grasmoor has a narrow band of weak sunlight illuminating its side.

The last of the brief sunset has gone as the dogs pose for a summit photo.

High Stile Ridge, and in particular High Crag, showing a winter mantle once again.

Round the back of Scale Hill through the trees . . .	. . . with views of the new house at Lanthwaite Green

The house at Lanthwaite Gate has been demolished and replaced by a smart new house.

The builders are still in residence and there's still a lot to be done before it is fully habitable.

- - - - o o o - - -   From the back of the woods I take one of the many forest tracks and head back down to the lake.   Crummock Water looks cold today but the dogs don't seem to mind as they take a dip and chase sticks into the water by the big Pine tree.   - - - o o o - - -

The water levels are reasonably high after the recent poor weather.

Sunset over, the walk back through the woods is a twilight affair, cheered up by patches of new snowdrops.

Zoomed in . . . unfortunately the detail is lost in the rather harsh flash-light of the camera.

- - - o o o - - -

Technical note: Pictures taken with my (born again) Canon G10 digital camera.

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

This site best viewed with . . . a pair of waterproof gloves or deep pockets that don't let in the rain.

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Previous walk - 13th February 2011 The Bothy and the Beck

A previous time up here - 31st March 2010 Easter Snow 2010

Next walk - 16th February 2011 Dale Head with Ian