" Barrow Fell for Christmas day " at EveryTrail
 

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With no-one at home to wake us early, we slept in and enjoyed a leisurely late morning walk

up to the summit of Barrow, giving us lovely views over Keswick and Derwent Water.

A few folk about and not a drop of rain in sight !

After all this poor weather (and more is forecasted for later in the week),

Christmas Day has offered visitors and locals the chance to get out and stay dry . . . a pleasant change.

The start of the walk . . . there are a few places to park at the end of the High Coledale road.

If not, then park down by the Coledale Inn.  It may encourage you in for refreshments on your return as a bonus.

Soon after passing through the gate you are rewarded with extensive views back on a good day like today.

Click here or on the photo above for a larger Loweswatercam annotated panorama

"The Ghost of Christmas Past " . . . High Coledale Farm (now a ruin of its former glory)

From here you also get views back to Bassenthwaite Lake.

The river and the lake levels are high after the recent rains.

Zooming in on Carlside and the summit of Skiddaw (without changing lenses).

There's at least one person up there on the summit . . . I think I'm going to enjoy the simple zoom on this new camera !

To the right . . . a close up view of snow-dusted Blencathra with a green Latrigg at its feet.

We walk up the green path towards Stile End and Outerside . . . Ann chanced a picture directly into the sun with good effect.

We kept on the lower track and traversed underneath Stile End, heading for Barrow.

The distinctive outline of Causey Pike stands out ahead of us as we gently climb up the path.

Looking up Stoneycroft Valley.

It is windy up here . . . someone must have left the Barrow Door open !!

Ann takes the direct route towards Barrow itself.

Part way up . . . did I mention it was Christmas Day ?

The Helvellyn Range is clear and has a little frosting of white.

The Fell Top Assessors referred to it as Graupel - a sort of soft hail or snow pellets.

The wind up there will be much stronger than here . . . hopefully few will climb it today without prior experience of wintery conditions.

Ann holds back as the sun comes out

so at to get a picture of the heather in the sunshine and myself against the blue sky.

Harry standing firm against the wind . . . on the summit of Barrow.

That's a small piece of slate in his mouth . . . we didn't have a tennis ball or stick handy today.

The strong wind up here has pushed his Christmas tinsel around his collar.

Looking out from our summit viewpoint.

There's a nice view of the Swinside Inn . . . but it looks closed today.

Click here or on the photo above for a Loweswatercam 360 degree annotated panorama from here on the top.

I can't quite seem to get the hang of this teenage, Facebook, self-picy thingy.

That's better . . . back to the old technology . . . the ten second dash and smile !

Not even stopping for a mince pie due to the exposed summit and cold wind,

we head off down the spur of Barrow, heading back towards Braithwaite.

At the notch on the way down we'll turn left.

The depression on the right is part of the old Barrow Mine excavations.  We'll pass through more very shortly on the left.

- - - - o o o - - -

As it happens, I was up here earlier this month, setting out a geocache competition for George Fishers. They've placed a pad of competition entry forms into the existing cache. ( If you want to take one of the treasures above, please leave something of an equivalent value.)

Geocaching is a kids game but also an increasingly popular adult pastime where you hunt for treasure at a given grid reference.   Caches are posted on the internet and folk "collect" caches like others collect hills and fells.   This one has a bonus prize on offer for someone in the next month or so . . . a nice Fishers/Garmin prize. Grab an entry form from here and drop it in the shop.   If you want to know where the box is, it is approximately seven feet east of where I took this picture ! Click on . . . The Back of Barrow Bedroom Butty Box

Bonus clue . . . this is the view from the cache site . . . more or less . . . so as not to give the game away !

Today . . . after making sure it was still all right, we continued on down, heading back to the High Coledale track.

Just one obstacle . . . Barrow Gill . . . but it is easily crossed here above the ravine.

Back on the green track . . . a photo from the same place as we took the one earlier on our way up.

Last view of the rays of the setting sun . . .

seen over Causey Pike, Stile End and Outerside as we return to the car.

- - - o o o - - -

Back home now and time to play with our new Christmas presents.

Meet Bruno the Bear and a rather flattened Rudolf the Reindeer.

- - - o o o - - -

Time to relax in the evening and enjoy our Christmas meal.

The centre piece was a lovely Mushroom and Chestnut Gougère in a choux pastry ring . . . plus all the Christmas vegetable trimmings.