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The weather, although still cool for springtime, is nevertheless showing signs of improvement

with a period of sunshine and clear skies that is making walking, or just being outdoors, a delight.

Dee and John call over after lunch and we enjoys a local walk followed by a very sociable evening.

Morning mist is slowly lifting as the sunshine brings warmth to the valley.

It was a beautiful morning . . . and by lunchtime the visibility had cleared and the high cloud has eased.

- - - o o o - - -

Dee and John have a few days in Keswick so came over this afternoon for a walk.

With Harry in tow we stayed local . . . after all, why travel further when it is a lovely place to go for a walk !

The local farmer has new lambs in the field next door to our cottage, the first we've seen close to home.

The sheep were lambed at his farm lower down the valley and all were transferred here today as they are now a little more sturdy.

We walk across the fields from Gillerthwaite, heading for the lake (seen here in blue !)

The skies have cleared nicely and the sunshine is really lighting up the surroundings.

There are still pockets of snow on the High Stile Ridge . . . no doubt it is much colder up there.

On a walk we've done before, it is the unexpected that catches the eye.

Here wool that has been snagged on the barbed wire fence almost shines as it catches the afternoon sunshine.

The track takes us down to the lake and the Pump House.

Through the gap we can see a larger family group at the boathouse on the other side of the lake.

The clocks have gone forward and it's already Easter school holidays for some parts of the country.

We walk out towards the Peel along the lakeside path.

In the foreground are the bushes that held the icicles just a week ago.

The view up the lake in the afternoon light is stunning.

The distant view through the gap between Great Gable and Kirk Fell are in fact the double summits of Broad Crag and Ill Crag near Scafell Pike.

Strangely they are not listed as separate Wainwright tops but they do appear in the Fell and Rock list of 250 Lakeland summits.

The light is catching the trees and making them shine.

Harry enjoys the water and is also catching the light.

Unfortunately he's partly in the shadow so the top of his head appears darker.

Now he's moved slightly but his body is in shadow . . . still looking great for his age.

We continue on around the headland . . .  Great Gable again, seen through the trees included in the foreground.

A fly fisherman stands in the shallows near the beach.

[ For those not into this pastime. . . he's not actually 'fishing for flies' but using artificial ones as bait for fish    ;o) ]

The trick is to cast the line and land the fly on the water as if it were real, leaving it settle after the third or fourth cast.

Cast it forward . . .		. . . repeat a few times.

Now see if the fish are convinced of its authenticity     . . . that is if there are any fish about !