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I can't see me posting any more walks and photos this side
of Christmas
so do have a great Festive Season and enjoy Christmas 2021
in your own favourite way.
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My daughter and my older nephew are up in the Lakes and
with snow on the high fells, but with a good forecast, we
head to Honister for a classic fell walk up onto Great Gable
via Gray Knotts and Brandreth. Whether we can complete
the classic round is uncertain.
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We've experienced the second heavy frost of the season
this week. We had none of the Storm Arwen immediate white
stuff here in the west, however the residue of the storm
brought snow showers down the west coast and across Cumbria
the following day.
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After missing last year's commemorations due to the covid
problems, we hear that this year's gathering on the top
of Castle Crag will go ahead again. Few of our usual group
are in the Lakes so only Gill and I set off on the walk,
two people plus three retrievers.
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This weekend in November is traditionally busy, with the
Vintage car Event on the Saturday and Remembrance on the
Sunday. As Loes is a bit of a vintage car enthusiast I thought
I would introduce her to this annual, but not over advertised
local event.
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An invite to walk in the far eastern fells was offered
by Angela and John who were staying at the Haweswater Hotel.
On the day, however, the weather was poor and the option
of seeing nothing and getting wet in the rain was not an
attractive one, so Swindale it was.
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Back home after a week away, a week during which the weather
changed and Cumbria and South Scotland suffered a deluge
of rain, not seen since the floods of 2009 and 2015. Reaching
home was in doubt the night before but the sunshine made
today's walk okay.
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My daughter Cathy and her close friend are up in the Lakes
for a few days and requested a suitable fell walk to introduce
Mark to another of the Lakeland peaks. Catbells would
fit the bill today in view of the less than brilliant weather
forecast.
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The weather today was superb, the sky blue, the winds light
and the colours vibrant. Loes and I arranged to meet at
Bowness Knott and together started out on the classic walk
around the lake. The signboard said 8 miles, it felt more
like ten by the end !
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A bit of a misleading title for this selection, as the
cello recital and the Holy Water were several days apart. The
first, a musical event was advertised recently. The
walk I've known of for a long time but only now have I found
the occasion to explore this week.
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On returning from an unscheduled journey down south I had
time to call into Staverley to see Peter and Barbara Burgess.
After lunch in the Water Mill Pub at Ings Peter and
I headed off for a local walk without any dogs because I
was yet to collect them from their overnight stay with their
retriever friend 'Bracken' in Lamplugh.
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The end of September found me setting out on my first visit
away from home for a rather long time. Getting the
car packed and locking up home on my own felt very strange.
I had been invited for two nights away, staying with
friends Rob and Jude at Wiswell.
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Web site viewers Christine Goode, her husband Geoff and
her brother Dave Whalley, enjoyed their visit to Haweswater
during the drought. Not only did they re-visit several
times but they also send me some pictures of their visits
to see the old flooded village.
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Margaret and Catherine her daughter, are in the Lakes for
the weekend. On the Saturday they requested a walk
up onto Rannerdale as they were unable to join myself and
the family back in July. On the Sunday we enjoyed a shorter
walk up onto Scale Hill.
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A local walk, an occasional one for me but a first today
for my walking partner Loes. Rather than walk the road between
here and the Mosser Track we took advantage of two cars
and used one to drive to the start, the second to fetch
the first one later.
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Mike and Sue and family are over from Tyne and Wear on
the east coast and are staying in Borrowdale for a week.
They expressed a wish to climb Rannerdale Knotts
so it would be churlish not to accompany them today.
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I had spotted a rock sculpture last year but was on a longer
walk so didn't divert across to see it in detail.
This day I decided to take the dogs on a walk at the top
of Honister to investigate what I had seen and hopefully
get a few closer and better pictures.
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This has been a busy year for my neighbour Martin. He and
Shelagh moved up from the south of England late last year
looking for a new life in their retirement. Little
did he expect to land in Cumbria and even less to embark
on a new hobby of fellwalking.
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Pete has just been reunited with a book on Lake District
Scrambles from which he had been parted for several years.
When I said it would be nice to meet up for a walk he dug
out the book to find a far from normal route to reach the
summit of this big 3000ft fell.
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A mystery that has been in the back of my mind for a while
was finally solved with a visit to Borrowdale (the central
Lakes one) and a walk from Chapel Farm into the Combe Gill
Valley. Here my local guide and friend introduced
me to the old Borrowdale Mill.
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Loes you've met on previous walks. She lives locally
in St Bees. Her Dutch friend Frieke is over for a week's
holiday and would like to see Loweswater, as she's heard
a lot about it in her conversations.
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The route this time, a climb of Whiteside up onto Hopegill
Head, was requested by my daughter Paula, who is coming
to Loweswater for a short visit. Martin and I had climbed
them in February in winter conditions so this would be very
different from then.
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A nice simple mountain needs just a simple walk to be appreciated.
Today Binsey from Binsey Cottage gave us that, but
the weather added a complication, unplanned when we started
off. We also had a deadline . . . afternoon
tea on the Orient Express .
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It has been a month of variable weather so I start with
a picture of a valley rainbow and rather damp looking Scawgill
Bridge. We've had nice weather too and a walk over
at Cogra Moss brings surprise path improvements to light.
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With the prospect of a dry walk I've decided to extend
my local dog exercise to include the far end of the Loweswater
Valley where there are a number of farm names with the word
"Place" in them. My walk today incorporates
a visit to all of them ... Going Places.
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More trains cross our path but they are purely incidental
to our walk from St Bees to Fleswick Bay on the west coast
of Cumbria. Long time friend and resident of the village
invited me over for a walk in her part of the woods, or
rather, her part of the coast.
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The " Train now Standing " has this week come
to life after a protracted re-birth during this turbulent
last eighteen months. Di and Simon Parums have drawn their
commercial dreams, kicking and screaming into reality and
this week have opened to the public.
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Monday 19th July was the day myself and the family arranged
as a "Farewell to Ann" day, where we scattered
her ashes as requested on Rannerdale Knotts and held an
afternoon garden party in her honour. Family and friends
sent me so many photos so I offer them here to tell the
story of the day.
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A lovely day, another gentle fell climb and an enjoyable
crowd to be with. Sadly the walk was brought about
by the death of a friend and colleague with whom I worked
for many years at the George Fishers outdoor shop in Keswick.
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A lovely day, another gentle fell climb and an enjoyable
crowd to be with. Sadly the walk was brought about
by the death of a friend and colleague with whom I worked
for many years at the George Fishers outdoor shop in Keswick.
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Over the last few years I've been working (seemingly very
hard) on my "low maintenance" flower meadow.
This year at last it has reached the point where I feel
happy that I have something really different from what was
there when I started.
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I made a bit of a mistake before the start of this walk,
not believing the weather forecast ! At home it was overcast
and cool so I emptied some of my water out of the hydration
bottle in the rucksack so as to save weight, but that was
slight regret to say the least !
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Today I'm away from home territory at the invitation of
Jane. She suggested a walk in her part of the world
so we head for a more urban environment with bags of history
and a few surprises. Old buildings a plenty but nature and
wildlife in the pictures too.
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My grandson is up for the week and he wanted to climb Helvellyn.
He's done it before from the Thirlmere side but really fancied
the classic ascent via Striding Edge. Poor weather
in the morning delayed the start but it cleared to give
us a perfect mountain day.
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A leisurely stroll it seems but we still managed a respectable
six and a half miles, 1500 ft of climbing and lunch out
in the sunshine. The three amigos set off to walk
some, if not all, of the Whinlatter Fells on a lovely June
day.
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Rob and Jude are here for the weekend and we take the opportunity
to visit a fell of their choice. Our Route up Haystacks
takes in the two bothies along the way. The Sunday
weather just cried out for a swim, a swim which which turned
into another circular walk.
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We feel like the famous four, survivors of the Online Fellwalking
Club that disappeared into the ether when Yahoo pulled the
plug. Today Peter, Jo, Neil and myself met up for a Lakeland
walk in Langdale and where better to meet up but The Old
Dungeon Ghyll.
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A miscellany this time, reflecting the busy life of Loweswater,
as seen from my personal perspective. I've been fortunate
to have several major fell walks with other folk during
this time, but these outings were great too, but in
a subtly different way.
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May's combination of fine weather and rain has encouraged
the growth of all the vegetation around, both in the garden,
the fields and the woodland. Consequently we are into
the greens of summer, but in Holme Woods we still have the
blues of late spring.
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The grown ups in question are my older and younger brothers
and their wives who are in The Lakes on holiday and who
are both staying at Lorton's Wheatsheaf pub campsite. It
is almost as if they have arranged to be here at the same
time in order to catch up with life
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I return to Rannerdale with Mike and Sue find the bluebells
at their best. We defer looking at them a short while
as the lovely weather encourages us up onto Rannerdale Knotts
first. (This selection includes a few photos first
shown on the 14th May page)
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Two old pre-Ordnance Survey names came to light recently
and they apply to today's photos with Hilary and David.We
walked from home to the Mosser Road then up onto Darling
Fell (Dick Knave) and then visit Low Fell (Dick Roger) and
the Pine Tree.
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Two walks both local, but they were as different as chalk
and cheese. The first was a sunny day and found me
enjoying the colour and scenes of the valley. A second
walk a few days later, the weather has changed and an idle
thought took me higher, much higher.
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Today found Martin and I driving in the direction
of Keswick for a walk on High Rigg. I phoned my friends
in St John's in the Vale and James was delighted to join
Martin and I and act as local guide for this intriguing
little Wainwright Fell.
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I go in search of the famous Rannerdale flowers as they
are a spectacular sight when in full bloom, but it has been
a cold, dry spring and they are late to the party. It took
me four visits to see their purple splendour. Who knows,
they may be better on a fifth visit ?
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The month of May brought a change to more moist and changeable
weather. However it is still not warm and Tuesday 4th May
even sent wintery showers that covered the tops with snow.
However tomorrow forecasts good sunshine for a walk with
my ex-colleague Jane.
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Always a nice walk, it's circular in nature, has a good
climb, a delightful ridge walk and a valley aspect to end.
Martin and I step out of the valley and head for Ennerdale,
in particular Bowness Knott, though we'll not climb that
today.
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The last week of April and I'm at home keeping busy. This
set of photos shows the varied nature of the week, bearing
in mind there's a dog walk every day, visitors are returning
to the Lakes and gradually the warming weather is seeing
off the last of the overnight frosts.
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After Easter the sunshine and dry conditions continue and
fellwalking is a delight. Ian is staying over for
his work at Seascale and finds time off in order to walk
the fells. We chose an old favourite, but stick to
a short ascent in order to add a second in the day.
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Gowbarrow is a delightful stand-alone fell overlooking
Ullswater and today I have the chance to walk it with Jo
as she is now able to visit the Lakes once again and stay
at her own caravan/ chalet overnight.The sunny weather continues
even if it is rather hazy today.
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The forecast is for changeable
weather which could mean sunshine or snow. Cold
winds and squally showers from the north east means
predicting the weather today is a lottery, especially as each
Lakeland valley is different. We head out for Causey
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My eldest daughter Cathy and
partner Mark are here and are able to enjoy the continuing
sunshine that the Lakes has on offer this Easter. She
also wants to strike out and climb some high fells so we start
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In this Easter time of fine
weather and fellwalking comes a very different day when I
find myself down in the south of the county. In between
commitments and appointments I have chance to enjoy a walk
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Jenna, Matt and Abi expressed
a desire to climb one more fell before they left for home.
They weren't quite up for "Mellbreak before Breakfast"
but they felt it was possible to climb it before lunch. A
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In the midst of all the sunny Easter weather there was
actually an overcast and rather cool day that bucked the
trend. No problem, the time and weather were eminently
suitable to complete a project that Jenna had been thinking
about for some time.
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For a third day we hit the high fells and though tired
at the end of the day I actually think I'm getting fitter
! Blencathra's not one of the big three but it's not
far off and with Sharp Edge to climb this is a fell with
a serious side.
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The weather though cold, has clear blue skies and the strong
sunshine adds just the right amount of warmth to make fell
walking a real pleasure. The visibility and the views
are great so we head off up a "great" mountain
to appreciate all there is on offer.
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With Easter upon us and lock-down easing, my daughter and
grand daughter are over as part of my family bubble, looking
after my every need and also dragging me out for walks.
I have to get the boots out of the cupboard for a return
to the high fells today.
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Time out of the valley as I spread my wings and travel
the Wythop Valley and Brumston Bridge. Sale Fell is one
of the more northern of the Wainwright fells and nestles
in the corner at the top of Bass Lake where the A66 roadway
curves around the fell.
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Such a lovely morning but a busy afternoon in prospect
so the dogs are surprised when the leads and whistle are
taken off the hook early in the day ! Chance for the three
of us to enjoy a warm and local morning walk after the cold
weather of recent days
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Friday 26th was a mixed sort of day weather wise. Overnight
rain had left snow on the tops but the sun was trying to
show its face. Spring has sprung but don't forget
your raincoat as they say . . . however today you could
get away with just a warm windproof.
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The forecast was better than the last few days, higher
cloud, lighter winds, warmer temperatures. In the
event, the altitude of the high fells reduced all the positives
down but we still ended up with a good walk despite the
wind, the cold and rain at the end !
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It was a lovely afternoon and eminently suitable for a
walk. After a busy morning there was still time to
give the dogs a couple of miles of exercise and for me,
maybe them too, to enjoy the wider views that the valley
has to offer.
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When Martin first moved to the valley and talked about
climbing the fells, Grasmoor was his first choice of something
to climb. It was winter then but today the weather
promises to be kinder and more suited to our fellwalking
capabilities.
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It was a lovely sunny morning as I pottered around the
house and garden, but I decided the day was too good to
spend on routine jobs. Domesticity was swapped for
walking boots, dog beds for dog collars and camera in hand
we were off up our local fell.
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The weather has turned full season as the Keswick sunshine
gave way to a mini easterly freeze and then back to mild
weather. Martin has read a lot about Haystacks so it seemed
a good day to combine with him and explore the area and
visit some of the sights.
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It has been an interesting couple of days here in Loweswater. We
haven't had as much snow here on the west coast, compared
to the Scotland, the Pennines and the eastern side of Britain.
It has been sub-zero however and that has brought its own
delights.
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Despite having retired from George Fishers five years ago
(!) I still keep in touch with colleagues and recently Julie
contacted me to see if I fancied a walk. The forecast
for the day was fine and a plan was put in place . . . for
a full circuit of Derwent water.
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After his recent success of climbing Mellbreak, Martin
ventured out onto Hen Comb and wanted to do Low Fell, the
one he sees from his back door. However I felt the
weather and snow conditions were suitable for a slightly
more adventurous outing together.
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A second walk out with my daughter and Granddaughter this
week. Abi's school had a "parents Evening"
held through the medium of Zoom but as they found it generally
slower, they started 'conversations' with parents during
the afternoon. Consequently Abi is having a "half
day" off schooling . . . she's free from midday !
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Mt daughter Paula is up for a few days. She has been
totally isolating at home and felt safe to reconvene the
family bubble. My granddaughter Abi has brought her
laptop with her so that she continue 'home-schooling-with-a-view'
from the pod in the garden.
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I've been retired from George Fishers some time now but
delightfully I'm still in touch with ex-colleagues.
Jane, who had been furloughed last year has also decided
to retire. She contacted me recently and together we decided
on an outing to Rannerdale Knotts,
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It's Sunday and there's me having a quiet day after yesterday's
walk, doing some outstanding paperwork. At 12.30 the dogs
nudge me into making them lunch, well, fetching them a couple
of Bonio biscuits from the tin. After my lunch they nudge
me again, they didn't quite bring me their dog leads, but
certainly hinted at a walk.
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I have new neighbours who are long term renting the Vicarage
here in Loweswater. They have never lived in the Lakes
before and are delighted with the area and the view from
their door. Martin said he would love to climb the
fells but didn't know where to start.
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When it rains like it did last night two thoughts follow.
" Will it ever stop and what will the ground be like."
Still, the dogs tell me they need their daily walk so we
head off for the high ground along the tracks that hopefully
will be less muddy than the fields.
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Peter, a fellow online-walker fancied a walk up onto my
local Low Fell, which is conveniently below the cloud base
today.To avoid sharing a car to Thackthwaite we decide to
walk today from the door of the house here in Loweswater.
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Friday 15th January dawned bright and frosty. I jumped
out of bed and looked out of the window even before the
sun rose, just as the colour started to fill the sky. Early?
Not really, it was about eight o'clock . . . the dogs needed
to go out into the garden !
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The snow was spectacular while it lasted but the Latrigg
walk hinted as the start of a change in the weather.
The last few days have been really gone downhill, turning
to wet and soggy for the day I escaped the valley once more,
but this time in search of food.
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We're allowed to meet up with one other person for our
daily exercise so as my grandson is up here on work we meet
in Keswick and enjoy a classic walk in the snow. Plenty
of people about but lots of space so that's okay and the
dogs can enjoy a good run too.
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After the wonderland morning the dogs and I returned home
for some lunch. Looking out of the window the sunshine was
holding and the thermometer showed it was still freezing
out there. Time for a second walk, perhaps up the hill to
look at Loweswater itself ?
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The overnight forecast was for snow sweeping down the country,
coating the Pennines and the high fells with snow. There
was a good chance of good snow in the valleys too but no
guarantees so opening the window first thing was to be a
real unknown . . .
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Back home after a family Christmas and there's plenty to
do unfortunately, but the weather takes a turn for the better
and after an early lunch the dogs and I make a break for
the snow. There's a light covering and it is crisp
due to the overnight freezing conditions.
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A big thanks all who bought a copy from us, to Lee and
Arwen of Lorton Village Shop and to the local hotels and
guest houses who also kindly stocked the calendars on the
run up to Christmas this year. The record results
are now confirmed for our 2021 Edition.
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