Retreat to the quiet of the Western Lakes
Date : Monday 6th June 2005. 4.30 pm. Occasion : An afternoon walk in the Lorton Valley, Cumbria, Uk. Walk details : A leisurely 2-and-a-bit miles, with 900 ft of ascent, from the gated road between Whinlatter and Lorton (map ref: NY 169 242) Weather : A fine afternoon deserving of a longer walk but you know what it is . . .there's so much to do ! |
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One of the advantages of owning two young dogs is that they do actually get you out for a walk each day, if only to try and tire them out a bit and get them to stop for a while.
Today was no exception but a distinct lack of electricity for the neighbouring house meant we had to wait in for "the man" to come and fix it. The return of summer weather however, allowed a few essential outside jobs to be successfully tackled, which made good use of the enforced time we had at home.
So . . . it was late afternoon when we were able to finally get away.
Finding good local walks that haven't been done many times before is always a challenge, but today we took a short car ride down the valley and drove up the gated road that climbs over towards Whinlatter from Lorton Valley.
We parked above Hope Farm and followed the path up alongside Hope Beck itself.
A fine spot on a hot day
Harry taking to the water as it cascades down from Hopegill Head.
Our objective today was not the high fells but Dodd on the side of the Hopegill / Whiteside ridge.
Leaving the beck to our left we struck up the slope. A fine amphitheatre across the top of the valley was created by the Swinside ridge, Ladyside Pike, Hopegill Head with its great rock slabs, and Whiteside.
Ann walking past an old sheep enclosure on the hillside above the valley
The Dodd stands proud of Whiteside, a bit like The Dodd on the side of the Ullock Pike (Skiddaw)
only this one isn't quite as tall. There was however an interesting rock section separating the outlier from the main hillside
and here the dogs stopped to look down to see what was going on below.
Summer weather with just a slight blue haze.
A view of the more agricultural north west Cumbria, with the Solway and the Scottish hills behind.
Summer wear too ! The shorts make a second outing this year.
The highest point doesn't seem to have a cairn but this marks a second high point on the fell.
The final cairn overlooking Hope Farm and Lorton village. This one marks the apparent top as viewed from the valley below.
We had very nearly climbed this smaller summit in the very hot summer of '97, but passed in favour of a rapid descent to the beck to allow the dogs to cool off. Completing it today means that we have now climbed ALL the peaks, major and minor, that we can see from our cottage.
ooo
Technical note: Pictures taken with a Canon IXUS 400 Digital camera.
Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.
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