Cold weather has been forecasted with falling snow for Scotland
and the north east coast of England today,
so when I saw beautiful sunshine and snow on our tops here
in Loweswater I headed up the valley
to find the most accessible summit with the best views . .
. Dale Head
Crummock Water looking south towards Rannerdale
Knotts, High Stile and Red Pike, with Mellbreak to the right.
At Hause Point, underneath Rannerdale Knotts,
I pause again to look back down the lake . . . such a beautiful
day.
Round the corner and you see the first view
of Fleetwith Pike, Brandreth and Haystacks at the head of the
valley.
The Buttermere Pines, always worth a stop along
the way to photograph these as well.
A 700 foot road climb found me at the top of
Honister Hause, home to the Honister Slate Mines and Quarry
buildings.
The larger gravel area is the storage and working
area for the slate production, the area this side of the wall
is the National Trust car park.
The dogs and I head across the road and up the
fell side.
Our route is a virtual straight line, 1.1 miles
due north, give or take a bit of meandering.
Opposite, the Honister Quarry Track leads up
towards Black Star and Fleetwith Pike.
Those zig-zags host a vintage car 'hill climb'
during the second weekend in November each year.
Route finding to Dale Head is easy . . . just
follow the fence and keep heading up.
There are odd gaps in it due to its age and
it was through one of these that we crossed for just a short
distance
in order to get a clearer view down Gatesgarthdale
to the Buttermere Valley.
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The myriad
of mine tracks, old and new that spread across the fell
opposite. |
Back to the fence now
and a view south to Esk Pike and Bowfell. |
The snow is starting to get consistent amongst
the grass and with the cooler temperatures up here
a layer of ice has formed on this peaty pool
stretching across the path. . . the stones are used for crossing
so the ice is still intact.
Further up the sheep fence ends, but we keep
going and find the traces of the old Victorian fence line
represented by the substantial iron posts seen
here. The dark brackets on it were for tensioning the
iron fence wires when it was built.
Looking away to the east, the distant Helvellyn
Range is topped with snow and it looks delightful.
Dylan is full of beans and rolls in the snow,
just to appreciate the joy of doing so !
Depending on your type of computer system, hold
your cursor over the picture and he might get a bit animated
. . . .
Dylan's upright again and reporting that the
summit is within sight.
The classic view of the Dale Head Cairn, with
the view behind looking down the length of the Newlands Valley
toward Skiddaw.
Up here we are properly above the snow line
and I spend probably ten minutes just soaking in the views
all of which I had eagerly anticipated on the
way up.
Click
here or on the photo above for your chance to see the full
360 degree annotated panorama
that I did.
The summit to myself at the moment as I look
across to the north western fells.
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- - - o o o - - -
The classic view down one arm of the Newlands Valley
with Skiddaw and its outliers of Ullock Pike, Longside
Edge
and Carlside stretching away to the left.
I don't need to rush away today and so I spend time
remembering all the occasions that I've walked those
skylines.
- - - o o o - - -
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Behind me the high Central Fells of Cumbria,
from Great Carrs near Coniston (left), to Bowfell, Esk Pike,
and around to The Scafells and Great Gable.
I rest my bag on the fence post to retrieve
a piece of cake for me and a biscuit or two for the dogs as
a reward for the climb.
Zooming in through the blue haze at the top
of England.
You can see the summit cairn but it's not clear
enough to make out the people that will inevitably be up there
on a day like today.
I can't make out the Isle of Man today between
Yewbarrow and Middle Fell.
That could be because I was looking in the wrong
place of course !
From here it is hidden behind High Stile, not
seen through the Black Sail pass at all . . . didn't think to
check the map.
Helvellyn's snowy background as a group of guys
make an appearance after climbing from Dale Head Tarn.
Time for some mountain conversation and banter
as they reach the summit.
I head a short way down the path they had walked
up, in order to appreciate the views down to High Spy and Borrowdale.
Dylan leads the way, but I call him back as
I'm not going all the way down today.
Instead we turn right and traverse across the
snow, back towards the Dale Head path.
Below the highest ground now and we've lost
that continuous snow cover.
- - - o o o - - -
My small venture into the Yew Crag quarries
a few weeks ago, and people's response to it
encourages me to check out the uppermost section
of the crags once more.
There's a lot of old open quarries up here and
plenty of lose slate on the floor
so I pick my way around the grass slopes where
possible.
Looking down one of the open quarries as the
slope increases.
Presumably this was living quarters to the Yew
Crag Miners when they were working up at this level.
A fallen cable tower and the top winding house
at the start of the long incline that leads back down to the
mine buildings below.
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The Winding
Wheel and rusting cable are still in place. |
A brakeman's view down
the incline. |
The three rails set off down the slope . . . so you can fully
appreciate the angle of the incline.
The first truck would use the central and an outer rail,
the other truck the centre and the opposite outer.
Half way down a passing loop with a fourth rail moved the
trucks apart so that they could pass each other.
[ I'm not venturing down but will head off to the open fellside
away to the left at this point.]
Walking close to the edge gives plenty of exposure but also
plenty of views.
I'm looking over the track-bed and across to Honister Crags,
now in deep midday shadow.
The rest of the walk down was uneventful as I regained my
upward path and found myself back at the road.
Nice timings, nice views, nice time to head back to the cottage
and find some lunch.