Clough Head

After a fantastic breakfast in a brilliant little B & B we headed off towards the start of the path that would take us up Clough Head.  Again the weather was exceptionally bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  That's mainly because again for the second day running all the cloud was down in the valley.

 The path upwards wasnt steep but it was filled with snow and ice and was fun in places to wade through.  The higher we got the more the views opened up and we spotted some hand gliders setting up on a flattish bit of ground below looking and testing for the perfect wind.

 The last path to the first of the false summits (there were a few!!!) was so packed with snow we had to get our ice axes out to give us another point of contact.  It was hard slippy snow and one slip could have been an ankle turner!

Finally after 2 or 3 false summits the trig point came into view.  We met a runner on the top who was doing a recce of the fells for some race later in the year.  He'd just popped up Clough Head and was on his way to Helvellyn.  He wasnt even out of breath. Grrrrrr!

 The views from the summit were amazing. Right over to the Northern Pennines and we spotted Mell Fell and Little Mell Fell which we'd been up a few weeks before.

Time to go down and the path was exceptionally good.  No shale, scree, just a well defined path, steep in places and packed with snow and ice in places but good all the same.  It wasn't long before we were back at the path that would take us back to the car and the start point of our walk.

On the way back round to the car we spotted this wee cloud, abandoned by its bigger inversion big brother and just left there all on its own at the side of Blencathra.

The end of the walk and the sky still bluer than blue !

This is what I Dodd today......inversion city!

After a long week at work up and down the motorway from Gatwick/Heathrow and Manchester it was a pleasure for the alarm to wake me at 6am to pursue something less stressful - a day............no make that a weekend on the hills.

We headed north and before long (but after a 32 mile motorway detour!) found ourselves outside Keswick and heading to the base of Skiddaw which would take us up the path towards the first peak of the day.  Dodd.  The first part of the walk took us through a lovely forested area and up past the Osprey viewing sites.  None there today as they would be off on their holidays in Africa but we'll come back one day so see if we can spot the birdies.  The day was forecast sunny and clear and although at the moment it was a bit gloomy was still quite beautiful.

It was an hour or so upwards before we broke through the cloud and witnessed a blanket of thick cloud carpeting us below in every direction.  The clarity of the day was impressive and although there was a bit of snow on Dodd the real attraction was the wonderful cloud inversion that just took your breath away.  As far as the eye could see there it was.

We stayed on Dodd for quite a while snapping away and then realised we still had a few big hills to get up so moved back down off Dodd and headed for the path that would take us up Carl Side.  It was a bit of a slog going up there and the higher we went the snowier it got.  Not deep fluffy snow but icy snow that had been there for a while so you had to watch your footing.


By the time we reached the top I was exhausted.  The week was taking its toll.  We decided against going on to Siddaw but headed instead for Longside and Ullock Pike and then back down to near where the car was parked.

It was bitterly cold and as the sun was weakening as the day went on so gloves, had and scarf were essentials.  Top coats on we ventured forwards.

Longside as a peak was pretty unexciting but the little ridge after it, Ullock Pike looked a bit more tasty and looking back we could see clearly the route we had come

Finding the path down was a little bit tricky and what I though was a path turned out to be the descent from hell.  A steep shaley path which turned into an even steeper dirty rocky and scree path.  It was the most undignified descent from a hill ever.  At one point I was on my stomach, head facing up the hill, holding on to a bit of heather for dear life.  My hands and clothes were dirty and I have some spectacular bruising and scratches.  Nightmare but it was a challenge and at no time were we in danger.  Chris seemed most amused at my discomfort but thankfully we made it down and were soon on the path back towards where the car was parked.

The last delight of the day was the sunset we were offered.  Pinks, oranges and reds streaming across the sky.  Absolutely beautiful

A perfect end to a wonderful wintery walk.

Walla Crag and Bleaberry Fell

After a disastrous January where the weather halted any plans for getting up a hill we were finally on our way, early morning, before light, to our beloved lakes.  As always with our dark starts we keep our eyes peeled on the sky as the dawn breaks to see if the weather forecasters were right.  It seemed like this morning we were going to be lucky.

Arriving at Keswick we headed through the town and out the other side and parked at the side of Derwent Water right next to the path where the start of our walk was.  A muddy start, surprise, surprise, and then it was a nice path up through a wooded area beside a few gushing waterfalls.  What a lovely start to a walk and I do like when there's a forestry bit involved.

Out of the forest and we were greeted with some spectacular views opening up behind us looking over towards Causy Pike (eeek eek eek!) one of my fav little hills.

The next part of the path was stepped and very well maintained and only a few tricky bits where the ice of the morning hadnt melted and made things very slippery but we managed well through it and found ourselves up on a wider, less steep path, that would take us up and round to the top of Walla Crag.

One of the most spectacular things we saw, apart from the beautiful sights around us was a large bird, circling on the thermals getting higher and higher almost right above us.  Too far away to get a decent pic but I managed to snap this and the jury is out on what it was but we can rule out buzzard as its just not the right shape but thinking towards Goshawk ...... we'll never know for sure but nevertheless it was stunning.

Up onto the summit it was windy and cold so we didnt hang around long.  Just long enough for Chris to have a small "map - off" with a local girl on the local hills we could see, funny moment!

So off we went down the path that would take us over to Bleaberry Fell.  Again it was a well maintained path with only a few snow patches to contend with.  The views were stunning both there and back and the light hitting different hills in patches made some wonderful patterns.

We got the best of the weather of the weekend today.  Sunshine, a little breezy in patches, cold but not unbearable and all round a jolly good walk.  Coming back down to meet the path we went up on I was pleased to find the sun, forcing its way though a hole in the cloud onto Derwent Water.  Absolutely beautiful and a fitting end to a great walk.

Striding on an edge !

9.5 miles of walking, 4 peaks and reduced daylight meant only 1 thing, a very early start.  So, at 5am the alarm went off and by 5.30 we were out the door and heading north in the darkness.

We arrived at Glenridding at approx 7am and it was still a wee bit too dark to set off so I had another 10 mins snooze and before long the light was starting to appear over the hills.  Boots on, bags packed we headed out in the dim light towards the path that would take us up to Helvellyn.  I swear on the first part of the path up I was still half asleep and it took me a few mins to come-to!

It was a path we'd followed before and as we ventured up it got lighter and over to the left and it wouldnt be long before the sun popped behind the high street range and sure enough very soon we were witness to a glorious sight as the sun illuminated the surrounding hills and cast a deep orange glow all around.  On the last day of November having such a mild day with full sun was just brilliant.

Our first peak of the day was Birkhouse Moor which was a top we'd missed on previous visits.  Funnily enough the summit was only about 50yds from the path but as we'd never been up there on a clear day like this we'd missed it previously, not today though.  We happily skipped over the moor to touch its cairn.

 The views over to Helvellyn and Catseyecam were amazing with both ridges Striding and Swirral looking jaggidy and precarious in the morning sun.  Today we'd be going up over Striding Edge but couldnt help looking over towards Swirral edge and remembering our wintery day, full white out, ice, snow and a tricky ascent and decent over the spiky rock.  All good fun !

Biscuits consumed - choc chip maple for me and ginger and rhubarb for Chris (both acquired from a recent hotel visit) we headed towards Striding Edge.  The conditions today were perfect.  Hardly any wind and bright.  The only issue seemed to be that some of the rocks were a bit slippy from the morning dew which meant we had to be careful.

Striding Edge is glorious, a thin path of spiky rock with a steep rocky climb at the end to the summit.  Words cant really describe it so here's a couple of pics which help get a sense of the task in hand.  Brill stuff!

Looking back towards Catseyecam was a treat for the eyes too as the sun just bore down on its flank before the mist and cloud grew over the summit of Helvellyn and rolled towards on us.

 I've never been on the summit of Helvellyn when its been truly clear and today was no exception.  On reaching the trig point at the summit the cloud was down all around us.  Never mind, this wasn't a target for us today and we followed the path to the left which would take us up and over Whiteside and then onto Raise which was the hill we were missing.

The walk was lovely and cloud swirled in and out.  There weren't that many people around but today there seemed to be more mountain bikers than anything else.  I just cant see the point of carrying a bike to the summit of a hill only to ride it down again.  I enjoy being out on my bike but this seemed a lot of effort for a few moments of wheeeeeeeeeeeeee.

So there it was the last top in front of us and the cloud had moved away leaving us again with a clear bright day.

We chatted to a nice couple at the top of Raise who were, yes you guessed it, on their mountain bikes and just as we were leaving the summit we turned round and caught a glimpse of a Brocken Spectre an absolutely glorious sight and not one I've ever seen before.  I tried my best to catch it but I think it was fading a bit when we saw it so just got the tail end of it.  Awe inspiring none the less.

So feeling quite giddy from our encounter with the Brocken Spectre we headed off down the hillside to catch the path that would take us home.  Ahead of us was Stybarrow that we'd done a few weeks before and at the crossroads we turned right and headed down the path.

One of the perils of walking at this time of the year, especially when its so mild is that the conditions underfoot, in some areas, can be damp so when we came across a particularly boggy bit and I was looking for a place to cross Chris, in his wisdom (and believe me he's usually right!) said, just run across.  So I did and was promptly halted when my foot and leg sunk deep into the bog, propelling me forward and leaving me very wet and dirty indeed.  Drat!  this was not good, I wasn't hurt but I was wet, muddy and uncomfortable.  It took me a few mins to recover my composure and actually see the funny side of it.  You never see Julia Bradbury covered head to toe in mud, do you?

Drama over we continued downward and as the sun started to slip behind the hills we remarked on what a good walk that had been.  It was only 3pm but already we were losing some light.  We'd not seen any wildlife to speak of today, apart from a distant buzzard in the morning and a little mushroom that I accidentally stamped on but the juniper bushes on the path towards Glenridding were a wee bit picturesque, so here's my contribution to flora and fauna today.

Another great day x

High Rigg with a few fungi (s) !

Our second day in the lakes started with a nice breakfast in the hotel and then the prospect of a small but long walk taking in High Rigg.  The sun was shining and we were both in good spirits.  Checking out of the hotel the start of the walk was again quite close by and before long we were on the path closely followed by a large group of men obviously making the most of the day too. High Rigg here we come.

The light was amazing and as the sun shone down making shadows that were just to delicious not to photograph we looked forward to better views than we'd had the day before.

 The path was clear and followed a zig zag route up the side of the hill.  It wasnt that steep but still a fair work out as it carved its way up the hillside.

The trees were amazing and although most are not indigenous the light and shapes were good for taking pictures.  We made our way through several tree lined areas before reaching a plateau area near the top.

Once through the trees we could see the hills on the other side of the road which were the Dodd's we'd climbed the day before.  Also apparent was the path we took downwards yesterday the zig zag and direct diagonal line through the ferns.

Beautiful day and beautiful scenery.  What more could we ask for.  The weather was so mild we were walking in T shirts and there was no breeze which made it brilliant walking weather.  The only thing missing was my sunglasses as I didn't expect the sun to be so bright but how lucky were we to get this glorious weather.

As we walked along the plateau that would take us up and down to the final summit we happened to spot a little fungi in the grassy area at the side of the path.  It was beautiful, red and yellow and quite a special sight.  It was quite close to the path and I'm so glad it had been left intact and that no one had trodden on it or some animal had nibbled away at it.  Not sure of its name but if anyone knows then please let me know. (more lovely mushrooms later on in the walk too but these ones are on trees, strange!)

 So finally we reach the summit and take the obligatory pictures.

The weather is holding and the downward journey is steep at first then once we hit the road its a lovely wander past an old church then down towards the river.  The path meanders below the route we'd taken in the morning and soon we were back at the start but not before spotting a few more fungi.

Great day, great walk, great company and a lot of laughs.  Time for our lakes weekend to come to an end and 4 more Wainwrights ticked off.  Hopefully, if the weather holds, we'll be back up very very soon.