Lowfell & Fellbarrow on a sunny day !

Another weekend and another 2 Wainwrights to be ticked off the old list. This will make it 137 for me and 172 for Chris, he's only got 42 to do before completing the whole list. Quite an achievement !

Tebay visited and scotch eggs for lunch acquired we continued north and the sky was bluer than blue with some nice wispy clouds that would hopefully make for some good sky pictures. We were a little later than usual setting off so we wouldn't get the best light of the day for photography but I'm sure we'll get something out of the day.   The sun was really bright and I was amazed at how green everything suddenly looked.  Spring and perhaps even a glimpse of summer was definately here.

 

Car parked near Loweswater and the path was right there in front of us, up a stoney treelined path peppered with lots of lovely wild flowers, took us to the base of the first hill. The path continued round and we spotted a couple of Yellowhammers and then it turned sharp left up over a stile and rose steeply towards the right hand side of the hill. With a combination of following a path then trudging up throught the moss and bracken we finally made it up onto the top of the hill. This, as with all hills was not the top but a wee false summit with plenty of path ahead of us before we reached anything that was tickable.

The first peak was Darling Fell with views over Crummock water then over to Buttermere that were really breathtaking and although it wasnt a Wainwright it was still a lovely fell.

My #summitselfie

The path down and then up again onto the next hill was steep on both sides but not too long so it was quite easy on the legs. The path upwards again was like a helter skelter with 20 steps worth of steepness the a wee plateau bit, then another steep bit again followed by another plateau until we reached the top and again were offered the most spectacular views. Here we stopped for a moment and had a nibble of our scotch eggs that we'd bought earlier and just marvelled at how lucky we were with the weather.

Onwards and upwards again towards the last tick of the day and the steepness of the descent and final ascent wasn’t as severe as the previous hill. It was quite gentle by all accounts. A little bit boggy in places and a nice clear path to lead us the way. A trig stood at the top of Fellbarrow and we had our last nibble of the day and polished off our scotch eggs followed by a Tunnochs tea cake. Perfect walking food.

So off we went on the downwards path and made our way back round the hillside until we met up with the path we'd started on earlier in the day. The sun was stronger now and any haze from earlier had gone and it really was a scorcher.

The little wild flowers on the path back to the car were indeed a treat.  

Soon enough we were back at the road and it was now littered with cars.  Everyone and their mother seemed to be in the lakes today and navigating back through Buttermere was interesting we made it and had a beautiful drive home and a lovely day to reflect on and a quick peek of the other side of Causey Pike made me chuckle.  It really is one of my favs, cute little hill !

Great weather, great walk, great company, what more can a girl ask for :-)

Breezy Burnbank, Blustery Blake and Gusty Gavel Fell..........

Hurrah, the weather forecast, after being up and down all week, had finally settled on a Saturday that was at best, variable. That'll do us so after a 6am alarm and house exit at 6.45 we were off up the M6 towards that well known junction 40 for Penrith. The hills today would take us past Buttermere and start us off just behind Melbreak with 3 on the agenda we hoped for a good days walking as well as some good pics.(fingers crossed)

The national trust car park was easy to find and unlike most national trust facilities there was no pay machine. So all those £1 coins I'd been collecting all morning were of no use after all. Brilliant! The first part of the walk was ahead of us with the initial part taking us through a forested area which is always a treat when the sun is out and you get it filtering through the trees casting shadows all around. The little wild flowers are just starting to come out and the baby ferns are all still curled up ready to spring into action later in the year.

Once up and out of the trees the we could see the path clearly heading up left towards the top of the hill, well I say top, I mean the top part that I could see. There was still a long way to go before the top of Burnbank was reached however the walk was pleasant and good underfoot. Not much bogginess and views back to the Solway Firth and over to Buttermere and the surrounding hills were coming into view.

 

Lots of little birds around and their chirping accompanied us for most of today’s walk but unlike the meadow pipets of 2 wks ago we couldn’t see these little birds quite so well, they were well hidden in the heather and gorse.

The top of Burnbank Fell was up and over a fence. No stile here so it was a hover over the wire whilst balancing on 2 rocks sort of manoeuvre but we managed it and then after the obligatory picture taking on the pile of rocks it was back over again to follow the path up to Blake Fell.

Quite a distinctive path and easy to follow and walk, not too steep but enough to keep your muscles working. The most noticeable change was the wind, the higher we got the more blustery it became and soon was very windy indeed. Luckily at the top of Blake Fell there is a little shelter and once hunkered down in that there was not even a breeze. Poke your head out and it was near blown off !!!!

We ate lunch here and I took my #summitselfie 

and then we were off again to our last hill of the day Gavel Fell. Down off Blake and then up the well marked path to Gavel we were passed by a man laying a scent for the trail hounds that would be on this route later in the day. It was spooky as I'd only listened to a programme about the trail hounds of the Lake District on Radio 4 earlier in the week and here was the man, laying the scent of paraffin and aniseed for the dogs to follow later, just like was mentioned in the radio programme. Pity we wouldn't still be there when the dogs came over as I'm sure that would be an incredible sight to see.

Gavel Fell touched and ticked and it was time to head downwards. We followed the path south and then took a sharp left which skirted us round the fell with Hen Coomb on our right we were reminded of the day we were there, back in 2012 when Chris reached his 100^th Wainwright milestone. It was a gentle path down and the path gently lead us round and down until we were almost back at the car park, no before we happened upon a field of sheep with one only too happy to have his picture taken. 

Great walk, great weather and 3 more boxes ticked. I wonder what we'll do with the rest of the day???

Raven Crag and Armboth Fell

The weather forecast was dreadful and didn't bode well for the day at all, showers, gusty wind up to 55miles per hour and other nasties were predicted for the morning but never the less we headed north, stopping, as always at Tebay services for our welcome morning cup of coffee.

We'd decided to tackle Raven Crag and Armboth Fell, if the weather gods allowed that is.  A nice circular walk, taking in the 2 hills and finishing along the banks of Thirlmere.  The whole way up in the car the rain battered against the windscreen and there was much talk of us not even getting out the car once we arrived but we carried on regardless.

On finding a parking space the rain was still drizzling however it was not as thunderous as it had been on the trip up the motorway.  There was a breeze but it wasn't nearly as windy as predicted.  It was bleak and misty but walkable so off we went.

Raven crag was lovely as we walked up through the trees on quite a steep path.  A path littered with emerging wild flowers and the odd fungi!.  Before long we were up on a plateau area and saw a sign that said, Castle Crag, Hill Fort so we figured while we were there we'd have a peek.

Castle Crag (not THE Castle Crag) was just a rocky mound with what seemed to be a trench like cut out round the sides.  No further information was offered but it was a nice enough place.

The rain was easing off a bit and just a very light drizzle now as we headed up through the last bit of steep forest towards the summit of Raven Crag.  As we reached the summit the drizzly rain turned to snow which was a bit of a surprise and the views over Thirlmere were lovely.  We saw 2 ducks flying below, round and round and finally fleeing off to the other side of the lake.  A few moments later we saw what we thought was a Kestrel but it was too far away to get a picture and even to see through the binoculars but we watched it soar round the side of the hill.

Time to head back down and out of the snowy, wet weather, back into the forested area to find the path to Armboth Fell.  We took the track round to the left and it brought us to a style which led us onto to a marshy boggy moorland type path.  The rain by this time was a bit more persistent and the ground underfoot was boggy and a bit yuk!

Initial thoughts were to turn back but we were almost there and we'd missed this fell before when we did High Tove and High Seat so it was best we bagged it now, even though the going was tough.  Rain and bog, Brilliant !

Before we reached the summit the rain started to ease off and the cloud lifted from the surrounding hills showing the flanks of Helvellyn and Brown Crags peppered with snow and slowly revealing themselves from the mist.

Armboth Fell was ahead of us and not a very high peak at all, I think Wainwright was having a laugh when he included this in his lists.

We stopped on the top for a few mins to finish off what lunch we had brought and soon were heading for the path down.  It was a straightforward path and one that would take us back to the banks of Thirlmere.   Littered with a few waterfalls, some visible, some not it didn't take us long at all to reach the bottom and then follow the path along the side of the lake.

We saw the giant tree and Chris spotted a Red squirrel and soon found ourselves back at the car after another adventure in the lakes.  Nothing perilous today but definitely a walk that we didn't think would happen.  The weather gods were somewhat kind to us in that we didn't get the big gusts of wind that were predicted and a little bit of rain never hurt anyone, did it?

Latrigg & Lonscale Fell

After a whole month of not being near a fell because of weather, holidays and other commitments we woke to the sound of rain and wind lashing against the bedroom window......Noooooooo, please not another day where we'd not make it up to the Lakes???  We decided to go nonetheless as our weather forecast was that the day would be mostly dry with scattered showers and we had our waterproofs so off we went.

On the journey up the rain was quite persistent however by the time we reached Tebay services to purchase a couple of very tasty scotch eggs for our lunch later in the day the sun was trying to come out.

Keswick and the sun was really trying its best to force its way through the clouds however the wind was fierce and it was cold, bitterly cold.  Soon we were parked and ready to venture up the small path towards the top of Latrigg.  Another box ticked and we quickly made our way over to the path that would take us up the larger challenge of Lonscale.

The path was fairly clear and after a gentle slope upwards round and across the face of the hill we the turned sharp left at the gate to find ourselves on a steep path going directly upwards.   On the path we saw a hoverer on the crest of the hill and it seemed to have the characteristics of a buzzard but it was really too far away to be sure.  I did snap its picture but again too far away to be confident on what it was.  It definitely acted like a buzzard with its hovering and hunting action and Chris was sure it was so we'll call it our buzzard sighting of the day.  The path was a slog and in places the wind took your breath away but whilst it was hard work it was great to be out.

About half way up we stopped for a first nibble of our scotch eggs and while were were stopped we saw a lovely little kestrel fly by with the sun just glinting on its wings but alas I wasn't quick enough to get its picture as my hands were full of scotch egg.  Shame. 

Soon we were at the summit and the wind had really gathered strength.  Cold and blustery was the order of the day and we didn't stick around on the top long but ventured further northwards on the path that would take us a good bit further on to swing round and meet the lower level path that would take us back round the lower flanks of the hill.

The wind streaming down this northern side was incredible, fierce and bitterly cold.  It almost knocked you off your feet and it was a welcome relief when we were far enough down to get a little bit of shelter.   The way down this path was steep.  Luckily there was a fence and the posts helped us on our way down and we gingerly ventured post to post down the steep side of the hill.

We could see the path below and after another quick nibble of our eggs were on the level path below.  Out of the wind it was a lovely path and after a mile or so skirting round the side of the mountain we were back at the spot where we'd taken the sharp left earlier.

It was just a quick hop and a jump before we were back in the car park after a thoroughly enjoyable walk.  Lonsdale Fell was a nice one and gave our legs a brilliant work out.   Lets hope its not too long before we're back ticking another few fells off our list.

Bogged down on High Seat and High Tove

Saturday mornings are always fun when they involve an early morning start (6.30am) and a stop at Tebay services for a coffee.  Heading for the lakes the weather forecast was iffy but had the potential to be not a bad day.  Winds might hamper us but there was hope for some sunshine in between the showers.

Car parked next to a lovely little bridge with some watery falls and we headed up the well paved path towards the first summit.  It wasnt a high hill today but high enough to get the lungs working overtime on the steepish path upwards.  We followed the path of the water for a while so we had plenty chances to stop, get a breather and take a snap or 2 of the water flowing down the side of the hill.

There was a lot of steep zig zagging which brought us out on a flattish plateau area.  We could see High Seat in the distance and it was a fairly flat walk over towards the final path upwards to the trig point.

The views were good today.  Some cloud was hanging low and obscuring the tops of the surrounding peaks but the light changed every few seconds and brought out some nice images.  Would they translate into my camera, well time will tell !

After coming off the summit of High Seat we headed downwards to the plateau area before rising back up again to High Tove.  This was the worst part of the walk.  Bogginess and wet mud underfoot, terrific!  It was relentless and reminded us of a time on Kinder that we spent hrs trying to find a way through the mud.  This was like a mini Kinder and a lot of back and forward was going on to find a way through the mire.

We thought perhaps Tove was an ancient name for Bog as it was all around and not the most pleasant of walking.   Even after visiting the summit and heading on the path downwards we came upon a gate which was surrounded by watery stuff.  We named it Watergate !  Boom Boom ! 

 The path downwards was a dream.  A mixture of nice stepping stones and old stones which seemed to form the path of an old coaching road perhaps!   Soon enough we were down at the Tarn where we would turn right and head back along the river to the car park.

 Loads of mountain bikers out but luckily they didnt come our way.  Just a man and a tripod taking a picture of a bridge that wasnt really that picturesque.  Strange !  A bit further on we passed a house which had an array of garden birds flying about, this little cheeky chappie perched long enough for me to snap but was really too far away for me to capture him properly.

Nice walk back and after 4 hrs our walk was done.  A shortish one today, still 10km but not as high today but a great leg stretcher and the weather was kind.  Not much wind to speak off, sunshine off and on, no rain and a little bit chilly............so alls good !