Last walk of 2015 and its November - darn weather !!!

After a completely gorgeous autumnal day never did we think that this would be the last walk of 2015.  The rain and winds and more rain to follow couldn't have been predicted but what a walk to go out on.  Beautiful light, T-shirt weather and a local and familiar walk that is always full of surprises.  Today the surprise was colour, an abundance of colour everywhere and just gorgeous.

Leaf!

 Along the river, stunning!

 A little twisted?

 Bathed in light

 Sun peeping through the streams of light, beautiful

 Babbling

 The OP

Golden Saunter!

150 Nethermost and friends

A great wander up Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon Pike, Seatsandal with a pop over to Helvellyn just because it was there.  We were treated to the most spectacular views over striding edge and had we not had an alternative agenda today I'd have been tempted to nip down and back but it was not to be and even by the time we got to Seatsandal I was done in and with the weather closing in I wasn't even sure I'd go up but rather take the path to the right through the valley but I did and with a great deal of huffing and puffing we were up and down in no time.  Great day, great views and great light !

Looking back to Steel Fell

 Looking down to Thirlmere

 Dollywagon or Nethermost Pike summit (cant remember which oops!)

 My 150th Wainwright - Hurrah!

 The path up - always behind !

 Dark Striding Edge

 On route to Seatsandal

 Seatsandal Summit

Castle Crag & Great Crag with a scone inbetween

Great post holiday walk up Castle Crag and Great Crag with time for a scone and tea in between.  Good little walk with some fabulous views and not too strenuous at all.  The light was pretty kind to us today and we got a fair few decent snaps!

On our way

The path up to Castle Crag - its Shaley!

Fern?

Stepping stones

Stepping stones

The view along the path towards more adventures for another day.

Slate sculptures and a soft green valley!

From the path to Castle Crag

Along a really pleasant path towards the base of Great Crag

From the path of Great Crag - no sign of the Vulcan!

Haycock, Cawfell, Sunshine....say Cheese !

 The weatherman said it the outlook was fair and with no rain forecast we saw a few hills in our weekend.  A quick call to Churchstile campsite and Friday after work we were off.  Car packed with the most basic camping equipment.  Tent, chairs, blow up bed, duvet, pillows, kettle, tea and coffee.  What else did we need?

Arriving at Churchstile in the dark wasn't on the cards but after a later finish at work than planned an a shop stop at  Kirkby Lonsdale it was around 9pm when we finally rolled up.   Could we get pitched in the dark and more importantly could we make it to the pub for last orders?  Both were managed very successfully and we had time for not 1 not 2 but 3 little drinkies......uh oh, we're walking tomorrow !!!!

Up and out by 10am the following morning Haycock and Cawfell were our targets for the day.  These 2 were a couple of Wainwrights left in the area unticked so we'd put that right today.  A short driver down Wastwater and we found a little parking spot right next to where the path started up the first part of the hill.

It was warm and as we wandered up the path next to the little stream fleeces came off.

There were some gorgeous little waterfalls trickling down on the way up and since we'd all day we took the time to stop and get up close to see if we could capture the beautiful light that covered the hillside.  It really was turning out to be a super day.

Onwards and upwards through the valley, gaining height all the time with Middle fell to our left and soon behind us and Seatallan coming proudly into view.

Scafell behind us in the other direction and then Scafell Pike poking its head out it really was a day for the loveliest of views only marred slightly by the occasional jet that streaked overhead.

After the final slog up to the left hand side with the now chilly wind blowing in from the sea, the summit of Haycock came into view with its nice little shelter over the wall.

We didn't stop here for the moment but continued onto Cawfell and since today's route was a linear route we'd be back on Haycock later.

Down off the fell and over to Haycock was a pleasant walk.  Almost plateau-like however if you weren't aware of where the summit lay then you'd miss it as for little short people (like me)seeing the beautifully constructed cairn to mark the summit behind a high stone wall was a tough ask.   Thankfully I was in the company of a taller person.....a map & GPS so all was well!

Over the wall the wind blew hard from the North and I quickly darted back over the other side to get a bit of shelter in the walk back up to Haycock.   The sun was still bright in the sky and the light was starting to change as the afternoon took its grip.  Shadows were more defined and that distant haze started to appear.

We were on our way back down after a quick snack stop at the shelter on Haycock.  We'd timed ourselves and ideally wanted to get down in 3 hrs so we could get some ice cream at the campsite shop.  That was our motivation and we moved forward and downwards at the fastest pace possible which in my case wasn't that fast but I was moving (ouchie knees today!)

The initial steep bit was over and we were awarded with some stunning views as we moved down through the valley.  The late afternoon light was just beautiful bathing everything around in a warmish glow.

Almost down and the fantastic purple heather on the screes at Wastwater caught my eye and was a welcome site as we neared the end of our walk.

Back to the car almost 3 hrs since we'd stepped off the top the next stop was the ice cream shop where we sat in the sun, ate the most delicious ice cream and reflected on a great walk.

A saunter up Scafell & Slightside

Hurrah, finally a good weather walking day (or so they forecast) and the alarm was set for 5am as we'd planned quite a walk for today.  Parking under Harter Fell we would make our way up the valley and up onto Scafell and then over to Slightside before heading back down to the base of Harter Fell.  A day which promised a nice walk in, a couple of waterfalls, a decent bit of scrambling, 2 Wainwrights, nice fluffy photogenic clouds and a nice gentle, but long, descent.  Sounds like a perfect day......and it was!


We started after parking the car walking into the valley along a well trodden path.  A little bit of upwardness followed by a nice flattish path then more upwardness meant we gained some initial height quite quickly.

The weather was perfect.  Blue skies, fluffy clouds, a light breeze when needed and quite warm.  Not what we'd expect for August but nice enough and I wasn't complaining.

On the initial walk into the valley before the main part of the climb was filled with beautiful view on all sides coupled with some ominous black clouds which suggested there was a bit of rain on the way but thankfully that never materialised and we arrived at the foot of Cam Spout where we stopped for a bite to eat.

A lovely place to stop with the falls on one side and Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and more on the other with the flat valley floor catching sun rays and shadows as the clouds moved over the sky.

After our snack it was time to make our way up the side of the waterfall and soon the well marked path had disappeared and we were left to find our own route through the rock, perfect!  My fav terrain.

At the top we walked through another valley with Mickledor straight in front and a tasty gully to our left which was our route up the next part of the hill took us up to Foxes Tarn which I must admit wasn't more than a puddle at this time of year.

The next stage was simply making our way up a steep rock and shale path which sapped the energy out of you but literally was a hop skip and a jump after that up onto Scafell.

The summit of Scafell had a couple of picnickers on it but nothing compared to Scafell Pike which seemed to have hundreds of ants pouring over its summit.  Popular on such a fair weather day.

After the obligatory picture taking at the summit it was off down the hillside through the rocks and over to Slightside, our next target.  Here we met a nice chap who was a fell runner normally but skipped a race today because he didn't feel quite up to it but still managed an impressive round of hills starting with Pike o Blisco in Langdale over the Crinkles, Bowfell, Esk Pike, Scafell Pike, Scafell and Slightside.   Then all the way back again where he was hoping to take in the Langdales.  Just hearing that made me feel a bit faint and silently vowed that I really need to get a bit fitter!!!!!

Slightside was a nice top and a little bit rocky which, of course, I adore.  We didn't hang around long and soon enough we were starting our descent which surprisingly wasn't that bad and apart from some significant boggy bits it was a long but gentle walk off the mountain with only a few steep rocky bits.

What a wonderful day, one of the best walks I've had in a long time.  It had everything I could want from a walk and I arrived back at the car with a smile on my face.  My legs were dirty, my boots were bogged but I was happy.  Loved every min of it!!! 

A misty murky wander over Wansfell

In our efforts to get out whatever the weather in this poor excuse for a summer we had a few hrs free on Sunday to play with and Wansfell seemed to be the ideal target.

Not too far but still a Wainwright tick and would provide a little bit of exercise for the weekend.

The path started as a wide track and wound its way round the side of the hill with views of Windemere opening up to the left. There was no steepness to the path and it continued, meandering round the hillside to the summit top following a wall.

The weather was mixed, a bit of mist, drizzle and it wasn't that warm really. Was it really August???

The summit was quite non descriptive with views over to Rydel Wate, up to Red Screes and Kirkstone Pass and then back down to Windemere and beyond. 

The path following the wall over to the second summit, Baystones which is the true high point of the Wainwright, was a pretty path and the wall was the star of the show, winding left and right up and down hill making some pretty patterns indeed.

After reaching Baystones we turned right to take the path back down towards the car and were met with a 2 pretty ponies and a young foal. The foal was too quick for me to get a non blurry picture but I got a snap of its auntie who was happy to just stand and pose.

Soon enough we were back at the Mortal Man car park and felt it would be rude not to pop in for Sunday lunch as we'd parked here for the past hour or so. The food was good and it was a lovely place to spend another hr in the lakes before heading back to real life and the thought of Monday looming in the distance.

Another trip out and even though the weather didn't really improve it was a lovely wander over a nice little fell.