It was cold and misty on the drive up to the east side of Coniston. Would it be cold enough at valley level to create a temperature inversion, where the cloud remains at a very low level and you can climb above it to clear skies? Well let’s see….
I continued with my Wainwright Outlying fell quest today with a walk around the Naddle Valley above Haweswater Dam and the Mardale Valley. Haweswater, of course, is a flooded valley which is used as the Manchester water supply and evidence of the aqueduct and construction paraphernalia abound, even though it was built over 80 years ago.
We had a walk around Seathwaite and Wallowbarrow in the Duddon Valley today, one of the loveliest and quietest parts of the Lake District. It was a lovely late summer day today; perfect for a Bank Holiday Monday.
We had a short walk up to Hoad Hill today, a small hill (133m) which stands over the small market town of Ulverston, just outside the southern fringe of the Lake District National Park. Atop the hill is a monument which is a local landmark, The Hoad, officially named The Sir John Barrow Monument. It celebrates the famous Ulverston son who was a Naval administrator and traveller and is built in the style of The Eddystone Lighthouse.
Golden sands, mountain views, far from the madding crowds….sounds idyllic and it was on this remote northern tip of Walney Island, just off Barrow-in-Furness where we ventured for a relaxed family outing.
Today’s walk is a round of Bannisdale, a remote and virtually uninhabited (and unvisited) valley to the north east of Kendal. The walk basically follows Wainwright’s The Bannisdale Horseshoe chapter in his book ‘The Outlying Fells of Lakeland’, page 260, this being the longest round in the book. Ancrow Brow and Borrowdale Head are tagged ‘un-named’ by Wainwright and confusingly Birkett’s Ancrow Brow is different to the one marked on the O.S map.This walk was harder than it appears on the map due to the nature of the grassy hills which are boggy and tussocky and make hard going.
Dobgill – Brown Rigg (285) – Blea Tarn Fell (286) – Standing Crag (287) – High Saddle of Coldbarrow Fell (288) – Low Saddle of Coldbarrow Fell (289) – Ullscarf (290) – Wythburn Fell (291) – Dobgill
Today’s walk is a short round from Troutbeck to two tops on Applethwaite Common, namely Sour Howes and Sallows. The weather started clearing almost as soon as I set off after initially being rather overcast…hooray! There are superb views along almost the whole length of Windermere and along Troutbeck Park throughout the walk.
Today’s walk was a short one from the Corney Fell road – no views whatsoever from any of the peaks visited, in complete contrast to the weather round here yesterday.
Today’s walk takes in a circuit of the Coledale Fells. The weather conditions didn’t look too promising from the valley, but it wasn’t so bad considering. The snowy, wintery conditions made a pleasant change from the recent downpours.
