Harter Fell (Eskdale)

Clear blue skies on Harter Fell today..

It was another cracking morning so I headed up to Harter Fell at the head of the fantastic Duddon Valley. I think Harter Fell has the best view of all of the Scafells and especially on a day like today. It was really warm on the climb and that had the dogs looking for any scrap of moisture they could find. We did manage to find plenty for all of us at the end of the walk though, pure heaven.

Harter Fell from the Duddon Valley is a great walk and a relatively easy ascent (if you like them straight up that is!). The views weren’t really there today as the tops were clouded in but it was nice to be back in the Duddon Valley, our families favourite.

It was dull and grey this morning in the Duddon Valley for my ascent of Harter Fell, yet at the same time it was very clear. Over to the east I could see the blue sky moving across and of course as soon as I came down to valley level, it was everywhere – a lovely day. My camera suffered a few further battle scars as well today as near the beginning of the walk, Angus pulled at the lead when I had the camera in my hand and sent it crashing to the floor. Now it has a big crack in the screen and on the case, looks like I’ll have to get the tape out to keep it together! At least it still works (for now) though…

It seems like an age since I have been out on one of the higher fells, but things are back to normal now after the Easter holidays and the roads and fells were a lot quieter today – there was no-one around! It has been very dry of late and this is evident in the levels of the Lakes and rivers in the area. I wonder if we are in for a hot, dry summer?

The weather worsened throughout the walk today, starting off as rain with the cloud quickly closing in on the summit. There was a stiff breeze on the top too and it felt decidedly wintry. Shame about the lack of views!

Well, what a difference a few days make! The extreme weather of last Friday seems like a distant memory now as the sky was clear blue and the sunshine was warm today. The snow lingers on, still knee deep in places, but quite soft and slowly melting away. I wished I could have been out longer in these perfect conditions; the views were magnificent.

Today turned clear with blue skies again – I had a short walk up to Harter Fell from the Duddon Valley, starting from Birks Bridge. The view turned out to be good, much better than I expected earlier. The ascent was made more interesting when I bumped in to Chris Jesty, the man responsible for updating the Wainwright Pictorial Guides, who stopped for a chat.

This morning’s short walk was from the Duddon Valley up to Harter Fell, a sometimes boggy and pathless climb. The south eastern face of Harter Fell has been transformed over the last year or two with the deforestation of this part of the Dunnerdale Forest – Wainwright said there was no access to Harter Fell from the Duddon Valley, but of course that has all changed now.