Start Point: Patterdale (NY 394 160) Patterdale – Hole-in-the Wall – Striding Edge – Helvellyn – Swirral Edge – Catstycam – Birkhouse Moor – Patterdale Distance: 14.2 km Total Ascent: 898 metres Time Taken: 5 hours 10 minutes Start Time: 06:40 Weather: Some cloud, clearing. 4°C After seemingly endless days of gloom and overcast skies over the last week or two, […]
Well, here we are again! It took some time from the previous post to get a follow up but at last I have managed it.
I seem to be following a bit of a pattern here with heading out early, chasing the sunrise but I find it is well worth it. Today’s views were just jaw dropping with the sun lighting up the fells with some fabulous colours. The wind was very strong making it feel like a bit of an Arctic expedition at times and I was well layered up for this one.
The forecast was making it look to good to miss today and fortunately they got it right. Striding Edge was looking good today, very good in fact with views for miles.
It was a lot cooler this morning than it has been of late, down to 3C when I set off. Once the sun was out though it soon warmed up and it turned into a superb morning. I descended via the east ridge of Nethermost Pike and even managed a quick dip in the hidden Hard Tarn.
I was up early this morning to make the most of the expected good weather to come for the day. I wasn’t disappointed and it turned into a fantastic and memorable day on the fells with incredible clarity and an inversion over the Lake District as well. When I set off from Patterdale this morning (in the dark!), the temperature gauge was showing -1C but once the sun rose it was really warm and I ended up completing the walk in shirt sleeves.
It has been sweltering over the weekend so I fancied getting out early today to ‘beat the heat’. I certainly managed that as it was pretty cold crossing Striding Edge this morning when the clouds swirled in. By the time I reached the summit of Helvellyn, the clouds had disappeared and the summer weather returned once more. On the way down to Patterdale I bumped into a gang of Striding Edge fans from Hull – nice to meet you all Martin and friends!
I couldn’t resist a walk over Striding Edge today in winter conditions and at the start of the walk, it looked very promising indeed. I was glad later that I had set off relatively early for this walk as a sheet of cloud caught us and covered the fells whilst I was on the summit of Helvellyn. I cannot complain though as it was a superb walk in brilliant conditions. On the way back down to Grisedale it was nice to bump into a couple of Striding Edge followers and have a chat.
I have wanted to get up to Helvellyn for a decent sunrise for a good while so today seemed a good day for it with it being nearly the shortest day and the sunrise being relatively late. It was cold and clear (and dark) when I set off from Wythburn and conditions were pretty extreme when I made it to the top…
What a glorious morning it was, it made it well worth the effort of getting up early and being out on the fells at the crack of dawn. Perhaps this is the start of summer now but hopefully not the end just yet. A sustained spell until September would do nicely please!
It ended up being a day of two halves with the weather, but I really couldn’t have expected anything better than the cold and clear weather complete with a temperature inversion that covered the whole of the south Lakes that I managed to see from the summit of Helvellyn. Later the inversion lifted and completely enveloped me making it a completely different walk during the latter stages.
The snow has begun to thaw and it was all a bit dull and overcast when I set off from Patterdale this morning. Once up to the Hole-in-the-Wall though, there were regular sunny spells and the crossing of Striding Edge is a s fantastic as ever in winter conditions. I lengthened the walk by climbing to Fairfield after the Helvellyn ridge but the wind was mighty strong and cold up there and it made walking quite difficult at times. The days are pretty short at the moment and the descent was mirrored by the setting of the sun.
NOTE: This walk was done in winter conditions and it can be extremely hazardous up on Striding Edge in this weather. Just because I did it with my dog doesn’t mean to say you can. Please make sure you are properly equipped for the conditions.
It has been fantastic over the last few weeks to receive so much support from everyone about our new venture in Bowness, both by e-mail and in person at the shop – really lovely to meet everyone who has visited. We all know that fell walking people are warm hearted! Special mention must be made of the Gunter family from Florida in the USA who have followed the site almost since the beginning – I would love to say they flew in specially to see me, but that’s not quite true although the whole family did make a special journey during their holidays to visit the shop – thanks for coming and I’m sorry I missed you that day.
Today’s walk was to Helvellyn for the second time during June; the reason for that was to climb my penultimate Birkett peak, Brown Crag. The clarity today was quite striking even though it was overcast with long clear views for mile after mile.
It seems like an age since I have been out but regular viewers will know why; it has been a lot of hard work for us with setting up the shop and the business. It will all be worth it though hopefully, but it was great to get out in the fresh air again this morning even if the weather was not the best after a week of lovely sunshine and where better to go than Striding Edge?
If I wanted to get out for a walk today then it would have to be early so that I could fit everything else I needed to do in. So, earlier than early it was then! It was dark when I set off for Helvellyn from Wythburn, climbing the main section in first light and returning along the same path. I was hopeful for some clear weather at the top, but you never can tell what it will do and you certainly can’t if it is dark when you set off! The weather turned out not to be the best but it was nice to get up and back down again before breakfast.
It was a bit wintry to say the least today. The climb up to and across Striding Edge was quite clear but with plenty of soft, fresh snow around. As soon as I hit the top of Helvellyn, the clouds came down and made the views non-existent. From then on, there was all sorts of weather – rain, sleet, snow, hail – you name it! Still, it was nice to get in the snow again. It certainly makes a change from the somewhat damper weather we have had recently.
Things didn’t look good first thing this morning, the rain was belting down throughout The Lakes and the wind was rattling the windows at home. Normally this would not be a problem, but today was the day of the inaugural StridingEdge.net walk. Would it be ruined? Should we do a low level walk? No! was the answer from the troops meeting at Patterdale. So, onward and upward…
