Well, I did ask!

There was wall to wall sunshine today, it was absolutely gorgeous…

There has been plenty of snow around Cumbria and the Lake District this weekend with some fabulous winter weather to go with it…

What a glorious morning – so nice that I had to stop at a couple of places for an opportune photo or two on the way to Coniston. Holme Fell is fabulous at this time of year with the visually lovely and fragrant Ling in abundance.

The first walk of 2013 and the weather is as it was last time I was out – dark and murky. I can’t grumble, at least it was dry and the air was fresh although taking photos when it is like this is not the easiest thing as it is just so dark.

Note: This walk marks 10 years since I took the first photos on this site on the Langdales on 7th January 2003 (although the website didn’t start until a year later). What a journey it has been, I hope you will stay with us for the next 10 years!

It was a cold morning and most of the higher fells were covered in cloud early on – when they lifted the forecasted snow was revealed on them, a later start than last year to wintry weather. There were some ominous clouds around and heavy showers later on which presumably left more snow up on high.

I just had time for a quick walk this morning up to Holme Fell from Hodge Close. The weather was predicted to worsen throughout the morning and this turned out to be correct. Luckily I missed a soaking and although it was dull, the views were still good from this diminutive fell.

What a gorgeous day it turned out to be today with long sunny spells and good, clear views and it was too nice to resist a quick jaunt up to Holme Fell with an easy climb from Hodge Close. Despite the sun it was still a little on the chilly side – I was still wearing gloves today.

It seemed to nice to miss the good weather so I found time for a quick walk up to Holme Fell this afternoon. It was lovely and warm once more and there were a few people around enjoying the good weather. There are no planes in the sky today due to the Icelandic volcano eruption and therefore no contrails either. There was, however, evidence of cows at this particular summit so it was a pretty odd day all in all!

I had time for another short walk this morning and things didn’t look too promising at the start but at least it was fine. Lo and behold, the sun came out giving ever better views shortly after the start of the walk. I ended up visiting Ivy Crag twice, for one reason and another…

Weather like this is just too good to miss! It was lovely and clear today with the snow clad fells sparkling in the sunshine and I managed to fit in a quick walk up to Holme Fell. The snow was crunchy today and for some reason this seemed to send Casper berserk with him constantly doing his ‘Bouncing Beardie’ party piece – I think this meant he enjoyed the walk!

This morning’s walk was up to Holme Fell at the head of Coniston Water and I swear I saw the only blue sky in the Lake District this morning up there, although admittedly the skies were clearing throughout the day. We also paid a visit to Ivy Crag, often mistaken for the summit as it is marked by a large cairn a couple of hundred meters from the main summit knoll. We took this at a leisurely pace today which allowed lots of swimming time – for some of us anyway!

I was amazed to see how widespread the ‘pins’ were in the StridingEdge family map this week. Of course I know there are a few people looking at the site regularly but it is quite incredible to see where everyone is situated and thanks to all for showing me.

The rain has been widespread all over the country this week of course and the Lake District was no exception; I hope none of you were caught by the floods. This morning’s walk was a case of dodging more showers for a squelchy walk up to Holme Fell from Hodge Close, a delightful shorter walk and a chance for a run and swim for Angus and Casper, once again the stars of the latest edition of Lake District Life magazine.

More lovely, sunny weather today and the recent haziness has diminished somewhat. The walk to Holme Fell from Hodge Close is short and easy yet it still offers great views on a day such as today. It was so warm, I struggled to get Angus out of the old reservoir on the way back – he was enjoying himself too much!

It certainly got cooler overnight and there was snow evident on the higher fells today. The wind was an icy blast for our short walk to Holme Fell and there was the occasional sunny spell to brighten things up. This was nothing more than a short sprint but was useful for checking out conditions elsewhere for a longer walk tomorrow.

It was quite grey and overcast again this morning but very still which made it feel quite warm. We had a walk to Holme Fell from Hodge Close, it was a lovely walk on a day like today – very relaxing with the heather in full bloom. As Wainwright said ‘…the glorious jungle of juniper and birch, heather and bracken make this one of the most attractive of Lakeland’s fells’.

A short walk up to Holme Fell from Hodge Close today; there are great views of The Langdale Pikes and Coniston Water from here. The skies were murky and threatening ‘weather’ but we managed to get down before the worst. Hodge Close is an intriguing place; it is a disused quarry that warrants closer inspection and its deep chasm holds relics of an industrial past.