There was further sunshine and haze today. We had a short walk around a couple of old favourites up above Broughton Mills – Stickle Pike and Tarn Hill. It felt really warm in the sunshine today, in fact I was in shirt sleeves which I guess is unusual for February – not that I am complaining!
It has put a lot of rain and hail down through the night and this morning, so today’s walk was a bit of a ‘smash and grab’ opportunity between heavy hail showers and strong winds, mainly to give Angus and Casper a bit of fresh air and exercise. We almost made it unscathed but got caught in a heavy hailstorm towards the end which left us sodden.
I had a shorter walk today in poorer conditions than yesterday up to the Dunnerdale Fells. Angus (the old trooper) was out as well, loving every minute of it of course! It seems like a while since I’ve been up here, certainly before the summer, yet it looks quite wintry already…
It is the school half-term this week so Connie and I took the dogs up to Stickle Pike, a walk we have often done of course, and one we decided to continue with despite the poor weather around here today. If you are unfamiliar with Stickle Pike, it is a great little fell with a wonderful view (on a clear day!) and a tarn nestling below the summit. Today, however, we could see nothing….
Seathwaite – Park Head Road – Stickle Tarn – Stickle Pike (OF) – Caw (OF) – Pikes (OF) – Green Pikes (OF) –Â Seathwaite
After another miserable morning, the skies suddenly cleared at lunchtime and it was bright enough for us to get up to that well worn favourite of ours, Stickle Pike. It was fairly windy up there, especially by the tarn but at least we didn’t get wet!
The wind was blowing strongly this lunchtime and the weather was changing quickly throughout the walk up to Stickle Pike – a constant rain, sun, dull cycle. That didn’t stop Angus and Casper having a good run and a swim though…
We had an exploration of that old favourite Stickle Pike today, keeping off the paths and looking at things from a different perspective. It was very still and peaceful and a rather enjoyable saunter – we struck lucky with the weather too as just made it back as the rain started to come down heavily.
School’s out for summer! Well, at least Connie’s is – so it was up to Stickle Pike this afternoon in glorious, sunny weather – a complete contrast to the weather when I was not so far away from here two days ago. Nice weather for a (unintentional) swim today, too!
It was the same today as yesterday – it looked like someone had ruled a line at 400m and that was the cloud base across the whole of the southern Lake District. The Dunnerdale Fells were beneath the clouds, so that’s where I headed but even that looked a bit iffy at the start with the odd shower whilst I was on Stickle Pike. By the time I reached the return leg, the clouds quickly cleared away and even gave a hint of blue sky – it just shows how quickly it can all change.
There were blue skies when we set off for Stickle Pike this morning, but it quickly seemed to cloud over, especially looking to the north and the wind was bitingly cold. We had a surprise up there today as we were not expecting to see anyone (as normal up there) when we were caught by someone with….well you’ll see!
The road from Broughton Mills to the Duddon Valley was finally cleared of snow this afternoon, so I was lucky to be able to get up there for a quick walk up to Stickle Pike. There were no footprints or evidence that anyone had been over there in the snow, which shows just how much it has been cut off since Sunday. The knee deep snow served as a good reminder how tough and physically demanding it is walking in these conditions and gave me food for thought for a planned longer walk tomorrow. I expect there to be even deeper snow in places on the Coniston fells.
After two days of constant heavy rain, it was a welcome opportunity to get out for some fresh air when the heavy clouds finally cleared this afternoon. Connie and Angus certainly seemed pleased to get out at last up to the nearby favourite Stickle Pike.
It was grey with drizzle this morning – there wouldn’t be any views, anywhere – so we went for a short walk up to our often visited favourite, Stickle Pike above Broughton Mills and the Duddon Valley. There was no company this morning either as the children are back at school, so it was back to the old team once again!
After a short break, it was nice to get back home and back to even hotter weather here than abroad! Of course, there were lots of things to do today but I managed to escape for an hour for a quick walk up to Stickle Pike with Angus who was glad to be free again and to have a nice cooling swim.
I had a much shorter walk today than my previous excursion to Ennerdale, with a visit to a pleasantly sunny Stickle Pike which lies between the Lickle and Duddon valley’s. Angus, fresh from the barbers, certainly enjoyed his new non-hairy freedom!
Stickle Pike is described in Wainwright’s Stickle Pike chapter in his book ‘The Outlying Fells of Lakeland’, page 126.
We had a walk around the Dunnerdale Fells starting from Stonestar on the Duddon Valley road this warm afternoon. This is a lovely and quiet area – hard to find on a Good Friday afternoon I think! It also took in Stickle Pike and Stickle Tarn, the area we walked on Wednesday from the Lickle Valley side.
The walk was a hybrid of two Wainwright Outlying Fell walks. Stickle Pike is described in Wainwright’s Stickle Pike chapter in his book ‘The Outlying Fells of Lakeland’, page 126 and The Dunnerdale Fells are described in the Dunnerdale Fells chapter on page 132.
As it was a bit brighter this afternoon, we had another short walk up to Stickle Pike above Broughton Mills. We were joined by Connie after she was sprung from school for Easter at lunchtime – much better than sitting in a classroom I think!
Stickle Pike is described in Wainwright’s Stickle Pike chapter in his book ‘The Outlying Fells of Lakeland’, page 126.
Today’s walk is a Wainwright/Birkett hybrid, taking in Stickle Pike – a personal favourite, the undulating Tarn Hill, a vague top named ‘Dunnerdale Fells’ (a separate ‘Outlying Fell’ walk chapter by Wainwright) and Great Stickle. The views to the north were superb, especially towards the end when the clouds lifted from the high fells.
A short walk in the sunshine today around Broughton Mills taking in a lovely round including Stickle Pike – well worth visiting for the views of the high fells, especially the Scafell and Bowfell ranges.
