
What a beautiful day for a walk out in lovely winter conditions…
Walked on
Height: 762 metres / 2500 feet Grid reference: NY 28820 01108 Category: The Southern Fells
Walked on
There is plenty of snow around to quite a low level at the moment and the valley roads are treacherously icy in places. I left Casper at home today (by the fire, of course!) as he feels the cold these days (he is no spring chicken) and with young Dougal by my side climbed to Wetherlam via Steel Edge and descended by way of treacherous Wetherlam Edge. It was a bit of a monochrome day with no contrast between the sky and the snow covered land making the task of getting decent photos even harder than usual!
Walked on
The weather was gorgeous this morning, being really clear in the south western corner of the Lakes. There seemed to be a bit of cloud around the fell tops beyond but Wetherlam was a great walk to do on a day like this – I did have to keep well wrapped up on the Wetherlam ridge though as it was colder than it looks.
Walked on
Most of the high fells appeared to be in cloud but Wetherlam seemed to stand out like a beacon of light today, so that’s where I went to get a taste of the winter conditions much of the country is experiencing at the moment. The snow was dry and powdery and the going was not too bad until the descent of Wetherlam Edge which required a bit more care to be taken. It was like the Antarctic on the northern slopes during that descent with a strong (and cold) easterly blowing across the face of The Edge.
Walked on
The wet weather of last week has made way for much colder winter weather with snow lying on the high fells. The snow made it quite tough going, both on the climb up Steel Edge and the descent of Wetherlam Edge – the walk took 40 minutes longer than last time I did it in April. Once up on the Wetherlam ridge, all hell was let loose with the wind and driven sleet/snow making it easily the coldest and most extreme walk since last winter.
Walked on
It’s seems like a while since I have been on the high fells due to Easter holidays and other commitments but what a glorious day for a return; the weather really was fantastic. The light was just gorgeous on the fells and it felt good to be alive up there today. The sunshine in the photos probably gives a false impression though as it was not as warm as it looks higher up and on the Wetherlam ridge the wind was pretty icy.
Walked on
Today I had a walk around Greenburn from Little Langdale, the weather didn’t seem to hold much promise when I set off but it was fascinating to watch the rapidly changing conditions as I walked, with it seemingly changing by the minute. It was very wintry and cold on the top of Great Carrs, I even had to put my winter jacket on – good job Casper was wearing his!
Walked on
Walked on
Everywhere but Wetherlam seemed to be in cloud this morning when I set out; it was basking under a lovely blue sky, but that quickly changed during the ascent of Wetherlam Edge. I thought it would be an interesting addition to drop down to Red Dell following the Black Sails ridge but it proved to be a tough climb back up to Hole Rake and over to Tilberthwaite.
Walked on
The weather today was fantastic with clear views for miles and cold, frozen ground making almost perfect walking conditions. This is a favourite shorter walk of mine, the walks along Steel Edge and Wetherlam Edge being the best way to climb this fell. Wetherlam Edge was treacherous in places with sheet ice which could catch out the unwary.
Walked on
That wasn’t supposed to happen! The weather was predicted to be the same as yesterday, blue skies and general loveliness above the clouds – however, rule #1 is there is no accounting for the weather. There was a strong wind and grey skies above the low lying fog with the upper clouds only clearing at the very end of the walk. This was a good long walk on the shortest day of the year and the fells were surprisingly busy today.
Walked on
It was nice to see a bit of blue sky after a week of almost constant rain and it did look quite promising early on, but the skies soon darkened to bring things back to normal by lunchtime. This is a firm favourite of mine – a good fell walk that has most of the attributes required to be a good one without being too lengthy…and the main thing was that there wasn’t another soul to be seen.
I couldn’t resist a few shots of the Coniston fells from Torver on the way up there with the early sun illuminating the fells nicely.
Walked on
Walked on
Absolutely the connoisseurs way up to Wetherlam, this walk is a full Lakeland in miniature with steep, rocky ascents, grassy paths, tarns, rivers and two edges – Steel Edge and Wetherlam Edge. Steel Edge is quite steep but a real joy to walk up and once on Wetherlam itself there are great views of the Coniston fells, Coniston Water, over to the Langdales and beyond.
Walked on
The sun was shining at times again this morning but many of the higher fells still had cloud lingering on their tops, fortunately for me Wetherlam remained relatively clear. This is a great little route from Tilberthwaite – it was almost reminiscent of a mini-Helvellyn ascent via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge – using Wetherlam Edge for the steep climb up and Steel Edge for the drop back down into Tilberthwaite.
Walked on
Walked on