Start point: Swindale Lane (NY 516 133)
Truss Gap – Swindale Head – Harrop Pike – Grey Crag – Tarn Crag – Branstree – Artle Crag – High Howes (Mardale) – Selside Pike – Captain Whelter Bog – High Blake Dodd – Old Corpse Road – Swindale Head – Truss Gap
Distance: 11.5 miles Total Ascent: 800 metres Time Taken: 4 hours 30 minutes
Weather: Overcast and dull. 19oC.
It has been very wet of late and the weather didn’t promise much today either but I managed to escape the rain for a walk starting from the remote valley of Swindale circling the even remoter valley of Mosedale. There were no views today, the skies were leaden with the merest peep of sunshine. The terrain is generally boggy in this area and I certainly got a good bootful of water today! The remoteness of this area has some advantages though as I only saw one other person all day.

Casper and Angus on Grey Crag. If you find a red collar up here it belongs to Casper - he managed to lose it shortly after this photo.

The summit of Tarn Crag with a survey column, a remnant from construction of the Haweswater aqueduct, beyond.

Branstree - the route is following the fence steeply up to the wall, the summit lying at the end of the wall.

Casper on the summit of Branstree. Angus thought the sunken dish of the trig. station made a good water bowl! You may have heard about the plague of caterpillars that has struck the Lake District recently. After seeing great swathes of them near Skiddaw House last week I can report that there were even more on the south-eastern slopes of Branstree today.