Devoke Water
It was dark and murky morning again today – no weather for fell walking with a young girl. We had an easy walk up to Devoke Water off the Birker Fell road; there were no views of anything today – just plenty of fresh air.
Walks
Wasdale
Not enough time for a walk today on this, the shortest day of the year – I had many more pressing things to do. I did manage a quick trip to Wasdale, however; everywhere else seemed to be covered in cloud, but not here. Angus had another swim in the chilly looking Wast Water and of course, as ever, the views are to die for.
Stickle Tarn
Late this afternoon, we had a walk up to Stickle Tarn intending to go to Stickle Pike but the weather had closed right in, putting a summit attempt off the agenda for today! It wasn’t very good weather for photos with the light being so bad, but I did manage to capture a short video clip of Angus having a swim in the tarn with Connie looking on, shown at the bottom of this page.
Great Worm Crag
Birker Fell Road (Brown Rigg) – Little Crag – Great Crag on Birker Fell – White How on Birker Fell – Great Worm Crag (OF) – Rough Crag – Birker Fell Road (Brown Rigg)
Great Gable
Today the weather was a lot duller than yesterday for a walk up to Great Gable from the Honister Pass. It did look promising at the start, but after the ascent of Great Gable I never got out of the clouds until reaching Grey Knotts. It was very quiet up there today and I had every summit to myself, which must be a record for Great Gable I think!
Carron Crag
The sun was shining and the skies were blue this afternoon, so I took the opportunity for a short walk up to Carron Crag from the Grizedale Visitors centre near Satterthwaite. It’s a little bit odd this walk as most of it is in the forest, so there are no views until you reach the summit ridge where everything opens up before you. Well worth a visit.
Black Fell
There were dull, grey skies this morning and all views from the fells were obliterated by the clouds. All was peace and tranquillity at Tarn Hows, that well known and often visited beauty spot, when I arrived first thing. The silence was deafening and there wasn’t even an Angus-bark to break it!
Wansfell Pike
Today we took the opportunity to get out in the sunshine for a walk up to Wansfell from Troutbeck. The wind was cold on the top and a thick band of cloud hid the tops of the nearby higher fells, so I think we made the right decision – a great shorter walk.
Lake District Inversion
I couldn’t make it for a walk today, but I did have to drive through the Lake District. Along the way, it was clear that the whole of the southern half of the Lakes was in temperature inversion, so I did manage to stop for some roadside shots of the valleys under cloud.
Lingmoor Fell
The sun was shining again this morning for a walk up to Lingmoor Fell, but there was an icy wind, perhaps bringing snow with it as forecast; the clouds had certainly gathered over the fells by the end of the walk. There are great views from this little fell, nestling in between the Langdales and the Coniston fells.
Coniston Round
It didn’t look too promising when I set off along the Walna Scar Road and sure enough when I reached Brown Pike the wind was gale force and the hailstones were shotblasting my face. Magically, when I reached Dow Crag, the clouds cleared (blown away presumably!) and there were lovely blue skies. The wind was ever present and made the walking difficult at times; full winter gear was required today. Today was the first time I have ever been recognised on the fells from this website (okay, Angus was recognised to be technically correct). He’s famous that dog!
Top o’ Selside
It was cold and misty on the drive up to the east side of Coniston. Would it be cold enough at valley level to create a temperature inversion, where the cloud remains at a very low level and you can climb above it to clear skies? Well let’s see….
Striding Edge and Helvellyn
There was further excellent weather again today – cold, but with superb visibility. I couldn’t resist another visit to Striding Edge, absolutely the finest ridge in the Lake District. This is one I have been saving for just such a day and have dreamed about through all the bad weather.
Harter Fell
Today turned clear with blue skies again – I had a short walk up to Harter Fell from the Duddon Valley, starting from Birks Bridge. The view turned out to be good, much better than I expected earlier. The ascent was made more interesting when I bumped in to Chris Jesty, the man responsible for updating the Wainwright Pictorial Guides, who stopped for a chat.
Great Carrs
Today is Armistice Day and alongside the two minute silence at 11am, there was special service taking place on Great Carrs to commemorate the crewmen (seven Canadian and one Briton) who died in a World War II plane crash there. The Armistice Day service was held to rededicate a memorial to the crew members of the fateful Halifax bomber which crashed after becoming lost in bad weather in October 1944. Officiated by the Vicar of Coniston, the Rev Mark East, the ceremony was attended by representatives of the RAF and the Canadian Embassy.
The weather was absolutely atrocious up there with the wind being gale force on the top, so no lovely views today!
Skiddaw
Gale Road End – Skiddaw Lesser Man – Skiddaw Little Man – Skiddaw – Gale Road End [6.5 miles, 1256m ascent]
Beacon Fell
There was more heavy rain this morning, so it was one of those days where I set off not knowing where I was going until I found a bright spot. The southern end of Coniston Water looked a good bet and it wasn’t a bad guess as most of the walk was done in the dry, only spoiled by a drizzly shower towards the end.
Gavel Fell
Today’s walk was over some of those less often visited fells between Loweswater and Ennerdale. What should have been a fairly easy walk was made harder by the weather, with strong winds and rain, and also by the terrain which is quite boggy and tussocky in places. The climb to Knock Murton at the end of the walk is a tough one as it is straight up and very unforgiving to say the least!
Swinside Stone Circle
I think we found the only clear sky in the whole of Cumbria today – after a morning of heavy rain, the late afternoon skies began to clear for a short walk to Swinside Stone Circle. Swinside is possibly the best stone circle in Cumbria and is widely held to be one of the finest examples of its kind in the whole of Britain and is referred to by Wordsworth in ‘The River Duddon VVII – Return’.
Birkrigg Common
Well, what could we do in this lovely weather this afternoon that would be better than another walk? After all, Angus needs his exercise! This short, local walk up to Birkrigg Common was a pleasant one on a warm, sunny afternoon – too hazy for views, but never mind.