Come walk with me UK's 100th post!

Wow! 100 posts, who'd have thought I would have got this far :-) Having reached this landmark I thought it might be appropriate to look back on the blog thus far and pick out a few highlights!

 Pool between Moel Hebog and Moel Yr Ogof- July 2013

Sprinkling Tarn- August 2013

Langdale Pikes- June 2013

Harter Fell- June 2013

 The Cantilever Stone- November 2012

 Frosted trees near Fernilee Reservoir- January 2013

 Cloud inversion from the Pike O'Stickle- October 2012

 Ruthy at Llyn Idwal- August 2012

 With Ros and Emily on South Head- February 2013

Parkhouse Hill- February 2013

Al on Y Garn- November 2012

 Cream Tea- January 2012

 Long-tailed Tit- January 2012

 Kinder Downfall- March 2012

 Mud- March 2012

 Bleaklow- March 2012

 On Pendle Hill- May 2012

With Ruthy on Pen-Y-Ghent- June 2012

CWWMUK highlights........Wild camping in Snowdonia in the Moel range, Tryfan, the Pike O' Stickle, Kinder in the snow, the many faces of Wasdale, Blencathra, Helvellyn, Malham Cove, 2 of the 3 Yorkshire Peaks, starting ML training, Bristly Ridge and many, many more.....

Thanks due to Ruthy, Al, Greg, Emily, Ros, the Peak District Rangers, Nathan, Rob and Helen, Rich, the good folks of the Pendle and Peak District walking festivals and all the others who have helped me to enjoy the fantastic walks we have done together, here's to the next 100 and the continuing success of Come walk with me!

Hardknott (to enjoy the day) in the Lake District sunshine!

8.6.13
Walking with; Nobody

The Lake District in sunshine is one of those rare, almost mythical events, like finding a teetotal prop forward or a South African vegetarian.......However days like yesterday are the ones that remind you that the English Lakes are on par with anywhere in the world. I'd initially planned for my visit to coincide with the Boot Beer Festival, but that particular event, coupled with a week of decent weather, had Eskdale pretty full, so I fell back on an old favourite, Turner Hall Farm. My last visit there was in the days where drinking The Newfield Inn  http://www.newfieldinn.co.uk/, a solid, traditional Lakeland boozer, out of tequila seemed the natural end to a day in the hills. Life is a little more sedate nowadays but after a refreshing dip in the river The Newfield is still a very decent place to spend a couple of restorative hours!
I left the campsite early, keen to avoid the worst of the heat, and meandered towards Dunnerdale Forest taking in the quite stunning bluebells. It was pleasingly cool in the Beech woodland and I was hoping for shade all the way to the foot of Harter Fell. It wasn't to be......the upper reaches of the forested area on the map were decimated, the ugly scars of recent logging work denuding the slopes of shade. I've seen a lot written in the blogosphere about the detrimental effect on the landscape of wind farms, but, too my mind, forestry on this brutal, industrial level is an even greater and more pervasive problem. The climb up to Maiden Castle was steep and sweaty, but the views from the top of Harter Fell were well worth it. To the North the Roman fort at Hardknott and the Scafell massif, to the East to Seathwaite Tarn and the Old Man of Coniston, to the South, the forest from whence I came and to the West, away to the coast and the brooding hulk of Sellafield. I picked my way down the rocky path, the odd Swallow dipping and swerving through the air above me and then wandered along the vally before a short, very sharp hike took me up to the fort for lunch. Sandwich in hand, gently melting, I let my imagination run riot and drifted gently back into the days of Hadrian and his cohorts.
Thirst stung me into action. I followed the trail towards "The Woolpack" http://www.woolpack.co.uk I saw a pair of Yellowhammers and was harassed  by a Buzzard who I suspect must have had a nest nearby, but I eventually reached my goal where a beer festival was very evidently in place and where I bumped into a former colleague from Castleton YHA now ensconced in the Eskdale hostel. A pint or two in the sun could easily have turned into more but I took my leave and headed out via Low Birker (looked to be newly renovated but unoccupied) up to Tarn Crags. I'd planned to head East after Green Crag, but somehow overshot it (possibly related to the last pint of Mucky Duck?) and ended up on a very hot, marshy plod via the wonderfully named Great Worm Crag and Wormshell How before regaining the shade of the woodland! I ended up following the contoured path above the valley before rounding Wallowbarrow Crag and dropping down into the valley for more bluebells, more swallows and the very good Pork Belly and a pint of Catnap combo provided by The Newfield Inn!
A long, tiring but very rewarding day out, and apologies for the terrible pun in the title, couldn't resist! 

To view the full album please click on the link below;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.395318987253679&type=1 

First Lakeland trip of 2013

6/7.2.13
Walking with; Nobody

The Lake District in the snow is just about the best place to be in England so after a Monday snowfall I decided to head up there for an overnight trip staying at the Windermere YHA on the Troutbeck Road (http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/windermere) . I got up there not long before lunch on the Wednesday and having parked up just outside Troutbeck set off up Robin Lane towards the snow sprinkled top of Wansfell Pike. As the path slowly climbed, the views across Windermere to the snow capped peaks beyond became ever more impressive. I turned onto Hundreds Road and then was out in open moorland and admiring the views across to Yoke and Ill Bell. The path was pretty iced up as I ascended steadily towards the South Western summit. The name Wansfell is believed to have been derived from the Old Norse for Woden's Fell and with the wind whipping across the ridge reddening the face and making the eyes water it had a distinctly Scandanavian feel to it!
I began the descent down to Ambleside, the path remaining slippery underfoot, and after meeting a few people struggling up the slope I arrived in the park around Stockghyll Force. Stock Ghyll is a tributary of the River Rothay and the falls tumble 70 feet towards the town through a pretty wooded vale. After browsing a few of the plethora of outdoor shops I settled on a pint at "The Royal Oak" and worked out my route back. Leaving Ambleside via Skelghyll Woods, the path passed the remote farm at High Skelghyll before leading back round towards Robin Lane. The sun was still shining though and I wasn't quite ready for home so added a loop via Wood Farm and Middlerigg Tarn (Goldeneyes, Pochard and Mute Swans) before heading back to the car and then the hostel via an hour of sitting in front of a crackling log fire at the fantastic "Mortal Man" pub (http://www.themortalman.co.uk/).
I was up early the next morning and parking my car in the layby next to Kentmere church just after 8am. Nowadays Kentmere is a tiny hamlet full of beautiful cottages but very remote, but it has an illustrious history and the fortified tower of Kentmere Hall is still a visible reminder of times past. The Gilpin family (who came over with William the Conquerer) owned the hall for 12 generations before all of it except the tower was destroyed by Cromwell's forces during the Civil War. The churchyard still contains the graves of the few hardy families who settled this area and there were a number of memorials to "Yeomans" (free man owning his own farm).
The Garburn Pass was slippery underfoot but as I set off I saw a herd of deer on the skyline which buoyed my spirits and by the time I was trudging through the snow towards the summit of Yoke the sun was peeking out through the clouds and a couple of other hardy walkers could be seen in the distance. The ridge walk from Yoke over Ill Bell and Froswick to Bleathwaite Crags was awesome......stunning scenery, deep snow making for challenging walking and almost complete silence. The route to Mardale Ill Bell was through even deeper snow and by the time I reached Nan Bield Pass I was both exhausted and felt I'd been genuinely challenged! I clambered up the steep slope onto Harter Fell with it's distinctive cairn spiked with metal and then continued across the exposed moorland through more deep snow to Kentmere Pike my final summit of the day. A little off piste descending scared both myself and the odd sheep before I finally made my way back to the edge of Kentmere and wound my way through the hamlet back to my car and a very welcome cup of coffee.
The Kentmere Round is a genuinely stunning walk and I would highly recommend it. It was challenging in winter conditions and it wouldn't be a place to be out if you were underequipped, but the views from Windermere to Haweswater are more than ample reward!

To view the full album please click on the link below;
https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=oa.337197503065828&type=1