hike | camp | paint
Tuesday The sense of aborting my foray into the Western Fells in favour of getting the Northern Fells to 100% soon became even more obvious. With today being travelling home day, there wasn’t much else I could do that hadn’t already been done, and Carrock Fell was, sort of, on the way home. The forecast … Continue reading Finishing Off the Northern Fells – Part 3: Carrock Fell
Sunday Afternoon …The bus departed for Penrith, and I turned round and headed in the opposite direction. With Cath now on her way home, here on in was a solo trip. The Western Fells were waiting. The plan was much simpler than that for the Northern Fells – simply a two day walk from Buttermere … Continue reading Beach Boys, Buttermere and A Bail-Out
Friday The forecast for the weekend was poor, maybe even bordering on lunacy, and was the main reason why we’d decided not to camp this time out, preferring instead the security of hostels and especially the chances they afforded to get dry and warm after a day out on the fells dicing with the conditions. … Continue reading Finishing off the Northern Fells – Part 2: Blencathra & Friends
The bus shook as the first evidence of the weekend’s weather forecast collided with the moving vehicle. And today was supposed to be a “good” day. The bus dropped me off at Scales and I set off along a lane to the path that paralleled Comb Beck for the climb into Mousthwaite Comb. Behind me … Continue reading Finishing off the Northern Fells – Part 1: Souther Fell
Barren fields and remnants of our industrial heritage are sweeping by as the train is whisking me northward. I'm on my way to my first Lakes trip of the year. After 8 visits last year which tidied up most of the stragglers caused by a rather haphazard approach to the Wainwrights, I've deliberately left it … Continue reading Off to the Lakes
I'm up and raring to go today, my last full day for this trip. The forecast is good and I've deliberately saved this walk for today because of it. The bus whisks me out to Hawkshead Hill and I jump out at High Cross - strategically chosen because it's the nearest point to my target … Continue reading Autumn in the Lakes: Stragglers and Shadows
Having been spoilt by a couple of days of great weather and some delightful colours on the fells, the forecast for today wasn't looking so good - clearly I've used up my quota of decent conditions. Â Either that or nature has decided that as it is now December, it ought to get on with winter … Continue reading Autumn in the Lakes: Business as Usual
It's really rather nice sitting here by Derwentwater taking in the views and attempting to transfer them to paper, and I don't regret the way today's plans have worked out at all. Never has a walk plan changed so much as today's has. Having made sketchy arrangements to meet up with Paul (@paulgbuck) for a … Continue reading Autumn in the Lakes: Arty Stuff
All is dark when I finally arrive in Windermere, after some nail-biting moments on the train journey up, wondering if I would make my connections at Preston and Oxenholme. Not wanting to wait for the bus, when there's a taxi right here, I hop in the car and minutes later am at Ambleside youth hostel, … Continue reading Autumn in the Lakes: Nature’s Palette
I was halfway down a suspiciously unlimey lime and lemonade, when a large blue rucksack came bobbing along the lane in front of the pub. It turned into the "beer garden" and Cath emerged from underneath it, and muttered some words I took to be a greeting. A few minutes later with a pint of … Continue reading The Four Valleys Walk – Part 2: Eskdale, Wasdale & Borrowdale
I'd long dreamed of exploring this valley and camping somewhere remote in its upper reaches to enjoy the majesty of England's highest mountains surrounding me, but the reality was damper, mistier and more precarious than I'd imagined it would be.
Although slightly cheered by discourse with dormmates last night, the whole rigmarole of staying in the YHA seemed to have been an exercise in trying my patience, and I was glad that phase of the trip was over. Now I could look forward to simply dealing with whatever nature threw at me and any problems … Continue reading Finishing off the Eastern Fells – Part 2
Four years ago the family had one of those holiday weeks where everybody got to do what they wanted, achieved by us all having separate holidays - my son went off to Scout camp, my wife and daughter headed for Paris, and I had the luxury of a whole week in the Lakes. The usual … Continue reading Finishing off the Eastern Fells – Part 1
The Day After the Night Before No one had seemed that bothered about staying in the pub, helped by the live music act's rather dubious renditions of what had up to that point been some well-loved songs, and so we all decamped to, errr camp. An evening sat around the camp, warding off midges and … Continue reading Beer and Bogs in Borrowdale
The first thing I saw as I stepped off the bus at Rosthwaite, a stop short of where I ought to, was Eagle Crag, one of my most favourite fells, peering out from behind Rosthwaite Fell. This just reminded me that it's ages since I've been to Borrowdale. Quite apart from the challenge itself, it … Continue reading The 10-in-10 (ish)