The names of the mountains of Lakeland can often seem like they were created by a random password generator and many a hill walker who has wandered over them has wondered how the likes of Catbells, Barf, Froswick or Great Cockup came to be named such. There can be no such doubt however about today’s mountain, Crinkle Crags. It’s a name that perfectly describes the five undulating and craggy crinkles that form part of the skyline at the head of the beautiful valley of Great Langdale.
Continue reading “A walk up Crinkle Crags”
The last time I was in Eskdale it was freezing. Today it’s a balmy 25°c as I take advantage of a warm dry spell to complete the southern fells within reach from this beautifully remote and most quiet of lakeland valleys. I’m staying at Eskdale NT Campsite and although my objectives today, Whin Rigg and Illgill Head are a bit of a trek from here there’s lots of historical interest on the way which makes this a walk through history as well as a walk in the mountains.
Continue reading “A walk up Whin Rigg and Illgill Head from Eskdale”
In March 1988 Andy and I were enjoying a few days walking in a cold and frosty Lakeland. Having walked up Grains Gill from Seathwaite we were taking a break when we noticed two red clad walkers who were motoring up the path at some pace behind us. “They’re not hanging around,” remarked Andy and as the two speedy walkers drew level we recognised one of them to be non other than Sir Chris Bonington, one of Britain’s best known and celebrated mountaineers. We chatted for a few minutes before Sir Chris went off with his companion to climb Central Gully on Great End which was nicely compacted with frozen snow and Andy and I went off to climb England’s highest mountain for the first time. I’ve walked past that spot in Grains Gill many times since and will do so again today, in the heat of an English summer as I walk up Allen Crags and Seathwaite Fell. Each time I pass by I remember with fondness the day I met a mountaineering legend.
Continue reading “Allen Crags and Seathwaite Fell from Seathwaite”
Tilberthwaite car park is almost full when I arrive, late in the afternoon on what has been a lovely warm and sunny Lakeland day. There are a dozen or so cars and three or four vans that I figure will be keeping me company overnight. By 8pm however everyone has departed and I have the place to myself. Dusk turns slowly into the ink black night of the countryside, far away from neon, where stars can shine bright. I enjoy a quiet evening followed by the sleep of the saved and the thankful with only the owls and the comforting sound of the newly born Yewdale Beck to disturb the silence.
Continue reading “A walk up Wetherlam from Tilberthwaite”
The day is turning into a very fine one for walking as I park in the very same spot I occupied two months ago. The sky is cloudless and eggshell blue, the sun is beaming but it’s April and the temperature is still pleasant and there is not so much as a breath of wind to rustle the leafs. Busyness has been ruling out any visits north but the diary and the weather have both become clear and my season opener is to be a not too taxing leg stretch up Holme Fell.
Continue reading “A walk up Holme Fell”
My journey along Wainwrights Coast to Coast Walk from St Bees Head to Robin Hoods Bay. Walking from the Irish Sea to the North Sea through three National Parks this walk has everything, Mountains, Dales, Moorland and Ocean and is soon to become a National Trail. Click on the walk to read the post or use the interactive map to see the route.
Introduction. I’m sitting in the bedroom at our bed and breakfast in St Bees the night before I set off ...
Day 1 St Bees to Ennerdale Bridge 14 Miles. It's a rainy start to our adventure. Gwen and I picked ...
Day 2 Ennerdale Bridge To Rosthwaite 14 1/2 Miles. Day two dawns dry but misty. We set off from our ...
Day 3 Rosthwaite to Grasmere 9 1/4 Miles. Today was the day I got a twenty six year old monkey ...
Day 4 Grasmere to Patterdale 8 1/2 Miles Today turned into a very eventful day for what was meant to ...
Day 5 Patterdale to Shap 17-18 Miles Overnight, Gwen and I had talked and we decided that if the wind ...
Day 6 Shap to Kirkby Stephen 20 miles Had a leisurely breakfast catching up with Bob and Alan who were ...
Day 7 Kirkby Stephen to Keld 12 miles We don’t often consider it, but sleep is a powerful healer. Despite ...
Day 8 Keld to Reeth 12 Miles Keld sits right in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. If you are ...
Day 9 Reeth to Richmond 10 miles After a comfortable night in the Dales Bike Centre we enjoy a leisurely ...
Day 10 Richmond to Danby Wiske 14 miles When I first walked this section of the Coast to Coast 26 ...
Day 11 Danby Wiske to Osmotherley 10 miles We had breakfast with a couple who had stayed in the same ...
Day 12 Osmotherley to Clay Bank Top 11 Miles Having spent two days crossing the Vale of York we are ...
Day 13 Clay Bank Top to Glaisdale 18 Miles The end of the walk, which for a couple of weeks ...
Day 14 Glaisdale to Robin Hoods Bay 19 Miles Day fourteen, the last day, starts with a wholesome farmhouse breakfast ...
All the hills of Wainwrights Book Three The Central Fells listed in height order with the eleven walks that took me over them and interactive map showing hill location and route. Click on the hill or the walk to read the post. Scroll down to use the interactive map.
| 1. High Raise 762m 2,500ft |
8. Loft Crag 680m 2,231ft |
15. Calf Crag 537m 1,762ft |
22. Grange Fell 415m 1,362ft |
| 2. Sergeant Man 736m 2,415ft |
9. High Seat 608m 1,995ft |
16. High Tove 515m 1,690ft |
23. Helm Crag 405m 1,329ft |
| 3. Harrison Stickle 736m 2,415ft |
10. Bleaberry Fell 590m 1,936ft |
17. Eagle Crag 525m 1,722ft |
24. Silver How 395m 1,296ft |
| 4. Ullscarf 726m 2,382ft |
11. Sergeant’s Crag 571m 1,873ft |
18. Armboth Fell 479m 1,572ft |
25. Walla Crag 376m 1,234ft |
| 5. Thunacar Knott 723m 2,372ft |
12. Steel Fell 553m 1,814ft |
19. Raven Crag 461m 1,512ft |
26. High Rigg 357m 1,171ft |
| 6. Pike of Stickle 709m 2,326ft |
13. Tarn Crag 550m 1,804ft |
20. Great Crag 450m 1,476ft |
27. Loughrigg Fell 335m 1,099ft |
| 7. Pavey Ark 700m 2,297ft |
14. Blea Rigg 541m 1,775ft |
21. Gibson Knott 420m 1,378ft |
|
It's the second day of a settled weather pattern that has brought crisp, calm and ...
Commitments and the never ending rain which makes planning clear summit days difficult have kept ...
From the campsite I can see a fair chunk of today's walk from the van ...
I have some personal rules which guide my journey through the Wainwright’s (here) one of ...
I’ve had company over the last couple of days. A Robin arrives regularly at the ...
Over the last few years I have become familiar with every twist and turn of ...
It’s summer, or at least that brief moment in time that passes for summer these ...
It’s the second time I’ve stopped at Chapel House Farm campsite in the last few ...
My last visit to Ullscarf was thwarted when the clouds which had been hovering above ...
Just as autumn seemed to have arrived, summer sunshine and warmth has returned for one ...
'If I should bow my head let it be to a high mountain' Maori Proverb ...
My last visit to Ullscarf was thwarted when the clouds which had been hovering above it all day decided to lower onto the summit plateau just as I reached it. As I have a rule that I will be able to see the view from each top on my journey through the Wainwright’s this unfortunately meant a return visit. At least going up again gives me a chance to try a different route and today I’ll be ascending via Harrop Tarn and returning down the Wythburn valley which means I don’t have to walk back on myself.
Continue reading “A walk up Ullscarf from Thirlmere”
All the hills of Wainwrights Book One The Eastern Fells listed in height order with the sixteen walks that took me over them and interactive map showing hill location and route. Click on the hill or the walk to read the post. Scroll down to use the interactive map.
| 1.Helvellyn 950m 3,117ft |
8.Great Dodd 857m 2,812ft |
15.Great Rigg 766m 2,513ft |
22.Middle Dodd 654 m 2,146 ft |
29.Low Pike 508m 1,667ft |
| 2.Nethermost Pike 891m 2,923ft |
9.Stybarrow Dodd 843m 2,766ft |
16.Hart Side 756m 2,480ft |
23.Little Hart Crag 637m 2,090ft |
30.Little Mell Fell 505m 1,657ft |
| 3.Catstycam 890m 2,920ft |
10.St Sunday Crag 841m 2,759ft |
17.Seat Sandal 736m 2,415ft |
24.Birks 622m 2,041ft |
31.Stone Arthur 500m 1,640ft |
| 4.Raise 883m 2,897ft |
11.Hart Crag 822m 2,697ft |
18.Clough Head 726m 2,382ft |
25.Heron Pike 612m 2,008ft |
32.Gowbarrow Fell 481m 1,578ft |
| 5.Fairfield 873m 2,864ft |
12.Dove Crag 792m 2,598ft |
19.Birkhouse Moor 718 m 2,356 ft |
26.Hartsop above How 570m 1,870ft |
33.Nab Scar 450m 1,476ft |
| 6.White Side 863m 2,831ft |
13.Watson’s Dodd 789m 2,589ft |
20.Sheffield Pike, 675 m 2,215 ft |
27.Great Mell Fell 537m 1,762ft |
34.Glenridding Dodd 442m 1,450ft |
| 7.Dollywaggon Pike 858m 2,815ft |
14.Red Screes 776m 2,546ft |
21.High Pike, 656 m 2,152 ft |
28.High Hartsop Dodd 519m 1,703ft |
35.Arnison Crag 433m 1,421ft |
My first visit to the Lake District was in 1982 and from that day on, ...
I arrive early at the National Trust car park just South of Dockray and am ...
So today is the day. The day when I start my quest to complete all ...
Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike, the objects of today’s walk form the northern wall of ...
It’s a bright, sunny morning and the birds are singing as I’m dropped off at ...
I last walked up Gowbarrow Fell in the summer of 1992. We were stopping in ...
As I leave Side Farm campsite I can see the three hills of my intended ...
The cloud is hanging low in the valleys as I leave the campsite. It is ...
Starting today’s walk at Dunmail Raise, nearly 800ft above sea level does seem a little ...
Last night I stepped out of the campervan at Aira Force and was greeted by ...
Standing on top of High Hartsop Dodd with the snowfall becoming increasingly heavy I wondered ...
I’m back at Sykeside campsite to complete a walk that was cut short a few ...
It’s not often, hardly ever in fact that you get to see the summit of ...
It’s my first trip to Lakeland this year. The busyness of life has kept me ...
Having had the pleasure of walking down Dovedale last summer after climbing Hartsop Above How, ...
Gazing out at the glorious views of Lakeland from the summit of Great Rigg I ...
It’s the Queens Platinum Jubilee Weekend and Seventy years of Her Majesty on the Throne ...
Over the last few years I have become familiar with every twist and turn of the A592 and A591 as I have tramped over the Eastern and Far Eastern Fells. Today, I’m driving down the B5289 into lovely Borrowdale. Excited to be making progress I feel like an early pioneer heading slowly westwards into new territory. And road numbers aren’t the only change. I survived on mostly van meals in the more remote fells but the fleshpots of Keswick and Grasmere are already tempting me with easy access to beer and steak, coffee and cake. Like Odysseus I must resist their siren call if I’m not to finish the Central Fells heavier than when I started.
Continue reading “Great Crag and Grange Fell from Rosthwaite”
Commitments and the never ending rain which makes planning clear summit days difficult have kept me away from the hills so far this year. But the weather seems to have finally turned and it looks like spring has arrived, soon to be merged straight into summer. As I park up at High Bridge End the sun is shining, lambs are gamboling in the fields, new life abounds and a chirpy chaffinch heralds my arrival back to Lakeland. The air is fresh and clean and the mountains green and lush. I’ve missed the reassuring presence of these hills and it’s good to be back.
Continue reading “Four Wainwright’s from Thirlmere Dam”
It’s the second day of a settled weather pattern that has brought crisp, calm and freezing weather to Lakeland. There is not a breath of wind and the bright sun shines down from a cloudless azure sky. The air clarity is as clear as crystal. It’s pretty much perfect walking weather and I’m looking forward to my first walk in the Central Fells, a walk up Walla Crag and Bleaberry Fell.
Continue reading “A walk up Walla Crag and Bleaberry Fell.”
Winter has arrived in Lakeland. Which is a day early for the Meteorological calendar and three weeks early if you’re waiting for the Astronomical calendar. But the evidence of one’s own eyes doesn’t deceive and the hard frost, frozen water and bone chilling temperature is telling me it’s time wrap up warm for the next three months. Today’s walk has an end of term feel to it as I’ll complete my journey through Wainwright’s Book Two, The Far Eastern Fells with a walk up Beda Fell and Angletarn Pikes from Patterdale.
Continue reading “Beda Fell and Angletarn Pikes from Patterdale”
Troutbeck Tongue is a small mound of a hill, separated from the higher hills surrounding it by two valleys. The term often used for these hills is the slightly dismissive term ‘outlier’. Those seeking to walk the Wainwright’s in the shortest time or looking to fit multiple peaks into one day do not like outliers, they are an inconvenience with lots of effort for little reward. I don’t mind them so much, they provide short days and time for relaxed, contemplative walking. A chance to decompress. The enjoyment is in the journey not the target.
Continue reading “A walk up Troutbeck Tongue”
A good walk taking in Yoke, Ill Bell, Froswick and Thornthwaite Crag from Kentmere.
It’s been a while. My summer has been spent elsewhere but the seasons wait for no one and in my absence autumn has arrived. Golden yellow leaves, having enjoyed a brief summer of life are falling to become mulch and then food for leaves waiting to be born. In the cycle of the seasons the land is going to sleep, preparing and protecting itself for the cold dark months ahead. There has been rain, lots of it and the ground is sodden underfoot. Moisture hangs in the air and I can smell the scent of Lakeland on the fresh morning breeze, moss and manure, wood smoke rising from the cottages, comforting and familiar. It’s good to be back.
Continue reading “Four from Kentmere – A western horseshoe”
Place Fell is one of Lakeland’s iconic and best known mountains. The walk up it from Patterdale, one of it’s prettiest villages is a Goldilocks walk, not too long, nor too steep, but just right. It attracts children and grandmothers alike, neither of whom would be inclined to tackle other tops and the view from its small but perfectly formed summit is also one of Lakeland’s finest.
Continue reading “A walk up Place Fell from Patterdale”
It’s a dank grey day in Lakeland with a cloud filled leaden sky hovering worryingly over it. A day where the monochrome clouds threaten to descend to earth and smother the tops with their blanket of invisibility. Having a self imposed rule that I will see the view from each summit as opposed to only the hand in front of my face has inevitably meant some return visits on my journey through the Wainwright’s. This is because the weather does what it wants and does not seem the slightest bit interested in my needs, wants or desires. If we were in a relationship it would not be a happy one. It’s all good exercise though and as the saying goes, a cloudy day on the hill is still better than a good day in the office, not that I have had occasion to visit the office recently. And so it is in this frame of mind that I set off, more in hope than anticipation towards Rest Dodd and The Nab.
Continue reading “A walk up Rest Dodd and The Nab from Brotherswater”
Putting my boots on in the car park of the Brotherswater Inn, my eyes are drawn upwards to the long straight grassy ridge that leads to the summit of Caudale Moor. Stretching high into the blue sky it gives the mountain the look of a giant green Lakeland pyramid and I wonder what ancient king is buried at its centre. This ridge is my chosen route to the heights today where I’ll be visiting Caudale Moor, (which has a somewhat split personality as it is also known as Stony Cove Pike and John Bell’s Banner) and Hartsop Dodd. The ridge looks pretty steep from the car park but I console myself with the words of Wainwright, who says “Of the many approaches to the summit, this is by far the best”.
Continue reading “Stony Cove Pike and Hartsop Dodd from Brotherswater”
The morning sunlight is casting soft shadows over the quiet valley of Martindale as I park up at St Peter’s Church. Time passes slowly in this peaceful remote valley on the edge of Lakeland. St Peter’s sister church, St Martin’s, a little further down the valley dates from the fifteenth century and has a thirteen hundred year old yew tree in its graveyard. Not far away there is a Queen Victoria post box dating from 1851. Five Wainwright’s is a lot for me but they fitted together nicely when I was planning the route. So ahead of me, on what is turning out to be a fine spring day are Steel Knotts, Wether Hill, Loadpot Hill, Arthur’s Pike and Bonscale Pike.
Continue reading “Five Wainwrights from St Peter’s Church Martindale”
From the car park at Hartsop the lush green tree peppered slopes of Brock Crags, my objective for the day rise up blocking any view to the north east. The view up the valley compensates with Gray Crag and Hartsop Dodd, their tops clear of cloud today, looking down from their lofty heights, silent observers of daily life in this small attractive lakeland village. The parking is free but donations are encouraged to support the local primary school. I went to school in a city and as I get my boots on I wonder what it must be like to go to a small rural school, surrounded by sheep and mountains in one of the most beautiful National Parks in the country.
Continue reading “Brock Crags from Hartsop Village”
