Welcome to my day walks

The dates listing these walks are the dates I uploaded the stories. They are in no particular order, and it doesn't matter because you were directed here from elsewhere!! I hope you enjoy the journey..


Tryfan and the Glyderau


Terrific Terrifying Tryfan and the Glyderau

Date: 28th July 2008.
Map: Landranger 115
Weather: Warm sunshine with some cloud and mist on nearby peaks.


A Tryfan scramble followed by a ridge walk, up to Glyder Fach then on to Glyder Fawr, down to the Devils Kitchen and then up to Y Garn. Down the ridge to Llyn Idwal and return to the start: 7 miles on the map, but it feels like 20 miles the next day


Well I woke up this morning with the Manchester blues – yes it was absolutely throwing it down. So I wondered if the forecast I saw yesterday was correct, but as I wanted a good walk I went anyway. Lucky for me I ignored the rain on the way and when I arrived it was still a little misty around the summits, but the sun was shining. There are plenty of parking spaces alongside Llyn Ogwen, all free and you have a choice where to start the route from. I parked about halfway along Llyn Ogwen so I had a gentle warm up at the beginning and a nice flat stroll at the end. One thing you don’t want at the end of a hard day is an uphill finish, so be careful how you plan your walks. The first thing I saw today was a jet screaming along just above the surface of Llyn Ogwen and throwing itself around the corner of the valley. A local out for a bike ride stopped and told me that they often dip down just as they pass the end of the lake. That must be an awesome sight as it looks almost impossible to do it at those speeds.
I walked along the roadside a little way before I came to a path over the wall. This crossed a boulder field and with hindsight it would have been easier just walking along to the base of the Milestone Buttress and walking up beside the wall. All the time I was walking along the bulk of Tryfan looms above with his head in the clouds. It definitely is a ‘he’ as there is nothing dainty about this beast. There are some things to note if you fancy doing this walk – you will need a head for heights, be strong enough for a sustained climb, be able to scramble and climb a little, you will need to pull yourself up a couple of times and have some stamina. All in all it is not an easy route. If in doubt you can take an easier route up to the south side and access the peak from there, although that also involves some steep sections. Have a look at www.youtube.com and search for Tryfan, and then look at the North Ridge video. That will give a feel for this walk (climb really). My route today took me directly up the north ridge once I had crossed over the boulder field. There is a ladder stile in the wall and form there the path quickly ascends beneath the huge buttress.

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Looking up to Tryfan from the road

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The view back down to the road before the paths diverge

I spent a lot of time today with arm stretched out to steady myself, and that will give you some idea of how steep this is, with much of the time is spent with three points of contact, and plenty of four points of contact. At times the ground ahead is within touching distance of your hands, and every time I looked back and down to the valley road, the road never got any further away – apart from vertically. As I made steady progress I saw a party of about 6 gents starting out below me, which gave me some incentive to get to the top first. The wind was blowing today, but thankfully for me it was sheltered on the north ridge. The path diverges after a little while and goes off to the left to the Heather Terrace path that runs up along the east side of Tryfan for access to the south peak. I took the path heading straight up – the first of many gulps!

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Some airy hairy scrambles ahead

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Yikes and I’m not even a third of the way yet

One of the hardest things today was deciding which was the best route up as there are several alternatives on the way. My criteria was that if it looked impossibly steep, it probably was. I found myself up a steep rockface once or twice and had to retrace my steps to find an alternative way up. But there was no getting away from a few good scrambles. They certainly make the adrenaline flow and that helped me keep going. I would have hated to have to go back down – too steep a descent. I tended to follow any well worn paths / smooth rocks and I didn’t go too far wrong. There are flat ledges periodically along the way as you gain height and I took the time to admire the views and put an extra top on to keep warm.

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A glimpse of the summit now free of mist

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Guess what this one is called? Y Garn in the background

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I think a move to the left is in order

A good landmark to know you are on the right track is ‘The Cannon’, a rock splinter leaning over at an acute angle. There is some interesting Geology to see on the way up these slopes, with plenty of volcanic rocks. Most obvious are the quartzite veins, sparkling white in the sunshine and providing a good rough surface for my boots to grip on. Looking up above the cannon is a large boulder seemingly wedged in by a smaller stone – I moved away to the left just in case. A little higher up the gradient ease before the final pull to the top of Tryfan. This notch gave a welcome breather and a chance to appreciate the surroundings without fear of falling off anywhere. The road below still didn’t appear any further away from me horizontally, but vertically was a different story. I was still ahead of the nearest group to me, but only just and I was like the Duracell Bunny today – just kept on going. I imbibed deeply and carried on for the top, one final climb. I looked around for an easy route but there weren’t any, so it was up and over – plenty of good handholds but a little scary in places. I passed by a couple of very steep gullies that come up from the sides, and one of these has to be crossed and climbed up and over. Then the top comes into view and you know the worst of the day is over (nearly) and what views.

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One last scramble to the top – which way to go?

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The gully to the east side – crossed from the left and up to the right

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It was so steep and that road is still close by

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The north summit – Adam and Eve in site

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Only me – I was so used to the slope on the way up I couldn’t stand straight!

I scrambled over from the north peak to get to the Adam and Eve pillars just before the rest of the crowd! It took me 2 hours of strenuous effort to get here, but the views were fabulous. The top had cleared of cloud and although a little hazy around I could see clearly the Carneddau to the north, with fantastic views of Llyn Ogwen far, far below me. The summit was a massive jumble of splintered boulders, mostly of a huge size that made for careful walking. The two pillars of Adam and Eve almost look like they have been planted there for the tradition of jumping from one to the other. The gap between them is little more than a stride, but if you don’t watch out the drop to the east side is enormous, so don’t be too cocky! The next part of my journey was across the bouldery top to the Far South Peak and then down to the col of Bwlch Tryfan.

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The view across to Bristly Ridge from the Far South Peak

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The view down over Cwm Bochlwyd and over to Glyder Fawr

The slopes down off Tryfan were steep and did require a little scramble but nothing like the ascent of the north ridge. Once I was down at the col, I had a good drink and a snack for some energy, and chatted with a family who were thinking about going up Tryfan. The boys gave me a look that said "Don’t say anything that will put Mum off", so I did my best to reassure them that if they took their time they would be OK. I did see the rescue Helicopter later in the day, but that was the other side of the valley so I didn’t feel guilty. There is a confluence of paths here, but my route ahead beside the Bristly Ridge was clear enough. I let the group of 6 gents go ahead of me and get some distance away, as I didn’t want a face full of scree as I followed them up.

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Bristly ridge up to Glyder Fach ahead – the path is up the left side

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Tryfan from Bristly Ridge, a great view back with the Carneddau beyond

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Cresting the ridge up to Glyder Fach – Tryfan starts to disappear

It was a stiff climb up the side of the ridge and I stopped frequently to catch my breath and look back to Tryfan. It looked as good from the south side as from the north side, like an upturned ice cream cone, almost alpine in nature. As I crested the rise up to Glyder Fach the Snowdon range came into view and although it was misty, I could recognise the Snowdon horseshoe route. From this aspect Crib Goch looked a lot steeper than I remember when I was up there, but at least I could finally get some shots of Snowdon itself without it’s cloud covering. The summit of Glyder Fach is a mass of shattered rock which spike up skyward. Just before I reached the summit I passed by the famous ‘cantilever rock’. I couldn’t find the adjustment for my self timer, so had to content myself with a shot looking back with someone else on it. They are massive slabs of rock up here, so I climbed up and found myself a sheltered spot with a view and had a good break for lunch. It was very peaceful up here, broken only by the sight of a purple thong that hove into view as a couple came past. I didn’t have the heart to shout out "I can see your knickers" and my camera wasn’t quick enough to get a shot – and no, I didn’t try too!

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The famous Cantilever Stone – it’s huge

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It would take a rugby team to topple this – don’t try it!

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The view back to Tryfan from my lunch break – very bright light now

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The path ahead towards Glyder Fawr

After a well earned rest, I scrambled back down off the summit to something resembling a path – a faint light coloured track across the stony ridge. Snowdon now dominated my view and although hazy it was getting nearer and clearer. The walk along the ridge was easy, but tough on the feet as constant walking on rough ground takes its toll. Stone cairns marked the way ahead and as I got closer to Glyder Fawr (5m higher than Glyder Fach) the landscape started to resemble a moonscape. It was a mass of vertically pointing, ice shattered rock splinters, glinting in the bright sunlight. It gave a good focal point with Snowdon in the background, and if you buy the landranger map, you will see the front cover picture is similar. I passed by the side of Castell y Gwynt on the way towards the summit on the south side as the north side isn’t too inviting! I suppose you could go over the top if you had the energy.

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Looking back towards Castell y Gwynt and Glyder Fach

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The Snowdon horseshoe

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The moonscape towards the summit of Glyder Fawr

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Looking back to Glyder Fach

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Three penguins looking at Snowdon – see the landranger map cover

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The scree slope down to Llyn y Cwn and Y Garn beyond

From this point down the hillside was a massive scree slope and not great for walking down. It was very steep and loose in places, but as before the views more than made up for the shortcomings. Down below me was the small lake of Llyn y Cwn, with the apply named Devil’s Kitchen to the right. I had planned to drop down the path from the Devil’s Kitchen and return from there, but I wasn’t paying attention and was enjoying myself so much, I ended up walking up to Y Garn – whoops. I made it down the slope, and could hear the group of 6 chattering away behind me. There were a few people around the small lake having a picnic, and sharing it with a few midges. They weren’t really bothersome as they are in the West Highlands of Scotland at this time of the year. The path continued up the side of Y Garn and although it was an ascent of over 700ft, it felt quite gentle after the hard work earlier on. I made the summit in one go, as the path gently zigzagged along the upper slopes. I could hear the Snowdon train gently chugging away across the valley, but it was still too misty to see properly. It was at this point that it dawned on me that I had climbed a mountain too far – another Wallace and Grommit moment – it’s the wrong mountain lad! But the views more than made up for it, a whole panorama of Snowdonia. I met a German couple here who didn’t have a map and the lady didn’t like going down steep paths – oops. So I showed them the lay of the land, and they showed me their little pamphlet with a picture of the hills on and told me where I was – who was I to argue! I knew where I was because all the Llyns and valleys were laid out beneath my feet. There was a fantastic view back down to the Ogwen valley, with my car a microscopic spec in the distance.

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Tryfan still poking his head above the slopes, the Carneddau beyond

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Y Garn tempts me with her charming curves – walk this way sir

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A panorama of today’s walk – you know Tryfan by now

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Snowdon in a ray of sunlight

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Tremendous views down the valley

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And now the car was far below and away by Llyn Ogwen

The path down from Y Garn to the valley below is long and steep, but a jogger came running past, so it wasn’t that bad. On the lower slopes there are large bags of stones that have been dropped off by helicopter, to repair the path at sometime in the future when they have the funds to do so. The route down here is as steep as the drop down the Devil’s Kitchen and ends up at the shores of Llyn Idwal.

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Bags of boulders for path maintenance

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Devils Kitchen – Gordon Ramsey is nowhere to be seen

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Pen yr Ole Wen across the Ogwen valley

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Tryfan showing the whole of the north ridge – left to right

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The route down from Y Garn – from Llyn Idwal – spot the white bags

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If you’re in a jet turn right here – quick

As the various paths converged, so did a steady stream of walkers – some kitted out for a full blown Everest expedition and others with cardigans and flip-flops on. As I dropped down into Idwal Cottage over the stream, another jet roared by in spectacular fashion, a nice tribute to my great days walking. I bought myself an ice cream and a fizzy drink and meandered along the A5 towards the car park.

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Guess who? Begins with ‘T’

Tryfan once again dominated my viewpoint and I smiled as I thought about the scrambles of this morning. Another challenge ticked off and for a change clear views from the top. The next day my legs and shoulders felt like I’d been down at the Gym all day, but with walking like this, who needs the Gym? This isn’t just any hill this is a walking, scrambling, climbing hill – it’s all brilliant.

Around the head of Haweswater

Around the head of Haweswater

Date: 26th May 2009.
Map: Landranger 90
Weather: Overcast with a small drop of rain and some sunny spells – cold on top.

A circular walk from Mardale Head - taking in Selside Pike-Branstree-Harter Fell-Mardale Ill Bell-High Street-Rampsgill Head-Kidsty Pike and back down to Mardale Head: 12.6 miles on the Satmap.


Copyright OS-Click on map to enlarge, then hit the back button to return to blog

Today’s little jaunt was with Mike and as he was driving north we agreed to meet up at the service station just north of Preston, and share a car up to the lakes. We met up and were just about to get sorted when I realised that if I left my car at the services, -‘how would I get it back coming down the M6 the other way?’ So we drove up to the next turn off and ditched my old banger and carried on up to the Shap turn off. We used an old waterboard route that chopped a lot of miles off the journey up to Mardale Head. It’s not an easy place to get to, but well worth the trouble. The old road was ok to go along if taken steadily – there are one or two serious looking potholes, but Mike manoeuvred around ok and soon enough we were at the small car park at the head of Haweswater, with a few other cars for company. The initial route took us back along the shores of Haweswater, where there was plenty of birdlife with young chicks following squawking mothers. The other side of the lake was in sunny patches while we were in the shade of the hills to the east, and it wasn’t exactly warm for this time of year – I was glad I’d remembered to put winter hat and gloves in my bag.

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Noisy Grebes rush away

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Looking back to the car park on the left side

We could anticipate the route ahead from this side of the valley and thankfully most of the hard work was done early on today in gaining the height up to Selside. We were sheltered down in the lee of Selside and for most of the route up the old corpse road to Selside where the wind hit us as well as the first shower. We paused often to take in the views across the water, but mostly to polish off a packet of fruit pastilles – damn you Rowntrees – stop making such tasty treats. After passing by a couple of falls to our right, not in any way spectacular, the gradient eased off and we made our way up to the crest of the old corpse road – it must have been knackering carrying a coffin up here, and we discussed the merits of sledging down the fellside in a casket in deep midwinter - the occupant would have been past minding anyway. The way was marked by several small standing stones that were dotted along the fellside.

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A glorious view back across the water to Riggindale

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Kidsty Pike on the horizon

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One of the old marker stones

We reached the summit soon enough and our reward away to the East were fine views of the Pennines, the Howgills, and the ever distinctive top of Ingleborough. Unfortunately the other side of the valley showed us a squall coming our way, and as it was getting cold in the wind we decided that full waterproofs were required and managed to get sorted out before the rain hit. Fortunately that was the last we saw of the rain. Mike threw himself to the deck whilst jumping off a peat hag, but he missed the wet patches, so I made him lie there while I took the obligatory falling over picture – it’s only a matter of time before I get caught out. Then it was a long slog uphill to reach Branstree, passing across Captain Whelter Bog that actually wasn't boggy at all. I was quite relieved as I never like planning walks across parts of the map that are covered in eyelashes – the OS symbol for bogs. The views all around were fantastic from here to the end of the walk, even though it was a bit Baltic for spring. The fence had a strong tension on it and as the wind whistled through it started to sing as in a bow drawn across a violin – only not as noisy. It was a little strange listening to the high pitched whine. And shortly after this we passed by a solitary stone built pillar stuck in the ground in the middle of nowhere, presumably a marker for an estate or something to do with the waterboard – and then it was up to Branstree with its two stone cairns – greedy Branstree, but they are quite shapely so I’ll let it off this once.

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On our way across the bog

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And looking back and across to the Pennines in the far distance

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The only shower of the day, on its way towards us

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Looking back to Selside

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Referee…..

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Branstree cairns

The weather was good with sunny intervals, with the occasional shower, but the wind chill was quite high and we ended up wearing woolly hat and gloves for most of the day. To the South we had views down to the coast at Heysham power station and beyond. Over to the east we could see the bad weather flowing down the valley between us and the Howgills, dumping heavy showers on the M6 but not us. We dropped steeply down off Branstree to the Gatesgarth Pass, before climbing once more up to the top of Little Harter Fell and then onto Harter Fell, where we stopped and admired the big views, and big views they were – too many to describe. Then it was a race down to the shelter at the col of Nan Bield Pass, as we could see several parties heading up the Nan Bield Pass. The walk down from Harter Fell is a little rocky and steep in places, but that makes it a bit more fun. I knew that the shelter was built facing the NE to shelter from the prevailing south westerly’s and that is where the wind was coming in from today. So I knew that the shelter was the only lunch point around without climbing over to some crags for shelter. We quickened our pace and judged the distance perfectly as we were coming downhill and the others were coming up. I could see one or two faces looking our way and no doubt cursing their luck as they knew who would get there first. It was a fine lunch spot looking down on Small Water Tarn and Haweswater, and this was the halfway point – not much room in there for many, but no one joined us. To the back of the shelter is a wonderful little zigzag path that wobbles down a steep hillside to Kentmere. There were a few families passing by, with only a few teenagers dragging their feet at the back. Haweswater is of course a flooded valley that used to house several villages and farmsteads, remains of which can be seen down close to the water. The valley was flooded in 1935 when the reservoir was built to supply us thirsty Mancs. AW lamented its loss on his television coast to coast walk with Eric Robson.

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The showers funnelling down the valley – away from us

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The route down to the Gatesgarth gap

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Harter Fell ahead

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Looking along Haweswater from Little Harter Fell

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Mike posing at the summit of Harter Fell

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Small water tarn sitting below Harter Fell

After a bite to eat it was up to Mardale Ill Bell when the rain briefly visited us once more and then up onto High Street. This is where the best views were so if you want a short route you could go from the car park at Mardale Head, up the Nan Bield Pass and then up onto High Street and on -this would make about a 6 mile route. Many of the Lake Districts mountains are in sight - to the south were the Coniston Fells and Windermere, and next to us was the Kentmere round. To the West we could see the Scafells, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags and Great Gable. In front of those we could see the whole of the Helvellyn range. To the North of those we could see the fells nearer to Keswick, and Skiddaw and Blencathra came out of the clouds. Not a bad tally of hills from where we were and very atmospheric with the clouds scudding by. We had a view of Riggindale from the top, a craggy ridge with U-shape valleys either side. This is where the eagles reside apparently but as expected we didn’t see any, and I’m surprised he has been hanging around so long as he doesn’t have a mate. You’d think they would have released another into the wilds here in the hope that they breed. There is an RSPB hide down at the bottom of Riggindale somewhere.

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The shelter at the Nan Bield pass

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Blea Water above Haweswater

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The weather passing us by – Riggindale is in the shadow

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Windermere in the distance past Froswick and pals

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Lots of peaks in view

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The view from High Street

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Looking down Riggindale

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The turn off to Kidsty Pike ahead

The path onto Kidsty Pike branches off from High Street to the NE and you can't really miss it. We met a gent who was walking the C2C on the top of Kidsty Pike and although he had a big grin on his face we both had the feeling that he was a little short of experience and might struggle to reach his destination of Bampton - we were at the Haweswater Hotel having a pint about 6pm and we spotted him across the water (Mike spotted the sheep running ahead of him), he still had about 5 miles to go and he couldn't have been moving much more than 1.5mph – it was a good job it wasn't raining. But we took his picture and I think this was what he was waiting for and in return he snapped us. Shortly after leaving the cairn at the top of Kidsty Pike – the highest point of the coast to coast path (that depends whose coast to coast path you stroll along – see mine in about a year’s time) we descended slowly along the ridge and were now looking across the other side where we started this morning. Not as exciting as staring at the Lake District fells, so we watched a JCB digger at work on the footpaths lower down the slope. I could see a huge pile of white over on the crags of Riggindale and thought maybe that is where the eagle’s eyrie lies, but I couldn’t zoom in enough to see. Next time it will be out with the binoculars.

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Looking north to Skiddaw in the clouds

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Looking back to our route today

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The hills across the valley of Selside and Branstree

Below us now was Bowderthwaite Bridge and the surrounding remnants of an old farmstead, now submerged a little further down the slope under the reservoir. I believe if it gets really dry you can still see plenty of remains start poking up above the surface. The path down off Kidsty Pike was a little steep at the end and but from here it was a gentle stroll around to the car park. We passed by a solitary Heron waiting patiently for a solitary fisherman, both standing in the shallows. Further around the path beneath the steep slopes of Dudderwick were 2 more C2C walkers who gave a cheery hello - these guys were well equipped for wild camping - they had Tesco carrier bags loaded with Carlsberg Special Brew - their hands must have been hurting carting that lot along all day. But I suppose they could take solace from the amber brew later in the day, probably wild camping above Haweswater – hmmm not shabby a spot really, and ready for the morning sun if it comes.

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Looking up to Kidsty Pike

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The falls at Bowderthwaite Bridge

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Down along the shore at Haweswater

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Nearly back to the car and a last look up to Kidsty Pike

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A peaceful looking Haweswater

We got back to a full car park about 7 hrs after starting out this morning. I think we were both surprised by quite how many hills and what views we could see on today’s round walk with 3600ft of ascent, and it is definitely one to return to, to try and spot the eagle. Another great day out in good company – come to think of it I’ve never had a bad day out walking in the lakes, they’ve all been brilliant.

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Just a quick one then..

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Enjoying life. Work in Norway, walk anywhere.

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