The Duddon Valley Friday 16th April

We arrived in the Duddon Valley on Thursday afternoon and set up base camp on Turner Hall Farm. It was extremely quiet and Hillary (Proprietor) was laying shale to a new area for car parking. I said i would give her a lift after we had got the tent up.
Tent quickly erected, i got the excavator going and flattened off the shale and compressed it down ready for the weekends campers to drive over it.
Sheila had a doze i think, whilst this activity was being carried out.

Later we met up with some friends in the Newfield Inn for a couple of beers.
Thursday night proved to be a cold night but the sun was warming the tent nicely as we awoke.
We had decided to do a walk round Stickle pike and Great Stickle today. This is not a difficult walk by any means but it was one that we had been meaning to do for a while so today was the day.

We parked low down in the valley bottom near to Cinderhill Beck and from here walked south along the road to pick up the track signposted on the left.
This is a excellent man made track up into the hills. I believe it's origins go back to when peat was cut from the boggy fells and then brought down by this track.

Eventually the path leads to Hovel Knot, a promontory below Great Stickle with good views.

From Hovel Knot its only a short walk to the trig point on top of Great Stickle  from where we could see our next top Stickle Pike.

We followed the high ground leading to Yew Pike, west of Stickle pike and then turned east to pick up a track leading on to the east shoulder of Stickle pike and with Stickle tarn on the right.
Once on Stickle pike there are great views of the high fells.

From here we carried on north until we joined the road at Kiln Bank cross and then found the track which leads to Birks and Ulpha bridge.
It was getting to be a really warm day and so as we dropped down the secondary layer came off.
Crossing Ulpha bridge and then turning left on a minor road we came across a field full of Daffodils and then a little further on the path is found, through a gate opposite the old Bobbin Mill.

 The path from the Bobbin Mill leads through Forge wood and without any difficulties, in about 2 1/2 miles you come to the Wood Mill at Beckfoot. The woods walk is again full of wild flowers and Daffs and will very soon be full of blue bells.

At the Wood Mill watch out for the track behind the mill which leads to Rawfold bridge. It's easy here to walk straight on towards the small hamlet at Beckfoot and miss this turning.

Once over Rawfold bridge the path leads through the gate opposite and then through two fields and up to the road where you turn left and return to the car.
On the way to the car we saw an Adder with a sore head. (It had been run over)

This walk was 15km total and had a ascent of 541 metres and a descent of 543 metres. It's the kind of walk that you tell yourself, I'll save that walk for a wet day. I'm pleased that we did it when it was fine, because the views in all 360 degrees are worth seeing. If it had been a lousy day then the views more than likely would have been hidden and that would have been a shame.

Today.

I've been over to Todmorden today and the views are fantastic. As i sat there doing nothing i thought about M and G's walk from Marsden to Ogden, which is today's leg of their walk for heroes..
 They are not too far away from where i was contemplating the day. Just across the moors.
They would have had a misty start probably, and vastly improving by the minute. It's very warm but a bit of a breeze on top.

I'm now back home and i have got to sort gear out, as we are off to the Duddon valley on Thursday morning. I've not been there since i went to an old friends funeral in January so it will be great to meet up with folk again.

I've also been and bought maps for the Rob Roy Way as we fancy doing this at the end of June if Sheila can get the time off work. Must get my Skin so Soft supply.
We will be starting from Aberfoyle rather than Drymen and we will probably finish at Blair Athol rather than Pitlochry. But it's all still at planning stage and things could change, (well apart from the start because we have booked the hotel).

Any ideas regarding wild camp sites or info generally will be most welcome.

Duddon Valley Fell Race 2010

 Sheila and I have just had confirmation that we will be marshall's again on Swirl How for this years Duddon Valley Fell Race. 

The race is graded "A" and is held 1st saturday in June. That's 5th June this year.

We particularly like being on this top as the views can be spectacular. Although when the weather is bad it's usually very bad here.

It's always a fantastic day, not just the racing but also the post race entertainment, which is held in the garden at the Newfield Inn. There are usually a few bands playing and the range of music is varied from Blues, Folk, Rock etc etc.

We will be on Swirl How from around 12.30pm until around 4.00pm. If anybody is in the area why not come up and say hello.

 

Goretex Socks

Our thanks go to Laura for finding a pair of Gore-tex socks which fit Sheila. We had been looking for a small pair of GT socks for ages, as those who read this blog will know. 

If anybody else is looking for a pair you can find them HERE  (just type Goretex socks in the product search). I would have put the exact page in as a link rather than just the company but pages have a habit of changing.

Much easier than ordering them from USA.
Thanks again Laura.

Free OS maps

It looks like my info on Not free OS mapping could be wrong. I have just read the article released by Grough Routes and you can read it HERE
Thanks to ebygomm's comment on my previous post, i started looking round the net to see what the latest was.

Rhinog Fach and Y Llethr photo's

I have now managed to load up the photo's from last weekends walk to Cwm Nantcol. So for everybody who was there and anybody else who might be interested, Here they are.

Free OS mapping. Ha

I am led to believe that the "free" OS mapping that we are eagerly waiting for is not going to happen for us walkers.
The freebies are for companies  that use 1:10,000 scale maps for the likes of house searches, boundary issues and road planning etc.
The maps we use ie 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 are not going to be included.
Isn't that just typical.
We will find out for sure on April 1st.
Has anybody heard anything different?

New gear results

I tried some new gear out during our Wales weekend walk. I had 2 new pairs of boxer shorts. 1 pair of Icebreaker 200 boxers and 1 pair of Xbionic boxers.
The Icebreakers are Merino wool and the Xbionic are 90% polymide.
I wore the Icebreakers first and after a couple of hours i was getting some discomfort in the groin area. This did not improve all day.
At the end of the walk i was in some discomfort and when i got back to base i found that the seams had taken the skin off my groin and i was in a bit of pain. A hot shower and a liberal dose of dettol antiseptic cream and i hoped that it would improve enough for sundays walk.

On sunday i put the Xbionics on and found they were comfortable even on the problem area. After sundays tough walk, i was aware of the problem caused yesterday but it wasn't any worse and they felt very comfortable.
From now on the Icebreakers will be left in the drawer and i will be using xbionics.

Sheila and i both used the  short ultralight event gaiter from integral designs these worked very well. It was great not to struggle with the full length gaiters and having no zips was a pleasure. I don't know about anybody else but when i wear long gaiters, i feel i need a sit down for 5 minutes to recover from the effort of putting them on.

Both of our new shell garments, my Cloudveil koven and Sheila's Berghaus paclite worked faultlessly. Considering the rain, combined with the humidity in the forestry, we were impressed with the performances.

Cwm Nantcol, Rhinog Fach and Y Llethr. Sun 21st Mar 2010

We had been looking forward to doing this walk but their had been some doubts whether it would happen given the lousy weather.
Sunday morning was glorious sunshine and not much cloud at all.
We drove into Cwm Nantcol and parked up at the end of the road at Maes-y-garnedd, a remote hill farm. The sign said £2 parking/ car which was paid at the farm house.

                                     The Flock. (less Teg who took the photo)
Setting off along a good track up Bwlch Drws-Ardudwy our spirits were high as the scenery on both sides of the valley is beautiful and somewhat rugged.
Behind us was the clear view of Moelfre.

                                       In front our goal. Rhinog Fach.

The path undulates and gets very boggy in parts but is mainly in good condition. When the path crosses the 350 metre contour keep a sharp lookout on the right hand side for a vertical track up a very steep mountain side. This can easily be missed in poor conditions.
Even in good conditions it can be mistaken for a stream, but once across the wall and on the path it becomes obvious.

The photo doesn't do the path any justice, it is very steep. This photo was taken about 3/4 of the way up and is looking straight down into the valley.
Once the near vertical levels out, the route is clear and there is some gradually rising ground ahead for the legs to recover and stop shaking.
We decided to have a 10 minute break here.

The route ahead was up the shoulder running NE/SE. This was a steady pull with no difficulties. We could feel the wind gathering momentum and one or two dark clouds were forming.
On reaching the 1st top, the northerly point, the wind was very fierce and you had to shout to be heard.

                                    Rhinog Fach summit from the northerly point of the ridge.

We made our way along the ridge where we came to a wall with the summit cairn above it. We stopped here just for a few minutes to take a photo and then we got off the top before we were blown off. I had to hold onto my cap or else it would have been down the valley.

                                          Rhinog Fach Summit cairn. With Moi adorning it! Ha.

Below the summit we found a sheltered spot and had lunch and then carefully made our way down to the col above Llyn Hywel. Great care has to be taken getting down here as it was a bit tricky with the wind and the rain. The slabs were very slippy.

                                                     The descent from the peak to the col.

View looking to the col with Llyn Hywel to the right and beyond is our next goal Y Llethr.

Again the track up to the skyline of Y Llethr is steep but not problamatic. The views across the valleys were becoming less and less as the cloud came in.
By the time we hit the snow which had accumulated against the wall at the top the visibility had deteriorated.

The wall was our guide to the summit cairn (if thats what you can call it). We didn't hang around as it was too cold and windy to admire anything. On reaching the cairn we struck WNW on pathless terrain until we reached the wall.
We knew that from here the route was a bit hit and miss as there was no definate path back to the start point, but there was enough open country to plot our own route.

We headed for some old mine workings and a sheepfold which were marked on the map. The terrain was rough heather and rocks and not that pleasant to walk on.
We followed a wall down into the valley bottom and crossed a stream where it wasn't too deep.

From here we followed a wall heading north which joined up with our initial path and from here it was an easy stroll back to the cars. Just as the heavens absolutely poured down.

The walk had been tough, but very enjoyable. It's a terrific area, quite rugged hills. We only saw 2 other people all day and its a backpackers paradise with lots of good water about.
We set off around 10 o'clock and we got back to the car at 4.30pm. We stopped for about 30/40 mins in total for lunch and coffee and to rejuvenate the legs after some of the steep pulls.
There is much more that can be done in this area, we will return soon maybe.

(More pics to follow)

Rhinog FWA 20th March 2010

Having checked Metcheck we decided to forsake Rhinog Fach until Sunday.
Today, Saturday, the mist was as predicted, low with quite heavy rain. Clearing late afternoon.
We drove to Llyn Tecwyn Isaf just off the A496 south of Harlech for a low level walk. Parking at SH 635 373.

The path led us south west up through the woods and then North to a small chapel at Llandecwyn. The views across Tremadog bay  to Portmeirion are stunning. 
There are many beautifully carved grave stones here and it's a credit to the local people.

Carrying on along a good path we came to the dam at the reservoir Llyn Tecwyn Uchaf. 


We followed the north shore and we couldn't help noticing the burnt hillside. Whether this was natural or just burning back we don't know. 

                                                  Fortunately we spotted a survivor.

At the end of the Llyn we entered the forestry and followed the track to Caen -y- Coed. On the way it was decided that sustenance was required and so a seating area was found in a soft part of the forestry.

From Caen-y-Coed we headed south and then south east to a farm called Llenyrch, from here we crossed a fence line and picked up the path at the side of a stream leading into Aron Prysor. As we reached the stream there was quite a large waterfall and with the amount of rain we had had during the night and morning it was in good spate.

The stream had to be crossed to follow the path up to the Llyn Trawsfynydd Dam. It was a little bit too deep for some of our flock who decided to try their luck further up and down stream. Some of us just waded through, wet feet and all and then had a good laugh at the others.

All safely across we followed the gorge up to the dam. Its a huge reservoir and we had a 10 minute break here to admire the surroundings.

The weather had picked up and it had stopped raining.

Some of the surrounding tops were clearing and it looked as though it would be a good onward walk.

From the dam we headed SW and picked up the trail at the side of a conduit, a small canal like structure taking water to the reservoir.

This continued for a mile until we reached the sump/sluice. 

 We crossed this with care as it was about 6ft deep and made our way north through farmland to pick up the minor road leading back to the start point.

This was a delightful walk, in an area we had never been to before. 

As the day improved the scenery just got better and better. We had started off in foul weather gear and we could have been in shorts at the end. 

We considered this route just as an FWA but it's worth expanding at some point in the future.

Some more photos can be seen HERE

Frustrating to say the least.

Tonight, instead of posting my trip to the Rhinogs as i should have done, i have been trying to get my head round Grough Routes. Having put the routes on the maps and filling in all the waypoints and points of interest i have lost it all. Am i annoyed! You bet.
Yes it's probably my fault, but i have not found it very user friendly. Well not to me anyway!
I have now given up until tomorrow before the screen goes through the square window..
I will hopefully post tomorrow on what turned out to be a fantastic trip. Brilliant area.

Lousy weather

Today saw the mizzy down low with poor visibility and fairly heavy rain. After looking at metcheck the forecast was poor until late afternoon.
The forecast for Sunday was decent.
An executive decision was made to do a FWA today and save Rhinog Fach until Sunday.
It was a good decision we have had a lovely days walk.
Not enough time at present to go through the route as Tea in the pub is calling.
Will post on Monday with both routes.

Cwm Nantcol

We are in Cwm Nantcol at present and the weather is fairly clear. The tops are visible but you will have to wait for the pics as i have forgot to bring the cable. The tops around Blaenau are clouded over so the forecast that rain is on the way looks correct.
Hopefully tomorrow it will still be ok, as we plan to get up Rhinnog Fach and Liethr during the Cwm Nantcol walk.
More to follow.

Gosforth Weekend

This weekend was our trip up to Sheila's mums, as we do every 2/3 weeks. It was also the inaugural trip for the new car.
After the highlights of a shopping trip to Whitehaven we went for a coffee to St Bees. We watched one chap, with fully laden rucksack, saying his farewells to what i presume were his parents as he sets off on his Coast to Coast adventure.
It brought back memories of the trip we did.

He did the usual wetting of the boots in the sea, and then with hugs all round he was off up the track to St Bees head. Hope it goes well for him.

The day was beautiful, with very clear visibility. I must say i have never seen the Isle of Man or the hills of Dumfries quite so sharp.

We decided to have a drive up to Wasdale head and take some photographs.

This is the new motor with Wast water and Great Gable behind.

Sheila and Mum at Wasdale Head Hotel.

Some more pics can be viewed HERE if any one is interested.

More phone issues.

Below is a message i received from View Ranger digital mapping for mobiles support. As a number of people could be considering this option after the positive review in Feb TGO magazine i thought i would share the content. If you are not a techie like me, it might be helpful. (Thanks to View Ranger help guys)

You WILL need some sort of GPS (internal or external Bluetooth) for the phone to work with ViewRanger.
Phones with internal GPS (like the Nokia 5800) work perfectly fine.  It could be argued as a Bluetooth GPS costs more (on top of the cost of the phone) it will be more accurate, and battery life on the phone would also last longer (as it is not powering the GPS).  But you can buy a phone with internal GPS and still use a Bluetooth external GPS anyway.
Please see our documentation on Bluetooth GPS if you are considering buying one as there are things to watch out for.
http://shop.viewranger.com/article.php?category_id=120&article_id=60

Here is our compatible phone list;
http://www.viewranger.com/phonesupport.php

The Phone.

Well after many weeks of deliberation the phone i chose was the Samsung Omnia HD. So i went into town to purchase the said item and guess what. NOBODY sold it! Absolutely none of the big providers contract it or sell it.
I will have to choose another. I'm sick as a parrot.

Stoves test.

This post is round 2 of the which stove/which fuel saga that i started in an earlier post.
The stoves i have used for my tests are made by me except for 1 which is a Hi Gear meths burner.
Let me first say that i have carried out these tests solely for my own benefit and not for any commercial use.
None of the tests were carried out under lab type conditions or serious scrutiny. I didn't record water or ambient temperatures, but just for the record the tests were carried out in the evenings and the temperature was probably just above freezing. (feb 2010)


Basically, if the kit works and it boils 0.5L of cold water straight from the tap, in a reasonable time and i can get my kit weight down then that's what i want to know. I'm not too concerned if one was 5 seconds faster than the other. etc etc

The stoves shown above are, from left to right :-
A unpressurised coke can. A unpressurised aluminium wine bottle,  A pressurised Aluminium wine bottle and pan stand combined, The Hi Gear burner and the Esbit burner and pan stand. 

The weights of the stoves are again left to right:-  8gr, 30gr, 40gr, 57gr, 10gr.


I also made 2 windshields. A Cone type and a plain round type.

   The cone weight which also includes 2 tent pegs for pan support is 47gr.   The round wind shield is 27 gr.


Fuel costs. 0.5L of Methylated spirit cost me £1.00.
1 box of Genuine Esbit tablets. 20 tabs x 4gr. each cost me £2.80.




In all the meths burners, i filled them with 50ML of fuel and tested each one in turn, boiling the 0.5L of cold water with the cone shield and then the round shield.
The pressurised burners needed about 5ml of extra fuel to pre warm the burner to get the jets working properly.
What surprised me was just how similar the burn times were for the home made burners. 
Give or take 10/15  seconds each boiled the water in 6 minutes. Each burner then quickly ran out of fuel.
The Hi Gear burner boiled the water in 5.75 minutes and there was still fuel left which burned for another minute.


The round shield, using the same fuel load, just failed to boil the water prior to the fuel running out.  Except for the Hi Gear burner which boiled in 6.75 minutes. So i am adding on another 5ML of fuel for the round wind shield. 


With the Esbit tablets i upturned the meths burners and lit 2.0 tablets, then 3.0 tablets but the Esbits didn't boil the water until i put 4 tablets on and even then it was touch and go. It took just over 8 minutes to boil.
4.5 tabs is what i would use in the field.
The same results occurred for the burner and pot stand.


One thing that was very noticeable with the Esbit set up was the smell given off. With or without a windshield the smell was awful.  I'm not sure i could stand this.
Also i tried Esbit copies and these proved quite difficult to light. The Esbits lit very easily in comparison.


So, 
Meths burners.
0.5L meths weighs 455gr. (which includes the bottle).
With the cone shield i used 50ml, weight 45gr cost £0.10p
With the round shield i used 55ml, weight 50gr, cost £0.11p
From 0.5L bottle at best i can boil 10 lots of water.


Esbits,
1 box of Genuine Esbit tablets containing 20 x 4gr tablets weighs 80gr. The box is negligible.
The best i can achieved is 4.5 tablets per boil. weight 18gr, cost £0.63p
So to boil 10 lots of water with Esbits would weigh 180 gr and cost £6.30p


(If you took the equivalent weight in Esbits as Meths then you would be able to boil 25 lots of water for Esbits against 10 for meths. 


Therefore, the weight is considerably less using Esbits rather than Methylated spirit on a like for like basis, but the cost is significantly more. And then there is the awful smell.
If i had to cook in the tent porch then Esbits would not be considered. 
If i was able to cook away from the tent then Esbits are the way to go if the cost isn't too prohibitive.
But Esbits take around 30% longer to boil water than Methylated spirit.
Choices/Choices.


My Choice.
I am going to take the Cone windshield. Weight  47gr.
I am going to take the unpressurised coke can burner. Weight  8gr. (no warming up fuel needed)
I am going to use a combination of fuels i will take 0.5L Methylated spirit. and 2 box's of Esbits. Weight 160 gr.
In total thats enough fuel for 19 lots of water.  ( If you take 7 minutes as an average boil time then 7mins  X 19 =133 mins of cooking in total.


How long will that last? 
Well that depends on too many variables to put in this post. Anybody interested can work that out themselves.


Total kit weight.  670 gr. divided between 2 of us is 335gr. each and the weight will reduce after every meal/brew etc.

Good Weekend

Back now from our survival birthday weekend.
After a very bleak start driving over Corney fell in a complete blizzard the weekend weather decided not to follow the dire forecast predicted. Saturday was supposed to be poor visibility, it was as bright as a button with fabulous views.
Anybody who ventured up onto the tops on saturday would have had a great time.
We decided to stay low level due to the hangovers and then go for a late lunch. We picked a walk along the river in Eskdale and then up to Stanley Force waterfall.
We tried to get over the stepping stones on the way back to the bar at Boot house, but i am afraid we were just too wobbly.
Thankfully i managed to hold the camera steady for a few scenic photo's during the weekend.

Stoves epic.

Following on from October 19th post. I cannot believe it was so far back.
I have been making some new burners and testing out how they work. I have completely discounted using a gas burner this year as the lightest set up is around the 200 gram mark and it would mean i needed a new pot to store it in. I am not going to buy new gear so thats out.
I am now down to the Esbits and Meths. I am putting my findings together and will post my thoughts early next week.
This weekend i am on a double birthday bash and an anniversary bash so thats the weekend gone again.
Fortunately its up in the Lakes but i doubt that much walking will be taking place, except to the Loo of course.
Never know, might meet Mr Sloman in one of the hostelries?  A bearded bloke with a belly carrying a settee, shouldn't be hard to spot.

Niche market

I went into Manchester yesterday to check out phones and to buy a pair of Goretex or similar socks for Sheila.
Just on the socks front i asked in the following stores, Blacks, Ellis Brigham, TNF, Millets, Nevis sport, Sweat shop, Up and running, Evans cycles, Nomad and the Cotswold shop. None of them sold waterproof socks apart from the not waterproof Seal Skinz.

Talking to a very interested chap in Cotswold, he wanted to know why i wanted Goretex socks. So after explaining that we only hike wearing shoes, ie Inov8 etc with a thin sock and a slightly thicker sock on top then depending on the weather a waterproof sock he was impressed, i think, that this way was in his opinion, "different".
We went through the pro's and con's of boots and eventually he said to me. Well, you are a Niche walker and we don't cater for niche markets. Sorry.

So all you guys who walk in shoes, please take a bow because your different.

And i will search the web for a pair, or if anybody knows where i can get a pair of size 5-6 that would be great. TIA.

Phone Joy!

This made me laugh so thought i would share it.

I"VE BEEN ON HOLD FOR 45 MINUTES!!!!!

Ogden circular walk

Saturday we headed off to Ogden near Newhay. We planned to do a circular walk from the small car park adjacent to Ogden reservoir at Grid ref SD 952 122. It was a nice day, not much sun though. We set off east following the track on the south side of the reservoirs and then took a right at Cold Greave and headed for the pub on the Ripponden road at Grid ref SD 977 119.

We closed our eyes as we passed the pub just in case we may have been tempted to go in. We turned left and headed up the road to the footpath to Readycon dean reservoir.

We followed this track east passing the reservoir which was still frozen. The wind was bitting.
 Just as we rounded the end of the reservoir we noticed a large flock of noisy geese overhead going north.

At the point where the path meets the Huddersfield road we took a left and in a few minutes joined up with the Pennine way at Grid ref SE 002 122.

The track up to White Hill 466m, Grid ref SD 990 131, was a real quagmire in places, typical of the Pennine way. The views from here were good in all directions.

We could now see the mast at Windy hill which was our stopping place for lunch. Grid Ref SD 980 143.

The amount of rubbish people had dumped here was a real disappointment. There were TV's, tyres, furniture, general household rubbish. Obviously our recycling policy doesn't agree with everybody. Such a mess.

We didn't stop here for lunch but carried on a little further until we found some shelter from the wind.
From here we set off down Tunshill "green" lane and turned off at Grid ref SD 951 132 to Ogden reservoir and back to the car.

We  had a really good walk, not too far, only around 8.5/9 miles but my back was feeling ok and that was the main thing.

Valentines day

Well Valentines day is here again so i've done the right thing and been out and bought Sheila a new bag and a belt.

The hoover is working fine now!

Which Blogging phone?

I need the help of you guys who have mobile blogged for ages and are familiar with the good and bad points of the latest gizmo's.
We are due a phone upgrade in April and as we don't currently blog on the go, we thought we would give it a go this time.

We have quite a bit of Apple tech so the iphone is our 1st thought. However, we believe it's not the best to take on treks as you cannot switch batteries and the GPS is not that great either.

We were thinking that one piece of kit could do everything ie,  phone, camera, blog and GPS but we are sceptical that this is the right way to proceed. Jack of all trades but master of none.

Any help and advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bleng Forest Limp.

After a painful drive up to Gosforth Cumbria on thursday night, it was nice that the weather forecasters had got it wrong with their prediction for Friday. It was a lovely day with sharp views through the Wasdale Valley to Great Gable. There seemed to be still snow hanging about at around the 800m mark.
I unfortunately was still in a bad way and was struggling to get about.
So bad that we never even went out Friday night for a gargleblaster or 2.

I slept on the floor and on saturday morning i woke with a little less pain and a bit more movement in the back and left leg. I was determined we should try and get out after lunch for a bit of a stroll.

Sheila just wanted us to have a drive round to Wastwater and take a few pictures as she didn't think i was up to walking any distance. I on the other hand wanted to see if a walk would loosen me up. Kill or cure so to speak.
We drove to the car park in Blengdale and set our sights on reaching the top of the track as it exits to open country on the east side. The views are usually good from there.

I limped my way up the track and found that the cure was winning. Well i was feeling no worse put it like that.

It's a great walk through the forest and a really good way of entering the Lake Districts higher fells. (but don't tell anybody) From here you are away from the tourist spots and there are numerous mountains within easy reach, like Seatallon, Haycock, Red Pike, Scoat Fell and further on the Pillar range and you probably won't meet a soul.

The river Bleng opposite.

Photo's to  the right and below, coming out of  Bleng forest on the eastern edge, views of Seatallon (R) of Sheila's head and Haycock behind (L).

Not much snow about now as the temperatures during the day had reach the dizzy heights of 8 degrees! Shorts weather!

As we made our way back to the car the late sun was pouring through the trees and made the forest look quite eerie. We saw only one deer and a  couple of people all afternoon.
I made it back to the car feeling far better than i did when i set off and looking forward to a couple of pain killing beers later in the Gosforth Hall Inn.

About an hour after we got back, incredibly, from being in wonderful sunshine, the mist came down and visibility closed in to about 100 yards.
It stayed this way for the rest of saturday and until we left for home today.

What a PAIN

How unlucky can i be. Went into the garden to bring in some logs, slipped on the snow and ice and slipped a disc in my back. After a couple of days lying down doing nothing i can now get up and write this. It's still very painful but hopefully if i keep taking the tablets, as the saying goes, i will be able to manage a short walk on saturday. Great!

Just heard that 2 guys from Yorkshire have fell on Great Gable, one dead and one seriously injured. I feel for the families.