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Sunday, 28 October 2018

Footpaths from Tansley.

27/10/2018

Another walk out today with the Doncaster ramblers, billed in the programme as "a gem of a walk, one not to be missed". Lets hope so...It's going to be a great walk with plenty of interest along the way. 17 of us gathered across the road from the Tavern in Tansley...Soon we were off, uphill in the direction of Riber castle..A cold morning, that actually felt quite like winter [im not complaining]..There was talk of the odd snow flurry although we never saw any....A day for wooly hats...Up through fields and along a lane we passed behind Riber castle known as Smedleys folly, it was built in 1862 by local industrialist John Smedley, perched on a hilltop overlooking the town of Matlock, it commands attention...We couldn't actually see the castle from close up but as we climbed and looked back we were treated to some nice views of it.


It was soon downhill, sometimes gently, sometimes steeply, sometimes through woodland, sometimes bracken covered slopes. The beautiful colours of Autumn enhanced the scene. I love this season its just a shame that it doesn't last long...I look up at the trees, the wind blowing the leaves from the branches...slow down.


The first descent of the day over we found a convenient wall for our elevenses break..The wall backed onto Smedleys mill [Lea mills]...founded in 1784 by Peter Nightingale and John Smedley it straddles Lea brook...the brook was used to clean yarn and power the machinery...The Mill/factory is still open today manufacturing the company's range of designer knitwear...It began to drizzle.


From here it was up again...up to another interesting old building, Lea hurst hall near the village of Holloway. The hall is famous for the fact that it was once the home of Florence Nightingale...although born in Florence[Italy] The lady of the lamp has many connections with this area of Derbyshire and it was here that she returned too after the Crimean war..We gingerly crossed a cattle grid, trespassing up a private drive to gain a closer look at the building but we couldn't see much, a huge electric gate barred our way...lets get out of here before they set the dogs on us I thought.


Another drop down and we found ourselves walking along the towpath of the Cromford canal..For me this was the highlight of todays walk..a most attractive little canal that runs for 16 miles between Cromford and the Erewash canal...I could have followed that path all day.


Sadly we had to leave the canal..what came next I can only describe as a bastard, a climb so steep that even as I write this I can still imagine my legs trembling...I exaggerate of course, actually I quite enjoyed it...we stopped a couple of times to catch our breath, mop our brows and take a gulp of water...before we knew it we were free from the bastard, marching purposefully across fields in the direction of the village of Critch...passing the Critch tramway museum where we paused for a group photograph.


Next stop...Critch stand, a regimental war memorial..a place to sit and think...I payed my 20p into the honesty box and climbed the steps that spiralled around to the top of the tower...what a view I was greeted with.


Didn't stay long up there as the wind was whistling around my lug holes...I followed the path down to find a wet seat for a sarnie and a coffee..after which I visited the small cosy tearoom for a glass of coca cola..so this is where everyone was.....Quite literally there was no room to swing a cat although it was nice to get out of the wind and drizzle..


With lunch over and another group photograph at the base of the tower and we set off due north back in the direction of Tansley.


A few more ups and downs followed by a few more ups and downs and we came across a most attractive little church...St John the Baptists church in Dethick is set in a beautiful secluded spot...a place of prayer and stillness..The key was obtained from the property next door..Manor farm [the home of Blue Peters Simon Groom]..A turn of the key and slipped in for a look around..as soon as you walk in you are struck by the beauty of the stained glass windows.


With a couple of miles still to walk we decided to pass on the pub stop today..Didnt matter this had been a cracking walk...I have been walking with the Ramblers now for about 5 months and I reckon that this is one of the best walks that I have been on...a walk I shall return too one day... maybe next spring.










Friday, 19 October 2018

A walk around Grasmere and Rydal.

18/10/2018.


A week off work....You can't waste time off work. With this in mind we set off up to the Lakes for a walk. A treat [its always a treat to visit the lakes]. We have been visiting the Lake district for walks around 25 years now and I still get excited at the prospect of spending time up there. No where else has this effect on me...in short... im in love with the place.After a mainly sleepless night, we were up at 4 and set off up the A1...Destination Heaven.
As we drove over Dunmail raise and down to Grasmere we realised what a corker of a walk this was going to be..Ahead of us lay a fantastic cloud inversion. A sea of cotton wool covering the valley floor..hope it lasts for some photographs..We parked up and booted up in record time..heading off up the Red bank road...slow down for Red Squirrel signs every few yards along here....I wondered if we would be lucky enough to see one...There were occasional glimpses through the mist across the lake to Loughrigg, the hill where we were heading.


Nearing the top of the pass we located the Loughrigg terrace path, a path that crosses the northern flanks of the fell, However before we followed this delightful path we need to walk up to the summit, it shouldn't take long, although listed as a Wainwright fell it doesn't stand much above the 1000 foot mark..With every few steps I turned to take in the show in the valley..The mist was slowly clearing. We passed a couple of lads flying a drone I bet they got some great results this morning.



Before long we were sat/stood on the summit enjoying a sandwich and a coffee..Of all of the little fells this has to be one of the best viewpoints..Spinning round I named the main features..Windermere...Coniston fells..Crinkle crags and Bowfell...The Langdale pikes, Silver howe, Helm crag, Dunmail raise, Seat sandal and most of the Fairfield horseshoe...A perfect view on a perfect day...Time to move on ...Another Wainwright on the wifes list.


I didn't want too but it time to leave the summit and head back down to the Terrace path..The last of the mist had fizzled away leaving great views of the lake..crystal clear.The views were so good..i got to thinking about the best views in the Lake district..its hard to decided but I would plump for the view of Borrowdale from Great end...a view to die for


We trotted along the path..I felt happy...I almost whistled..I looked around in all directions, everywhere looked perfect..some great Autumn colour around these parts...suddenly peace was shattered as a Staffy bolted out of the bracken heading for Alfie [ our placid laidback Springer]..A women shouted for him to come back but he was on a mission to sniff Alfies parts...After sniffing where Alfies parts used to be he wandered off...his owner shouting VINCE...GET BACK HERE !!..
what a great name for a dog I thought.


Next came Rydal water, one of the most beautiful of the Lakelands lakes,situated in the Rothay valley between Ambleside and Grasmere...I took some photos, Alfie took a swim..I didn't want the shoreline path to end.


I had wanted to visit the caves along here but somehow or other we found ourselves on the wrong path...never mind ...We crossed Pelter bridge and walked along the road to the Hamlet of Rydal..a few houses and a church line the one street..a place significant in the history of English romantic literature as William wordsworth lived here at Rydal mount. Wordworth was not only one of our best poets but he was also a great walker..and here we are following in his very footsteps...we headed off along the coffin route..some of the views along here wouldn't have changed much since the days of the Romantic poet.


We passed many lovely houses along here with equally lovely gardens..an elderly man was taking a photograph of a Silver birch tree..In gods name what sort of tree is that he shouted out in a soft Irish accent..when I told him he looked a bit disappointed..it looks different he said..it didn't....I like trees.All day we had kept our eyes peeled for Red Squirrels, we knew they were often seen around these parts but we never seem to be lucky enough to see them..we looked up the pines...below the oaks..under the Beeches..never mind...better luck next time..we eventually made it to the end of the coffin route where coffins were carried between Ambleside and Grasmere..hard to imagine that..we passed a rock where it is said that coffins were laid on while those carrying them rested.


The walk nearly over we reached the now busy village of Grasmere...We passed Dove cottage pushing our way through groups of Schoolchildren and Chinese tourists....Shops selling sheep with googly eyes...20p toilets..The wordsworth graves..the line of people queueing outside the gingerbread shop..Tweedies bar...all of the things that Grasmere is famous for...And then Hey.!! a Red squirrel running down the road towards us...At last when you least expect it


Back at the car...only 7 miles walked, but one to remember.

Sunday, 7 October 2018

A dander from Darfield [A Ramblers ramble]

06/10/2018.

I could hear the gentle patter on my bedroom window, a patter that went on for hours, most of the night in fact...couldn't sleep, i am normally working during the night so my body clock is shot to bits..I might as well get up...Theres a walk today with the Ramblers but what with all the rain I couldn't decide,should I go or not..i ummed and arred over a couple of crumpets..What was I thinking? of course I should go out, after all its only rain...Rain never killed anyone...So I drove the short distance to Darfield, Pulling into the layby near Middlewood hall, the rain stopped and the sky began to brighten.
Im guessing im not the only one that ummed and arred this morning, However 8 of us hardy ramblers had turned up for the walk...Todays leader [Trevor] thanked us for turning up,and we were off..following cross field paths and field edge paths we were soon caked in mud.i didn't mind, in fact it made a change, cant remember the last time I had mud on my boots...We made it down to the River Dearne, where it was decided it was time for our elevenses break...I was enjoying the walk..


We stood/sat on the bridge...Coffee was quaffed, the odd butty and Banana munched..We even had entertainment as a couple of our group gave a rousing rendition of "Its a long way to Tipperary". Feeling refreshed we set off following the course of the Dearne..Ahead lies Barnsley..


We passed several Giant hogweed plants along this stretch, we gave them a wide berth, for these plants can be dangerous, especially if one comes into contact with their sap..just brushing against them can result in blistering skin or scars...We carried on..me with a song [The return of the giant Hogweed by Genesis]bouncing around in my head.


Before long we had made it to the outskirts of Barnsley [stairfoot] where we picked up the Trans Pennine trail..There was once a railway station here at Stairfoot, this would have been the main line between Mexborough and Barnsley..A terrible accident happened on this spot in 1870 when a goods train divided, the rear section rolling back to collide with a passenger train that was sat in the station killing 15 people. I wondered if their ghosts haunted the Mcdonalds that now sits on the site.


We were to follow the Trans Pennine trail for several miles now as far as Wombwell, but first we enjoyed a pint in the Ash, a lovely old pub situated right beside the trail...I say enjoy a pint...but I enjoyed two..The hand pulled Old speckled hen tasted awesome.


Back to the trail we built up quite a head of steam, soon reaching Wombwell ings, a RSPB wetland site beside the River Dearne. We followed the footpath that circles the reserve. Lots of horses graze the pastures around here.We watched and enjoyed the equine show as 50 or so Horses and ponies charged around like lunatics..quite a stampede.It was funny to watch the little Shetland ponies trying to keep up with the bigger horses.


A steep climb now back up to Darfield ..we detoured to visit the church and churchyard..its a nice place..i kept an eye peeled for local lad [Poet] Ian Mcmillan..one of Barnsleys famous sons...no sign of him though.....Back to the car...did it rain earlier?..forgot all about that.!!

Saturday, 8 September 2018

Wet walk with the Ramblers.

08/09/2018.

Raining properly this morning...I sort of like it...Pulled into the Fairholmes car park with the windscreen wipers going full pelt, what the hell is going on here, the car park is almost full, I went round in a circle for a couple of times looking for a spot to park...its 9 o clock on a wet Saturday morning and the car park is already chocka..eventually found a space and pulled in. Looks like there is some kind of event going on..people jumping around, doing stretches..fit types, rippling muscles, legs like rugby players. After a few minutes it dawned on me that there was some sort of running event on..i realised this as I watched a middle aged man dip his fingers into a pot of Vaseline before sticking his hands up his shorts and rubbing it into his thighs [ and god knows were else]… Im here to meet up with the Doncaster ramblers Saturday walking group for a classic walk up to Derwent edge, not sure where they are going to park...Before long there were a few of us assembled around the shop and toilet area waiting to be off...We waited for the walks leader, she turned up and got a ticket for her car window, couldn't believe it when she didn't know where she had parked her car five minutes earlier [ this is going to be interesting]….Only 10 of us today, but in this weather that's pretty good...We watched the runners take off..20 odd miles apparently...all was quiet now, a quick briefing and we were off..passing Derwent dam, hoods up, brollies up, heads down.


The reservoir to our left was looking very low, this rain is just what we need so we shouldn't really moan about the weather...after a mile or so our leader missed the turning up to Abbey brook, Diane a guest rambler from the Sheffield group soon realised this and pointed it out so we backtracked to the path...its a lovely path that rises gently into the hills, its a beautiful place, in fact its one of my favourite places in the whole of the Peak district...The rain eased then stopped and we decided on a quick elevenses stop


Chomping away...Bannanas, Pork pies, Cheese and coleslaw sandwiches...it didn't take long before we realised we were completely surrounded..you could feel the tension in the air...those Sheep take no prisoners...best move on..The valley narrowed and I do believe got even more beautiful, there are some lovely colours on the hills at this time of year.


We left the shelter of the valley, heading up to a little hill out on the open moors..The hill in question being Lost lad standing at 1699ft it is certainly open to the elements..well it was today..The hill is said to be named after a young shepherd who centuries ago became lost on this hill in a blizzard and died...his body was found the following spring next to a rock where he has scratched away the words "Lost lad"...chilling.!!...Theres a large cairn on top and a toposcope pointing out many of the surrounding landmarks...I like this hill...one of our group clambered up the summit cairn to straighten a pole sticking from the rocks...heres a photograph of it.


On to Back tor next for our lunch stop, huddled behind the rocks for shelter..didn't stop long...enjoyed a sarnie and a coffee but its not the same without a pub stop..a couple of pints midway sort of adds something..still never mind...we then walked along the length of Derwent edge...really wild along there today...rain slicing in from our right..really strong winds...its the sort of weather that you wouldn't send a dog out in...especially a chihuahua as it would have ended up in the next county...We passed all the highlights of the edge...The cakes of bread, Dovestones tor, The salt cellar, White tor and the Wheel stones [Coach and horses]...after which our leader decided to cut the walk a bit short to descend back to Ladybower via the Grindle barn...not a bad decision as it began to chuck it down..i think we were all soaked through..spirits were still high ...I like cats ,I like dogs....back in the valley all that was required was a right turn  to follow the road back to the car park...really enjoyed it, it takes more than a bit of rain to spoil a day.








Wednesday, 5 September 2018

Alone on the fells.

31/08/2018.


A solo walk today...The reason being that my faithful walking companion, Alfie [My dog] has overdone things after his walk around Dovedale, then a walk along the Ullswater way from Howtown to Glenridding..He is 11 now and the last couple of days have worn him out. We have decided its time for him to slow down a bit and enjoy his later years at a leisurely pace. Karen [ My wife] fancied a rest day too, so she is staying back at the cottage to enjoy a chill day with old Alfonso...The walk for today was going to take in a couple of Wainwrights, Angletarn pikes and Brock crags..So there I was walking the path through the valley talking to myself or enjoying the occasionally conversation with the local sheep. I noticed that without the dog by my side the Sheep never run off, in fact they seem quite tame....Anyway im going to stop going on about chummy sheep now, before I get a reputation as someone who gets over friendly with Sheep....Its a great path through the Patterdale valley rising at a gentle gradient up towards Boredale hause. As I rose the views got better and better,


The Mountains across the valley looked superb in the morning sunshine...The Fairfield range...St Sunday crag...and the Helvellyn group all looked amazing, luckily my side of the valley was mainly in shade..keeping cool made the climb easy..all felt great, this is what walking is all about, this is why we do it...a short steep section and I was up to Boredale hause, a mountain pass between Place fell and Angletarn pikes.It links the Patterdale valley with the Boredale valley...its a grassy pass with many paths that can be confusing in mist..not so today, the path to Angletarn pikes being easy to find on the right.


The higher I walked the better the views.


To my right now lie the two rocky tops of the Angletarn pikes, I couldn't remember which was the higher of the two so I visited them both for good measure. Apparently the northern top is a few feet higher but the southern one is where I stopped for a breather and a drink looking down to Angle tarn. Old Wainwright said that this was one of the most beautiful of Lakeland tarns..it certainly looked beautiful today, glittering in the sunlight...I sat and looked at it for quite a while..


Snapping out of it....Time to go down for a closer look...its a great place to have a look around, two little islands and a small peninsula..it can get quite busy, especially with Wildcampers.. I remember camping here myself a few years back...In fact one of my favourite wildcamp memories was made here..i thought back ....it was one of the wildest nights you can imagine, strong winds and rain hammering down all night, my tent collapsed and I spent a wet 8 hours lying there trying to sleep with the tent on top of me..At first light me and my two camping buddies decided to break camp and get down off this damn hill..My mate Keith, who is a bit of a wild camp legend, lost it...not only his temper but also his tent as a huge gust of wind lifted it 100 foot or so into the air before dropping it on the other side of the tarn...his face was a picture, a picture that I still giggle about to this day. The weather couldn't have been more different today.


Moving on I had another Fell top to visit ,Brock crags an easy walk from the old gateposts on Satura crag...The 1844ft summit stands alone on an undulating ridge..I had hardly seen a soul on the walk so far then amazingly 2 other couples arrived at the summit the same time as myself, it seemed a bit strange to talk to someone that only had 2 legs..One bloke that had come up directly from Patterdale pointed me in the direction of a path that, like a fool I decided to follow..a path that got fainter and fainter and eventually petered out after 20 minutes or so...angrily I walked back to Brock crags...I would find my own way down..i toyed with the idea of heading off towards Rest dodd then The Knott before descending to Hayeswater...then after studying the map I decided on a direct pathless route back down to Hartsop following an old wall...



How steep could it be?..Legs were soon trembling [ glad I never had the dog with me ]..It was so steep that I had to stop halfway down for a drink and bite to eat...making it down to Hayeswater gill, glad that was over..i will stick to the path next time.


Nearly back now...it had been a grand walk...2 more wainwrights added to my second round. ...sadly its home tomorrow, never mind ...we will be back soon.





Sunday, 2 September 2018

The Dovedale skyline.

29/08/2018.



Another walk from our holiday cottage in Hartsop, its great walking straight from the door, without having to take the car out. That's the beauty of this area there are walks from the door for every day of the week if wanted..Today we choose a walk around the skyline of Dovedale taking in 5 Wainwright fells...Hartsop above how..Hart crag...Dove crag...Little hart crag and High Hartsop dodd...We set off along the lane from the village until we came to the layby and bridge over the Goldrill beck..from here there is a decent path to Brothers water, but we needed to get up onto the ridge so it was up up up on a slippery path through Low wood. Grabbing at Tree roots, branches or clumps of grass we pulled our way up through the trees, getting hot, fleeces came off, hats came off..We eventually made it up above the treeline, some lovely views of the valley began to open up behind us..Crossing a ladder stile and we had made it onto the ridge..its a cracker, rising gently curving like a sickle to enclose the valley of Deepdale.It was the view back to Place fell that grabbed my attention...I was going to enjoy this walk along the ridge.


We were to follow the ridge all the way up to Hart crag..The way ahead looked awesome, especially towards Fairfield, a fantastic wall of crags. It was along here that we bumped into a group of three ramblers doing a recce for a walk they were planning on a weekend away.It turned out that they were doing the same walk as us only the other way round..We stood and chatted about walking and hills wishing them luck we set off in opposite directions...Out of the wind before we reached the top of Hart crag we decided on a coffee and a bite to eat..spicy vegetable pasties and vegetarian Scotch eggs made a nice change from sandwiches..As we munched we watched as several walkers wandered around between crags on the other side of the valley. It dawned on me that they were searching for the path up to the Priest hole, a cave high up amongst the rocks, I remembered finding it on a wild camp trip many years ago. Its a cool place...even got a visitors book.


Our path skirted to the left of Link cove, a sort of hanging valley, up a steep scree slope to Reach the top of Hart crag at 2698ft this was to be our highest point of the day. 2698ft sounds great..i have never used metres when out walking, I refuse too. Makes my blood boil...I wonder if when we have left the EU that our maps will go back to feet, ditching metres..wouldn't that be nice..We were now on the Path known as the Fairfield horseshoe, there seemed to be several people doing it today...


We stood for a while taking in the views, it had been worth every drop of sweat to get up here..The next top, Dove crag didn't seem far off ...an easy romp and we were soon there but hang on we realised that we were at the cairn that stands above the crags the true summit is a little further close to the path...I like to visit all of the cairns just to make sure. Theres nothing more annoying than finding out later that you never quite made the summit...done that a couple of times before, making a return visit necessary. Turning off to the left we leave the Fairfield horsehoe down steeply now to the next top...Little hart crag.


Little hart crag is a delightful little hill standing just above the magical 2000ft mark, it is known as the Sentinel of Scandale...it has the appearance of a crouching watchdog..it takes its duty of guarding the pass very serious missing nothing of the happenings there.I wondered if he liked other dogs wandering across his patch..he probably sniggered like Mutley when he saw Alfie disappear into a boggy hole.. he struggled but made it out eventually..Jet black...a putrid smell filled the air...we sat by a small tarn for another snack...that putrid smell putting me off my flapjack.


A nice path along the ridge now heading back to the valley..Alfie rolling in various puddles slowly getting cleaner.An extremely steep descent lay ahead of us [Karens fave]..Me and alf romped ahead..it can be so painful on the legs coming down these grassy slopes..i like to bound along almost running, you forget about the pain and are down in no time...Halway down I met two Ladies  that were a little on the shall we say large size...they had never done any hill walks before and were struggling..one said it was her 40th birthday and wanted to do something worthwhile to celebrate it..she pointed to where they were going...up to Red screes and down Middle dodd..A bit ambitious I thought.. I asked the second one how she was getting on...she said she was dying..You will be fine I said although I knew she wouldn't...I carried on...I could hear No1 shouting at No 2..GET UP !!!..at the barn at the bottom I had a 10 minute wait for Karen.


Walking back through the meadows Near Hartsop hall we took a last look back at the way we had come down..I could still hear those large ladies shouting at each other...a couple of characters from Viz magazine came to mind...


Right... so do we return via the decent path alongside Brothers water or do we go to the pub first?..What a pathetic question..The first didn't touch the sides.

Monday, 27 August 2018

4 Wainwrights from Hartsop.

27/08/2018.


After yesterdays wet washout we were promised a much better day, well that's what Tomasz Schafernaker told us...sunny spells for most of us with higher temperatures. Thanks Mr weatherman. We awoke and drew back the curtains expected to be blinded by sunlight..Nope just grey skies and a light drizzle...oh well this is the Lake district after all. After a leisurely brecky we were off with a prompt 10 o clock start. Waterproofs on...Im sure we will be able to take them off later when the sun breaks through we thought..Fingers crossed..We passed through the hamlet to find the steep path rising up the grassy slopes...im not keen on steep /grassy slopes neither is Karen...we were both soon completely buggered...we stopped often to look back down to Hartsop and the Patterdale valley...a valley that I have now officially changed the name of...to Pitter patterdale.


We eventually beat those Steep/Grassy slopes to arrive at the days first Summit..Hartsop Dodd standing just above the magical 2000ft ..Some say that  the criteria for Mountains is that they are above 2000ft..no...for me Mountains are rocky..there is no doubting that this is a hill..there is also no doubting that this is a bloody good hill.. A quick photograph as we passed the summit cairn heading off for Caudale moor a mile or so ahead..an easy walk that followed an old wall all of the way.


Caudale moor deserves far more respect than it usually gets as its a huge hill with no fewer than 6 ridges leaving its 2502ft summit.The summit is known as Stony cove pike which I think is a far better name.For a second or two I toyed with the idea of visiting a nearby Birkett top called John Bells banner but the swirling mist came down so we headed off towards Threshthwaite mouth cursing that smarmy Schafernaker..The col between Stony cove pike and and Thornthwaite crag turned out to be the highlight of the walk for me, there was no doubting the fact that we had moved from Hill to Mountain as we had a gruelling rocky decent followed by a steep path on scree to reach the summit of Thornthwaite crag, the days third top.


We slipped and slithered but eventually made it up that steep slope to arrive at the tall pillar of stones on top. Thornthwaite crag occupies a commanding position overlooking four valleys, its also our highest point for today..Thornthwaite crag is really a subsidiary summit of nearby High street..but this proud top refuses to play second fiddle to the broad plateau, its one of the better known fells east of Kirkstone and always worth visiting. It is sometimes difficult to recall the details of some summits but those that climb here will never forget the 14ft column that stands on the top here as it is one of the most distinctive cairns in the whole of Lakeland...also to its merit it has a wicked view down the length of Windermere.


Our packed lunch was enjoyed here tucked behind the wall, along with several other Lakeland devotees...Cheese and coleslaw being the filling of the day, not that im getting much as I shared my scran with a ravenous Alfie..As we ate people came and went..one bloke fell on his arse on a slippery rock...he said he was ok but was clearly in pain..We eventually moved on, raising a numb posterior wasn't easy but we were soon going again...hats and gloves came into play as we walked the lofty Gray crag ridge...every single finger was numb..


Some great view along this ridge...to our left the Fairfield massif to our right lies High street, Kidsty pike and the Knott while ahead we saw Brock crags ,Angletarn pikes and Place fell....so many great hills..we hoped that the slopes off the hill were not going to be as steep as our earlier climb...sadly not..feet took a battering...any hill walker will tell you that it is far easier going up than it is going down....


Boy was I glad to get down from those slopes to eventually reach the track alongside Hayeswater gill. Almost back now...it had been a great day..boosting Karens Wainwright list by three to 143 and my second round to 40..Days this good are rare, but we are on holiday so I am hoping for more to come this week...there will be more believe me...im not a weatherman....lets get in and get these waterproofs dry ready for tomorrow.