Lake District December 2017, Day 3 and 4

If we thought the previous two nights had been cold then our third night was something else.  The temperature plummeted to -8C and over the snowfields further south it had been -12C.  I was fascinated that while it was still dark, although the sky was as clear as a bell, there were ice crystals in the air that were reflected in the light of the head torch.  We were up early this morning to walk across the fields to our favourite oak tree for some predawn and sunrise photography with the snow-covered Kentmere fells gleaming in the background..  The wait was pleasant at first as the sky turned from black to indigo and then blue, but eventually the cold began to bite and I could have wished for boots on my feet rather than light walking trainers.  Unfortunately there was a bank of cloud on the horizon and by the time the sun had risen above it it had lost some of it's warm orange light.

We felt smug and satisfied as we returned to the caravan hungry for a late breakfast and a lazy morning.  Eventually we stirred ourselves to go into Kendal for some Christmas shopping and then onto Lancaster to spend the evening with Thomas.  First though we had a frozen waste water to contend with. A plastic container that had turned into a solid block of ice was an interesting problem; I did some good with a kettle full of boiling water, but it took another 24 hours to get it thawed completely.

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On Tuesday we managed to drain the water system down and, hopefully, no damage has been done.  The caravan was packed down for the winter and we drove down to Blackpool to spend our final night with friends before driving back to Grimsby the next day.

Lake District December 2017, Day 2.

Sunday dawned bright but very cold again with no sign of the forecast snow, although it was falling hard in other parts of the country.  The object of today's walk was to complete yet another low level excursion as I wanted to take some photographs of the Langdale Pikes from the valley.  We set off after breakfast driving up Landgdale to park at Stickle Barn, stopping off on the way to photograph the Pikes from Elterwater.  Once kitted up, again donning the down jacket, we struck off across the fields opposite the car park along the Cumbria Way.  The plan was to walk back down the valley towards Chapel Style and return via the 'old road', now a bridleway which was where I wanted to take my shots.

The path quickly angled steeply uphill giving us excellent views back to the Langdale Pikes and along to the head of the valley where the ridge of The Band led up to Bowfell and Crinkle Crags.  The previous year I had enjoyed a fabulous solo walk over Rossett Pike, Esk Pike and Bowfell returning via The Band, but I remember a recent epic with Thomas on The Crinkles when we finished up walking 180 degrees in the wong direction in near zero visibility.  It was only Thomas's watchfulness that alerted us to our mistake.  The route recorded  on my View Ranger map makes interesting viewing!!!

We continued along the Cumbria Way as far as the homestead of Oak Howe where we had a welcome flask of soup before heading back.  A short walk today but some excellent views.

Before returning to the caravan at Ashes Lane we stopped off in Windermere for the Christmas Market and to soak up some of the atmosphere.

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Lake District December 2017, Day1

As we drove across the M62 and up the M6 on Friday 8th December, we were juggling in our minds what walks to do over the weekend and in what order in view of the weather forecast.  Our primary aim was to walk to the Kentmere Rowan as part of our 'Long View' walks.  The plan was to do this on Sunday so that our son could join us, but, as the forecast was for heavy snow on Saturday night and into Sunday and we didn't want to get to Kentmere but not get out, we opted to tackle it on Saturday.  When we arrived the temperature in the caravan was 0.5C so we were pleased we had taken a fan heater to boost the central heating system.  Once warmed up, though, the caravan was as warm as toast all weekend.

On Saturday morning the temperature had dropped to -5C so we were pleased that we had taken in the water intake pipe to prevent it from freezing.  After entertaining Thomas to coffee at 8.00 am on his way  to Helvellyn for some winter gully climbing, we gathered our gear and drove up through Stavely to park in Kentmere village.  It is not often that I resort to walking in a down jacket but it was very welcome this morning.  Our route took us up out of the village and into the valley of the River Kent where we walked along green lanes and footpaths through farmland.  As always when walking along ancient lanes and paths, my mind wondered about the memories these 'old ways' held.  We passed several flocks of herdwick sheep (our favourites) and also some dalesbred.  The surrounding fells looked spectacular with their covering of snow and I enjoyed dwelling on the small details of winter: frozen puddles, frosted mosses and lichens and icicles.  It was good to see a holly full of berries.  It was quiet and still as we walked up the valley with only the mewing of the occasional buzzard and the cronk of a lone raven.

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Before long I recognized the location of our 'flying rowan' having studied Rob and Harriet Fraser's The Long View.  As with the Little Aysby Hawthorn, I was anxious to make sure that I had found the correct tree - it's a little like a treasure hunt.  The confirmation this time was the words that were stenciled on the rocks in the small grassy bay behind the tree:-

split rock

flying rowan

above us

ravens

The'ink' used was Show Red, a powder thickened with oil and rubbed on the backs of Herdwick to smarten them up before shows.  Rob and Harriet were keen to use this medium to link their work with the shepherding tradition and also to the fact that the rowan is the reddest tree.  It is also a link to the red of the chakra system in which the colour red is associated with the 'root' and this is a 'flying rowan' as its seed was deposited in a crack in the rock into which its roots grew and can still be seen today.  The idea is that the words will fade with time and, in fact, I could only find ravens and split rock, so perhaps the others have gone already since January 1st.

We enjoyed sitting on the rocks by the tree while we ate our lunch and then I photographed it from every conceivable angle while Heather drew it.  It was very much in its winter state when we visited and it would be good to return next August or September.  The rowan is one of my favourite trees and I love to see them laden with red berries.

As beautiful a spot as this was, time was marching on and the short December daylight hours meant that we needed to get on.  We continued up the valley to Kentmere Reservoir where we walked across the dam wall before returning on the other side of the valley.  The fells beyond the reservoir looked stunning under their carpet of show.  They were clear of cloud and the light was superb.  As my eyes followed them round: Ill Bell, Thornthwaite Crag, Mardale Ill Bell and Lingmell End with High Street gleaning in the distance, my mind wandered back to earlier days when I had walked these magnificent hills.  The latest time we had been up there was last June when we walked over Harter Fell and down from the Nan Bield Pass into Mardale.  We met another couple of walkers/fell runners at the dam who were enjoying a hot flask and it was good to swap routes we had done in the surrounding hills.

Our route down on very icy tracks took us first through the old disused quarry and past Reservoir Cottage where both it and the old quarry barracks had been converted into attractive looking outdoor centre bunk house accommodation. The final section took us down across fields and into Kentmere village where the lights were just coming on.  On getting back to the car I made the classic mistake of using the windscreen washer and smearing ice across the windscreen so he had to then wait for the car to warm up to clear it.  I hadn't realised it was that cold but I think temperatures had remained below freezing all day.  It was good to get back to the caravan and beef bourguignon and time to reflect on a good day in the hills.  It is tempting to always head for the high tops, but taking time to slow down and notice more is well worth it; to practice the art of slow travel and becoming a 'human being' rather than a 'human doing'!