Mike's Natural Musings: Langdale Pikes

Showing posts with label Langdale Pikes. Show all posts

Monday, 14 March 2016

Lake District March 2016. Day 4, Easedale and Blea Rigg

This morning we awoke to a day of splendid weather: clear blue skies and warm, early spring sunshine. It was another Wainwright Day, this time with Heather for company rather than Thomas. We had decided to walk from Grasmere along Easedale and up past the spectacular falls of Sourmilk Ghyll to Easedale Tarn. Here we enjoyed a relaxed coffee in lovely sun with fabulous views. Although not particularly busy at this popular spot, we left most people behind when we got beyond the tarn. The route took us steeply up the headwall at the end of the valley to Codale Tarn where we stopped for lunch. It was pleasing to find a frog and some frogspawn up here, the spawn being in merely a shallow puddle. Hopefully it won't dry out before they grow into froglets. It didn't take us long from here to climb up to the ridge over looking the Langdale Valley and up to Sergeant Man, which I had missed two days previously. From here there were fabulous views of the Langdale Pikes and Stickle Tarn and over to Wetherlam and Grey Friar in the Coniston Fells. We wandered down the very pleasant ridge to Blea Rigg, another Wainwright, before taking a different path back down to Easedale Tarn and Grasmere. As we drove back to the Wild Boar along the shores of Windermere we witnessed a fabulous sunset. Once back I had time for quick bath before Thomas arrived. Leaving Heather to enjoy a relaxing bath, Thomas and I repaired to the bar for the customary pint before the evening meal when Heather came down. Yet another excellent day.

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Saturday, 12 March 2016

Lake District March 2016 Day 2, The Langdales

We awoke today to extremely gloomy weather; dry but with a thick cloud base down to valley levels. Thomas and I had planned a Wainwright Walk and, it being his only day off from lectures and working at Biketreks in Ambleside, we had no option but to go for it. Leaving Heather to a relaxing day with book and newspapers and a walk in the hotel woods, I drove to Ambleside to pick up Thomas. We were soon driving down the Langdale Valley and parked up in the National Trust car park (free to members) at the New Dungeon Ghyll. We were in cloud from the word go and it only got thicker. This was to be an exercise in navigation and would surely count for Thomas as a QMD (Quality Mountain Day) for his Mountain Leadership training. Our route took us very steeply up the Dungeon Ghyll track to first Loft Crag, our first Wainwright and then, following a short Scramble, up onto the summit of Pike O'Stickle. In days past I have had stunning views from here down into the Langdale Valley and of the surrounding mountains; today, however, we had difficulty seeing each other. After a quick lunch we headed across the boggy, featureless, snow covered plateau to look for Thunacar Knott, walking on a compass bearing and following the route on my Garmin. The plan then was to head over to High Raise and return to Pavey Ark via Sergeant Man, but the conditions made it pointless and we felt we had had enough navigation practice, so we headed straight the Pavey Ark and then to Harrison Stickle, both of which were difficult to find in the gloom. From Harrison Stickle we headed directly and very steeply down to Stickle Tarn set below the cliffs of Pavey Ark. We almost walked into the tarn before we saw it and we certainly couldn't see across it to the cliff. Continuing, the path took us again steeply down the Mill Ghyll or Stickle Ghyll path back to the car park. On the way down we were fascinated to watch an instructor ghyll scambling with a group of school children. It must have been freezing, but most of them seemed to enjoy it. It had been an excellent day, despite the total lack of views; it seems to be mine and Thomas's lot in life to walk in poor conditions. I dropped Thomas off at his flat and headed back to the hotel for a bath, pint and evening meal.

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Mist Shrouded Stickle Tarn.

Stickle Gyhll

Ghyll Scrambling

Tuesday, 9 December 2014

An Excellent few days in the Lake District

As our son Thomas has moved to Ambleside in the English Lake District to study Outdoor Studies at the University of Cumbria, we decided it was time to pay a visit. I have also set myself the challenge of walking all of the Wainwrights (peaks mentioned in the famous books of Alfred Wainwright) in the three years that he is there. Early December turned out to be an excellent choice as both Ambleside and Windermere (where we were staying) were both beautifully decorated for Christmas. We were also lucky in that the Lakes had the first snowfall of the winter while we were there. On our first day Heather and I took things easy and pottered up the Langdale Valley and wandered up to Stock Ghyll Force behind Ambleside before meeting Thomas for lunch and then doing some Christmas shopping.

On our second day Thomas and I did the first of my 36 Wainwright Walks: a round of Striding Edge, Helvellyn, Seat Sandal and St Sunday Crag; some 14.5 miles and 8 out of 214 Wainwrights. Unfortunately this was our only day of totally bad weather so we had very little visibility higher up and it was bitterly cold and snowing on the high tops. To add to the excitement the knife edge section of Striding Edge was very icy. A very enjoyable day nonetheless.

On our third day we drove up to Blea Tarn for some photography in excellent light and then stopped off for photographs of an in spate Stockwith Force.

All too soon it was time to head home but we delayed things somewhat by calling in for the night with friends in Blackpool.

On the final leg of our journey home we were delighted to see at least 30 red kites in the air over Harewood House. What a spectacular sight.

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