Lake District, November 2018. Day 2

We set the alarm this morning so that we had a good start and we left the site relatively early under cloudless skies.  All went well until Windermere when we got heavy traffic and sat in a jam all the way to Ambleside caused by minor roadworks by the youth hostel.  Frustratingly we had lost half an hour but once past Ambleside we were back on track.  For a change we approached Blea Tarn from Little Langdale.  The road was very narrow but the scenery spectacular. One parked up in the National Trust car park and the bags packed we headed down to the Tarn.  Although there was some ripple on the water further out is was flat clam near the shore and gave fantastic reflections of the Langdale Pikes. Beig one of the most famous vies in the Lakes there were plenty of phographers about and even a professional art is who sat there all day producing a beautiful oil painting.  Once we continued on towards Side Pike we left most of the crowds behind.  Unfortunately the sky was cloudless and the light harsh; we photographers are never happy.  Side Pike is only a tiny hill on the ridge up to its slightly higher neighbour Lingmoor Fell.  Both are Wainrights and give stunning views of The Langdales and the fells dominating the head of the valley: Pike O'Blisco, The Crinkle Crags and Bowfell.  Back at the Tarn the reflections were even better but the light had gone.
We continued on down to Great Langdale and back to Ambleside.  The plan had been to drive to the Heaton Cooper Gallery for an exhibition of photographs of a 1929 exhibition to Kanchenjunga and contemporary paintings by Julian Cooper.  Annoyingly it was the switch on of the Ambleside Chistmas Lakes and traffic was grid locked.  Frustrated, we headed back to the caravan and beef in beer from the slow cooker.

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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The Lake District, Day 6.

Sunday dawned wet and so we spent the morning being lazy.  The forecast for the afternoon, though, was optimistic so by late morning we were driving down the Langdale Valley and looking for somewhere to park in Elterwater.  We had decided to tackle Loughrigg Fell as the chances of a cloud free summit were quite high.  Our route first took usl alonside Great Langdale Beck to Chapel Style before heading up to the working slate quarry.  There were excellent views of the iconic Langdale Pikes from here which we photographed before climbing up through the woods and old quarries to the open fellside.  The bluebells and ferns were particularly attractive in the woods and we were pleased to hear cuckoo calling across the fells.

We soon climbed up onto the ridge and on up to the summit of the fell.  There were fabulous views here, not just of the Langdales and the valley but over to Fairfield and Helvellyn and nearer in the opposite direction Wetherlam and the Coniston Hills.  Crinkle Crags and Bowfell looked impressive at the end of the valley.  Thomas and I were keen to photograph the Pikes from this classic viewpoint, though, the lighting was not of the best.  This late in the day the sun was too high and too much in the west, it would repay a wild camp and early morning light.  Either that or a predawn start.  A work in progress.

As we wandered back down the ridge we couldn't help noticing the extensive evidence of man's presence and industry on these hills.  As we entered the woods again, though, we could see how quickly man's infrastructure returns to nature as mosses and ferns make some of the old walls almost unrecognisable.

By the time we reached Elterwater it was time to enjoy a pint in the sun outside The Britannia Inn before heading back to the van for our evening meal, sadly our last of this trip.

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