Lake District, August 2019. Day 6

A much cooler and fresher morning today.  We planned a short walk from Stickle Barn in Langdale for some photography and drawing.  Part of me is frustrated about not being able to walk on the tops but this short walk made me realise that I am not as well and fit as I tend to think I am.  I found it really hard walk.  As my aortic valve has been replace and the AF sorted it must be a combination of the ventricular dysfunction, the medication I am on and plain lack of fitness.  Nonetheless it has been a good day with mixed sun and cloud and great views.  We set out from the National Trust car park at Stickle Barn.  The footpath led us across the fields and through a farmyard where the ho house is now a holiday let.  Next came a short section of well-maintained uphill after which we negotiated a wall gate and chose a pleasant spot by a clapper bridge for lunch.  The hill path followed the undulations of the Cumbria Way gradually returning to the valley bottom at Oak Howe.  Crossing Great Langdale Beck we returned to Stickle Barn along the old valley road.  This gives excellent views of the Langdale Pikes although the lane has been surface so no longer any reflections in puddles.  After a welcome restorative in Stickle Barn it was time to return to the site to prepare for the evening bbq and Thomas's arrival.

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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