LAKE DISTRICT - FEBRUARY 2017

73 Wainwrights to go...25 planned on this trip...bring em' on!!! From the moment we booked the time off from work and knew we were planning to come back to the Lakes in February for some snow and ice trekking we couldn't wait to go. Then when Mr & Mrs F found the cottage we were staying in and Mr F got all his books out and started to plan, we really couldn't wait to go! The Lake District is our 'Happy Place' our escapism from everyday stresses and just to be in what we believe to be one of the most beautiful places in the world, doing what we love most with each other, God and our best friends....Mr & Mrs S 😊

The four of us usually have a 'cottage searching' get together, where we pretty much each have some kind of device searching for the right cottage in the right place and usually takes us if not an entire evening, a couple of evenings sometimes before we find the right one! We're not fussy, we just like to have a cottage with 2 double bedrooms, enough seating space in the living room for our evening lounge about/wind down, a wood burner, a nice looking kitchen with all cooking utensils available, a dishwasher, preferably 2 toilets or bathrooms, an option for a bath, a dining table for dinner, hot water, electric, gas etc included in the price, parking spaces...oh and to have all this for a good price!!

We found this cottage by mistake actually. We were separately looking for cottages and Mr F told Mrs F to look at a particular cottage he was looking at. So she typed in what she thought he was looking at and found the one we ended up booking...result! Turns out the name of both cottages are the same by one word, just a different cottage as there are a couple of cottages all together on the same working farm...if that makes sense!

So this time we decided for the first ever, to travel up on the Friday night. We had the cottage Saturday to Saturday but we decided to head up and stop off at Blackburn to spend the night with Mrs F's Dad. Mr F had the day off and Mrs F went into work early and only had half her lunch hour so she could leave at 3:30 to get on the road at a decent time. We managed to travel 60 in 90 minutes in the M1, we hadn't even made it to the M6 by then! But this is the risk you take by travelling up North on a Friday night - lots of traffic, roadworks and a coupe of accidents. But to be fair by the time we got onto the M6 to roads were pretty clear and got to Blackburn at 8:50 in 4 and half hours, which for a Friday is good going.

We had a really lovely dinner of Mediterranean pork made by Mrs F's Dad before retiring to bed. The next morning we made a trip to Go Outdoors as the map Mr F had didn't cover the area of the far Eastern Fells, so we bought one...Only to then want to take it back because Mr F forgot he bought a new waterproof map case and he spent £14 on a waterproof one. After a trip to the pharmacist, we went back to the house briefly before setting off for the cottage around midday. It was good to spend that time with Mrs F's Dad, even if it was for a short time and he had a rotten cold! But we were both wren't great ourselves being on antibiotics - Mrs F for an ongoing ear infection and Mr F had 4 teeth taken out the week before...grim!

We got to the cottage around 2pm and Mr & Mrs S came from Windermere where they stayed the night before around 4pm. The cottage had a funny smell at first but it was really cozy. Both double bedrooms had comfy beds...It was really warm (too warm most of the time) we got to chose the nicer room this time so we chose the room with the view of the sheep at the back of the cottage rather than the view of the owners cottage at the front in the other room. We had a downstairs shower room and twin spare room. The living room and kitchen was open plan which was nice for whoever was on dinner duty to still be involved in what's going on. Upstairs had a bathroom and single spare room too...Warm, comfy beds and hot water, what more can you ask for...

Mr F In The Living Room

Downstairs Shower Room

Upstairs Bathroom

Our Bedroom

View From Our Room

Upstairs Hallway

Upstairs Spare Bedroom

Mr & Mrs S Bedroom

Hallway Looking From Mr & Mrs S Room

Downstairs Twin Spare Bedroom

Looking Out From The Downstairs Spare Room

We were on a working farm which had cows with newborn calf's, sheep and chickens and had 2 other cottages to rent which were both rented from the same day we arrived...

                                                                             

As per usual, we arranged for Tesco to bring our food for the week that also had our dinner for that night - fish, chips and peas. The last lot of fish we had on our previous holiday was the size of a giant fish finger, so this time we ordered 2 boxes and the fish this time was much bigger! Mr S claimed the downstairs spare room as a place to put all of his trekking gadgets and various selection of coats and clothes, so once all rooms were delegated we all got unpacking. Mrs F and Mrs S spent an hour in our room having a good 'ol natter whilst the boys were doing their usual of getting the maps and books out to plan our days out on the mountains....a good first night had by all.

DAY 1: HART SOP ABOVE HOW - 1,870ft
             HART CRAG  - 2,698ft
             DOVE CRAG - 2,603ft
             LITTLE HART CRAG - 2,091ft
6 HOURS TREKKING, GETTING BLOWN ABOUT!

So we were all up about making our breakfast and lunches for the day at a decent time of 8am and out by 9.30 which was good going. We always plan to do a climb on our first day out that is just to stretch the legs...however, today wasn't it! From the car park we walked up through a small forest area that was a straight up approach. Once we were put of the forest area, we were on a straight forward path that carried on up towards the fell top snow...

The Girls All Ready To Go

The Boys Getting Ready

Up Through The Woodland 

And Up Some More...

Happy Mrs F

First Group Photo

Mr F Checking The Way On His Satmap

We always layer right up at the car, get walking and get too hot and then de-layer shortly after...we never learn!

Still Going Up...

Our First Glimpse Of The Snow Ahead

As we got nearer to the snow, the wind picked up and temperature dropped. We stopped briefly for our usual boiled eggs and put our layers back on, but didn't put our crampons on (spikes) until a little further along when we reached icier areas...or when the first person falls! 😃

Bad Face In The Harsh Wind

Heading Onto The Snowy Mountain Tops

The snow underfoot got quite thick and deep quite quickly and the as we made our way further up, the wind picked up even more. Mr S took the lead, followed not far by Mrs F and Mr F and Mrs S were a little further down behind us. In all honesty it was every man for himself just trying to make our way through the harsh -14 wind chill with 60mph winds. As we turned a corner up ahead, the wind was incredibly strong we couldn't even have a conversation with each other. It was quite an anti-social day really but we were all just concentrating on staying upright and not being blown near the edge! We all gathered at the top and went down together - as much as we could -  but for every 2 steps forward we took 3 steps sideways and not in the right direction...the snow was just battering our faces which was stinging. Mr F had to hold onto Mrs F to stop her from being forced into the wrong direction near the edge by the wind....challenging is just one word! We each had a tumble at least once and there was a low level wall, low enough to step over, that we walked along on the right hand side of it but needed to get over to the left. Well the wind was so strong, Mr F had hold of Mrs F to stop her blowing away and neither of us had the power to go against the wind and step over the wall! Mr S had to help pull us over by grabbing Mr F's hand and giving us a great big tug...team work as always was the key but as mentioned, it was not a social event with limited chances to have a chat...

              

Mr F & Mrs S Behind Below

Mr S Up Ahead On A Mission

The Summit...Apparently!

The boys checked the map briefly to ensure we were going the right way in the low visibility with not many land references. Mr S then said that we will need to be turning left shortly which would take directly into the teeth of the wind and snow....and man were we in the teeth! We were all grabbing onto our hoods to pull them right down over our faces to help take the sting away from the harsh snow, which didn't seem to be letting up! Mrs F at one point had her hood right down over her face, her buff up by her eyes and sunglasses to stop the snow hitting in her eyes! Poor Mr F's glasses were blown away when he got them out so was suffering from the snow keep whipping him in the eyes...they were red by the end of the day! But in fairness, although the glasses were stopping the snow from hitting our eyes, they kept steaming up from our breathes that we almost couldn't see where we were going, so wearing them was the lesser of 2 evils...

The Way Back

As we could barely stand up due to the weather, we didn't take as many pictures as we would have liked to but was a near impossible task to the the camera out of the case. Mr F's Satmap even went flying off which weighs more than the camera! Once we were in a decent enough place to sit and have lunch we demolished it, along with a very welcomed mini bottle of whiskey, which went down very well! We discovered bringing our little kick of whiskey in the snow from our last trip when we made it all the way to a summit that was just a pile of rocks and so softened the blow with our little bottle of Glenfiddich. (See 2016 - September entry) As we all sat there Mrs F said, "I have 2 words...bloody hell!" However once we made it back to ground level, it was a very different scene. It was snowing slightly but there was no wind and a lot calmer...but then again we were 2,698ft lower and off of the exposed mountain tops...

Looking Back At Where We Had All just Been....Madness!

One With Snow...

...One Without

Walking back into the warm cottage was very welcomed. Mr S got the fire going and we all put our damp boots by to dry whilst Mrs F got a start on another very welcomed lasange and chips....to say the least we were all a little pooped...not bad for a gentle first day! We were fully utilising all the radiators drying all our wet gear too...

Boys At Work In The Kitchen...What We Like To See!

Boots Drying By The Wood Burning Fire

                                                                     
DAY 2: BONSCALE PIKE - 1,718ft
             LOADPOT HILL - 2,201ft
             WETHER HILL - 2,210ft
             STEEL KNOTTS - 1,414ft
6 HOURS TREKKING AND AGAIN, GETTING BLOWN ABOUT!

So after having a day of being completely beaten and battered by the wind...we decided to go out for some more!! We were all up, fed, lunch packed and out again by 9.30 and today we were in Mr S's car. He has an estate car and was almost a challenge getting up the steep windy road that lead to St Peter's Church on Martindale Hause, where we parked up and headed off from. The church was opposite the car park and we set off from the car side but later would come down from the church side, so a horseshoe day really.

As we set off, Mr S took his glasses out and the lens popped out! He needed them to be able to read the map and thought the screw had dropped on the floor, so for a short while we were searching the floor, on the grass for a screw only a couple of millimetres long! After a while, we gave up but Mr S discovered that the screw was still in his glasses but the frame was cracked...this meant Mr F was relied on to read the map...no pressure! It was a grassy verge we had to walk up that just kept on coming. We came across a steep section that was kind enough to have some footholds that looked quite steep and calf breaking!

This time Mrs F wore her tube scarf to pull up and tighten right over her face which she could have done with yesterday. She only had a buff to cover her face the day before that got wet with both the snow and the condensation of her breathing into it, which then weighed it down and wouldn't stay up over her face...we're all a bit amateurish the first day!

We're Ready!!

Up Where We're Heading...

The Steep Plod Up

The Girls Seeing The Steep Footholds Ahead!

The Boys Making Their Way Up Ahead

We headed along the bottom of our first summit before we had to dive off to the right and straight up into the cloud. It was quite a steep climb up - there was no visible path, just pick your best route but make sure you're heading for the trig point. Some points we were bending right down to get up almost using our hands...






Heading up towards Bonscale Pike and looking back - you can just about make out Mr & Mrs S...

Mr F Making His Way Up...The Trig Point Straight Ahead

Shortly Followed By Mr & Mrs S

Once we were all at the summit together, we stopped for our boiled eggs and hot drinks before layering up and carrying on up into the cloud ahead and above us. The wind started to pick up again and the temperature was noticeably dropping...sure sign we were getting higher and more exposed! Mr F checked the book that said to head (North) from where we were to get to our next planned Wainwright, Arthur's Pike. But as we walked out onto the open fell top and into yet more wind and snow, the boys checked the map only to discover that we went the wrong way and walked straight past Arthur's Pike! We were stood around for quite some time whilst the boys figured out where we (they) went wrong. So once we were established and sure about where we were heading, we set off again heading for Loadpot Hill...

Loadpot Hill Summit Cairn...Not Much of a Cairn

Our Stop Point To Check The Route

We carried on towards Loadpot Hill trig that was impressively completely covered in ice...just showing how bloody cold it was!  We were all so preoccupied with the harshness of the weather again that we literally walked with our heads down...

The boys went off and left the girls behind, so they thought they would take the opportunity to crack open the sour strawberry laces without the boys!! In fairness, they did dish them out once we were all at the trig point together...

The Girls Enjoyed Their Strawberry Laces

The Boys Somewhere Ahead By The Trig Point

Loadpot Hill Trig Point

From the icy trig point we headed towards Wether Hill, which we literally walked past it as it wasn't a summit we had to walk up onto, it was just on the way which was a result.  We carried on heading downwards in the snow, which was good fun - especially when it came to a section that crossed over a gorge where we all took it in turns to slide down on our bums at quite a way and speed, it was like a Skeleton Run! After a little way down, we were out of the wind so we though tit would be a good place to stop for lunch...and our little bottle of communal whiskey! We bought 2 mini bottles of Glenfiddich and Mr S bought a mini bottle of Famous Grouse, which we bought them for Christmas specifically for this trip and we also bought our big bottle of Jim Beam to top the mini bottles up...we're not alcoholics, honestly...we just appreciate a good swig of whiskey on a cold hard day!

Mr F Fell In The Snow....And Stayed There...K2 Moment!

It wasn't very snowy from our lunch spot, but it was quite slippery from the wet bog and still steep coming down. So we spiked up and carried on towards our next and final summit, Steel Knotts, which was in the sunshine...which gave us more inspiratin to get there quickly! We were heading down towards what looked like an old ruin which once was a very small house or a posh sheep pen, but we used it as a reference guide to make our way to...we all made a joke about it being a cottage to rent with good views of the sky and the sense of openness! 😂

Looking Ahead Into The Sunshine...

...Looking Behind From The Other Side

                                                 

















Once we were on flatter, less slippery ground we took off our spikes and carried on gaining more height onto the final fell of Steel Knotts...and in sunshine! 😎 It was so nice to finally be able to hold conversations wit each other without the battering wind...for a short while! As we got up on top, the wind picked up again so all conversations stopped. So we decided to have a little pit stop tucked away behind a big rock where we had our ginger cakes...and more whiskey!! 😋

Our Very Pleasant Walk Along To Steel Knotts 

After our joyful moment of ginger cake and whiskey, we carried on heading down towards the church where the car is. Once we were out of the wind it was yet another sunny blissful afternoon...in fact one of only two sunny moments we had out on the fells the entire trip! We had a really lovely view of Ullswater on the way down too... 

Lovely Photo Of Mrs F & Mr S

Great Sunshine View Of  Ullswater

Parts of the route down were quite steep and didn't really level out until we were right back at the church...where Mr S thought he lost his glasses screw. The girls needed to use a loo and so popped into the church hoping there would be one...but alas, no toilet, just the suggestion of going behind a big rock outside! 😱





Coming down on the steep route...Mr F doing his Usain Bolt impression!

Looking back at where we had just been...a much clearer view of it now than this morning...

Mr F Walking Towards St Peter's Church...The Car Opposite

Once we made it back to the cottage it was once again a welcomed warmth from the very efficient heating. We're very good at taking it in turns to have a shower...although Mr S did walk into the shower room when Mrs F was in there...thankfully she had a towel around her!! Once all rucksacks were unpacked and all damp gear was either hanging up or on a radiator, Mrs F was back on dinner duty again with garlic chicken, rather large jacket potatoes and salad....very delicious and again very welcoming after another long hard day on the fells of the Lake District....only the hardcore need apply!!

DAY 3: (VALENTINES DAY)
              HALLIN FELL - 1,271ft
              ARTHUR'S PIKE 1,407ft
4 HOURS TREKKING

So today we woke up with colds that we inevitably caught from Mrs F's Dad!! So Mr F prayed whilst we were still in bed for us and the fact that Mr S was slightly stressed at not having his glasses to read the map and Mrs S with her struggling to breathe from her asthma and other family members..it was a nice prayer and good way to start our day.

We decided to do a bit of a 'hoover up' today, doing a couple of the odd ones we've missed off the map, driving to 2 different locations to do and 'up-down' summit trek. We weren't overly rushing in the morning - Mrs F made pancakes for breakfast and we were still out by 9.45, just 15 minutes later than we were normally heading out.

We headed back to the church where we parked the day before, to head half a mile straight up to the summit of Hallin Fell which has one of the biggest trig points in the world...


We sent a picture  to our family Whatsapp of us being hardcore, getting ready to head out again after our first 2 tough days. Mrs F's Mum made quite a good point that we sent that photo at 9.39 and sent another photo from the summit at 10.30...that is hard going!! Although only half a mile up but we'll still take that! 😉

Our 'Huurrgh' Photo Sent To Family

                                                       

Making Our Way Up

It was actually quite a bright sunny day which made quite a nice change and was a much more social walk and could actually appreciate the views...

Mr & Mrs S Coming Up Behind

Nearly At The Top

Stunning Views Of Ullswater At The Top

Views Over To The Left As We Were Heading Up

Standing Tall, The Giant Hallin Fell Cairn

Giving It Some Scale...

Mr S Photo-Bombing Mrs F's Good Photo!

Views Over To The Right Of The Cairn

Meanwhile, whilst Mrs F was off taking photos...

Not Quite...

...Try Again

There You Go! 😃

A Great Self-Timer Summit Selfie 😊

Even though we were in the sunshine it was still cold, especially when we were still for too long, so we headed straight back down to the car and headed on over to our next Wainwright, Arthur's Pike, which is the one we should have done the day before...so we're going back to do it today!

The drive to our next parking spot wasn't too far away as they're all quite close to each other. We drove up a country lane wondering  if we would get parked further up as we saw some people making their way up from further down...but they obviously didn't know about the parking spot we got further up! #smug! Mr F parked by the verge where Mrs F and Mr S had to get out on the left and avoid the muddy dips at the same time! Once we were all set, again, we headed up the obvious way to go...

Heading Up The Well Trodden Path & Into The Sunshine

Once we had been going for a while, we came across a crossroads with a signpost which Mrs F was glad to be stopping at, as she was struggling slightly with her cold. The boys done their usual bit of checking the map for sure this time heading to Arthur's Pike) and we geared off to the right of the sign which lead us on a slow steady plod upwards to the summit... 

The Crossroads Signpost

The Boys Checking The Route

Mrs F With Her Puffed Out Look!

Onwards And Upwards

Although it was a fairly steady way up, it was still quite tough on the lungs, especially when we both had colds and Mrs S was still having problems with her asthma...Mr S was just plain knackered! So we had a couple of moments to stop and breathe and another moment to stop and have our eggs as we were all pretty hungry that day, even with Mrs F's pancakes to weigh us down!

The Little Stream We Walked Alongside And Over

Apparently you could head up through the Ghyll of the stream...but today we stuck to the more obvious path and way up!

As we got closer to the summit which seemed to never come, we could see the cairn at the top that we were heading for which was a nice sight and didn't actually take too long before we were there. It was a good moment to stop and have lunch in a place just down by the summit out of the wind where we could actually appreciate the views of our efforts. We had demolished everything in our lunch bags in record time including our hot drinks which was a really nice lunchtime spot.

Once we had sat for a while, we headed back the same way that we came up, but this time we cut off a corner that we saw others doing which took us into the bog a bit, but did save a bit of time...

Mr S Claiming Arthur's Pike...Finally!

The Best Lunchtime Photo We Could Get!

Views From Our Lunch Spot By The Summit

The Sunny Way Back

Looking Back At Our Summit...Just About Seeing The Cairn

Another Quick Look Back From The Boggy Route Back

The Shortcut Route Back

We were back at the cottage before 2.30 so spent the afternoon chilling out which was quite nice. Some of us had afternoon snoozes, played about with our various gadgets, watched tele and looking at routes for the next day.

As it was valentines day, we had a nice meal of steak, chips and peas with a bottle of red for the girls and Budweiser's for the boys followed by Haagen Dazs ice cream. Mr S was on steak duty as always and we have to say it was delicious...Good way to end the day 😊


DAY 4: GOWBARROW - 1,579ft
2 & HALF HOURS TREKKING

So Mr F got up and done his usual morning routine of going out to speak to Nigel (or Nig' as Mr F called him!) He liked to get an update of one of the heifer cows that were due to give any day now...to be honest I think Nigel appreciated the conversation in the morning and may have enjoyed them as much as Mr F 😊

So today we decided to go over to Aira Force and tackle Gowbarrow once again. We attempted this back in June (See 2016 June entry) but the pouring rain the day we were due to go home got the better of us. So today is the day that we returned to finally conquer it! We parked up in the same place that we did last time and walked the same route though the forest to the waterfall, which was a really nice walk. As we had a National Trust card we just had to scan it by the ticket machine and it gave us a ticket to park...otherwise we would be paying extortionate prices to park. We decided to leave the rucksacks at the car since it was a short walk...little did we know it would take 2 and half hours!The walk through to Aira Force is a popular one for people of all ages, especially families, but once we passed the actual waterfall, we only saw a handful of people compared to how many we saw just heading to the waterfall. We went a different way up to last time and looking at how long it took for us to make it to the summit through the boggy terrain, it was definitely the right call to turn back when we did the last time, so didn't mind admitting defeat. Last time we knew we still had a 3 mile hike ahead of us when we turned back, so the first thought is usually the right one...

Heading Through The Forest

  

The picture really doesn't do it justice just how massive this tree is...it was like the tree from Avatar!

Approaching The Bridge By The Waterfall

We met an elderly couple who kindly took a photo of all of us and got chatting to them. We did ask if they wanted their photo taken but they had lived in the area all their lives and so had done this walk plenty of times before. The lady was saying that she needed to get her husband out of the house whilst they didn't have the Grand kids, otherwise he would drive her mad...they were a nice couple to talk to.

From the waterfall, we headed out into the open away from the forest and up a fairly steep hill to gain the height...but man it was a slog! Mrs S had lost her inhaler for her asthma that day too, so she hadn't had any puffs. But as we always do, we soldiered on towards the summit, which for a low one seemed miles away! We had to go right around the get to where we needed to over the back, meaning all the summits in the distance wasn't our summits, it was still hidden over the back somewhere...not good for our PMA! Saying that, the views weren't too bad...

Mrs F With Just Her Bottle Of Water

Mr S In His Element Of Photography

Pausing For Breath

The Way Up But No View Of The Summit

Good Views Of Ullswater Though

Approaching The Bog...Still No Sight Of The Summit

Finally..The Summit Is In Sight!!

Mr F By The Summit Cairn

A Well Deserved Group Summit Photo

From here we took the route down that we originally tried to go up back in June, which was a more straight forward path back. It went right around the cluster of fells,, almost like a mountain driving road that went right around the edge of the mountains...a pretty walk back but man did it take forever! We saw the elderly couple we met at the waterfall again, so stopped to have a very brief chat before cracking on. We did stop for a quick sit-sat to take in the views. It would have been a great spot for lunch, but as everything was in our rucksacks back at the car, Mrs S kindly shared out her 2 cereal bars she very smartly bought with her.

By Our Cereal Bar Cop-a-squat By The Tree

The Windy Route Back Around The Fells

Our Pit Stop Spot

Views Along The Way

Once we made it back to the car, we got our lunch and went and sat on a bench to eat it...it was the only time we've ever sat and eat lunch on a picnic bench and not sat on the grass somewhere up a fell! It felt like we were cheating slightly but we appreciated our lunch and hot drink nevertheless. Mr F noticed that his 2 front tyres on his car were fairly worn down, pretty much bald and didn't like the idea of driving all the way back to London with them like it. So we sacrificed ticking off another Wainwright to go and get them sorted in a garage in Keswick. Mr & Mrs S were happy with this plan as Mrs S could hopefully sort out getting an inhaler that would enable her to carry on climbing. So we went back to the cottage so we could change our clothes and cars...Mrs F slightly gutted to have done 1 Wainwright today but safety first with the tyres on the car driving nearly 300 miles back in a couple of days.

The view of Catbells from our usual place to park when we go to Keswick...

Mrs S managed to get an inhaler from a very nice man in the Chemist and Mrs F managed to get her chocolate cups, honeycomb and Nougat from her favourite Ye Olde Friars on the High Street. After we had wondered around for just a short while, we all decided that an early dinner since we were out would be good. But as it was still only 4pm Mr F suggested heading back to Stainton, where we planned to eat somewhere recommended and would be around 5pm by the time we got there and ordered, so we went with that plan. However, when we got there they were only serving food from 6pm - Mr F made the suggestion to go back to the cottage to watch Pointless and then head back at 6pm! However, the rest of the gang didn't fancy the idea of going back and having to go out again - we were out and staying out for dinner! So we headed back to Pooley Bridge and eat in The Sun pub....and what a good turn out it was too - the food was absolutely lovely all round and not badly priced either, a really good enjoyable meal just up the road from the cottage and parked right outside...result! We headed back to the cottage with happy full belly's 😊


DAY 5: BROCK CRAGS - 1,844ft
             THE KNOTT - 2,425ft
3 HOURS 15 MINUTES TREKKING

We Liked Waking Up To The Sheep Just Outside Each Morning

                                                 
So today we decided to go and tackle High Street...finally! We had been in the region and on the actual High Street road lots of times before but never to the actual summit. We planned on doing a bit of a horseshoe but the weather had other plans that changed ours...

We drove to Hartsop village where we could park according to the Wainwright book. It was a nice quaint little village that looked quite sensitive when it came to parking with cones outside houses, so it wasn't looking very promising for a parking place. But Mr F persisted to drive through the narrow village road and it payed off...right at the other end of the village was a trekkers car park with an honesty box with all donations going towards a local school 😊

It was looking to be a grim day so we layered up from the car and made sure that Mr S wasn't carrying heavy things as he put his back out back at the cottage, just by bending down to get the water out of his rucksack, poor ol' boy! We set off gradually from the car along a well trodden gravel path until we had to dive off and up to the right up a steep verge...much to the dismay of Mr S I'm sure as it was quite a steep plod up...

Heading Off Along The Gravel Path

The Boys Checking Where We Had To Dive Off And Up

The Way Up!

Stopping For The Views...And Breath!

Still Heading Up

So according to Mr F who said it was according to the book, we needed to head for a little tree that looked like a post in order to eventually come across a path that went right along the side of the fell that eventually lead us over the back by Angle Tarn and ultimately, Brock Crags...

We Found The Path...

Great Views Of  Hayswater Reservoir Opposite The Valley

Mr S spotted a herd deer on the move just on the other side of where we were. This is where we saw the deer the last time we were here back in November (See 2016 November entry) It was a good spot by Mr S and great that they were able to see wild deer too...

The Wild Deer Running Across The Fells

By the time we made it to Brock Crags,
the rain started to really come down, so we put the rain covers on the rucksacks, tightened up our hoods and carried on to The Knott. Although there is a photo on top of Brock, there were 2 summits for Brock but strangely there was one higher than the other, so we went to that one to claim true glory...

Angle Tarn From The Other Side Compared To Last Time

Mrs F Loves A Backdrop Tarn Photo

Heading Up To The Higher Brock Crags

By the time we made it to Brock Crags, it really did start to rain and rain hard! According to the forecast it wasn't due to rain until 3pm and only 30% chance of precipitation....however, we've come to learn that fell top forecasts are not accurate!! But as we always say, no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing and we were here to climb Wainwrights and climb Wainwrights we shall! We all had new jackets so no time like the present to really put them to the test. We soldiered on towards The Knott through the battering rain (which according to the forecast wasn't meant to happen) and came to a short incline gravel path/route up onto The Knott by a wall where we stopped for both nibbles and a big decision. Unfortunately there are no photos here as it was near impossible to get the camera out in the rain...

Making Our Way Up The Gravel Path

Looking Ahead Of Us

So the big decision we had to make was do we carry on in the rain across and up towards High Street, ticking off another 3 or call it a day and go down from here. Mrs F was really up for doing it and if we made the decision to go for it I'm sure the whole group would have been happy to go along. However, if we had gone for it, it would have been another 3 hours in the rain until we were back at the car...so after much deliberation and analysis of how low the cloud was over the ridge-line and judging where the so-called dip was and looking at the map, we headed down on a well trodden but not obvious path towards Hayeswater Reservoir where we had lunch...and more whiskey! We were warned by a sign that the usual bridge for crossing at the bottom was no longer there and we had to follow the arrows to get to the newly built bridge further along. However, we've crossed far greater more raging rivers than this one let me tell you and so just crossed where we were no problem!

Lunch By Hayeswater Reservoir

After a short lunch break, we made our way along the wide path that lead us gradually and eventually back to the car. There was a little hydro power station that was in early stages of being built. We crossed over from there and was back on the route that we set off on from the car. Mr F put his honesty donation in the box once we were back...once he ensured his car was still there! 😄

On our way back along Ullswater, a helicopter came right down along side us following the waterside route around Ullswater...a pretty epic moment that none of us caught on camera!

The Windy Route Back To The Car

Once back at the cottage, the radiators were all once again fully utilised with all our wet gear doing our best to dry it all out. Mr F was on dinner duty that night of steak & Ale pie with chips, carrots and peas...and very nice it was too! The girls had the last of the wine and the boys finished off the Buds. Sadly today was going to be our last day out together on the mountains and Mr & Mrs S made the decision not to climb the next and last day as Mr S's back was still bad and Mrs S was done from her asthma, so they decided they may as well head back to London in the morning...


DAY 6: GRAY CRAGS - 2,278ft
             THORNTHWAITE CRAG - 2,569ft
             HIGH STREET - 2,718ft
             THE KNOTT2,425ft

So sadly Mr & Mrs S were up, packed and car loaded ready to head back home. We were obviously staying and planning to head out that day and head home the next day as planned, but was a sad moment to say goodbye and watch them drive off 😢 We made our lunch and planned to head back and tackle High Street that we 'umed' and 'arghed' about the previous day...we will not be beaten!! We headed to the same parking spot in the little village of Hartsop and made our way up to where the little hydro power station is and stayed on that side of the valley to start making our way up towards Gray Crags. There was no route or path as such, just a good old fashion pick your way up towards to the top!

The mirror images on Ullswater that morning were stunning...

But eventually came across somewhat of a path and carried on going higher. We had the odd break in the cloud where we were able to have a view but spent most of the day in the cloud. It wasn't raining but being in the cloud was enough the get our gear damp if nothing else...

Not Sure What's Going On With The Tongue...

...That's Better!

Mrs F Feeling Tired Now...Tough Week Caught Up Today

Making Our Way Up

Looking Ahead

The Only Break In The Cloud That We Had!

Another Shocker From Mr F...Try Again...

...Better!

Looking Back At Our Progress

After we made it Gray Grags, we carried on heading upwards. Even though we were completely in the low cloud, it was actually a still day which didn't make it as cold either...a nice welcoming change! But as we got higher, the wind picked up and the cloud closed in even more which made a slightly different scene...

After we'd been walking for quite a while and eventually made our way onto the ridge-line, we should have been able to see Thornthwaite Crag trig point, but couldn't see it due to the cloud. We had a real God moment when Mr F literally just said 'we should see the trig soon' then the cloud cleared where we could see it and closed in again 😀

Thornthwaite Trig In The Cleared Cloud

We didn't hang around long before we followed the wall along until we came to our second trig of High Street...finally! The boys wanted to have a picture on this one...

Family Summit Photo

We tried to find a good spot behind the wall out of the wind to sit and have our lunch, but the wind seemed to come from every direction and the wall wasn't very tall to guard us from the it, so we decided to walk and eat. We made our way on the actually High Street road which was made by the Romans as passageway from Penrith to Ambleside 2,000 years ago and goes on for miles....we seemed to be walking on it for miles too! It didn't seem that long of a walk looking at it from The Knott the previous day, but can see now it was definitely a good call to head back rather than tackle it. We came to a crossroads where we had a brief chat about whether to dive off to the right and up to tick off Rampsgill Head or carry on down to The Knott and back along the same path home that we took yesterday with Mr & Mrs S. We went with the latter option as we can get to it from other Wainwrights...if it was one completely out on it's own we would have gone for it as it was less than a mile away, around 400 yards, but we were happy to just head down. Mr F was checking his Satmap a few times as he didn't have his wing-man to hep him, but he done really well navigating in near enough no visibility conditions...

Mr F In His Satmap

Once we were down by Hayswater once again, we stopped just past it as there were a couple of people sitting where we were the day before but found a good little spot to cop-a-squat and finish up the rest of our lunch and hot drink before we made a break for the car...3 more Wainwrights ticked off and a well navigated day in hard conditions...BOOM!

Our Spot By Hayswater

The Route Leading To The Hydro Power Station & The Car

The Bridge We Should Have Crossed!

Mr F Appreciates a Good Waterfall

Just by the power station was this cute little house. There was a sign saying private property, keep out - but we think this must have been for when it was actually occupied. We went in and had a quick look around but turned out to be a sheep house!

Inside The Posh Sheep Pen

Mr F Waiting On The Wall Outside

We were back in Pooley Bridge around 2pm and so had a small mooch around the shops. Pooley Bridge was still rebuilding the town following storm Desmond that happened 2 years ago that sadly wiped out the famous bridge that was 100's of years old. The bridge has been replaced with a temporary one (apparently) but doesn't look like the old one will be built for quite some time. There were a couple of shops boarded up and a hotel that was being completely renovated...it was quite sad to see. Mrs S was supposed to bring the Chilli Con Carne that she made which would have done us over for each night that we were there, but as she forgot it, we planned to go out for dinner two nights rather than one! We were going to go back to The Sun for another delicious dinner, but we had 2 pieces of fish and a few chips in the freezer back at the cottage and we bought a £1 pepperoni pizza that was really nice! We were back at the cottage just in time to see the little calf being born...and what a privilege it was too! Mrs F thought she heard a big 'moo' coming from the farm where the heifers where and when Mr F went over to see, the calf had literally just been born...finally! 😊

The Newborn Calf...It Was a Girl

Other Little Ones Being Curious Of The New Arrival

We packed up the cottage that night and loaded the car up as much as we could so we didn't have to do it in the morning and just get up and go. In the morning, Mrs F took photos of the poor little town of Pooley Bridge to show how it's still suffering from the storm...

The Little Parade Of Shops

The Temporary Built Bridge

We decided to take the same road home that we did last time, going across the Pennines which is a much prettier way home and quicker before you hit the A14 where traffic slows down as you start coming into London...we were up before the sun as always coming home and saw a gorgeous sunrise...

VERDICT OF THE LAKE DISTRICT IN FEBRUARY 2017

Mr F: Always look forward to our February trip as we love the extra challenge and the fun that the snow brings. Weather was a real mixed bag of truly awful, atrocious and grim with the odd bit of sunshine thrown in. Far Eastern fells were our target which is why we stayed in Pooley Bridge. Cottage was great clean and very warm. I really enjoyed my daily chats with Nigel about farm life...Another great trip, Thanks be to God that we can do the things we love to do.

Mrs F: I was really looking forward to this trip, probably more than any of them. Once we get our cottage booked I can't wait to get back to my favourite place in the world doing what I love most with my wonderful hubby and best friends. Although the first 2 days were completely mental in terms of the whether, they were my favourite days as it was in the snow which is why we come in February. There wasn't much snow as we had a mild winter this year, which was disappointing, but still loved every moment of it. I'm really grateful for my lunchtime walks that helped  make me good and strong to climb each day. There were moments in the strong wind and battering snow that I thought' What are we doing?!' but I still loved it. The cottage was in a good location and really liked it...especially being on a working farm where we saw the newborn calf :-) It was sad to see Mr & Mrs S go but enjoyed our day just us and the boys too. Everyday we said a prayer asking the Lord to be with us and be with us He certainly was. He gave us the strength and determination we needed everyday and kept us safe...as always, He was our 5th trekker :-) Please God we'll be back in June as always, hopefully with a little more sunshine...53 to go...bring them on!!