Archive for May 2018
Sometimes you just feel that the stars have aligned and everything is right with the world. A superb walk on the Langdale Pikes, a splendid meal, a night in luxurious room in a pub, Eggs Benedict for breakfast. Life was pretty good and I thought things could not get any better. Then we pull into the car park at the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel to these views.
Added to that the fact the car park ticket machine was still broken so we avoided another parking charge and I was in birthday heaven and bouncing around like a kid. We were ready to go early (by our standards anyway) thinking the car parks would be rammed full on such a magnificent day but they were pretty empty and the valley sleepy and quiet as we set off.
One of my all time favourite walks is Bow Fell (also one of my favourite mountains) via Crinkle Crags. Today we were adding in Pike of Blisco as its one of the few recognised peaks in the Lake District I’ve never done. The steep climb up from the campsite revealed more utterly breathtaking views.
The panorama shows our route for the day. The skyline from the left through to left middle and down the ridge in front
We decided to try to follow a route away from the main path and it was wonderful. Never too steep and a feeling of exploring small hollows and crags of Bleaberry Knott and Wrynose Fell that most don’t see from the main path
The views from the summit of PoB were immense
TBF bags our first summit of the day
We took our first extended stop of the day. Much like the Langdale Pikes (below) of the day before, PoB is relatively small in stature but big in expansive views as its relatively isolated from the rest of the range
Langdale valley and the Eastern Fells
Panorama looking West and North
One thing that has dramatically improved since my last visit here are the paths. Huge effort has been made to create these wonderful stepped paths with a mosaic of grass between the boulders. They are in equal measure a delight to look at, a pleasure to walk on and protective against erosion. I take my hat off to all the people who put in hard work to build them
Progress onwards towards Crinkle Crags was effortless and a joy as PoB receded into the distance behind
Crinkle Crags is itself a superb summit – or should that be summits, it has lots of them.
We found a quiet spot with a sloping back-rest rock for a very long lunch. Further smiles were in order as I realised the pub made sandwiches as good as its breakfasts and bar meals
Moving on towards a succession of Crinkles. You can see in the photo below the gully and “bad step” before the highest point. We wanted to tackle the ethical line but there was a crowd of people making a fuss of getting down it so we walked around it
We found our own little crag to climb which was obviously a much more satisfying route
The summit of Crinkle Crags reveals the classic view of Bow Fell and its Links (the line of gullies and crags below its summit
Cairns always seem to make good foreground subjects
The Scafell range
The rocky walk across the knobbly summits of Crinkle Crags was just superb. To walk it on such a clear day was exceptional. The hills were alive with the sound of music, in my head anyway
And so to the day’s final summit. I took a side route to take a look across the huge slabs on the north side of the ridge
The slab is huge and seems to fall away to infinity with the famous crag of Bow Fell Buttress as a backdrop
The panorama from the top was immense.
TBF looking very pleased to be out on such a superb day
Skiddaw and Blencathra in the distance
Looking back along our route over Crinkle Crags and PoB
The birthday boy
Bow Fell is probably my favourite Lakeland summit. The views from it and its own aspect I find irresistible and I have many fond memories (now including this one). One in particular prompted the photo below. Me and Mark once slept out on the summit in the two obvious spots you can see, back in the early 90’s. It had been hot day down in Eskdale (we were wild swimming and generally lazing about), too hot to sleep so we decided to sleep on the summit. We watched the thunderstorms over the Pennines and slept little in such a magnificent setting under clear skies (and ready to run like hell if the storms came our way!) They never did although we managed to be asleep as the sun came up! A day/night that has a special place in my memories.
Enough of such reveries. It was time to go down. Another one of those moments when I just wanted to sit and admire these views forever
We followed the ridge of The Band back to the valley. A long laborious route of ascent but a perfectly angled route of descent for tired limbs
PoB and the deep ravine of Browney Gill
Pike of Stickle
And the ever green and pleasant land of the Langdale valley
The walk across the pastures of Oxendale back to the car was a final delight to end a truly memorable day
A long day at around 14 miles and 4,500 feet of ascent but totally rewarding. I had in my mind’s eye a day that pretty much matched what we actually experienced. I still can’t believe my birthday wishes came true
Last few years birthday presents have been replaced with birthday nice weekends away in Cornwall. For my birthday treat this year I fancied a change and wanted a a trip to the Lake District, probably to replace the weekend in Wasdale we missed a couple of weeks earlier. Visiting northern England is always a risk of a washout but we struck gold and as you can see from this and next couple of posts we had three superb days out.
We reached the area with time for a Friday afternoon walk. What better than a round of some of the Langdale Pikes. Short but steep.
I’d forgotten just how steep the walk up to Stickle Tarn was. I’d also forgotten just what a fine walk it was as well
It rekindled a whole host of great memories from the many times I’ve walked this classic route although this is the first time for maybe 20 years
Stickle Gill is wonderful companion on the steep climb and as it was a week day it was relatively quiet.
The weather was rather hazy but the views were still fabulous and the setting at Stickle Tarn is magnificent
Across the lake to the cliffs of Pavey Ark
And Harrison Stickle
Time for a short rest to take it all in
On a whim I decided to tackle Jacks Rake for the first time in ages. You can see it slanting up across the face of Pavey Ark from right to left in the photo below
I love this photo from the shore of the tarn below the face off Pavey Ark
In my younger days (when I was a couple of stones lighter, more nimble and with fully functioning knees) Jacks Rake was always seen as an easy scramble route, a sort of training scramble not much more than a rocky walk. As the years have progressed scrambling is something I rarely do and I was out of practice to the extent I found I was close to my limits
I found the route exhilarating and a little intimidating. I used to take risks of all sorts when I was younger but no so any more. I’m not sure whether its an awareness of my own mortality or whether its having a family to be responsible for but I feel so much less at home on rock now
The route is in fact technically very easy but with a feeling of exposure out of character with most scrambles in the same grade. TBF is more lithe and agile than me and I think she was enjoying herself immensely, thriving on the challenge. I was just nervous for both of us
I still enjoyed it of course, just with a little less of the carefree attitude of my youth. It was also good to enjoy the route in dry weather as it becomes a little greasy and slippery in damp conditions. If you are keen to try a more adventurous route up a mountain its a pretty good one to start with. Its a long steep ledge/gully with loads of holds, steep enough and exposed enough to be interesting but never difficult
TBF in full rock athlete mode
Enough photos of TBF, so here’s one of your truly smiling after conquering the climb
After a cuppa on Pavey Ark summit we headed off to Harrison Stickle. The steepness and rocky terrain of these peaks gives them a big mountain feel despite their relatively low height
Pike of Stickle in the distance but we ran out of time (we had an appointment with a fine bistro in Coniston)
We headed down via the spectacular path that traverses high above the deep ravine of Dungeon Ghyll
The Coniston Fells in the distance (more on those in a later post)
The view along the green fell-lined valley is one of my favourites, quintessentially Lake District
A fabulous afternoon revisiting old mountain friends. I can’t believe it had been so long since I’d done this walk. A day further enhanced by dodging the scandalous £8 parking charge and one of the best meals I’ve had in quite a while. And there was even better to come
Its been a couple of years since I managed to take a walk on my way home from work. A spell of excellent weather in May prompted me to do what I should do all the time which is to keep my walking gear in the back of the car so I can take a hike whenever the weather is suitable. I have a range of short walks I can do on the way home and this is one of the best. A small hill, a short walk with fine views and always deserted at such an unusual time of day. I saw not a soul up here on such a glorious evening
It was pretty much the perfect weather, time of year and time of day to be out in the hills
The sky and the air clarity was exceptional. The sun at just the right angle in the sky to bring out the colours. The trees and fields that verdant shade of green that comes with late spring and the peak of growth
Whilst I have a love of many place across Europe and beyond I often hear the comment that Britain is one of the most beautiful. Looking through these images its hard to argue with that
Bryn Arw is also a fine viewpoint for many of my favourite walks a good number of which are my targets for post work stretches. Blorenge in the background below. Ysgyryd Mawr and the Sugar Loaf in the panorama above
Garway Hill middle distance
There is always time for a brew on a walk and even though I no doubt had an impatient TJS back home waiting for me to cook his tea, he could wait another 15 minutes!
Selfie time
Hatterrall Hill, another favourite
I like using cairns as foreground in photos
The Sugar Loaf, another classic after work target
I think I’ve taken a photo of this tree every time I’ve done this walk
And I think this shot as well. At this time of day and year the lushness and vivid green of these trees always makes me smile and get the camera out – or phone in this case
After a long day stuck in a bland office this was a walk to really lift the spirits.
One of my favourites. High edges, streams, waterfalls , a blue sky and breakfast outdoors. A perfect combination.
The weather forecast was for a reasonable day with some sunshine. We hadn’t expected a clear blue sky morning. It was glorious
Although the large waterfall at the start of the walk was in shadow
The Caerfanell valley is a beauty and on a clear morning in spring the combination of blue sky, green trees and a bubbling stream is enchanting
Even after a dry spell the path is a muddy one but with views like this, hardly a chore
Small waterfalls cascade line the route and as I always do here I went a bit crazy with the camera. Not a bad excuse though
We were out early – for us anyway – so the whole place was deserted
The reason for such keen-ness? Another outdoor breakfast. Life is pretty good under a warm sun, eating a bacon and egg sandwich with a fresh cuppa
Alas such a good day deserved a high level walk so there was some hard work to be done
The walk directly up the slopes at the back of the photo below is one of the steepest I know but it does deliver you to a high and little frequented edge that is a real joy
TJS was again my muse for the day
These edges are a feature everywhere in the South Wales mountains but these are almost always deserted and have extensive and expansive views. On a clear day like this its hard to imagine a better walk
As you reach Carn Pica (sadly with its impressive cairn now collapsed) the view open out to the high peaks of the Brecon Beacons. Corn Du and Pen y Fan always stand proud
With the weather being so stunning we extended the walk by carrying on towards Fan y Big. After almost 3 hours walk/breakfasting from the car it was only here that we started to see people
These edges are equally fine with equally expansive and extensive views to the north. In fact due to the peculiar geography you can make an almost a 360 circuit of the high ground along edges
We cut back across the plateau to the southern edges again following the Beacons Way. I’ve never walked that part before and expected a bash through heather and bog but in fact it was well-marked and actually quite delightful with some new vistas
All that walking deserved another stop for second lunch and another brew, this time perched high up on the edges
From there it was pretty much straight down past another succession of pretty waterfalls.
We could have stayed out longer but the forecast mentioned heavy showers that in the end never materialised. Still it was a fine walk and we’d enjoyed the best part of the day having gone out early. I’m liking the outdoor breakfasts, well worth the effort to carry the larger stove and fuel around
No idea how long the walk was as I forgot to turn off the mapping apps so it added on the 40 mile drive home. I’m guessing around 9 miles of magnificent entertainment.
For our last day we managed an eclectic mix of sights and travel. Heading first to The City we hopped off the tube at Monument, named after the – well – the Monument to the Great Fire of London. It didn’t start here but the height of the tower is the same distance from the spot where they think it started (a bakery in Pudding Lane)
We’ve been up before and have to say the views are not that great as its overshadowed by most buildings in the area.
Our main reason for hitting The City was a trip to the top of the Sky Garden, this rather striking building also known locally as the “Walkie-Talkie”. More on that in a moment.
We had half an hour to kill so took a wander around the district. On a Bank Holiday Monday its eerily deserted
There are several new glass towers going up including one called “The Scalpel” clearly trying to cut the opposition down to size!
I have to say I really like skyscrapers and especially the Gherkin. As tall office buildings full of office types and bankers ruining the country go, its a fine one (apologies to anyone who does work in there – I have no idea what they get up to)
This is the infamous Lloyds building, the one that looks like an oversized air conditioning unit. You can imagine the drunken conversation at the Architects Guild when someone with too much Pinot Grigio in his system opined “I know, lets put all the ducting and pipework on the OUTSIDE!”. It’s a grotesque building but oddly eye-catching
As was this rather unusual sculpture
Back to the Sky Garden. Apparently its very unpopular with locals but I really like it. It has a form that’s graceful and sleek although it does dominate the skyline almost as much as The Shard
What’s even better, you can go up for free (you have to pre-book your slot a week in advance though)
The views from the top are superb. It’s a mandate of mine that all tall buildings should have the top floor dedicated to a viewing platform and that it should be free. It should be a planning condition. The Sky Garden has a place in my heart for doing just that. By comparison, the viewing platform on The Shard is not much higher and costs the best part of £100 for a family of four
HMS Belfast
St Pauls Cathedral
The Shard
Canary Wharf
The viewing platform is only partly open air so all the photos are through glass hence the reflections spoiling the images a bit
Tower Bridge
The space is really well thought out, lots of light, plenty of space, views all round with a garden of indoor plants. The booking system (providing you know about it) means that its never crowded
We spent a very happy hour up here
As you can imagine, all that glass means it’s effectively a Greenhouse so it was getting hot and time for lunch
A supermarket sandwich lunch by the river followed by a stroll along the Thames to catch another DLR journey to the East End
Tower Bridge again
The Tower of London
The Shard
This vista caught my eye as a juxtaposition of the very old and the very new
Canary Wharf while we waited for a train
Our next spot was the Olympic Park. We got off at what we thought was the shorter walk but it was eerily deserted and edgy. The Stadium was equally deserted but we could hear crowds of people.
This is the Arcelormittal Orbit, the tallest sculpture in the world (if you don’t see it as a Tower!) The very thin silver line snaking down the tower is actually a slide. It looked fun until I realised how much of a dent in my wallet it would make and thought better of it
The crowds were actually hundreds of kids playing in the fountains on the approach from the Westfields Shopping Mall
This is the Olympic Swimming Complex. I thought it was stunning
More travel out to the east end. To look at these gentrified water-side houses and….
Take a trip on the Emirates cable car across the Thames
The queues didn’t look too bad but they insisted on not filling the cars as it was “too hot”. Much better to have people stand in the sun in a queue without any seats for almost an hour! You can imagine my thoughts on this decision!
This did mean we got a cabin to ourselves and luckily it was worth the wait. It’s a short trip but it does go pretty high over the river and the views are excellent
I was pleased to see the Thames Barrier for the first time
Over all too soon and then we were off again, back past the Millennium Dome and onto another tube journey. You can climb to the top of the dome. I thought it sounded fun until I worked out they wanted the best part of £150 for the family. Just to walk up on the roof of a tent. I passed on the idea
One final riverside stroll along the South Bank past some now familiar landmarks
After a nice pasta meal we took our final walk over the Millennium Bridge
With the sun low in the sky the views were majestic
The sun sets on fabulous weekend away
With a last lingering look at London’s tallest building – for now anyway
Amazing weekend and one we all enjoyed together as a family
Day two and a visit to one of the suburban villages. The trip out to Greenwich was always a popular one when I lived in London and we repeated this classic with a few enhancements on another glorious, cloudless sunny day.
A trip on the always fun Docklands Light Railway, complete with driver-less trains to get us to the river near Canary Wharf. A view across the Thames, to ships old and new, from Island Gardens
Under the river via the foot tunnel
And back across to where we’d come from, the domed red brick building centre-right in the photo is the tunnel entrance on the far side
To work up an appetite for lunch we took a walk into Greenwich Park. London has some stunning parks and this is one of the best. It has huge expanses of open grassy meadows and wooded glades with fabulous views over the eastern part of the city. Whilst there were plenty of people it never feels crowded even on a sunny bank holiday weekend
We found a suitable spot and sat for a while to enjoy some warm sunshine and a bit of shade
The rear of the impressive Royal Naval College
We walked back along the river to the centre of town. A group of kayakers out on the Thames, the Millennium Dome in the background
The Cutty Sark, now fully restored and looking as good as new after the fire
Another market based lunch. Greenwich Market had a fine array of street food stalls and we took our fill of wraps and cakes. The nice people of the Naval College allow you to picnic on their expansive lawns.
After all that food I felt that a beer by the river was in order so we walked back through the grounds for a very fine pint of wheat beer in the sun
It’s an impressive building with fine views
The best way to reach or return from Greenwich is by boat. As you can imagine its popular and we had to queue for a short while to get on a boat but well worth it.
Past the every developing collection of towers at Canary Wharf
Gentrified old river-side houses.
Under Tower Bridge
The Sky Garden and Southwark Bridge
The Tate Modern and The Shard
The also ever-expanding skyline of the City
I like this shot (even if the horizon went off kilter – I blame the boat). St Pauls, The City, Waterloo Bridge and a red bus all in shot
The London Eye and County Hall
Seeing as we hopped off the boat at Westminster we thought we’d take a look at the Abbey
It’s a fine building but in my minds-eye its the same colour, a golden brown, as the Houses of Parliament seen in the background. Clearly it’s not so I’ve no idea why I’ve always thought that
The sun was in just the right place to light up its features
We stopped off for another sit down in St James Park before walking past Buckingham Palace. The flag seemed to indicate Lizzie was at home watching TV but she didn’t return my cheery wave. Perhaps she was worried about which hat to wear at the wedding
We continued our parkland stroll through Green Park and into Hyde Park. We had thought of walking through to the end of Hyde Park but it was hot and we felt we’d be much better served by a curry
So an interesting mix of tube and overground trains took us to London’s curry capital at Brick Lane. Needless to say curry-holics like me and TJS were in heaven and we found a very fine curry house. TBF enlivened the chat by remarking how amazing it was that they kept the windows behind us so clean in a city. Not the most observant of people, she’d failed to notice they were patio style windows and were wide open to the street!
Suitably refreshed we headed for home. The walk through the streets past Spitalfields Market in the setting sun was a joy
Christ Church of Spitalfields looked very fetching in the evening light
And I liked this view to the office blocks near Liverpool Street Station
Great day out mixing rural charm with the grittier delights of east London
Regular readers know that May Bank Holiday is time for camping and gathering with old friends of long-standing. In fact we’ve been doing that for well over twenty years. This year for a variety of reasons but primarily family unity and togetherness we did something different. TJF is not much of a fan of the walking and outdoor weekends and with TJS approaching A-Levels we felt it would be better so stay closer to home. I’m also acutely aware of the fact that family holidays are coming to an end and both me and TBF wanted a trip that we could all enjoy together. After the huge successes of trips around European cities last year we decided on a long weekend away in London.
We rented an apartment in Hammersmith and with a huge slice of luck we didn’t see a cloud for the whole three days. On our first day we took in the classic South Bank area kicking off with a walk past the Tower of London and over Tower Bridge.
The views from, and of, what is in my opinion London’s most iconic landmark were breathtaking. Along the Thames….
Over to the City
And City Hall and the Shard
As if that wasn’t enough we were lucky enough to see them raise the bridge a couple of minutes after we walked across
A fine view back across the Thames to Tower Bridge
And the Tower of London
Lunch was beckoning and we hit Borough Market. I love food markets and the quantity of sumptuous treats was amazing. We feasted on burgers, wraps, paella, fruit, cakes and fudge – along with about a million other people it seemed. It’s not the place to avoid the crowds.
Southwark Cathedral where I planned to eat our picnic but they don’t let you take food through to the gardens any more 😦
Time to work off that lunch with a walk along the South Bank. One of the best city walks. I remember a visit to London in the late 80’s and walking along here, thinking how down-beat and edgy it was. Nowadays its a stunning parkland style walk with plenty of sights all with views across and along the river.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
St Paul’s Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge
We took a walk over the bridge to take a closer look at the cathedral
It looked stunning, gleaming white under a clear blue sky
We took a trip to the roof garden of a shopping mall (don’t remember the name) from where you get a good close up view
Then back across the river to the impressive Tate Modern. Since I was last here they have opened a new viewing platform and its wonderful. Considering its free and open to all it offers a superb view across the city
We decided not to look at the art. As I’ve described before, proper culture is wasted on us and besides it was too nice a day to sit inside
Having said that we were on our way to an indoor visit. I’d deliberately avoided the usual tourist hot spots as the weather was so good and I was reluctant spend money! We continued our walk along the South Bank towards Westminster
Past the London Eye and County Hall. London is always busy but it was mental around here
And over to the Houses of Parliament. I actually had no idea you can take a tour on Saturdays and Sundays and expected it to be booked up months in advance but easily managed to book a self guided audio tour. It was excellent, really informative and comprehensive. Having seen the various rooms, chambers, House of Lords and House of Commons many times it was pretty cool to be able to see them close up. Our enjoyment was further enhanced when TJS told us he’d mistakenly been given a child audio tour by mistake! 🙂
Its well worth the trouble to take a tour if you are in London over a weekend. You can’t take photos inside unfortunately so you’ll have to take my word for it that its fabulous inside
We finished off the day with a walk along the Mall to Trafalgar Square and a slap up Chinese Meal in Chinatown
I think we walked further than if we’d been out in the mountains as usual
A week after summer seem to have arrived, all warm weather, shorts and clear blue skies we took a stroll on Hergest Ridge. A nice easy Sunday afternoon wander. What the photos don’t show was just how bitterly cold it was. In this maddest of weather years so far temperatures fell from the low 20’s to cold enough for snow in less than a week.
We wrapped up warm, winter clothing on and walked briskly from one end of the ridge at Kington to the other at Gladestry
The mountains were dark and gloomy and we had several spots of rain that threatened a burst of heavier stuff but it stayed dry
I liked these moody looking clouds
Just before we reached the car and seemingly from nowhere (no more than 15 minutes after the moody cloud shot) we were treated to a sudden and expansive patch of blue sky and sunshine
It was actually quite warm in the sun – more weather madness
We didn’t stop for any of the 6 mile walk – it was far too cold other than this short spell
Out and back from the car in less than two hours for for a dose of warm/cold winter/spring/summer weather. Hard to know what season we are in at times
I’m a bit behind on the blog again so let me take you back to the recent spell of hot weather. No, not that one, the one before that, must have been mid-April, maybe. Anyway a few days of hot sunny weather had us planning a some wild camping but forecasts of heavy storms put me off. The best of weather seemed to be Saturday morning and we didn’t want to waste it driving and packing. Me and Sherpa Junior were up and out early with plans to have breakfast on Table Mountain. The day began with a relentless and steep climb to Table Mountain
There were clouds gathering and I feared that the promised storms were on their way earlier than predicted
Not before we reached Table Mountain though where the skies were clear again and after a wander about we settled down for a feast
I’ve often thought about camping up here but its not nearly as flat as it looks from a distance. In fact its extremely lumpy and you’d do well to find a spot flat enough for one person to sleep in comfort
Its a fine place though and this early in the morning we had it to ourselves.
The views across the Usk valley to the Brecon Beacons are superb
We feasted on freshly cooked bacon and egg butties and homemade bread. TJS was sceptical that I could both transport safely and then fry an egg on a camping stove but I am a man of many skills and managed both without even breaking the yolk. Masterful
Suitably stuffed we headed off to burn off the calories we’d just consumed.
Looking back to the very distinctive Table Mountain
It’s a long high stroll across the two summits of Pen Cerrig Calch and Pen All Mawr, the former with the distinction of a Limestone cap above the more resistant rocks. White limestone boulders seem oddly out of place amongst peat and heather
We arrived on the latter and bid good morning to a couple of backpackers. They looked a little unhappy, possibly due to the enormous packs they were carrying and the fact they looked dressed for winter (waterproofs, woolly hats etc). It was hot and sultry and most definitely shorts and t-shirt weather.
The views were hazy now but it was still warm and we sat on the summit and had a brief rest and power-nap
The clouds rolled in and we were treated to a brief light shower that seemed to herald the storms. A few minutes later it was clear again and blue skies were back in the ascendency. We ambled down the long ridge of Tal Trwynau, one of my favourites.
Rather than trudge back down the road to the car we climbed halfway back up the hillside to the fine traversing path across the flanks of the hills we’d been up earlier. A little navigational incompetence from me added some unexpected fences and walls to cross but otherwise a fine finish as the clouds started to look threatening again (although the storms never amounted to much and we’d have been fine camping out)
A good 10 miles under the belt and pushing towards 3,000 feet of ascent.
surfnslide 