A spur-of-the-moment Sunday afternoon walk up Graystones from Midtown (Lois only)
Route: leaving the house to walk along the road to take the footpath just beside Oaklands, across the field and through trees across the road to Fernwood.
Walking up the road beside the cottages and going through the next farm gate on the right to head diagonally uphill east through two more gates and across three fields. After the fourth gate turning left, more steeply uphill, through gorse beside a wall to turn right up the gully of Wythe Gill.
Staying south of the gill to stay dry, on intermittent sheep paths, occasionally following the line of a tumbledown slate wall, to pick a way up the gully and eventually come out onto the tops and walk up a little further to a boulder and a view of the Solway.
From here, eventually, deciding to turn right towards Graystones on a path dipping down and then up to the path turning left to circumnavigate the summit plateau at mid-height and bend round to the acute corner of Embleton High Common (limit of access land). Here following east, above the very muddy path, to the northeast corner of the fell to walk up and across the two summits and down to the wall leading down to Whinlatter.
There taking the steepening path on the far side of the wall and following it down to the lateral path, faint at first, that sets off halfway down the western limit of Darling How Plantation. Following this clear, wide track down to cross Sware Gill on the little rock bridge and carry down almost to the new gate on the pass, before heading uphill again to the walls at the northeast corner of High How.
There climbing over the wall to the summit of High How, walking down the ridge and cutting across fields back to Whinlatter behind Kirkfell House to the farmgate just beside Hole Mire, and dogleg right and left to take the road down past White Ash to High Lorton and walk back to the house.
Conditions: warm sunshine and completely still to begin with, overcast with a light wind most of the time, shower at the end - muddy footpaths and boggy bits
Pub: espresso martini at home at 7pm with T
