Sugar Loaf

A walk with Emma and Nathan and their friends Andy, Debbie and Greg, and then a run by ourselves, while staying at Millbrook, a stunning 16th-century cottage at Llanvihangel Crucorney.

Route: from the car park at Llanwenarth Breast, high up to the south of the hill, descending on a track to the farm at Pen-y-graig and then north east through woodland to emerge onto the hillside. West to pick up a spur and back north east along it and then east to the summit. Leaving the others there and running north east down a spur to Forest Coal Pit but, sadly, overshooting to take first a road east and then later a path on the hillside to rejoin the road back to Llanvihangel Crucorney.

Conditions: warm and sunny with fabulous views in all directions but a cold wind on the top.

Pub: The Crown, Pantygelli, for Wye Valley Brewery Hereford Pale Ale, Rhymney Brewery Best Bitter, Kite Brewery Cwrw Gorslas and Westons Mortimer’s Orchard (cider).

Lingmoor Fell

A walk on a very still Autumnal day with Steve Mitchell, Ian Lyne, Neil Simpson (no Lois).

Route: from the National Trust carpark in Elterwater taking the road through the quarry (pausing to look at the quarry from the new viewpoint), doglegging left right across the road beyond to join a track rising gradually and diagonally to the ridge and along, eventually, to the summit. Scrambling down to the saddle and taking the narrow path to Fat Man's Agony beyond the kissing gate and then onto Side Pike. Down the Fix the Fells zig-zagging path to find a short cut right before the bottom to cross to the Cumbria Way and along this back to the quarry road.

Conditions: eerily still, cloudy. Few walkers.

Pub: (joined by Lois) the Hawkshead Brewery, Staveley for WPA, Gold, Brodie's Prime, Five Hop and - weirdly - keg NZPA.

Loughrigg circuit

A 13km run on a quiet Autumnal day with Ian Lyne.

Route: From the lower Ambleside carpark, taking the path through the graveyard, round the church and then left through Rothey Park to cross the River Rothay and turn right onto the Under Loughrigg road. Turning left, before the road re-crosses the river, onto a rising road then shady track to reach views of Rydal Water. Picking the upper, increasingly stony, path, eventually rising to reach the caves and then keeping to higher paths to reach the start of Loughrigg Terrace. Along this and then the higher track, at the end, through trees to reach the summit of Red Bank. Descending, left, to reach a track round the north of Loughrigg Tarn. At the end of the track, on reaching the road again, turning rapidly right, then right, then left to descend steeply to Skelwith Bridge, Lois returning along the main road from here. After crossing the river, heading straight on to rise murderously steeply to reach Skelwith Fold and then descending along a very quiet Bog Lane to Clappersgate and then back along the main road to pick up the first half of Under Loughrigg Road to the church and the start.

Conditions: still, cool and cloudy. Few people.

Pub: The Watermill, Ings, for Wruff Night, Windermere Blonde and Colliewobbles.

Dove Crag via Stand Crags

A surprisingly substantial walk on a blustery cold day with Ian Rawe, Angie and Alistair.

Route: from the car park at Brothers Water taking the lakeside path into Dovedale, crossing the stream on a footbridge and rising besides waterfalls. At a wall corner, turning off the main path to follow the wall across the hillside, descending slightly. Where the wall turns downhill, following an obvious but steep grassy slope up onto the ridge of Stand Crags and following this across Dovedale to reach the ridge from Little Hart Crag and thence up to the summit of Dove Crag. Along to Hart Crag and down Hartsop above How to find the steep path descending directly to the car park.

Conditions: dry and very windy and cold on the summit ridge.

Pub: the Hawkshead Brewery, Staveley for Hawkshead Windermere Pale, Bitter, Gold, Five Hop and NZPA!