High How to above Spout Force ramble in the dark

A 7km walk at 4pm as the sun set to explore a path visible on Google Earth.

Route: from the cottage walking through the village and up the steep narrow road onto and crossing Whinlatter Pass. Entering right-to-roam land and rising with a zig zag track to the top of High How, exiting the field top right to find a path aiming gently downhill eastwards. (Initially trying for a higher course but turning back.) After a few hundred yards, perhaps foolishly following a signed path diagonally uphill and then across the hillside with no sign of a path in the lessening light. (It would have been better to stick with the more obvious track lower down.) Crossing two streams and in evening darkness entering the forest (deploying a head torch) at a stile and then along a clear but massively overgrown forest track (having to force our way through bushes) until it became a wide, obviously well-used forest road. Following this right round the end of the valley and then down to rejoin the Whinlatter Pass at the Spout Force car park. Down the road, home.

Conditions: a cool night.

Pub? Sadly not. Aldi G&T back at the cottage.

11km Loughrigg Circuit

An 11 km run on a cold, frosty but sunny winter day.

Route: from the upper Ambleside car park, running 200m on the road towards Grasmere, turning left down a side road to find a path through Rothay 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. Part way along taking a footpath on the left across fields to meet a stony walled track rising and turning to circumnavigate the hillside rising to reach a spur and following a grassy path, right, to reach Lily Tarn. Descending on a grassy, muddy path to reach the main track over Loughrigg and thence back over the bridge over the Rothay and back to the start.

Conditions: a cold sunny day though shadowed for the first half of the run. Some ice under foot but not as much as I feared.

Pub: Tweedies Bar, Grasmere for Brew York Brew York and Sadler's Hop Bomb and lunch.

Head of Kentmere 10km run

A 10km circuit amid mountain scenery, this time from Kentmere itself.

Route: Leaving the car parked in a field at Low Bridge (about 100m before Kentmere Church, £3 all day) and taking a steep road towards Green Quarter. On reaching the main road, and then after about a further 200m, taking a left turn onto Low Lane, a stony bridleway, drier than on the one previous occasion. Along this to rejoin the familiar route at Overend to follow the track to Tongue House. Then by a narrow grassy path, marshy in places, but repaired after flood damage in 2015, to reach the footbridge just south of Kentmere Reservoir. Back along the bridleway, first downhill and then rising above Hartrigg, descending and then, 1km before before Kentmere, turning left on a grassy bridleway uphill and then down to the church and back to the car.

Conditions: cool, still and with some sun.

Pub: The Hawkshead Brewery for WPA and Cumbrian Five Hop (and lunch).

Pike o' Blisco

A wintry walk with Ian and Steve (no Lois).

Route: leaving the car at the New Dungeon Ghyll National Trust car park (free for members) and taking a muddy path along fields parallel to the river as far as the Old Dungeon Ghyll and then along the road to the campsite and thence up the new-ish zig-zagging engineered path underneath Side Pike to the top of the road pass. Crossing the road and taking a path contouring round the hill to the right and gaining height gradually to meet a path coming more steeply up from lower down the road. Following as it became a paved path into snow to reach the shoulder of Pike o' Blisco. Then through deeper snow, navigating a rock chimney to gain the rocky summit with views over to Crinkle Crags and Bow Fell. Descending a snowy path to Red Tarn and then the clear gravel path over Brown Howe becoming a steep pitched path down to Oxendale, through the farm at Stool End and to the Old Dungeon Ghyll for a beer (or two). Then back along the road to the car.

Conditions: Earlier sun giving way to a cloudy day with a couple of rain showers and a snow shower at the top. Snow under foot at altitude (~400m).

Pub: the Old Dungeon Ghyll for Theakston Old Peculiar.

Silver Howe

A short 8km walk on a beautifully sunny but bitterly cold day.

Route: leaving the car in the Broadgate Road car park in Grasmere and taking the road (parallel to Easedale Road) towards Allan Bank. Just before it, taking a signed tarmac path round it to the right, becoming a stony track. Following this up a gentle rather indistinct spur of hillside, taking a fork left to cross Wray Gill (OS Grid Ref: NY 32450 07199) a little after an obvious ravine to the left. From the summit, descending south onto a hillocky moorland over Spedding Crag and Dow Bank heading south east. Descending to an obvious lateral path, a bit before the road, near Hammerscar Wood and taking the walled bridleway back to the road and hence the start.

Conditions: bright sun but a bitterly cold northerly wind.

Pub: beforehand, Tweedies Bar for Ilkley Rombald and Fell Bantam. Afterwards, tea and cheese scones in a café on Red Lion Square.

Bell Crags and Ullscarf

A fair 12km walk on a grey autumnal day.

Route: leaving the car (free at the moment to make amends for the tardy repairs post Storm Desmond) at Dobgill car park and heading north along the road. Initially missing the relevant left turn (looking for a missing stile) but back-tracking to find a steep path heading up past Bank Crags to Brown Rigg. Initially biasing to the north / right but correcting to hit the intervening points of higher ground to reach the summit of Bell Crags. Heading south west downhill to find a path parallel to to a fence across a marsh, luckily partly frozen. Climbing up to the left behind Standing Crag and turning right uphill again to follow the fence before turning left on a marshy path to reach the summit. Descending, pathless, initially a little too far from the edge (ie. too far north) but eventually approaching Nab Crags, past the fine Beacon cairn and then over Birk Crag to Harrop Tarn and down the path to Dobgill car park.

Conditions: cool and over partly frozen marshy ground higher up. A grey day.

Pub: Tweedies Bar, Grasmere for Cumbrian Legendary Ales Loweswater Gold and Brew York Big Eagle IPA.

Carl Side, via Southerndale and the Dodd

A surprisingly arduous 15km walk on a fine, sunny Autumn day.

Route: unable to reach the Dodd Wood car park because of the closure of the A591, parking instead at Dancing Gate and taking a steep muddy forest track (much evidence of use) uphill to find a faint path marked with yellow paint on trees to reach a clearer track coming up from the road and hence reaching a broad muddy forest road leading to a marked route to the Dodd Wood car park. Then joining a clear path north through the woods breaking out of the trees to mount the ridge at Watches and descend to cross the stream. Then taking a grassy track / path to the head of Southerndale and climbing steeply and pathless to the col and on to the summit of Carl Side. Descending as far as White Stones to turn right on a clear lateral path and then heading down hill at a white cairn. Crossing a forestry road at a stile and then taking a track and then well made gravel path leading eventually to the summit. Retracing the route to the stile and continuing 600m down it to where, a year before, there had been a grassy track behind a wooden hut. Now a large muddy track through felled forest led on with no sign of the previous silvern path down-hill. So picking a route through felled trees, across deep but dry mud and using mats of confer branches eventually to exit forestry operations emerging onto the hillside and down to the road close to Millbeck, turning right back to the car.

Conditons: a bright cool sunny day.

Pub: Middle Ruddings, Braithwaite for ** and Barngates Tag Lag but also a free tasting of 7 other beers left over from the Middle Ruddings beer festival which had just finished.