A once in 1000 year event !

Well they have been saying on the TV that it was a once in 1000 year event. It began to rain Wednesday afternoon just after I had finished my walk. The rain got heavier and heavier and didn't stop. I woke up on Thursday and it was still raining, it didn't stop all day. With all the water that was already about I knew we would be in for some trouble. I didn't realise how much.

Tuning in for the evening news was a revelation Kendal flooded, Ambleside cut off, Cockermouth flood, Keswick flooded. I had been to some of these places this week, it was surreal to say the least to see these places under several feet of water.

Friday we were leaving. Or at least we hoped so. Roads were closed, flooding still present in many places. We set off heading along the road that runs beside Thirlmire only to be confronted with landslides. Joy!



With my Dad's exhaust scraping over the rocks in the road, we managed to make it tothe A66 and from there we were home free! What an adventure!

Not so much and adventure for the people who have had their lives devastated by the floods my thoughts go out to them :(


These are the last 2 pics from Wednesday's walk descending from Steel Fell, I just stuck them here as there was no where else for them.

More pics from Part 3

Looking down toward Easdale Tarn on the way to Sergeant Man.


The view from Sergeant Man.


The view after leaving High Raise Heading for Calf Crag.


Getting closer to Calf Crag about to hit some boggy ground below. I went knee deep in some parts, I ended up being generously covered in mud. Good fun!


Almost at Calf Crag, Helm Crag in the distance on the right.

The middle of a week to remember part 3

OK Wednesday was going to be my best day, well that meant that it wasn't going to rain until the afternoon about 1ish or 2ish. So i opted for my biggest route of the week approx 5 hours and bagging 5 Wainwrights. This route I had to do solo as the parents wouldn't have been able to keep up. So they went and did their thing and I did mine.

I headed up to Easdale Tarn, past swolen rivers and crazy water falls.




From Easdale Tarn, up to Blea Rigg, where I found myself a cave between 2 boulders, I will have to remember that one for future reference !


The view from Blea Rigg toward Grasmere.




This was the view from Blea Rigg looking toward the Langdale Pikes.

The middle of a week to rememeber part 2

At this point I'mnot going to mention what the weather was like (wet :P ). I decided to bag Tarn Crag which was just above Easdale Tarn. It only took a couple of hours and I had great fun ! Ma and Pa sat this one out in the warmth of the cottage.

I am pretty wet at this point halfway down. Again no paths just waterfalls and streams. Thank Jeebus for GoreTex :D
Two huge boulders at the end of the walk, there would have been some nice bouldering on them but they were sitting in the middle of a bog :(

The middle of a week to remember part 1

With Walla Crag in the bag, Saturday was a washout. No walking at all,I was not happy. However Sunday looked more promising as we were staying in Grasmere I decided that as Silver Howe was on the doorstep that was the next logical hill to drag the "folks" up.

This was our cottage in Grasmere for the week and very nice it was too !


Well the promising day didn't actually materialise and it ended up with a mix of persistent rain and low cloud. We soldiered on however there were no views from the top.

This was the view looking back at Grasmere.


This gives you an idea of how wet it was on the way back, all the paths turned into waterfalls and streams, good fun if you ask me, perhaps you shouldn't as ma and pa.

This is my mam doing the best yoda impression I have seen for a while !

The start of a week to remember!

Well I always knew it was going to be hit and miss this week with the weather. I was hoping that as usual the weather boffins were going to get it wrong and I was going to get at least 1 or 2 good days.

Sadly every day was a bit wet some more than others. In all honesty I wasn't expecting a once in 1000 year rainstorm but then again you can't really plan for those ! Perhaps going to the lakes on Friday 13th really was an omen !

I arrived in the lakes with the parentals and decided that Walla Crag would be a nice warm up.




The Parents smiling at this point, if only we knew what was coming !

Im off to the lakes!

I'm off to the lakes tomorrow for a whole week of walking, scrambling and getting rained on. Expect a massive update when I get back!

Anyone for pea soup ?

After being beaten back by the weather a couple of weeks ago in Patterdale I decided to return and finish off what I had started. The weather forecast said 60% if clear hill tops so I thought it would be an opportunity to bag some nice photos as well.

I headed up from the car park in Patterdale towards Beda head, well the weather looked as if it wasn't going to be good as promised. No gales or driving rain this time just low cloud mist and drizzle. Great photos weren't on the cards today.

As you can see visibility was low! Anyway a good test for the navigation skills I thought!



So getting to Beda Head was no problem, pretty clear paths there and back. My plan was to go up to Angle Tarn Pikes and poke around there for a bit of fun but in the mist I overshot by quite a bit .
Fortunately I had made a mental note that if I did overshoot I would end up at a wall near Satura crag. That's exactly what happened and once i had realised my mistake it was a case of reversing my route and heading back along the path until I eventually found the lake and the pikes.

When I did get to the bottom of the pikes I was rewarded with this brief moment of almost clear weather .

After this I stopped for some lunch and prowled around for a bit trying to get some more photos and then headed back for the car.