Blogs from Lake District, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe

At the beginning of September seems like an odd time to go to the North of England, what with the weather being so famously dire in the Autumn, but peace and quiet was the name of the game. Grasmere is a tiny village in the Lake District, nestled on the bank of one of the smaller lakes (Grasmere, in fact). There are two main draws to the village for myself and my betrothed, the first of which is a shared love of English Romantic poets. Wordsworth himself lived in Grasmere for more than ten years, after becoming homesick for England while in Germany. He described the village as "the loveliest place that man hath ever found." You can visit Dove Cottage, which is the lovely cottate he lived in. There's lots of info on www.wordsworth.org.uk including ... read more

Yesterday wasn't good. The forecast turned out to be very accurate and the rains just continued. The day was literally a washout and spent on Keswick high street - ironically taking in the outdoor clothing shops in an effort to buy further wet weather gear! Having bought all that was necessary, it was off to the little coffee shop in Grange for a well-deserved strawberry cream tea! Today was a little better ... and a day spent on the High Street, i.e., the highest Roman Road in England. It was also where six Wainwright's would be climbed. Parking in Martindale, the first little issue was not getting lost on the climb up towards Steel Knotts. The little wooden Footpath sign clearly pointed along the stone wall and many others had clearly passed ahead, but sadly, the ... read more

The weatherman said today, there’s a slight chance of rain, I had to laugh to myself ... It was raining when I got up, it was raining when I wandered into town for breakfast, it was raining when I was buying my lunch, it was raining all day! The day dawned ... ... rain fell ... ... waterproofs were donned and two more Wainwrights were earmarked for climbing. Due to the inclement weather, two of the lowest were to be attempted - not difficult but, with the cloud base being so low, two offering the best opportunity. And so, in the driving rain, I drove to Thackthwaite and parked up by the side of the road and made my way past a notice imploring the red squirrels to drive carefully, through a farm yard and onto ... read more

The penultimate day of this particular trip dawned clear. The penultimate breakfast of this particular trip was enough to ensure enough energy to get me up the initial climb - 1300'! I can't believe that the time has gone so quickly. The weather must be joining in celebration as it dawned clear and hot. I set off from the Honister car park, climbing in the already hot sun towards the summit of Dale Head. This was my fifth attempt this week to have a clear summit of Dale Head and the windless morning was looking promising. Various stops for a sip of water en route were met with hot, humid, lifeless air. Before long (well, roughly 40 minutes), the summit came into view. Shortly after, the view came into view. In the mist, I'd not realised ... read more

Dawn was wonderful. After the last few days, the early morning light was amazing. A little mist but no more thick black cloud over the mountains. Today was also the day on which I was moving accommodation and so it was not going to be possible to walk great distances. So, after breakfast, I packed and transferred my bags to the car and set off to the new digs. Once my chores were done, it would be 12h30 before I was able to head off into the mountains. Parking at Newlands Hause, I decided to head up to Knott Rigg, a simple ascent of 700'. The warm sun was a delight as I climbed to the summit with its minuscule cairn made that tiny bit taller by my own addition. Once at the summit, it made ... read more