213 to go!!

Distance : 4 miles

Date of walk : Saturday 23rd. December

Taken a while to write this one up due to Christmas festivities etc..... Myself and Beth had been sent out of the house so that the house could be tidied for Christmas, so being the wonderful husband I am I said to Mrs H that I would keep us out for the day.


Not a bad excuse for hitting the fells. I have only introduced Beth to real walking recently so decided it was time to do her first Wainwright. We did it from White Moss and went through the woods and then headed towards Loughrigg Terrace. It was quite an enjoyable walk being one of the easier Wainwrights and also allowing me a chance to test out my ankle.


I was amazed how few people I passed on the way up yet by the time we reached the top, people descended from all angles and enjoyed their lunch at the top. Beth really enjoyed this especially when she realized she could see Elterwater which was a walk we had done in August.


On the way down we entered the caves which is one of her favourite places to visit. Well for young Beth there's only 213 to go now and I am honestly not sure where I am up to so I will start again and cross off the next 213 some time in the next few years! (hopefully)

Loughrigg Fell - December 2006 - Flickr photos

Who's stolen our reservoirs?

Distance : 6 miles

Climb : 750 feet

Date of walk : Tuesday 19th. December

Well decided I fancied a walk. No work this week which is great but I'd rather have done a few more days and not have to go back on January 2nd. Anyway that's not a worry at the moment. Beth wanted to come so I had to consider where to walk as she is a damn good walker but sometimes I forget that she's only 8 years old. Most of her class would complain if they had to walk to school! Also my dad was coming although he's still very mobile for someone approaching 63!! (It's a good job he can't find this blog!) On the way over towards Dovestones it was looking a little misty but I decided to go for it as we could always turn round. It doesn't bother me but I have to consider Beth. The forecast was for the mist to lift during the afternoon so let's go for it.

Parked up at Binn Green (too tight to pay at Dovestones) and went up the hill towards the peak.
Beth was finding it pretty tough and I was wondering whether I was being a responsible parent but she was just about still smiling.



Once at the top we headed for the Memorial Cross. The story behind this is that a local MP James Platt was grouse shooting when he accidentally got shot. Being in the 1800s there was certainly no Mountain Rescue so his helpful friends carried him back down the hill and left him at Chew Castle (which no longer exists) to take him home later. Unfortunately, when they arrived back at the bottom the MP was dead. All I can think of is that their grouse were more important than their MP. Also, as the climb is about 800 feet, so that's an awful lot of climbing.



Anyway we continued the walk through Ashway Stone and Dean Rocks. Then we continued along the ridge to join the road from Chew Reservoir and walked back d0wn the hill and round the other side of Dovestones Reservoir and back to Binn Green by which point it was pretty dark and we had two generations of wives/mums ringing to check we were OK!!!!

All in all a cracking walk and when the fog lifted it was a decent day although it did keep swirling around and on the descent it was quite atmospheric as the temperature dropped. The only downer was I twisted my ankle again about half a ile from the car. I wrenched it on Derwent Edge at the end of October and it hasn't been right since, so I'm going to buy an ankle support so that I can still get out of the house.

Flickr Album - Dovestones - December 2006