“A family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together, a place beloved.” This is how Alfred Wainwright described Cat Bells, near Keswick and we couldn’t wait to get exploring this little fell.
Wainwright Walk 6 – Cat Bells
Wainwright Bagging
Wainwright Walk 5 – Blea Rigg and Silver Howe
At the start of this year, my friend Flick was over from Ibiza. We decided to catch up whilst walking in the Lakes, because going from a pleasantly warm 12 – 15 degrees to single digits in Manchester wasn’t enough of a temperature change – close to freezing on the fells was what was required.
Almost Bowfell – A Windy Day Out
During the last months of 2017, I made plans to get up to the Lakes for a solo walk. I’m pretty cautious regarding the weather when I go on my own, and it seemed that every time I made plans to go, near gale force winds were forecast and I would end up cancelling at the last minute. After the third time of postponing it occurred to me that I didn’t actually know what it felt like to walk in 30 – 40 miles per hour winds. After a chat with Rick, I decided I would head up anyway. If it was too windy for me to feel safe, I would turn back and take myself for a nice low level wander somewhere.
Wainwright Walk 4 – Kentmere Round Plus One
At the end of August, I was really excited to be out in the Lakes with my lovely friend Kathryn again. Back before our children arrived, we had volunteered with Fix the Fells together, regularly making the journey up the M6 to spend the day with brilliant, passionate people repairing or maintaining the upland paths. (You can find out more about the great work they do here.) This time, our destination was Kentmere, to try and tackle the “more challenging than we had walked in ages” Kentmere Round.
Wainright Walk 3 – Gowbarrow Fell
With lovely weather forecast for the weekend, we decided we would visit the Lake District once more, to bag another Wainwright with Rowan. After a bit of research using the trusty Wainwright pictorial guides and the brilliant Hillbagging website, we decided to tackle Gowbarrow Fell. The walk we had planned was slightly shorter than our previous Wainwright walk, but included more of a climb so I was expecting it to be a bit of challenge for Rowan’s little legs.
Wainright Walk 2 – Black Fell
After a five year break, it’s my second Wainwright walk in as many weeks, this time with the whole family. As Rowan has been not just managing, but truly enjoying every walk we have been on, we decided we would make the drive to the Lake District so he could tackle his first Wainwright. Black Fell (with its very heavy metal name) was to be our destination, chosen for its diminutive height yet fabulous views, with a South Lakes location making for an easier drive from Manchester.
Wainright Walk 1 – Cold Pike and Pike o’ Blisco
If you’ve read the “About Me” section of this blog, you’ll know that I used to regularly go walking in the Lake District. I volunteered with Fix the Fells and my Wainwright count was up to around 60. However, I have no records of when I walked these fells, I just know I have. Continue reading
Exploring the Landscape 