A Photographic Guide to My Walks in Britain's National Parks and other scenic areas

25.01.09 Castles, Dams and Reservoirs

Today I picked up 2 old friends for a days walking in the Peaks. We started from Derwent Dam and made our way along the footpath past Derwent Reservoir and around Howden Reservoir. We then crossed Ditch Clough and over to Alport Castles. After some time messing around on the rocks we continued down Rowlee Pasture, across Bridge-end Pasture and up on to Crook Hill. The sun was setting as we came down from Crook Hill and Followed Ladybower Reservoir back to the car at Derwent Dam. They day started out rather windy and cold but became milder later. Thankfully with my new Jetboil we had plenty of hot coffee and thanks to Mark for the flapjacks.

06.02.09 Skiddaw

At 6am this morning I set off with Lee, Geordie and Paul from Lincoln. We started from Peter House Farm, followed the track up to Barkbeth Hill and joined the Allerdale Ramble. We briefly used crampons when we ascended a very frozen Ullock Pike and stopped for coffee on Longside Edge. We then split off from the Allerdale Ramble and with Crampons and axes in place we followed a very steep track up to the Summit of Skiddaw. At the summit I was looking forward to a well deserved drink from my hydration bladder. Unfortunately due to a school boy error the fluid in the drinking straw had frozen solid. We then descended Broad End, made a cock up my descending around Cockup instead of the easier route over and then joined the path back to Geordie's car at the farm.

06.03.09 Cadair Berwyn

Today I got up at 5am and drove to the Berwyn Range in North Wales. I hadn't been here before and didn't know what to expect. I parked near the tea shop at the incredible Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall. I then followed the route that took me up to the top of the waterfall. Following the river I took a sharp right off the path and took the long steep ascent to the summit of Moel Sych. I then followed the ridge to the summit and trig point of Cadair Berwyn. After a brief rest I took the ridge down to Llyn Lluncaws tarn. Then it was just a case of following the path down the valley back to the car at Pistyll Rhaeadr. The great thing about today was that I didn't see a soul for four hours and the forecasted rain didn't reach me.

03.04.09 Cadair Idris

Me and Lee arrived in Minffordd at 11.30am. We waited for Geordie for over 2hrs because the fool was driving around the wrong Minffordd 42km away by the sea. We followed the path through the woods up to Llyn Cau and then rejoined the Minffordd path along the ridge around Craig Cau to the Cadair Idris summit. After a brief rest we continued east to the storm shelter at Mynydd Moel and then descended back down through to the woods and back to the Car. We pitched our tents in Dinas Mawddwy and at 9pm we had an amazing lasagne at the Buckley Pines Hotel. The weather was great. A bit cloudy but warm with no wind. Didn't sleep very well in the tent. Pitching beside stables wasn't the best idea.

04.04.09 Aran Fawddwy

Things all started out nice and mild at the start of the morning down in Cywarch. We followed the footpath behind the farm through Creigiau Camddwr. We then went right and took a breather before ascending the steep side of Gwaun y Llwyni. Visibility from here became very poor as the clouds closed around us. We walked along the shear sided ridge to the memorial cairn and stopped for a quick bite to eat. The contents of a peppered steak pasty I was eating had a strong resemblance to cat vomit and had to be disposed of. This was the first of 2 stone features that Geordie insisted should be our summit for the day. We headed north to the first real rocky section and climbed up and over and then continued to the trig point. As we started to turn back it began to rain quite heavily and I was forced to stow my camera away for the rest of the day. We made our way back to the memorial cairn, turned left and went down and around the side of the Hengwm Valley and back to the car.

24.04.09 The Roaches and Lud's Church

Driving at 4.30am was brutal but I had the urge to walk and was on a deadline because I had get back in time for the end of school. The night before myself and Geordie had settled for a quick trip to The Roaches. We started from the parking area below Hen Cloud. We made our way up Hen Cloud from the steep path (Upper Hulme side) and then crossed The Roaches. We then went down into Forest Wood for a brief rest and then continued on to Lud's Church. We then started to backtrack through the wood but took the path which lead us straight up the hill and back to The Roaches. Instead of following the path back down from The Roaches that we had used ealier, we took the route that I would call 'The Climbers track' down to the popular climbing area just above Rockhall. The path lead us back down to the base of Hen Cloud and back down to the cars. It was mild, cloudy morning but became very warm and sunny as we finished. I introduced Geordie to Maoam sweets. Later than day he lost one of his front teeth.

02.05.09 Above Buttermere

Starting from Gatesgarth we took the steep ascent up onto Fleetwith Pike. We then followed the path up to Haystacks admiring Blackbeck Tarn and Innominate Tarn along the way. We stopped for lunch on one of the jutting out crags on Haystacks and enjoyed the view down to Buttermere. We continued on down Haystacks, across Scarth Gap and up onto High Crag and then High Stile. We then made our way to the top of Red Pike before descending down to Buttermere via Bleaberry Tarn. The day started out cloudy but by mid afternoon it was sunny and warm.

26.05.09 - 20 Miles of Peak District Edges

We left Geordie's car at Baslow Edge and continued in mine to Derwent Dam. The plan was to fit in a load of the Peak District edges in one long day. Our route took us to many interesting rock formations and along Derwent Edge, Stanage Edge, Burbage Rocks, Froggatt Edge, Curbar Edge and Baslow Edge. It wasn't a particularly strenuous route as we spent the majority of our time on flat paths. What we underestimated was the foot ache. After 15 miles we described it to be like having the bottoms of our feet hit with a hammer. The afternoon coffee break at the Longshaw estate was very comforting so we insisted not to stay there long.

The morning started out very cloudy but brightened up considerably as the day went on. The wind was consistantly strong throughout though.

03.07.09 - Pillar and beyond

Starting late in the day we left from Wasdale Head where we had pitched our tent. As we took the path through Mosedale up to Black Sail Pass we assessed the cloud line which was covering all the peaks and seemed to be getting lower. We summited the cloud covered Pillar by taking the direct route and enjoyed a rewarding apple. We then descended slightly and made our way up to Scoat Fell and across Red Pike. At Dore Head we decided not to tackle Yewbarrow as it was getting late and we wanted to get back to Wasdale Head Inn for supper so we chose to follow the path beside Over Beck, around Yewbarrow and onto the road back to Wasdale Head. We didn't make it in time for dinner but the beer went down well. Visiblity was close to zero so didn't get to take many photos. Atleast it didn't rain!

04.07.09 - Scafell Pike

Early next morning in Wasdale the cloud seemed to be more broken and patches of blue sky were visible. We set off along Lingmell Beck and made our way steeply up the side of Piers Gill. This has a great feature to the walk which had some fun scrambles and sheer drops. ( I split the crotch on my trousers here which became a conversation piece later on)

After Piers Gill we took a right and followed the cairns straight up to the summit of Scafell Pike. The summit was covered by cloud so no views and it was cold, but its always great to be on Scafell Pike! Our descent took us along Lingmell Gill back down into Wasdale.

08.08.09 - In the Peaks with Noah

This trip was less about exploring new places but more about taking Noah to places I think he would enjoy. I'm hoping that as he gets older, he will want to join me more often.

The first destination for the day was Dovedale. I knew that Noah would love the stepping stones and his speed ascending the steep path up Thorpe Cloud really impressed me. He shot to the top and really enjoyed himself.Next was the Druid Rocks at Birchover. He was convinced that bears lived in the caves and really liked exploring them.Our last destination for the day was over to Robin Hood's Stride. I let him locate a route to the top and followed closely behind. We sat at the top enjoying cheese rolls.

That evening we camped in my cousin Nathan's garden and the next morning Noah helped feed his animals.

04.09.09 - Bleaklow

I'd recently read a feature on Bleaklow in Country Walking magazine (I'm so Rock 'n' Roll) and became intrigued by its strong character. It certainly seemed Bleak and it looked very hard going. I wasn't expecting anything pretty about it but I was keen to find out how I would feel being out in the middle of what looked like a very desolate and creepy landscape. I set off early from the edge of Glossop following the route above Yellowslacks Brook, continuing along the side of Dowstone Clough. After a bit of side stepping and leaping I made it to Hern Stones. The only feature I could see. At this point rain clouds started to sweep over the land behind me so I picked up the pace and continued grough leaping my way to Bleaklow Head. I then back tracked past Hern Stones in search of the Trig at High Shelf Stones and the site of the crashed B29 Superfortress. I then followed Crooked Clough past Doctor's Gate, Mossy Lea farm and back to the car at Glossop.

04.09.09 - Shutlingsloe

With Bleaklow finished and still feeling like I had some energy and time before meeting Lee, I decided to get in the car and take a trip over to Cheshire. I had done a bit of internet research and found a popular route that would end with me on the top of Shutlingsloe (a lone peak with 360 degree views). I parked up at Wildboarclough and I must say I soon realised that this wasn't really the route for me. It was reasonably pleasant and ideal if you like low level walking but I found it lacked any real points of interest or views. Eventually after making my way through many fields I reached Macclesfield Forest and followed the signs up to Shutlingsloe. After climbing the steep steps I made it to the top and the view was wonderful. After spending the first part of the day battered by wind and rain on Bleaklow it was a very nice change to be looking out over Cheshire with a low sun beaming on me. Shutlingsloe may not be that high but it does have big views.

05.09.09 - Kinder Scout via Grindsbrook

This morning I met up with Lee and Rod in Edale. We took the fun route up Grindsbrook onto the Kinder Plateau. We continued west and when we reached the top of Crowden Clough, we turned north walking in one of the peat groughs until it became narrow. It had been raining a lot over the last couple of days so up on top was very difficult but I must say we did have a giggle. After a lot of sidestepping and leaping to avoid the obvious deep patches, we found the wide channel that led to Kinder Downfall. We then followed the Pennine Way to Kinder Low and descended Jacob's Ladder back to Edale. It was a windy day and it threatened to rain but fortunately didn't. In Hindsight I would recommend staying out of the groughs especially if they are above head height and narrow. I'm sure collapses are rare but no doubt possible.

03.10.09 - Y Garn

When we pulled up at around 13.30 at Llyn Ogwen the cloud was almost to the floor, the wind was rocking the car from side to side and rain was beating down hard. It looked like we weren't getting out today. After sitting in the car for a while we re-evaluated the conditions. The clouds had lifted slightly, the rain had stopped and the wind was bearable. 3pm we set off with a plan of a swift climb up to Y Garn and back before it got dark. As we made our way past Llyn Idwal and up Devil's Kitchen the weather conditions continued to improve and actually became sunny and mild. We got to the top of Y Garn with the sun slowly descending behind us. The views were fantastic and the setting sun illuminated the distant peaks. We made our way down the Y Garn ridge back to Llyn Idwal and we made it back to the car just as daylight ended.

04.10.09 - Tryfan (North Ridge)

This morning we woke to a cloudy and cold Wales. We ditched the car at the side of Llyn Ogwen and started our way up the North Ridge scramble route. It wasn't long til we had to deal with very slippery smooth rock faces. At one point a leg up was required whilst precariously bunched together on a narrow ledge. As we continued on it started to rain and then hail stones. Things were slippery enough as it was so we really had to double check every step and every hand hold. We had a brief stop for photos at Canon Rock but I then had to put my camera away not only to protect it but also because I needed both hands to climb. We reached the top in thick cloud and after a quick breather made our way down below the Far South Peak. We then turned right and followed the path down past Llyn Bochlwyd, Nant Bochlwyd and back to the car at Llyn Ogwen.

31.10.09 - Helvellyn and Striding Edge

The weather report for today kept changing throughout the week. The last time we looked at it it said dry with sunny spells. When we arrived in Glenridding and looked at the route ahead I didn't see a great deal of blue sky. We followed the path beside Mires Beck up onto Birkhouse Moor and continued to the Hole in the Wall. Helvellyn's summit was buried in cloud and Striding Edge was about to be also. Up on Striding Edge it was very slippery and windy. Alan and Geordie led the way with me attempting to take photos in the rain behind them. (not very good photos)

Once at the top of Helvellyn with only approximately 1 hour of daylight remaining we chose to descend via Swirrel Edge and then follow Red Tarn Beck back down to Glenridding for dinner at The Travellers Rest. (and a few beers)

19.12.09 - The Coledale Round

Today we all met up in Penrith at 8.30am. We had 2 new walking friends with us, both called Andy and both great guys. We started from Braithwaite at the car park near the edge of the woodland and made our way up onto Grisedale Pike via Sleet How. The weather was clear and bright but very cold on the exposed peaks. After a short break we continued on to Hopegill Head, down Sandy Hill and up onto Crag Hill which was then buried on cloud. We descended and took the path between Outerside and Causey Pike back to Braithwaite.

We must have seen a maximum of 6 other people, one of which was a lady waiting on the steep edge of Sail as her partner descended to hunt for her air bourne down jacket. I wouldn't have fancied doing down there. That evening we went for beer in Cockermouth and took a curry back to our favourite cottage. A great end to a great day!

20.12.09 - Catbells

The original plan today was to take on a snow dusted Scafell Pike but when we arrived at the edge of Seathwaite in a snow shower, we were a little concerned about continuing down to Seathwaite farm and getting snowed in due to the weather reports on the radio. In the end we turned back and decided to leave the cars close to Keswick so we could do the quick climb up onto Catbells.

We left the cars in Portinscale and followed the very icey road down to the foot of Catbells. At the start of the climb Derwent Water was completely hidden in a snow shower but it didn't take long to clear. The wind was at times pretty fierce, the rock was very icey and it continued to snow heavily as we climbed. Once at the top there was a sudden turnaround in the weather conditions. The sky became clear and we were warmed by the sun as we sat eating our lunch. We had the summit to ourselves and that's pretty rare on such a popular peak.