A weekend of walking in the Northern Fells of the Lake District.
On Saturday we planned a long walk, aiming to come back in the dark, but then found we walked too fast, it was too cold to hang around, and it gets dark later than anticipated. Despite started in the sunshine it soon became overcast, but with good views, especially north and west. After walking over Lowthwaite Fell, Brae Fell, Great Sca Fell, Knott, Great Calva and Meal Fell, we stopped for hot chocolate, then dropped over Great and Little Cockup back to the van. Determined to be out in the dark, we then headed up Binsey without a map. We got back to the van without using head torches, having ultimately failed to do any night navigation. Despite having dodged the main aim of the day, we retired into the van for some very welcome chilli.
Sunday had the best weather for a long time, and we headed up through the forest and up the ridge to Long Side and onto Skiddaw (where we found a cloud). The ascent of Skiddaw was steep on frozen scree and compacted snow making it a gruelling ascent, not helped by getting tangled in a group that were walking faster than us but stopping every ten paces. We avoided the crowds by taking an alternative route down, but still over Carl Side and Dodd, where we felt out of place with ice axes and no dog.
After a speedy shopping trip in Keswick we headed down the road, with a quick stop in Lancaster for some freshly baked scones.
Yellow Van Mountaineering 