Newlands and Dale Head

V

I could walk thepath by Newlands Beck every day and never grow weary of it.
We gave the customary nod to the lone larch tree. To pass without doing so would be like failing to wave to the Rannoch Rowan.

Hundreds of years ago German miners were extracting copper ore from Dale Head Mine, below the fell's summit. The old track used by the miners is a fine way to the top says Wainwright and although I've often thought of following it, if for no other reason than to see Dale Head Pillar, I never have. Strange that. Next time.
 
The heat was intense so I filled the filter bottle from the beck shortly before reaching the tarn, replenished the platypus from it, then filled it again in a vain attempt to carry enough water to keep well hydrated.

Reaching Dale Head's large cairn we found an even larger party of primary school children who'd come up from Honister. How lucky to be introduced to this glorious landscape at so young an age.
Usually we continue to Hindscarth and Robinson from here but decided that as it was a number of years since we climbed the first of these by Scope End, we'd do that round later in the holiday and return via High Spy today.

On our way down from Maiden Moor we met three teenagers with huge packs. "Where have you come from"? asked Lynne. "Somewhere from over there", replied the one male in the party, pointing in the direction of Derwentwater.

"I'm knackered. Don't even know where I am", a girl chimed in.
Eventually we established that they'd come over Catbells.
"Where are you headed"? I asked.

"Eh, Seattle", girl says. "Don't think so", I laughed.

They were in good humour and much studying of the map by one of the girls revealed they were going to Seatoller (we'd guessed that!). They were all smiles as we told them that most of the hard work was over. Off they went - a delightful trio.

We were glad not to be carrying heavy packs in such temperatures. Very glad.
Resisting ice cream at Little Town we strolled back through the leafy lanes to our start point near Rigg Beck. Another great day out in the finest of scenery.
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7 July - Easy day

After yesterday's very hot but easy day on Bleaberry Fell and High Seat, today we took it really easy sitting in the sun doing nothing a.m. then watching Andy Murray winning at Wimbledon p.m.

Fells from tomorrow until the end of the week.


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5 July - Hopegill Head, Whiteside and Grisedale Pike

Yesterday found us enjoying a tour of Dove Cottage and then spending a couple of hours in the Museum. It proved to be a worthwhile way to spend a very wet morning.

Coffee and scones at Grasmere Tea Garden went down a treat in the afternoon and after the ritual of purchasing some Sarah Nelson's Grasmere Gingerbread, we headed back to the site. A quick nip up Walla Crag rounded off the day.

This morning's mist cleared quickly from most of the tops. It could have been 'the old days': not a soul did we see on our way up to Coledale Hause but we knew, of course, that others would be out to enjoy the promised fine weather.

In a sheltered spot high above Hobcarton Gill we stopped for tea. Three figures appeared on Ladyside Pike. Should we go there from Hopegill Head? Whiteside maybe?

Unlike the Munros and Corbetts we did not note the dates of ascent of the 'Wainwrights' as they are now known, but Whiteside must have been an early one - 1973 or thereabouts. Whenever it was, neither of us remembered this delightful, rocky, ridge walk to its summit. The view back to Hopegill Head, and to Grisedale Pike beyond, was grand and we had that very journey to look forward to after a bit of lunch.

This was taken sitting amongst the blaeberry bushes. I removed a tick - my first of the year - from the back of my hand. The return along the ridge had us smiling all the way and in no time at all we were skirting Hobcarton Crag and on our way to Grisedale Pike.

The cold wind had gone. It was hot. How often have those words passed your lips this year?

The top was busy and we moved on quickly to escape the uncommunicative gathering. All remaining liquid refreshments were quickly consumed on our descent but thankfully, cold ginger beers awaited us at the motorvan. The last time cold ginger beer came to our rescue was at the Old Forge in Inverie. Different worlds.

Keswick was going like a fair and we were glad to be passing through.

Harry Griffin wrote, in 1970, of the "growing menace of mass tourism" in the Lake District and that "in places some of the old flavour has already disappeared". What now, forty-three years on?

Martin and Sue. Good to see you are enjoying glorious weather too.
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3 July - Lake District

We are looking out over the North Western fells, our favourite part of the Lake District. It's always good to be back.

Tomorrow is to be wet, at least in the morning, and since Lynne would like at some point to indulge her love of all things Wordsworth it seems the perfect day to visit Dove Cottage. After that it looks like warm weather almost for the rest of the holiday and fells all the way.

Summer is about to arrive.

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Wedding anniversary

Wedding anniversary celebrations then a quick turnaround and off to the Lake District.

Unfortunately, the MRI scan of my knee showed a small tear in the posterior horn of the medial meniscus so it looks like the knife later in the year. I had hoped I wouldn't need surgery but the cartilage injury is causing hamstring tendon issues so no such luck. Hopefully I'll manage to enjoy the forthcoming holiday and then September in the Braemar area before I get fixed.

Blogging has taken a back seat of late - to be honest I've lost the habit with all this knee trouble.

Do hope you are all enjoying the 'summer'.



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Oh Joy!!

'Sleat Lady', a Beneteau Oceanis 393 belonging to Isle of Skye Yachts has just moored in Loch Dunvegan. What a sight. Gorgeous. I look forward to seeing her every year.

You can't see her in this miserable photo, but she is out there!
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Sunday 16 June - Red Cuillin

An atmospheric morning. Clouds breaking over the hills, the smell of the western sea. Midges out in full force.

We parked at Sligachan, Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir and The Tooth peeping at us through the mist. Memories of days on the Cuillin. Incomparable days; gabbro-worn finger tips; worrying times in mist trying to ensure our descent was not of the airborne variety; a storm on the In Pinn with non-climbing friends on their second round of the Munros and one of them filming it; balmy days just watching the world go by; camps at Glenbrittle imagining the scene in the days of Steeple, Barlow and other early pioneers. We will be back. But I digress, as the say.

Today we were heading for the granite of the Red Cuillin. Specifically for Beinn Dearg Mheadhonach, one of three tops forming the two and a half mile ridge of Beinn Dearg Mhor.
'Hang on', shouted Lynne. Not for the first time, I'd missed the path and was heading down Glen Sligachan. Path junctions are my nemesis.

Across the myrtle-scented moor we went, avoiding the boggy bits, losing the path and finding another, into some boggy bits, back onto the path. Cuckoos were about somewhere.

The ascent to Druim na Ruaige is steep, but a steady rhythm brought us to the cairn quite quickly it seemed. Little or no wind meant midges began to feast when we stopped for tea and cake so the halt was brief.

The dark clouds engulfing the Cuillin and Marsco began to lift but it was not to last and, by the time we had crossed the pleasant, grassy, Druim na Ruaige and started up the final slopes, light mist was skimming even our lowly hill. A few feet away a ptarmigan and chicks hurried away over the granite scree.

Having previously traversed the ridge in fine weather we opted for a descent to 'break out the food and the drink' as a friend said after the epic on the In Pinn mentioned earlier.
Then back to Sligachan.

Alan S - yes Gleann an Fhiodh was pretty dry. The area had ten days of great weather just before our arrival! I imagine you had it at its worst. Trying to get connected to Highland Wi-Fi here on Skye is hopeless which is ironic since the guy who founded it is local! If you substitute the words 'Highland Wi-Fi' in your review of the Rab pull-on, you'll get an accurate description of my opinion of it.
Take care.



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Friday 14 June - Gleann an Fhiodh

The weather this morning was a bit iffy so we listened to Conrad Anker on Desert Island Discs (and very interesting he was too) before making up our minds what to do. We have no specific hill objectives in mind which makes for a relaxing feel to the holiday but I do need some longish days out to get hill toughness back. Fitness, on the other hand, seems little affected by the enforced layoff. Fortunately I see no reason why 'the knee' can't be challenged after success on Am Bodach on Thursday.

Anyway,eventually we decided to walk from the site to Ballachulish and take the ROW up Gleann an Fhiodh although we'd left it too late to seriously consider climbing Sgorr a' Choise, the steep Marilyn which towers above the glen. It would have been climbed today (Saturday) had we not decided to come further north, and tonight we are on a site only three miles from the Skye Bridge so I suspect we'll be on the Island tomorrow.

The site has Highland Wi-Fi but it's £3 an hour, £6 a day, £20 a week. This appears to be the price everywhere for Highland Wi-Fi but once logged in you can use it anywhere there is a HWF hotspot. That said I could buy two hours Wi-Fi at Invercoe for £2.

Now, what will we do tomorrow on Skye?

Thanks to D+D for looking after the house.









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Am Bodach

We are now at the cairn on Am Bodach and the Mamores are deserted. It only remains to be seen if my dodgy knee (which has been fine on the way up) will get me down again!

Lynne beside me and a summit cairn. What more could I ask?

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Tuesday 11 June - Loch Eilde Mor

I hardly noticed the steep ascent from the small car park in Kinlochleven such was my focus on where I was putting my feet. My nine month old knee injury has made me hyper-vigilant! However, the beauty of the woodland scene didn't escape
me: bird song, the scent and colour of wild hyacinths, honeysuckle and rhododendron, the freshness of new birch leaves, the sound of running water.

As we left the woods it started to rain, heavily enough to need waterpoofs, but not even a Scottish blizzard could have suppressed my delight at being back among the hills. Tea and cake in the rain never tasted so good.

The path skirts Meall an Doire Dharaich while to the north Na Gruagaichain's steep slopes fall to meet the LRT from Mamore Lodge. At the cairn where our path and the LRT meet, a large group had gathered.

They were a Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award party on their way back from a three day backpacking trip in the Loch Treig area. They'd been lucky with the weather and the midges had not been too bad apparently. Most looked happy and each gave us a cheery greeting as they filed past.

We continued to the boat house at the loch which, I felt, might be far enough to test the knee so, after a brief stop, we returned by our outward route.

The knee survived the admittedly short walk over easy ground so now it needs a real day out on a big hill. Hope the weather improves!
































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