Crich 2nd December 2019

A nice outing after all the soggy weather we have had. Usual way around anticlockwise. I didn't manage to park in the small car park but drove up the hill towards Robin Hood and found a lay by at the side of the woods, a short walk back to the canal.

Cromford Canal

on the way up Chrich Chase

Crich Stand from the tramway museum

view from Crich Stand

Crich Stand

A nice 7 mile workout with not much driving involved.

Catbells October 30th 2019

My cousin Paul had emailed me on Monday saying he was in the Lake District and did i want to join him for a walk. As I needed to be back in Smalley on Thursday, I opted for driving up on Tuesday , stopping at Dufton to do the High Cup Nick walk and then driving onto the YHA at Grasmere.

As Paul and his son in law Sebastian had done a big walk on Tuesday they had opted for an easier wander over Catbells on the Wednesday. This suited me fine. I had just completed the 214 Wainwright challenge a few weeks earlier and it seemed fitting that on my next trip to Lakeland I would be walking up Catbells, the first one from all those years ago.

It was half term so the car park near Hawes End was full up.  Paul spotted a small car park near Swineside and we did manage to park there, which added maybe half a mile to the walk.

Paul and Sebastian

Captain Birdeye joins the walk

First scramble of the day

The Mouse House at Rowling End

Derwent Water and Skiddaw

The path up to the summit

Rigg Beck valley with Causey Pike on the right

The ridge leading to Hindscarth with Robinson in the background

Rigg Beck valley with Crag Hill in the background

The summit

Lunchtime

Derwent Water

A brilliant walk which included a couple of scrambles, jaw dropping views and a lovely lakeside stroll on the return section. The wind even dropped when we stopped at Hause Gate for lunch.

This brought back some great memories.

About 6 miles.

High Cup Nick October 29 2019

First of two days in Cumbria. This walk started from Dufton which is near Appleby off the A66.

From the small car park in the village turn right and head a few hundred yards down the road before coming to a right hand turn at Town Head with a fingerpost :-

From a navigation point of view it was very straightforward on this stretch of the Pennine Way.

Dufton Pike to my left

The first section was a tarmac path/road

The track was a steady 2 mile climb before it started to level

For about 15 minutes I was walking through icy horizontal rain with this view to my left

Eventually the opposite rim of the valley comes into view

This steep scramble down into the valley was going to be my return route. I decided I didn't fancy that and returned by the same route

Eventually, I arrived at the head of the valley with the following jaw dropping views :-

On the return journey I was treated to stunning views of the Howgills and Yorkshire Dales.

A brilliant wander along this section of the Pennine Way.

About 7.5 miles