A mid-week weekend in the Lakes

Last Thursday morning I headed up to the Lakes for two days of walking and an induction day with an outdoor company that I would like to work for.

Google maps said 3hours 15min, I was thinking 4hours at least, and, because of the amazing views it took 5!

The single track road that leads north to Eskdale

Just one of the amazing views along the way, you can just about see snow topped fells in the far distance.

With only a few hours of daylight left I thought I would wander up to Slight side, the first Wainwright you reach on the way to Scafell from Eskdale.  The Southwestern section of the Lake District is not an area I'm familiar with and what could be better than stretching the legs after a long journey by ticking a hill off and finding the snow line.

First good view of Slight side and Scafell

One of the things that amazed me were all the sheep walking around on the hills at this time of year.  When the majority of the Snowdonia sheep are herded up, what were these ones still doing out and about?  I later discovered that they are Herdwicks, a breed developed by the community to cope with the local conditions, and one of the most hardy in the UK.

This Herdwick sheep kindly posed for me!

Along the way I even got a few rays of sun

The sun finally came out

.

The view onwards to Scafell

Awesome views

Upon arriving back to the homely Eskdale YHA, complete with drying room, hot showers and a wood fire, I was greeted by a cup of tea and lots of other mountain leaders.  Over a homemade curry we chatted through the plan of action for tomorrow and had a chance to read the latest weather forecast.  It did not look good... snow and gales were predicted with 'any mobility tortuous on higher areas'.  At least we weren't required to prove our winter mountaineering skills, and aimed to stay amongst the smaller hills tomorrow.

The snow started falling softly

More snow and wind

Towards midday the wind increased, and the snow kept falling.  As we walked around Harter Fell we soon entered Dunnerdale forest, where the Forestry Commission are trying to restore the semi-natural  woodlands and 're-wild' them back to their original state.  You can find out more about the project here.

Some shelter in the forest

Shortly after exiting the forest we came across the Hardknott pass road.  One of the steepest passes in the UK at a gradient of 33%, and the Roman's '10th highway'.  Towards the end of the pass there are the ruins of a 2nd century Roman Fort, which was believed to be occupied for over 300 years.  In the current weather I couldn't imagine living there for just one winter season!

Aerial view of Hardknott Roman Fort  © English Heritage

The English Heritage site also has lots more information on the Fort.  Click here for the website.

Hardknott pass, the decision was made not to drive home this way later on!

Walking down the grass by the side of the road was considerably easier until we reached the freezing level where upon it all turned to slush.  Looks like the winter conditions in the Lakes will be ok at the weekend if the wind calms down a bit.