Sledging on Skiddaw

Near the summit of Skiddaw

A crisp, cold day with blue skies and sunshine beckoned with snow-capped fells surrounding Keswick. I had driven up from Sussex that morning and had Tilly for company who absolutely loves the snow so I wanted to head up to the snow line as quickly as possible. Skiddaw was my mountain of choice. It is one of my favourites in the northern Lakes as it dominates the skyline and I have fond childhood memories of it.

The summit was hidden underneath cloud initially, as though Skiddaw had its own cloud factory but it started to clear quickly. We headed from the car-park at the end of the no-through road up the zigzag path. It starts very steeply but the benefit of that is you get amazing views across Derwent Water, the north western fells and Blencathra very quickly. The dark clouds were broken by rays of sunshine striking through onto the surface of the lake and casting shadows across the fells. 

Derwent Water in the breaking cloud

Monument

There is a monument on the route dedicated to the shepherds of the Hawell family and the inscription is beautiful:

"Great shepherd of thy heavenly flock

These men have left our hill
Their feet were on the living rock
Oh guide and bless them still"

Before long, we were starting to reach tiny patches of snow. There was barely enough to make a snowball but Tilly didn’t care – she started “sledging” as soon as she saw it. This is where she rolls on the ground then sticks her back legs out and pulls herself forward with her front paws. I first saw her do this when climbing Helvellyn in November 2012 and it is a funny sight to behold. It was her first snow of the winter and she was clearly making the most of it!

First sledging of the walk

Another ten minutes or so saw us in proper snow. There was no holding Tilly back at this point. She rolled, sledged, jumped and generally had a wonderful time in the snow. Walkers passing by even stopped to watch. I had to keep reminding myself to look at the views as well as Tilly. As we took the path around the slopes of Skiddaw Little Man, the view to the valley and the Caldale fells opened up and the sunshine peeping through the clouds lit up the snow. The speckled snow on Latrigg looked like a satellite photo from space.

Blencathra in the sunlight

Looking to Little Man

It was time for microspikes here as the snow was compacted and frozen and I saw several people slip. Tilly has inbuilt microspikes so she was fine. 

The final part of the ascent to Skiddaw summit is steeper and with the snow being quite deep it was hard work at times. Tilly found another dog to play with and they went running around the slopes together. This was when I learnt a valuable lesson.

Tilly is very obedient and always comes back on command and she never really strays very far away from me. However, whilst playing with the other dog (a Collie with much more energy than her) she ended up quite a distance in front. When they stopped playing, she thought I was ahead of her (optimistic given how slowly I usually walk) so started running to catch up with me. I had been watching her carefully the whole time so I called her to let her know I was in fact behind her. Usually this would have been fine but with the wind having stepped up in speed and volume and blowing in the opposite direction it threw my voice right back at me so she couldn’t hear me. She was stopping at every person ahead trying to find me but going uphill so there was no way I could have caught up. Fortunately I can whistle for England so I gave my loudest and most shrill whistle to get her attention. She stopped in her tracks immediately and looked back (as did most of the other people and dogs on the slope). I then waved my arms around like a woman possessed so she could spot me. I was wearing bright pink so I must have been quite a sight! She then sprinted back to me, covering me with kisses and wagging her tail with enthusiasm as she was so pleased to find me. It was a lesson I will not forget in a hurry. I have added a dog whistle to the equipment I take with me now just in case.

Heading to the summit

The rest of the walk was uneventful. The view to Ullock Pike and Longside as we reached the south top, with the ridge covered in snow was beautiful. Tilly stayed beside me like a magnet and we soon reached the summit. The wind was bitter at that height though and the wind shelter was full of people trying to escape the cold so we didn’t stay long. The views were superb all around towards the coast, Bassenthwaite and down to the valley below but sadly my camera iPhone battery had died so I couldn’t take a photo! 

Ullock Pike & Longside

We headed back down the same route and Tilly made the most of the snow before it petered out and we got back to the car. A spectacular day for walking made all the more special sharing it with Tilly and her passion for “sledging”.

Sunshine & Hail

View to the valley

The hail storm on top of Hindscarth was unexpected I will admit. So much for a few “light showers”! It was one of those rare moments on the fells when I huddled in the wind shelter and asked myself what on earth I was doing climbing mountains when I could be sitting in a nice warm cafe somewhere.

I had climbed Hindscarth from the pretty church at Little Town in the Newlands Valley and whilst cloudy, the views had been good all the way. The valley to Keswick spread out behind me with Skiddaw standing proudly at the end. I took the route up Scope End, a steep but lovely climb amongst heather and I had only sheep for company. In the valley below between Hindscarth and High Snab Bank is Goldscope Mine. German miners used this in Elizabethan times to mine lead and copper and the lode they followed links with shafts that effectively meant you could walk under the mountain. Yet another part of the mining history of the fells.

Just sheep for company

Two minutes from the summit however, the heavens opened and the hail came down. The shelter did little to protect me from the elements so I decided to keep moving. My plan had been to head to Robinson and then follow the ridge round to Dale Head, High Spy and Maiden Moor. The sudden hail though did not tempt me to make the detour to Robinson so I headed instead towards Dale Head.

As I reached the ridge, the hail stopped, the clouds parted and all of a sudden a beautiful view of Buttermere and the surrounding fells appeared. Bizarre weather indeed but within an instant all thoughts of warm cafes were forgotten.

Sunshine appearing over Buttermere

I have said before that I love ridge walks. Once you are up you can walk for miles with ever changing views but with little effort. This route was just that and Dale Head gave superb views to the Scafells, Great Gable, Great End and towards the Langdale Pikes. The menacing clouds that came and went gave a forbidding look to the mountains but they were no less magnificent. Of course I love sunshine and blue sky when I am walking but there is something about being in the Lake District that takes your breath away even when the skies are steely grey.

Dale Head Tarn

I headed down to Dale Head Tarn, a little oasis between the fells with a ruined shepherd’s hut to the side and then up the other side of the valley to High Spy. From this fell, the views start to change again, with Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake coming into view with better and better views of the Skiddaw fells and Blencathra. The sun was becoming much more determined now and Derwent Water mirrored the blue of the sky.

Looking back to Hindscarth & Dale Head

The ridge from High Spy to Maiden Moor is spectacular as you make you way over little ups and downs and between crags and grassy mounds. The Helvellyn range to my right was still in cloud but Skiddaw and Blencathra were looking very inviting. 

Blue skies over Skiddaw

It was a busy day for fell walkers and as I looked ahead to Catbells it was teeming with people on the summit. It was great that so many people were enjoying being out on the fells even with the less than inspiring weather.

A short descent to Little Town ended a lovely walk just as the rain came back again. One of my favourite walks in the Keswick area.

Derwent Water

High Style: Peter Storm Trousers

High Style is my outdoor clothing and accessories review section. Testing out the serious and practical side of outdoor clothing, in High Style I also consider what sometimes is overlooked - how stylish the items of clothing are.
I am working with a range of retailers and manufacturers to bring these reviews to you from well-known brands to less well-known ones and everything from trousers and t-shirts to rucksacks and flasks.
I hope you enjoy the reviews and find them useful. 

Peter Storm Tri-Stretch Trousers  

(Reviewed for Keswick Blacks)

I have to say I really put these trousers through their paces in a way that surprised even me - I went rock-climbing and abseiling for the first time in my life and the tri-stretch trousers shared the experience with me.

Peter Storm Trousers

These trousers are water-repellant (shower-proof) and tri-stretch. They have a pocket each side at around hip level, two at the back and can be rolled up into a capri length.

First of all the stretch was certainly put to the test as I was stretching and climbing up Scout Crag in Langdale. There was no resistance at all however far I stretched in my attempts to find footholds and I was confident in them (and relieved they stood up so well!)

It was raining lightly on and off all day and whilst they are not designed to be waterproof, the water-repellant material meant that with only light rain I did not need waterproof trousers - my legs did not get wet and the material dried very quickly in the dry times. In heavy rain over-trousers would be necessary.

Rolling to capri-length

An unexpected test (and not one that any claims are made about by Peter Storm or one that I had intended to try) was how well they stood up to being grazed on rocks as I kneeled on various outcrops and ledges and as I skirted around the crag having lost my footing on the way down. There was no damage to the fabric. I was very impressed at that.

I have tried the trousers on hiking days since then and remain impressed.

So did I like the style? Yes I did. These are the first trousers I have tried for outdoor activities that are stretch ones and I loved the shape of them. To celebrate my rock-climbing and abseiling success I went to one of my favourite hotels for a glass of prosecco in the bar and with just a change of footwear, felt like I could have stepped off the high street into the bar rather than from a rock-climb. They are something that with a pair of heels I would wear to the office during the day and then swap heels for hiking boots and head up a fell after work.

I generally like colourful clothes but love these in black and you can add colour with the other parts of the outfit.

Extreme testing on a rock-climb

Any room for improvement? Only a minor one. Personally I could do with the "long" size being half an inch longer. 

Overall Verdict
Very versatile and already one of my favourite outdoor clothing items and something I do not think I could live without in my hiking wardrobe (and my rock-climbing one as it turns out!)


Practicality: 10/10
Style: 8/10

Peter Storm Tri-Stretch Trousers
RRP: £40

(Available exclusively at Blacks & Millets)

Girl From the South Heads North

Yes - these are my working gloves!

My first two weeks living in the Lake District and working on the Fix the Fells programme have been eventful and I have loved every minute!  Fix the Fells is effectively a programme to reduce erosion and maintain paths on the fells. I have learnt more about erosion, path maintenance and ecology than I thought possible in such a short space of time, met some great people from all the organisations I work with and some fabulous volunteers who help make it all possible.  I have also moved house a lot in search of the perfect longer-term property and had to pack and unpack my rather large pink suitcase more times than I care to think about.  Travelling light was somehow missed out of my genetic make-up (but honestly the curling tongs are essential kit and how could I live without 12 pairs of shoes?)

The key things I have discovered:

1)      I actually love working in the outdoors (although relieved I have office/heel days to balance this new-found passion)

2)      The label on my waterproof mascara is 100% accurate

3)      The label on my waterproof trousers is only 50% accurate 

Erosion on Seat Sandal

So what have been the highlights of my first two weeks?  There have been many but I will focus on the outdoor side and will try and avoid too much detail (as I can now talk for England on erosion and the impact of it!)  On day two, I went to a meeting wearing my mountain-climbing gear!  This was bizarre to me and I had to fight every instinct that told me to put on heels (not sure they would have gone well with the rest of the outfit mind you) but after the meeting we went on a site visit to the fell Seat Sandal and that is definitely not somewhere for heels!  We set off up the steep grassy slope through bracken that has become a path mainly as a result of fell-runners (preferring grass to the rocky Raise Beck ascent) to see if there was some way of protecting the grass from further erosion.  Now I am used to climbing mountains as you know but I was with seven guys who do this every day and are much fitter than me so keeping up was a challenge!  I did my best and they took it in turns to walk more slowly with me whilst being kind enough to pretend I was not slowing them down (thank you).  We also looked at the more severe erosion on the other side of the fell which was causing rock falls.

Swirral Edge

Day three was a path survey up a rather wet and misty Helvellyn via Swirral Edge (monitoring erosion and deciding whether any preventative action needs to be taken) with a smaller group.  Having struggled to keep up the day before, I streamlined my rucksack and took out all non-essential items to try and lighten the load (lipstick and hairbrush remained obviously but the torch, Wainwright book, hypothermia bag just had to go!)  We drove up a track from Glenridding to a youth hostel and began the survey from there.  Part of the area of mountains near the youth hostel is classed as an Ancient Monument and there is the largest area of Juniper in the Lake District.  You can see the old mine workings as well.  The path was more gentle than the previous day and the benefit of path surveying is you get to stop more often.  Thank goodness!  

We had lunch at the foot of Swirral Edge (a rocky arête) and watched how people were using the path.  Rather than keeping to the true top of the arête, many people were branching off on the grassy slope to the left, which was causing erosion and screes to develop that were sending soil and rocks into Red Tarn and impacting on that delicate ecosystem.  I took the arête route to the summit of Helvellyn (the third time I had been on that summit with no views!)  Swirral Edge really is one of my favourite scramble-ascents of Lake District mountains.  

Tuesday's Working Group

The drain I helped build - so proud!

Week two saw me getting stuck into manual labour!  For those that know me you will be picking yourselves off the floor with laughter as manual labour and me have never really be combined before.  I wear gloves to do scrambles and screes so I don’t break any finger nails and rarely leave the house without putting on mascara.  However, I got stuck in and loved it!  On Tuesday I was part of a cycling working holiday on the slopes of Harter Fell near Jubilee Bridge with rangers and volunteers (to be clear, it was the volunteers who were doing the cycling holiday – I don’t do cycling).  I helped build a path drain with rocks, a shovel and a pick-axe!  Hurrah!  Everyone seemed to keep a safe distance when I was wielding the pick-axe for some reason but when we had finished, I felt a real sense of pride in being part of something so practical and I never knew I could move such enormous rocks – it may have lacked elegance as we shuffled and slid them but it was great fun!

View from the path near Jubilee Bridge

The following day I progressed from building path drains to replacing old stone-pitching on Helm Crag.  This is basically where you bury rocks in the ground to create steps on a section of path.  If I had thought the rocks were big yesterday they were nothing compared to these!  I dug out old rocks with an iron bar, collected small rocks and helped shift big rocks.  Everyone who walked passed seemed to appreciate the work we were doing, which was really nice and for those that took the time to say thank you, it was great to hear.  Stone-pitching is much slower work than building path drains however so I did not get to finish the section I was helping with but I remember the rocks involved and beware any visiting friends and family – you will be made to go and look at them (and the drain!)

My little piece of stone-pitching (unfinished)

My final outdoor part of week two was going to look at the work done on Martcrag Moor by the Basecamp Team.  They used sheep wool to create paths around eroded areas of peat as once the grass disappears the peat gets washed away really quickly.  The sheep wool allows water to flow but retains the peat.  I also saw the work on Stake Pass nearby, where rangers and volunteers have created a path by effectively digging the mountain to use the subsoil to create a sustainable path and remove the large erosion scar.  It was a very wet day and hence my discovery of the inaccuracy on my waterproof label as I was soaked by the time I got back to the vehicle!  Stake Pass is part of an old coffin route between Langdale and Borrowdale where coffins used to be carried from one village to the other for burial.  You can still see the flat coffin stones where they used to rest the coffins.

In between my time on the fells, I have managed to find some heel time and met some great people in the National Trust, National Park Authority and Natural England who are all passionate about what they are doing.  Everyone has made me feel very welcome.  I even had the opportunity to pop into the Sticklebarn event at the end of the week.  This is the first National Trust run pub in the country and the food and service were superb.  If you are in the Langdale area I would recommend it.  I have been in warm sunshine with beautiful views, soaking wet with no views, in offices with heels and on the fells with walking boots and even saw the Olympic Torch in Keswick.  I have learnt so much and am really looking forward to taking forward the Fix the Fells programme as I believe so strongly in it.  I am looking forward to week three!

The Olympic Torch in Keswick