Early Mornings on Latrigg

Despite the hustle and bustle you might see at midday on a Saturday on the market square, Keswick is for the most part a sleepy, quiet town. This is never more obvious than on an early morning, before the B&B's have started serving breakfast. Take a stroll in the town and you'll see what I mean.

This is a lovely time to grab an early fellwalk up to the summit of Latrigg. Heading out of town, past the leisure centre and over the A66 at Spooneygreen Lane, you'll probably only meet the occasional fellrunner - especially in the Winter months when these photos were taken.

Latrigg is and always will be a popular fell, but on a number of mornings recently I have more or less had the place to myself. Either following the path as it works its way round to the car park and then following the wide track to the summit, or leaving the path for a direct climb up the steep grassy slopes, it is only a short walk to the top.

Often a very windy spot, a couple of times recently I've almost struggled to take a picture from the top overlooking Keswick, but after taking in the morning air and enjoying the view, you can easily be back down in town in time for breakfast - and you still have the whole day ahead of you!

Castlehead, Keswick

Castlehead is a little rocky mound just on the outskirts of Keswick that is well worth a visit. You can access it either from the path out of Keswick headed towards Walla Crag - turn right along the signposted footpath on Springs Road, and then simply follow your nose and head upwards until you reach the top.

The other option is to approach from the lakeside. Follow the path along the shores of Derwentwater as if headed towards Friar's Crag, and turn inland along the footpath that will take you through Cockshot Wood.

You will come to Borrowdale Road, cross this road and look for the gap on the other side of the road where you can head into the woodland around Castlehead. The hillside is too steep to climb on this side, but just follow the circular footpath round until you see the path headed to the top.

Once you are at the top, you are rewarded with one of the best views of Derwentwater you could imagine. I've been up there on numerous occasions and this is a popular spot for professional and amateur photographers, so why not head up and grab yourself a view that you will have no doubt seen on countless websites and calendars!

You should be able to do the circuit starting from Moot Hall, along the lakeside, up Castlehead and back into Keswick along Springs Road, in a leisurely 60-90 minutes, although be careful as the path around Castlehead can get muddy and slippery after wet or Wintery weather.

A Crummock Water Circuit

Weather always plays a role in the Lake District and so we rarely venture out without having a couple of walk plans up our sleeves. Today we hoped to explore the Loweswater Fells, but extremely high winds made us rethink any plans of hitting the fells, so we decided on doing a circuit of Crummock Water.

We parked at Lanthwaite Wood, enjoying the shelter of the path through the woodland. As soon as we reached the lake side, the blasts of wind hit us and they were almost enough to knock you off your feet.

The first part of the walk along the lake was flooded so we had to find an alternative path across a field, before getting to the footpath that meanders its way around the lower slopes of Mellbreak. Every now and then the wind would die down, only to hit us again with full force moments later.

The path along Mellbreak was very picturesque, at times hugging the shoreline and on other occasions straying up onto the fellside.

Eventually the wind calmed down and by the time we were opposite Rannerdale Knotts about halfway along the side of the lake, we just had a light breeze accompanying, so we could stop and enjoy our packed lunch.

Eventually we reached the flat stretch of land that separates Crummock Water from Buttermere, crossing over as we passed through Buttermere to reach the opposing shore.

Parts of this walk were along the road, straying off the tarmac for a little circuit around the base of Rannerdale Knotts. We then headed back to the lake shore, into High Wood where we picked up a couple of geocaches.

From here it was a simple walk through the woodlands back to the car. A fantastic path that circuits the whole of the lake, easy to navigate and a walk that I'd happily do again in any weather conditions.

Sale Fell in the North Western Fells

This was one of those typical Lake District days where the weather can't make up its mind - rain, sun, snow and sleet all making intermittent appearances, so we decided to go for something that offered shelter for at least part of the walk.

Sale Fell is the northernmost outpost of the North Western Fells, together with Ling Fell these are the gatekeepers to this side of the Lake District.

It is a straightforward fell to walk - no scrambling required and the paths are very straightforward to follow. We approached the summit by following the path that arcs round to the west, with views over to Ling Fell, before coming back eastwards and heading up towards the grassy summit.

As we approaches the views to the south opened up giving us fine views of the Whinlatter range, ad when we reached the summit there were also fabulous views over Bassenthwaite Lake to the Skiddaw range.

Views over to Binsey from the summit were marred by some unsightly deforestation of Wythop Wood that had left this side of the fell scarred with tree stumps and not much else.

The summit itself is a wide grassy plain that was scenic enough without having the thrill you get on reaching the final rocky outcrop of a strenuous fell climb. This is different walking altogether, and Sale Fell offers the chance to follow your nose and explore the grassy plain, taking in the views all around.

We headed back down the southern side of the fell, through woodland and past the site of Wythop Old Church, before following the road back to the car. A lovely little that is ideal of you only have an hour or two to spare.

A Newlands Valley Walk

In the Lake District you have to be prepared for unexpected weather and it always pays to have a plan B. Some days a high level walk simply aren't meant to be, if the wind and rain decides against it. more and more I am discovering that the alternative walks can be just as scenic and whilst they don't necessarily help in any list-ticking exercises, they are as rewarding as a higher level walk can be.

Earlier this year we had one such day where the windswept fells looked decidedly uninviting. We decided to head deep into Newlands valley to do a lower level walk.

Parking up at Little Town, our planned route would take us around the base of some of the Newlands Horseshoe fells - around the base of Maiden Moor and High Spy, then back around Hindscarth and Robinson before returning to the car.

Although this area is very scenic, popular fells such as Catbells are in close proximity so when the crowds head for the heights, this might be a nice quiet alternative walk. The views into the surrounding fells are incredible and there are really good views  as you look back out of the valley too.

There are plenty of options to change the flavour of the walk - from the valley footpath you can easily take one of the routes up the fells to reach High Spy or Hindscarth. Having rounded the base of Scope End (the buttress of Hinscarth) you go up into the quiet vale between Hindscarth and Robinson.

Here and indeed throughout this walk there is lots of evidence of mining activities and the valley's industrial past. You climb up a bit to reach a reservoir at the foot of Robinson, and in fact it felt like this would be a nice way of getting to the fell tops. The footpath crosses over via an old dam along the edge of the reservoir and we returned via the path along the foot of Robinson.

From here the path more or less led us straight back to the car park of Little Town. This is a great walk for when you're not sure about the weather, as the low level walk is a lot of fun, yet should the outlook brighten up you do have plenty of options for getting onto the Newlands fell tops. We'll be back!

Blea Rigg via Easdale Tarn

I think of Grasmere as being the heart of the Lakes, Right in the middle, accessible from Keswick or Windermere, Coniston or Patterdale, it stands to reason that it is a busy little village. 

With it's literary, culinary and cultural links, it attracts far more than just your hardened walkers which means that although the village might seem bustling with activity, once you get out and about things quieten down - unless you follow the crowds up Helm Crag.

This walk took us up the popular scenic walk to Easedale Tarn, alongside Sour Milk Gill. The weather was not great and this probably deterred a number of people from heading upwards and so the route wasn't too crowded.

The walk up to the tarn is postcard picturesque all the way, with amazing views from the valley floor, along the gill and up to the edge of the tarn.

At this point the weather took a turn for the worse and as we started heading up the path to Blea Rigg the rain and mist set in, so the views were pretty minimal all the way to the top. The climb itself is good fun, with the path crossing rocky terrain before making the final sweep to the top.

As luck would have to the clouds started to dissipate when we were on the rocky summit, giving us glimpses of fell groups all around such as the Langdale Pikes and the Coniston range. The rain also subsided and conditions became very favourable.

From Blea Rigg we followed the well-trodden path towards Silver Howe, stopping en route for a picnic. We enjoyed our food whilst taking in the view over Grasmere towards the Fairfield horseshoe.

We got as far as the summit of Raw Pike, before deciding to head back towards Grasmere. This was a fairly simple but very rewarding walk and a great way to spend a couple of hours in the heart of the Lake District.

On the shores of Thirlmere

On a recent trip to Grasmere we had a bit of time on the journey back so we decided to explore a bit of the scenery around Thirlmere. This is a beautiful part of the Lakes that we always seem to just drive through as we head between the northern and southern parts of the national park. The fells above Thirlmere, in particularly Bleaberry Fell, don't get a good write-up from Alfred Wainwright either, so it's not been top of the list of places to walk.

A quick look at a map revealed that a walk up to Harrop Tarn should be a nice easy walk. We parked up  close to the shores of the lake and headed up the steep wooded slopes away from Thirlmere. This was actually hard work, the stone steps were extremely slippery and recent or ongoing forestry work meant climbing over felled trees on a number of occasions!

But once we gained a bit of altitude the going got a bit easier, and this became a very scenic woodland walk. The trees cleared as we neared the tarn, and the views from here of the water and surrounding fells were incredible.

Looking back, we had a fine view over the Helvellyn and Fairfield ranges when looking eastwards over the A591.

This was a great place to linger for a while and enjoy the views, but with the old issue of not having time on our side we were soon headed back down the wooded fellside using the forestry commission tracks which were far easier to walk along than the treacherous path up! I noted a path headed over to Watendlath and that feels like a walk we will be doing at some point too.

As we neared Thirlmere we were greeted to an incredible sight of clouds billowing in through Dunmail Raise and slowly drawing over the water. Our walk along the road southwards back to the car meant that we had this spectacle ahead of us all the way back to the car and it really was a special scene.

A Whinlatter Wander

A couple of years ago, we did a circuit of the fells above and around Whinlatter, but missed out on Whinlatter Fell itself. Recently, a spare sunny afternoon in the Lake District provided us with the ideal opportunity to bag Whinlatter.

We have been to the forest often enough, having done Go Ape a couple of times, and followed some of the forest paths, so I was looking forward to tackling the fell, although from reading various walk write-ups, navigation wouldn't necessarily be straight forward.

We parked up at the visitor centre, which was rammed with trail cyclists and Go Apers, heading away from the masses up towards the fell itself. We weren't completely on our own, as the Gruffalo trail was also proving popular with the younger visitors!

AW has a good old moan about the forestation that has taken place on Whinlatter, but for me it feels like the surrounding environment has accepted the spruce trees with grace and dignity and it is an enjoyable Lakeland experience. BUT the forestry commission paths all look alike and as you are surrounded by trees with the occasional glimpse over towards Keswick, it can be quite disorienting.

However once you are out of the forest, Whinlatter takes on a character of its own. Standing somewhat in isolation, it is a quiet backwater of the Lakes, despite being a short walk away from all the action. The heather-clad slopes offer fantastic views of the surrounding North-Western fells.

As it is a fairly gentle ascent, without too much hard work you soon reach the twin peaks of Whinlatter and Brown How, which is a short distance away. The summit ridge makes for fun walking, easy on the feet but with interesting terrain and those unbeatable views.

To get back to the car we retraced our outbound path and before we knew it we were back in the heart of Whinlatter forest, headed towards the visitor centre where a hot drink and scone was waiting with our names on them!