Posts tagged 'Uldale Fells'

A Monday Dash

Posted by on October 28th 2021 in Great Escapes, Lakes Escapes
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Monday's weather was set to be fine so we went walking again. The objective was Bakestall.

We parked near Peter House Farm, dropped a little something into what used to be the "honesty box", and sauntered up the service track that leads to Skiddaw House. If you're feeling flush, Skiddaw House is up for sale... I find it amusing that "the most remote house in England" needs to be described as a "detached" property!

As you'd expect, there were many photo opportunities during the first stage of the walk:

 

Brockle Crag

 

That Posing Purple Paramo Person again

 

Binsey again, this time bathed in autumnal light rather than wreathed in autumnal clag

 

The Nettle Hauses

 

Approaching the falls

 

Whitewater Dash

 

The odd pose is due to my rotator cuff injury. The odd expression is normal.

 

Nearing the falls

 

Dash Falls

 

Dead Crags

 

After a short rest at the falls we tackled the steeper section up to Bakestall, following the fence (more or less). Some fine views were on offer:

 

Skiddaw House
Property Type: Detached

 

Looking down the valley of Dash Beck towards the Uldale Fells

 

A fine view towards the Solway Firth

 

The standing stone is a favoured perch of camera-shy ravens

 

Three Wainwrights - Bakestall "summit" cairn near the fence, Skiddaw Little Man behind that, Skiddaw summit in cloud on the right

 

We didn't much fancy slogging up Skiddaw to be rewarded with a view of only clouds, so we departed the way we came. Managed to get one more shot on the way down to the falls:

 

Skiddaw House surrounded by forest and fells

 

Back near the falls we stopped for snacks. While there, I managed to keep up my average of unexpected encounters - this time it was with a walker who had followed us down after ascending Skiddaw via Longside Edge. He claimed to have met us a few days before on a different fell, and he didn't look convinced when I said that it wasn't us.

After that it was an easy stroll back to the car. Another Wainwright had been ticked off the to-do list... only two more to go.

A weekend based in Keswick – Jan 2013 – Part 3

Posted by on January 24th 2013 in Great Escapes, Lakes Escapes, YHA
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Yet again I was up before sunrise and yet again Ella was reluctant to relinquish her duvet. After a quick breakfast we checked the MWIS forecast which confirmed that conditions would be pretty much the same as they were on Saturday. We decided that our half-day walk should be up something a tad tamer because my butt was playing up again so we chose Binsey for a simple up-and-down stroll.

After we'd filled the flasks we packed the gear in the car, said our goodbyes at the hostel and headed off for the short drive around the Back o'Skidda. We parked up in a small lay-by near Binsey Cottage, from there the track was straight up and obvious, no crampons required. If there had been a good covering of snow it would have been an excellent sledging hill with no problems going from top to bottom in one go.

Binsey's an odd fell, set apart from the others. It lacks altitude and technical appeal but it affords great views:

Snowclouds breaking over Skiddaw

On the way up we spotted from a distance what we thought was an injured sheep lying in the grass:

Sheep?

We should have gone to Specsavers  😎 ... on closer inspection it turned out to be a boulder with a peculiar covering of moss and lichen:

Notsheep

As usual, Ella couldn't resist playing with the ice:

Frozen

A few hundred yards further on we were nearing the obvious summit where the wind was tearing up from behind us and whistling over the top:

Ella makes for the top

Surveying the scene

Snug in the shelter

We got comfy in the shelter, it was time for cuppas and snacks. The view from the top is well-worth the minimal effort of getting there, it's a great place for appreciating the layout of the Northern Fells. I managed to take a few pics when the wind wasn't flinging ice at the lens:

The Uldale Fells

Pano from Binsey

The stroll back down to the car took around twenty minutes and soon we were back in Keswick - Ella wanted some retail therapy. While shopping we ran into the two folk that we'd met up on Satura Crag the day before... what were the chances of that happening?

I was determined to keep my hands off my wallet but couldn't resist using my YHA-membership discount in the Cotswold shop when I saw the snow-scooters. Yeah, I might well be fifty but there's nowt in the rules that says that I have to act like it! We'll try to remember to take the thing up Binsey in the snow next year.

The drive home was fairly easy with hardly any bad roads until we got within 100 yards of home. Four hours of simple driving and then an hour to get the car on the drive. While we'd been away our village had been more-or-less snowed-in and iced-up.

Here's the tale of the tape:

Saturday: 3.04 miles of walking, 1341ft of up/down, 1 new Wainwright for Ella, none for me;
Sunday: 1.48 miles of walking, 592ft of up/down, 1 new Wainwright for each of us;
Wainwright totals so far: Ella 14/214, me 209/214