Lake District 2000ish

Ullswater

It was the late nineties when I discovered the Ullswater valley and Patterdale. I'd been staying at my usual place, Keswick, and decided to whizz along the motorway and descend to Ullswater, just to have a look. I think I also investigated the B & Bs, the way I do in a new area, for future reference. I then started to frequent Ullswater more than anywhere, tackling St. Sunday Crag a few times, High Street, Hellvelyn, a few moderate walks along the lake and on the moors above it either side, around Brotherswater, and others. I also enjoy the lake, enjoyed the Ullswater launch, and one hot summer day - 2000 or 2001 - it could have been a more exotic location abroad because the water was so deliciously warm. Around that time when this was a new area for me, I returned 2 or 3 times in the same summer and began to realise how much I enjoyed the LD, and how inexhaustible it was. Hot and sunny weather is not necessarily the best for walking, although I always enjoy a clear blue sky whatever the temperature. And I do enjoy warmth because it makes a trip distinctly holiday-like, which is not the same thing as focussing on the walking. I found this valley an absolute delight, like a big playground to explore in the day and then wander around in the balmy evening. At the end of one trip it was very difficult for me to return. I wasn't even up on the hills, just relaxing at a table outside a hotel, luxuriating in the stillness, the distant beauty all around, and the sunshine.

This is Ullswater from a little lakeside beach area which I know very well:

If you follow the road beside the lake up towards this distant skyline, the landscape become increasingly flat - still pretty but unadventurous - as you near the perimeter of the LD. I don't make car tours very often, but I wanted to investigate this area and see if it might tempt me for future walking or staying over somewhere, particularly the eastern side of the lake when you cut back down onto that section of road. I don't remember the trip very clearly, but was not terribly excited. However, I will probably return some time.

I remember the occasion when I took this photograph, but not the walking I did or when it was - exept that it was about 2000. I'd been to Patterdale and was disappointed with the gloom and the cold. On my return journey back to civilisation I stopped near the top of the Kirkstone Pass. It was only when I scanned this picture and saw it on a VDU that I realised it's a beautiful shot; I'd rejected it initially because it lacks bright or vibrant colour - but it has its own subtle attraction:

And from the same location another time, also returning, I think, from a few days up in Patterdale:

Keswick/Borrowdale

An area I also know very well, initially the former and then the latter. I used to stay in Keswick - I remember one B & B in the town and once a camp site (which I would not repeat), but nowadays I'm not very enamoured with the town. It's all relative but as far as the LD goes, Keswick is a large and touristy town. It's convenient for restaurants, a supermarket, and occasional forays to outdoor shops or bookshops, but I don't stay there any more. Borrowdale is not far away and is a delectable area both to stay and walk around. I've stayed in about 6 different places, one of which was an expensive hotel when I'd arrived spontaneously without prior booking, and couldn't find anywhere else. There's a large place which used to be a youth hostel but is now converted into single rooms which can be either pleasant and convivial or distressingly noisy. I can't sleep if I can hear people talking in a corridoor; it puts me on edge and I hate it; it can ruin the following day because I'm so damn tired. I liked the look of Grange-in-Borrowdale and found what became one of my favourite B & Bs, in January 2003.

I enjoy the Castlerigg stone circle which I've returned to many times, sometimes in the evening when the sun is setting. I think this was a late afternoon or evening shot; actually you can't really see the circle which is to the right, but that's the Blencathra area on the skyline:

I think Great Gable was my first Borrowdale expedition and I repeated it once or twice, particularly mindful of two different views - the first is before you make the final climb upwards when you cross an open grassy area, and the second is Styhead Tarn. I once saw a book describing Lake District tarns as a natural aesthetic delight worthy as the principle interest for walking. If I see it again I will probably buy it because I do indeed enjoy some of the tarns. My favourites are Blackbeck over near Buttermere and Styhead:

The panorama from the top of Great Gable allows you a great view down to Wasdale. Although many photographs I've seen are not amazing compositions - it's not easy to frame - it's a worthwhile and inevitable shot:

I think Glaramara was my next major walking discovery from Borrowdale, and I repeated it twice over the next year or two. My guide book described it as 'easy' and while it's not a major expedition (something like 8 hours), it's certainly a full day's walk. Each time I went up Grains Ghyll and down from Great End, vowing that the impressive spectacle of the latter was something I wanted to enjoy looking up towards it, ie the reverse direction. I did that in Feb 2003, en route to Scafell Pike. This place is just below Esk Hause, with Great End starting to impose on you on the left. Phew, the hard work is over and now it's downhill. I arrived at this point in January 2003 when the visibility became about 100 feet in wintry conditions - and was indeed glad that I'd been here before and knew what to expect:

...And Over The Honistor Pass To Buttermere

I've seen Buttermere described in superlative terms, although I prefer Derwentwater or Ullswater. The first time I went up to Haystacks it made a big impression on me; I enjoyed the view across to the Gables at the top, and Blackbeck Tarn. I'd been wandering around above it a little lost, having come up from Gatesgarth, and decided to go cross-country and forget the paths. Not for the first time or the last, it made more sense to do this. And I arrived at the tarn, which I thought especially beautiful: