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We met Richard and Hilary a while back and enjoyed their company, talking of similar holidays to Scotland, New Zealand and the like.

Today they were over in the Western Lakes to climb Fellbarrow so we joined forces and added Low Fell

to the route to make an oft frequented, but no less enjoyable walk.

Richard and Hilary from 'down south' who were up in the Lakes on one of their frequent visits.

Before the walk though there was time for coffee and biscuits . . . taken at a leisurely pace on the window seat overlooking our garden.

Woodpeckers are frequent visitosr to the table now, but always to the peanuts or the fat balls in the vertical feeders, not a table-top bird.

Now this little fella will have a go at anything.

Good to see the red squirrel on on of his less frequent visits.  Still a rather rare sighting this year.

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On with the walk . . . after parking the car just outside Thackthwaite Village.

Starting up the old track towards Low Fell.

Haven't noticed this old sheep fold before.

The reason for the twenty yard diversion was to speed up the Gps signal retrieval,

possibly slowed by the woodland, possibly because I forgot to switch it on early enough !

Hardly need it for navigation today . . . but it tracks the walk beautifully.

Many of the pictures today were taken by Richard . . . especially the wider ones with me in !

Once onto the Low Fell track opposite we were on 'Open-Access' land and free to roam.

Some of the wall and fence crossings needed care but then with rights come responsibilities.

A good ladder stile carries us over the final wall on the way to the summit.

Fellbarrow and Wainwright's Book 7 completed for Hilary and Richard..

You can tell by the pose that it is a little windier and colder than the surroundings would lead you to believe.

Polar bear crossing the Arctic Tundra . . .

No . . . Harry and the ladies striding out between  Fellbarrow and Sourfoot Fell.

The sun came out and the wind eased round the back of one of the undulations,

so this would be a good place to enjoy 'lunch-with-a-view' . . . of Lorton and the Whinlatter fells.

The top of Sourfoot has a Parish boundary stone . . . L for Lorton and M for Mockerkin on the reverse side.

The Crabtree Beck Valley falling away south between Low Fell and Darling Fell.

The girls has taken the lower path and avoided the climb onto Sourfoot.

They made good time and were waiting below as we started our descent to the main path.

The final gate before the Low Fell summit.

It has an awkward and redundant strand of wire across the dog gate which needs clipping back out of the way.

Cloudy views of the high fells at the head of the Buttermere Valley.

Low Fell summit cairn with the south top and the southern viewpoint all in the same picture . . . makes a change !

Pity the low cloud has hidden everything else.

Now this stile has an easy dog gate but the whole lot is redundant as long as the fence is down.

" And the winds did blow "

Dylan in the sunshine on Low Fell south top, Whiteside and Grasmoor behind.

I asked Richard and Hilary if they could see the Loweswater Pheasant . . . can you ?

Hold your cursor over the picture to see if you have difficulty making it out.

This was deliberately planted as a shaped and coloured artwork many years back, but I know little more about its origins.

The view from NY 13664 22176 . . . good this watch !

We have the new Garmin Fenix 3 in stock in work . . . so I was brushing up on my navigational skills with my older Fenix 1.

The map page leaves a lot to be desired compared to a full colour mapping Gps but for safety and recording the walk . . . spot on.

Richard's view from the southern viewpoint.

The disadvantage of laying down out of the wind to take a photo . . . too much Dylan attention !

Time to be heading down.

My slightly wider view of the classic Mellbreak and Loweswater view as we start our descent.

Surprisingly there's a young lamb on the fells . . . still, it is only 1300ft up here on the Low Fell ridge.

It just seems too early for them up here, maybe because of the low temperature and high wind chill .

Our route down will include a visit to the circular sheepfold.

Complete with passing sheep.

Some of these ancient sheepfolds have been re-built but this one is so out of the way it is hardly ever visited.

The low walls provide a seat and chance for another photo.

Harry and Dylan.

Below the sheepfold is the ancient Scots Pine . . .

. . . and below that the larch of Whinny Ridding woods,

new shoots just starting to green up in the spring warmth of the last few days.

The fell is home to several small ponies . . . here a white one . . .

. . . and here a delightfully stocky almost piebald one.

Storm damage in the woodland . . . but the tree still survives.

Our neighbour's new water feature . . . replacing a marshy field, hopefully with a haven for wild fowl and water creatures.

The forecast suggested it might clear

and with the steady sunshine of the last half hour the colours have returned to the fields and fells.

Hilary shows the way home.

Just one last sheep to circumnavigate and we'll be home and have the kettle boiling in no time.

Whilst out on the fells Richard had a play with his camera setting . . . using the unusual spot colour feature.

It came in really handy at the end of the walk . . . the red phone box in Loweswater !

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We adjourned to the pub in the evening . . . good food, excellent beer and someone else does the washing up.

Guess where ?!

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