Hiley Website

Date & Time: Friday 8th December 2006. 3 pm start.

Location of Start : Adjacent to Darling How Farm, Whinlatter, Cumbria Uk. ( NY182 257 )

Places visited : Darling How, Aiken Beck, Widow Hause (nearly), and back the same way.

Walk details : 2.3 mls, 680 ft of ascent , 1 hrs 15 mins.

Walked with : Ann and the dogs.

Weather : Overcast but with welcome sunny interludes. Cloud touching the high fells. Dry ( repeat DRY ! )

"Puffin Tarn" and the Buttermere Valley, with Crummock Water, Rannerdale and Haystacks in the distance.

After all the poor weather it was a change to walk in the dry, and also to be able to see the top end of the valley !

All the water of the last few weeks has steadily caused the river level to rise, so much that it has started to overflow the banks at Scale Hill Bridge.

The river today is about two feet (60 cms) higher than normal.

Darling How Farm, and the cows are out enjoying a bale of winter straw.

The Aiken Beck Valley

Darling How is the farm part way up Whinlatter Pass, from the Lorton side,

and we parked at the end of the metalled road opposite the farm.

From there we walked the forestry roads up the valley

which leads into the area behind Whinlatter Fell and below

Lords Seat and Broom Fell.

The brief sunshine was bright enough to bring out the late Autumn colours of the Larch trees in this part of the forest.

Birch, Larch and Spruce trees as we look up to Widow Hause

Blue skies to the west ~ we may yet get a sunset.

We followed the track that led up and to the left of the beck

and climbed under Graystones Fell.

The view looks across to the area of Whinlatter

known as Hospital Plantation

with Lords Seat off to the left

and Whinlatter Fell off to the right.

Climbing higher we are well above the valley now.

Lords Seat summit comes and goes as the clouds drift by in the gentle breeze.

Lorton Valley and the Loweswater Fells, and the two dogs who now hopefully have slightly less energy.

Time to turn round now and head for home.

Sunset today was just before 3.48 pm Loweswater time. It's been a short day.

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Technical note: Pictures taken with a Canon G7 Digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . a bigger memory card in the camera.

Previous walk - 28th November 2006 Blowing the remainder away on Binsey

Previous time up here - 30th September 2006 The Whinlatter Fells with Jo and the dogs