- Gavel Moon -

Date & Time: Tuesday 23rd Oct 2007. 3.50 pm start.

Location of Start : Maggie's Bridge car park, Loweswater, Cumbria, Uk. ( NY 134 210 )

Places visited : Maggie's Bridge, High Nook Farm, Black Crag, Gavel Fell, the hause towards Blake Fell and back down via the zig-zags to High Nook Farm.

Walk details : 4.75 mls, 1450 ft of ascent, 2 hrs 45 mins.

Highest point : Gavel Fell 1,720 ft ( 526m )

Walked with : Ann and the dogs, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : A calm evening with just one cloud spoiling the prospect of a sunset.

Last night's moon passing behind high cloud

 

When I completed today's walk and downloaded the photos the first one I saw was last night's moon with it's corona of colours as it passed behind some high cloud. The last photo I downloaded was the moon again, some twenty hours later. In between we seemed to have packed away some sleep, some gardening, housework and all the usual events that occur when living our lives. One of those events is the daily dog walk and over a late but summer-like lunch in the garden we decided to walk Gavel Fell in search of another sunset.

I thought the farmer had brought the sheep down early from the fells, but these were this year's lambs, grown into teenage-hood.

They were gathered into the lowland fields ready for market but due to the current restrictions due to Foot and Mouth and Blue Tongue, the ability to sell-on lambs to many areas is restricted. Consequently the price at auction is down from an expected £60 to as little as £18 per lamb. He is waiting to see if the prices will increase but winter is approaching fast and the lowland farmers are hesitant to re-stock so the prospects for a profit this year are failing.

   
Sunny Grasmoor and the rest of the flock.
Grey Lag Geese and Low Fell.

Once on the fell, the long distance views started to appear.

This is Little Dodd and Hen Comb with the High Stile Ridge behind.

Further up again and all the fells around became visible, swathed in wonderful late afternoon light.

Click here or on the photo for an wider annotated panorama.

This is the summit cairn on Gavel, our target reached. Now to see if we would get a good sunset.

The view from here is of the side of Red Pike and the ridge down to Starling Dodd, distant Great Gable and Kirk Fell,

but Kirk Fell blends into Great End and Ill Crag behind. Not a bad view.

Moving round, this is a closer view of Pillar Fell, Black Crag in shadow, and the ridge of Steeple, half illuminated by the westerly sun.

To the west . . . there's that cloud I mentioned . . . but it adds, not detracts from this late afternoon sunlight.

We're looking over to Dent Fell and St Bees Head here, with just a slight reflection of the sun on the sea and on Meadley Reservoir.

Knock Murton stands out amongst the lowland haze.

A dramatic westerly sun-scape.

As we made our way down towards the lower ground between Gavel and Blake Fells the sun re-appeared from below the cloud.

The Corner Post

A little further on, Ann turns to view the last of the sun before it sets for us behind Blake's Middle Fell.

It was time to be heading back as we still had a mile or so to go before getting off the fell side while the last of the light held.

High Nook Tarn and the Lorton Valley as we descend on the zig-zags back to the valley.

The sun has left the high fells of Grasmoor and Hopegill but still gives a gentle pink glow to the distant high cloud.

I think this is where we came in.

Twenty hours after the first shot, the moon is up again and we have the prospect of a cold, clear, frosty night ahead.

 

- - - o o o - - -

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 . . . an astral telescope, or perhaps just more hours in the day.

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© RmH.2007 # Email me here

Previous walk - 21st Oct 2007 Sale and Ling with Jo and John

A previous time up here - 15th February 2006 An extended local walk up High Nook

Next walk - 30th Oct 2007 Grasmoor and Wandope with John and Dee