© Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence number PU 100034184.

 

We started off early enough it seemed for an afternoon walk, but with the short days

and the sudden appearance of a bank of clouds from an approaching cold front

meant we lost the sun prematurely and with it went the late afternoon sunlight and the warm colours.

The " 2.30 Steam Special " sets off from the new Under-Skiddaw Station heading for Bassenthwaite Main Line

on the inaugural run of this new northern Cumbrian Heritage Railway.

. . . only joking . . . some bloke's having a large garden bonfire down the road . . . we passed it as we drove up !

There's space for four or five cars on the roadside by the sheepfold.

That's usually more than sufficient for the number of people who walk this most northerly of the Wainwright fells at any one time.

Alongside the old quarry are a few twisted hawthorn trees . . . this one twisted more than most.

There's clear air and good views all the way to the high Central Fells around Borrowdale.

The sun is still reasonably high in the sky so we should get a nice sunny walk up to the top and back.

Binsey is characterised by big skies as the land drops away to the north and west

thus allowing you to see the whole of the Solway Plain from the top.

In the summer this area is usually characterised by the beautiful sound of skylarks.

As we climb the lake of Overwater comes into view.

The triangular hill it nestles this side is called Latrigg . . . but it is just a duplication of the name of the more famous Latrigg overlooking Keswick.

Behind them are the the lower fells of Longlands/Lowthwaite and Great Sca Fell, with the two Cockups that we climbed recently to the right.

The summit cairn.

Was the climb up steeper than it looked or are we just a little unfit after a pre and post Christmas cold ?

Harry is looking good in the afternoon sun.

Note the fur acting as a wind meter . . . it doesn't give a clue to the low temperatures however.

   click here for our weather page for an explanation of the Loweswatercam Beaufort Scale of wind strength.

Now we're here we can stop and have a good look around.

Click here or on the photo above for that Loweswatercam 360 degree annotated panorama.

We try out the summit shelter for size . . . and view out through the doorway to the village of Uldale.

We look north over the top of the low walls to the Solway Estuary and Criffel on the other side.

Just down the fellside is another small cairn about 100 yards away . . . we set off to see the view from there.

Sunshine and a cool breeze greet Harry and Dylan on this exposed minor summit.

We'll walk over to the western edge to enjoy the view over Bassenthwaite Lake.

High above us the sky is crossed by a large number of vapour trails from the high jets.

Our shadows rise above the darker outline of our ridge

and are superimposed on the heather slopes of the main summit we visited earlier.

It looks like a premature sunset as a bank of cloud rises above the north western fells.

As the sun drops, the colour starts to drain from the fells.

Blencathra and the summit of Skiddaw stay in the sunshine by virtue of their extra height.

Down below us the local farmer is spreading farm slurry on one of his larger fields.

That would explain the slight odour in the air when we parked the car earlier.

There is was . . . gone !

We leave those jets to fly between the States and Madrid or Heathrow

and the lower ones from Edinburgh to Manchester.

- - - o o o - - -