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After a leisurely morning and an 'al fresco' lunch with friends who were over from Ireland

we headed off together to Binsey to take advantage of the beautiful sunny weather.

Christine and Jeff had started out to climb Binsey yesterday

but the mist was so low they couldn't see more than 50 yards.  Today it was more like 50 miles.

Lovely weather as we leave the road and head up towards the summit.

Visibility is excellent today

[ clarity here is hampered slightly by using Ann's old camera ... my new one is in for ten days for repair]

Jeff, Chris and Ann with Harry and Dylan.

The ladies stop to shed their coats.

The combination of the warm sun and the climb was causing slight overheating problems.

Two skylarks walk up the path ahead of us.

During the walk there was often one flying high in the sky and singing its evocative song.

Jacket-less as they walk up the main track,

leaving the blue reflections of Overwater and the moorland Back O'Skiddaw fells away behind us.

Ann tries out her Panasonic 'on-camera-panorama' feature to great effect.

Within the photo are all of the Back O'Skiddaw and Skiddaw fells plus Bassenthwaite Lake to the right.

With Jeff and Chris at the summit.

A picture with Ann as well.

Behind them is the Solway Plain which extends to the sea with Scotland beyond.

A wider view including Criffel on the right.

While they are standing still I'll take a series of panoramic photos.

Click here or on the photo above for a Loweswatercam 360 degree annotated picture.

Rather than go straight back down we continued to the smaller secondary cairn, also with great views to the north.

We cut over to the west, making use of small sheep tracks through the heather,

to see the view over the whole of the Bassenthwaite area from the edge of the fell.

On the way down we find a rock for the dogs to climb.

Chris stands eye-to-eye with Dylan for a change.

I ask them to stay for a multiple roll-over picture but they just complain at the delay.

Hold your cursor over the picture to see if it worked.

Here's the best of the best of the bunch.

Down now following the farmer's quad bike track.

Soon we'd be back at the car and saying our goodbyes to each other at the end of a very sociable day.

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We had diverted across to Wythop as we had seen a sign for plants for sale at the house by the bridge.

I know a shady spot in the garden that would do just nicely for a few of these.

Across the road, looking down stream at the old Mill.

To the left is the mill pond, dry at present but it overflowed when the river was in flood last year.

Back to the car and those gorgeous flowering cherry trees.

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Time for a post-walk sleep . . . it has been a rather hot and sociable dog day.

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