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Site History :

Ann and I had previously lived in Swansea (South Wales) but got fed up of travelling the M6 motorway every time we wanted to travel north on holiday. We found Oak cottage after a day out climbing the Loweswater Fells, were knocking on the estate Agents door at 9am the following day, and became proud owners in April 2000.   We were not able to move up straight away so holiday-let the cottage for two years.

I created this site in 2000, initially to advertise the 'holiday cottage' but also as an exercise to keep me sane, having rather suddenly been made redundant from my long-term Swansea job. In late 2002 Ann took early retirement, I applied for a job in Keswick, we moved north to the Lake District and now live in the cottage ourselves. 

The site has now evolved into more of a hobby. It is home for many of our photos, has become a type of web log of our walking days out, a record of our visits to local events, a celebration of the local countryside and coincidentally a showcase of pictures for our family to prove we can survive quite happily here up north in the beautiful English Lake District.

So here we are . . . welcome to Loweswatercam !

 

2017 we featured in the local paper

following our donations of money to various rescue charities,

money raised through sales of our calendar.  See the report here

 

You will find walks, local events, family pictures and more, which I hope reflect the beauty of the Lakes and provide a small an insight to our life in Cumbria and beyond.

We hope you like them.

Myself, Harry and Bethan on Causey Pike, Nov 2005.

Cameras over the years:

Camera 1:

 

From the start, I used a small pocket size Cannon Ixus 4 mega pixel camera, and re-size the pictures in Photoshop in order to fit the page. I reduce the physical size to 8x6 and compress the file size to under 50 mb for ease of downloading and economy of space on the server.

Camera 2:

 

2007 ~ I invested a few hard earned pennies in a new camera, the Cannon Powershot G7. It is a slightly larger camera with more SLR-type features, and as befits modern technology, 10 mega pixels and 6 x optical zoom capability. A bigger back screen and big icons means I don't need the reading glasses so often. A tele converter allows me some long distance shots provided the anti-shake feature works as promised.

Camera 3:

 

Sept 2009 ~ I invested a few more hard earned pennies in a replacement camera, the Cannon Powershot G10. A scratched lens and then a sudden and complete shut down of the old one has pushed me into upgrading. I looked at the new Panasonic Lumix G1 but it was not as small as they made out. I checked out a full DSLR but the large size would be a problem fellwalking. The new G10 has a bigger screen, more pixels and a few new features like i-contrast. Now if I can just get time to learn and then remember what all the buttons do I'll be able to get you even better photos !

Camera 4:

 

Oct 2011 ~ Whilst on holiday in New Zealand, Ann misplaced her small camera so we called into a camera shop in Whangarei to buy a new one. While we were there I spotted a reasonable deal on this Canon 1100d. The large size would be a problem fellwalking but the SLR aspect and the zoom lens adds potential for future photography.

Camera 5:

 

Christmas 2012 ~ Ann has moved on in cameras but still only wanted a small compact.  Despite its size, it takes a great picture and I'm often pleasantly surprised, possibly you could say challenged, by the quality it produces.  This camera often contributes pictures to the website, especially the closer people shots and those that don't require much zoom.

Camera 6:

 

Dec 2013 ~ I find the 1100d SLR a great camera but it's size and weight and the fact that I'm always changing lenses has tempted me into a new camera as a Christmas present.  Enter stage left the Nikon Coolpix P520 "bridge" camera, mid size (but not that much smaller) but with a built in x42 optical zoom there's no swapping lenses and no extras to carry.

T'internet details.

With the advent of broadband and cheaper web hosting the file sizes have grown slightly over the years.  The site has been developed using Dreamweaver, self taught, warts and all.

   

© Copyrite information

We retain copyright on all photos and reports but you may download any photo for your own personal use if you so wish.

Please include a credit to © Roger Hiley - Loweswatercam.co.uk   Larger files for commercial use and prints or canvasses of any pictures are available on request.

 

Best viewed .... Best viewed with the eyes !

I first spotted this gentle humour on the Pathfairies site and it kind of stuck! Now all I have to do is to try and think of new ones each time !

All the ideas for the site are my own, but I am often inspired by others for which I am very grateful. I have added links to many of these sites on the Links page and thanks each of you for keeping me on my toes and keeping me thinking.

Special thanks to Andrew, David, and Sean who provided and inspiration (and competition) especially in the early days.

 

Disclaimer :

The information, maps, routes, suggestions and photos are provided for information only but are correct to the best of my knowledge. How you use them is your responsibility, so don't blame me if you get lost, lose at trivial pursuits or otherwise fail to appear as worldly wise as you hope you could be after reading these pages.

Many of the pages refer to our days on the hills. Fellwalking, however, is not without risk and never more so than in bad weather. Make sure you have sufficient warm and waterproof clothing, good footwear, and sufficient food and drink for the trip you are planning. If venturing out onto the fells, carry a map and compass and know how to use them. Practice on good days so that it becomes second nature on the bad ones.

For more advice on safety and mountain rescue, please click on the Mountain Rescue Safety Page and the Met Office Mountain Safety page

To improve your map reading skills you check out the Ordnance Survey site tutorials on their resources/map reading page.

Any walk times, mileages, or height calculations I have given are only approximate to my actual walk on that day. Times especially are dependant on the weather, who you walk with, and how much you stop for photos and refreshments. Use them as a guide by all means but you must plan your own trip based on your own speed and your own style of walking.

Any description, either in pictorial, word, or map form, does not imply a right of way. All land is owned by someone and with with the new open access and existing rights of way, we a very fortunate to be able to take advantage of so much of our countryside for recreation. With rights comes responsibilities too, so treat the land, the locals, and the visitors with the respect and responsibility they deserve.

Any polite suggestions to improve the site would be most welcome.

Email me @ : Hiley105.btinternet.com