Tag Archives: lake district

Lake District; Day 2 – Old Man of Coniston

June 11, 2019 manadh Leave a comment

Despite the rather miserable weather forecast we decided to head out anyway. If we didn’t go out we would only end up sat in a house watching TV and that seems a bit pointless to pay to do so. With raincoats on, off we went into the drizzle.

By the time we had gotten to the start of the walk, the weather had cleared up and in places there was even some blue sky. At one point we could actually see Coniston lake, something we hadn’t seen all morning.

When we made it to the top it was so cloudy that we couldn’t see anything. Then we made a mistake, which was to try and get down using another route. In hindsight we should have just gone down the way we came, but we didn’t know that the cloud was hanging a lot lower on the other side.

It took an age to find the start of the side path down, and we were getting a bit grumpy by this point. I could hear rushing water and I suspect had the cloud not been so thick we would have seen some nice waterfall action. As it was we just had to be careful on the slipper stones as we made our way down.

After what felt like an age we made it onto a path and we could have kissed the ground we were so happy. What should have been a nice afternoon 3 hour hike had turned into a 6 hour mission, but at least the end was near – and we limped back to the apartment.

We made it out for pizza for tea. Had an early night then went home the next day because it was raining again!

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Lake District; Day 1 – Quarries

June 10, 2019 manadh Leave a comment

After being bored for a bit, I decided to book an impromptu mini break to the Lake District.

Last time when I went on my own I went to Buttermere. This time I decided to stop at Coniston. First thing on the agenda was to drive to a pub near the Quarry and get some lunch, before then heading down to the quarry.

We then went to Tom Gill waterfall as we couldn’t check into the house we were stopping at until later in the afternoon.

It rained all afternoon and the forecast didn’t look much better for the next day when I had planned a rather long walk…

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The Lake District – Day 4; The Drive Home

November 1, 2017 manadh Leave a comment

I had a lie in today, I didn’t get up until 730! Hehe The people who own the cottage I stopped in said they had noticed me leaving early every morning; the early bird catches the best light. Not much to report from today, other than the 3 hour drive was uneventful, but I did keep stopping on the way out of Derwent Water to grab shots.

Once I was on the A66 though it was a clear drive home, apart from toilet stops and petrol stops. The Lake District was lovely, and I’m glad I visited.

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The Lake District – Day 3; Aira Force, Ullswater and Castle Cragg

October 31, 2017 manadh Leave a comment

Today was the last full day. The weather forecast was a bit pants for it, so I was planning on having a wash out of a day, and was even considering coming home early.

However, when I woke up the weather forecast had changed, and it wasn’t supposed to rain until 1pm, so I set off to Honister Pass as I wanted to hike around there.

The problem with this plan, was that even though it wasn’t raining there was a lot of low hanging cloud, so I wouldn’t have been able to see much! So I settled on visiting Ullswater and Aira Force waterfall. I was glad that I did when I got there, a nice easy walk along woodlands, with a stream and lots of mini waterfalls along the way.

On y way out of Ullswater I decided to visit this boat house to get a shot. Not quite as epic as I had hoped for, but I had to shoot from the road side which wasn’t ideal (And there was no path).

The weather forecast changed again, and so I set off for the cottage (Via a co-op to get some lunch). I toyed with the idea of Honister Pass again but I could see from my window that the cloud was still pretty low, so I knew it wouldn’t be worth the trip. I decided instead on a hike up Castle Cragg, which is pretty close to where I am staying. This turned out to be quite a nice little walk, even if the views weren’t as good as they could have been because of the weather.

Glad to be going home tomorrow though now, my toes are sore from all the downhill walking.

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The Lake District – Day 2; Buttermere, Waterfalls and Derwent Water

October 30, 2017 manadh 1 Comment

Today I set my alarm for 645, and decided I would set off early, but not at sunrise.

This decision was made on the basis that I wouldn’t be able to see sunrise because of the mountains anyway. When I woke up the sky was a lovely shade of purple/pink, so I was a bit annoyed! Never the less I set off whilst the sun was just below the mountain line and headed for Buttermere; the plan being I would shoot the trees as the sun hit them over the mountain, then walk to Scale Force waterfall.When I got to Buttermere there were quite a few other photographers there. I set up shop and ended up being there for about an hour. The sun looked promising as it peaked above the mountain, but the higher it got it ended up being hidden behind cloud.

At 9am I decided to move on and do the walk to Scale Force. I would rate this walk as “too much bog for the waterfall”. The waterfall itself was a bit disappointing, especially when considering how mucky I got walking to it.

I think the most disappointing part of the walk, was the bit where I went up to see the top part of the waterfall. Loads of steep steps, and not a lot there when I got there. However the views over the lake from here were spot on.

It was a nice walk (apart from the mud/boggy parts), just not a great waterfall.

By this point, I’d walked 40k odd steps and up 300 flights of stairs, and I was getting a bit tired. I stopped it at a cafe at the start/end of the walk and bought a ham and tomato baguette. I’m not sure if I was just mega hungry, or if it genuinely was the best baguette ever, but I really enjoyed it.

I came back to the cottage for an hour and a half, and then went back out to see if I could get on the jetty that I couldn’t get on yesterday.

When I first got there there were loads of photographers around it, so I went off and did my own thing. On my way back there were only 2 photographers left so I joined them and got my shots.

One of the photographers who was there was local and said that the jetty on the other side of the lake is much better, so I’ve had a look and it’s a 20 minute walk from where I am staying so I’ve added that to tomorrows agenda.

Not sure what to do tomorrow, as the weather looks a bit pants on the forecast, but then didn’t look that bad on the BBC forecast on the TV so I guess I will go to the jetty in the morning and play the afternoon by ear. I was supposed to go to Helvellyn, but I don’t much fancy that if it’s chucking it down. I’ve also not managed to get to Ullswater yet either, so I have options.

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The Lake District – Day 1; Catbells, Buttermere and Honister Pass

October 29, 2017 manadh 2 Comments

This morning I got up bright and early, and set off on a three hour drive to the Lake District.

I arrived at Derwent Water at about 10, and after quickly unpacking and the people who own the accommodation pointing out the best walks I set off to hike up Catbells.

This is my first solo holiday, and up until setting off up the mountain (It’s only a small one, but it’s still a mountain!) I was starting to regret going on my own. There is something about sharing a view with someone.

And there is definitely something about not having to carry 10KG of camera equipment, and a tripod, and your lunch and a bottle of water, and your layers all on your own. (Shout out to kB here, as he normally carries my layers, water and tripod!)

I’m also petty rubbish at steep climbs with uneven steps, and this is what Catbells is at first.

Once I could see the summit I was fine, and going down it always easier that going up!

I then went back to the cottage for a bit, and had some lunch.

Then I set off out to Honister Pass, but I drove here. The sunset itself was a nothing event (too many mountains perhaps), but before the sun set the sky was a lovely colour.

I finished off by trying to get the a jetty at Derwent Water, but the one closest to where I am staying had about 5 people setting up fairy lights on it, so I left it and came home.