A great day climbing Blencathra from Threlkeld today.

We set off from Threlkeld at 10 am and climbed by Gategill Farm following the steep path onto the Halls Fell Ridge. There was some great scrambling on Halls Fell today, although the rock was still a little greasy after yesterdays rain, but we had fun climbing to the summit of Blencathra.

After a short stop near the summit we followed the ridge west crossing to Blease Fell and descending back to Threlkeld, it was good to see the repair work that is being done on the lower section of the path which has been badly eroded over the past few years.

A fantastic day taking on Snowdon via the Miners Track.

Our original plan was to complete the Snowdon Horseshoe which included knife edge ridge of Crib Goch, but with strong winds (70-80mph gusts) we opted to take on the mountain via one of its many other routes.

We met at the popular Pen-Y-Pass car park and the winds were alredy evident. We all started layered up and with the waterproofs ready, we knew we were going to be in for a bit of a wild day. We left the car park via the Miners track, and we followed this good path around to the Llyn Llydaw Reservoir. As we crossed the causway we were pushed by strong gusts, and were getting rather wet from the spray being kicked up. After a bit of fooling around in the wind we continued past th old mill to where the path starts climbing for the first time. The track climbed quite gently to the shores of Glaslyn, a small mountain Tarn. We followed the path around its shores to where the Miners Track climbs steeply. Up until this point the walk had been relatively easy, but now it was time to put some effort in! We climbed the steep winding track and eventually met the Pyg Track coming in from the right. The path seemed to suddenly turn Icy. We continued with greater caution but the odd gusts made this harder than usual. We reached the large zig-zag at the top of the Pyg Track. The path narrowed and narrowed until it met the main summit ridge.

As we stepped onto this main ridge it seemed a bit more sheltered, and it was nice to be out of the winds and the driving sleet. We hung a left and followed the path that ran alongside the train track. The small crags on our left was blocking the worst of thw wind but every now and then a gust would come through them or from a different direction and take us off guard. One particular gust caught myself and Alex so much so that we took to the ground for a bit of safety. The gust soon passed and now a little bit more cautious we continued up to the summit. We climbed the steps that led to the summit, mne going first. The guys followed me in diginifying style as I crawled up the steps, this was the windiest it had been so far. I reached out my arm and tapped the trig point before backtracking to the bottom of the steps. The lads all did the same, but saw an opportunity as the gust lulled to pose for a quick summit shot. We quickly left the summit and sought some welcomed shelter by one of the station walls.

We all sat down and looked at each other, we all had massive smiles on our faces, that was truley wicked! I took my bag off to get my lunch out, and it was frozen! Literally frozen hard! I managed to get into the buckle and to my much needed Fajita Chicken Wrap!

We didnt stop for long as it was pretty cold and we made headway back to the pillar that denoted the top of the Pyg Track. We descended carefully down the upper reaches of the path with the odd gust still pushing us around. Just above the zig zags we met some teenagers attempting to get to the top, concerned for their safety (especially in their jeans and converse trainers!) we said they would be better off leaving it for today) and so we had four further members at the back of the group. We descended via the Pyg Track passing countless 3 Peakers. The ice on the path soon eased and we enjoyed the slightly wet walk back to the car park.

I think our decision to leave Crib Goch for another day was proven to be an exceptionally good one, otherwise we may have been seeing Llanberis from an aerial perspective!

Another good day on Wansfell today, we set off from the shop at 10am and climbed by Stockghyll Force, climbing the steep slope to the summit of Wansfell Pike in good weather.

A great day climbing Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike today.

We set off from Gatesgarth just after 10am and climbed to Scarth Gap in good time and climbed the rocky path too the summit of Haystacks.

After the short descent to Innominate Tarn we stopped for lunch out of the cool breeze before continuing by Blackbeck Tarn and down to Dubbs before climbing the slopes of Fleetwith Pike.

The views from Fleetwith Pike were wonderful today, over the Buttermere Valley and out over the Solway to Scotland beyond.

We descended Fleetwith Edge back to Gatesgarth Farm.

Very nice day on Scafell Pike today. Leaving from Seathwaite, we walked up to Styhead Tarn, where we had a short break. We then ascended The Corridor Route to the summit, which was surprisingly quiet considering the weather conditions. After stopping for lunch and to take some photos, we descended to Esk Hause, then followed Grains Gill back to Seathwaite. No photos as I forgot my camera. Sorry!

A cracking day on the Troutbeck Skyline today.

Starting from Troutbeck Church we climbed the fellside on the good Garburn Road. The path traversed and climbed the western slopes of Sour Howes, and just before it rounded the hill to drop into Kentmere we split of the track and headed towards Yoke. The quality of the path continued as the track gradually climbed up to Yoke's flat summit. We continued over this summit and climbed up onto the fine conical summit of Ill Bell. The views from this summit were fantastic, especially down towards Kentmere Reservoir. We descended steeply from this summit before again climbing up to the smaller, but equally conical summit of Froswick.

We decided to stop on this summit for lunch, and we enjoyed extensive views right across the entire Lake District. After out stop we again descended before climbing a short way to the highest summit of the day, Thornthwaite Crag. We now had great views down into the Kentmere Valley, as well as down along the route we had just walked. Ill Bell and Froswick looked fantastic as they stood like huge pyramids side by side. We retraced our steps a short way before descending towards the valley bottom.

On the climb for a final time we walked up the easy ground to the little summit of Troutbeck Tongue. From this summit we descended to the good footpath that led past the fields (with cute lambs in!) and back to Troutbeck.

A great but soggy day climbing Fairfield from Patterdale today.

I met James and Louise, newlyweds as of saturday (Congrats!) at the Patterdale Hotel, and their mini-moon activity of the day was to take on Fairfield!

We started the day, in the rain, by walking along the roadside to the Deepdale Bridge, from where we crossed the fields and started climbing onto the massive grassy spur that is Hartsop Above How. As we climbed alongside the wall we seemed to be chasing the cloud up the hill and our views continued to get better and better. Unfortunately this ' last forever, and shortly after summiting Hartsop Above How we were in the cloud. By now the rain had eased, but we were feeling the force of a strong easterly wind. We climbed the steep eastern flank of Hart Crag and onto its rocky summit.

We left the summit almost immediately, but just before Link Hause we found a sheltered spot in which we had a bite to eat. After our lunch we climbed onto the slopes of Fairfield. Along this section the wind was super strong, but nonetheless we made great progress to the summit. On the summit we met the only other walkers of the day!

From the summit of Fairfield we descended to the north down the steep rocky slope onto the ridge that leads to Cofa Pike, a small little rocky lump. From this summit we descended under the cloud to Deepdale Hause. The route would usually now climb over St Sunday's Crag, but based on the winds we opted to descend into the secluded Deepdale Valley.

This decision was not disapointing as we gained amazing views of the northern buttresses of Fairfield, as well as 'The Step', a spur that sticks out with sheer cliff faces on 3 of its sides. We enjoyed this long walk out past the waterfalls and these great cliffs. The path brought us back to the road, and a short walk took us back to our start point.

A fantastic route, and one that deffinitely gives The Fairfield Horseshoe a run for its money!! Amazing!

A blustery day taking on Helvellyn from Wythburn today.

Starting from the Wythburn Car park we started our climb immedietly as we ascended through the forests. We emerged out of the forests and into the impressive comb where we followd the path up through the crags and onto the easier ground above. As we traversed across Birk Side we could see the snow on the route ahead, and also unfortunately the cloud covering the summit of Helvellyn.

The path eased as it traversed around Nethermost Pike and not before too long we were on the final ascent to the top. The path was covered in snow and now in the cloud we couldn't see much at all. Soon enough we were at the summit, and we didn't stay in the open for long as it was getting blasted with wind and hail (ouch!). We ducked into the summit shelter for a bite to eat, but as it was pretty cold we didn't stop for long. As the conditions were pretty poor along the tops we opted to descend back to Wythburn via the same track.

On the way down we had some great views mixed in with a few light showers.

A great day climbing Scafell Pike from Seathwaite today.

Starting from Seathwaite Farm we made our way to the Stockley Bridge. The weather was currently dry and a bit blustery, but the forecast was for thundery showers, so we thought we had an interesting day ahead of us weather wise! We climbed by Taylor Gill Force and up to Styhead Pass. The tops of the highest fells were sitting in the cloud, but we were remaining optimistic that it would clear (a key piece of hillwalking equipment!) From the pass we joined the Corridor route which traversed up the fellside, and on which we gained great views down into Wasdale.

As we climbed higher the cloud did seem to lift, and the top of Scafell Pike did emerge from time to time. Soon enough we were at Lingmell Col and making our way up towards the summit. As we got closer to the summit we were walking on more and more snow, and it was actually still quite deep in places. We emerged on the blank windswept summit plateau, followed by the summit, where we did get views! Yay!! We hid behind the summit platform out of the wind, and to warm up a bit quicker we got into our big orange group shelter for our lunch.

After our lunch we descended the steep slope to Broad Crag col, and then climbed over Broad Crag, Ill Crag and down Calf Cove to the top of Grains Gill. All along this stretch we had fine views of the rest of the Lakes.

We descended Grains Gill back to Seathwaite Farm, and just as we got back into the cars it started spitting with rain, excellent timing if you ask me!

A great day today climbing Pillar from Wasdale Head.

We set off from the Wasdale Head Inn at 10am and climbed the path to Black Sail Pass, the views today were great, although there was a little high cloud it was well above the felltops.

From Black Sail Pass we followed the ridge climbing to the summit of Pillar.

After a short lunch stop in the wind shelter at the summit of Pillar we continued, crossing Wind Gap and climbing to cross Black Crag to Scoat Fell then out to the wonderful summit of Steeple.

After recrossing the summit of Scoat Fell we followed the ridge down over Red Pike, stopping for a tea break on Red Pike before descending to Dore Head and following the path below Yewbarrow to meet the road by Overbeck Bridge and following the lane back to Wasdale Head.

If you have ever done The Fairfield Horseshoe you will have walked past this great mountain, but it is a mountain that deffinitely deserves a visit!

We left Ambleside via the Kirkstone road, which gave us a nice quick boost of height. A shirt way up the road we took the public footpath up onto the hillside. The slope of Red Screes is long and gentle, and very nice underfoot. As always as we climbed the views just got better and better. By midday we were on the fine summit of Red Screes from where we opted to have some lunch. The steep sides of Red Screes provided us with some fine views, especially over towards the Far Eastern Fells.

This walk has three optional summits on it, of which we were opting for all as we were on a peak bagging mission! We followed the large spur off of Red Screes and collected Middle Dodd before contouring around the slope to bag High Hartsop Dodd, which held great views over Brothers Water. From this summit we backtracked a little and climbed to our final summit of the day, Little Hart Crag. Just off of this summit we took a lovely rest and enjoyed the views back down the valley to Ambleside.

Now on our return leg we descended to the valley bottom and followed the good track back to High Sweden Bridge, and then through to Ambleside.

Hill walking fitness is something that has to be built up over a long period of time, but it is really easy to build up your basic level of fitness to make your days out on the fells far more enjoyable.

Your lifestyle, occupation and where you live all have a large effect on what and how much you can do to improve your basic fitness for hill walking.

Time on your feet: Whether it is walking part way to work, or having a blast around the block on a weekend, increasing the time on your feet each week will have a huge effect for when you head to the hills and walk for several hours.

Building basic fitness: Government recommendations state that everyone should do 30 minutes exercise a day to maintain good physical and mental health. This is not always feasible, but the more of this you can do the greater your basic level of fitness will become. You don't necessarily need to join the gym or go running; anything that raises the heart rate counts!

Start easy and build it up: Don't jump in at the deep end when getting out onto the fells. Take on a couple of fells that you know are within your reach before pushing your boundaries, a little bit at a time. The mountains aren't going anywhere, so why not build up to tackling that challenging one when you know it will be nice and comfortable for you.

Specific Exercises to Improve Hill Fitness: The main area to focus on is building up the stamina in your legs and your core, as well as your cardiovascular fitness. Specific exercises include Squats, Lunges, Calf Raises, Stepping exercises, sit ups and leg raises. If you can get out on a bike, for a run or a fast paced walk every week then this will all contribute to building your aerobic capability.

Remember to Warm up and Cool down before and after every exercise session. Start with low repetitions/ distances and build it up each week, remembering to have rest days.

Finally the most specific exercise is getting out on the hills!

A great day on the Lakeland classic that is The Fairfield Horseshoe.

After meeting the group at our shop in Ambleside, we set off through Ambleside and towards Rydal Park. We made our way through Rydal Park and could feel the weather was a bit cooler than the previous days, but nonetheless it was clear. After passing Rydal Mount we were now on the steep climb up towards Nab Scar.  As we climbed the views became more and more impressive, and we had great views over Windermere, Coniston Water, Rydal Water and Grasmere. We summited Nab Scar and then the gradient eased as we climbed towards Heron Pike. As we climbed towards Heron Pike we got hit by the winds and our first hail storm, but we were sure this would just pass through. We enjoyed the views  as we made our way to the summit of Great Rigg. All feeling a bit low on fuel we stopped for a bite to eat out of the wind before taking on the easy climb to the windswept summit of Fairfield.

We ducked into the shelter to dodge a hail storm but as it was a bit chilly we didnt stop for longer than needed!m We battled our along the very windswept ridge to Hart Crag abnd then we  followed the wall up to Dove Crag which provided great views over Windermere again.  We descended by the wall down the gentle grass slope over High Pike and Low Pike in the warm sun before descending to High Sweden Bridge.

We enjoyed an easy descent back into town on the fine track from the bridge.

A superb day up Bowfell and The Great Slab, then onto Esk Pike and Rossett Pike.

Starting from the Old Dungeon Ghyll we made our way through the farm (where we saw a bright orange goat chasing two deer, very odd!) and onto the path that climbs up The Band. We ascended The Band (a large spur that leads to Bowfell) and the morning heat was already blasting down on us. Towards the top of The Band we took the path over its crest and onto the climbers traverse. After walking along the narrow track we ascended up the rocky path next to The Great Slab. A short walk from the top of the slab brought us to the fine summit of Bowfell.

We stopped on the summit for our lunch and enjoyed the incredible views it has to offer, especially over towards the Scafells. While we were having our lunch we could see some showers working their way across the bottom of the park, but fotunately they didnt look like they would come near us.

From Bowfell we descended, and then climbed up and over Esk Pike, from which we descended to Esk Hause. Now on our return leg we descended a short distance to Angle Tarn, from which we again climbed up to the summit of Rossett Pike. Now with just our descent left we took the steppy path down into Mickleden, and then enjoyed the flat track back to the Old Dungeon Ghyll.

A changable day on Lingmoor Fell day.

Starting from Blea Tarn we started off by making our way down the road (Yes Down!) to meet the path that runs around the base of Lingmoor Fell. The track undulated over small outcrops and small streams. As we reached the eastern end of the fell we took the zig zag path up onto the main ridge of the fell. We sat on the lovely slate bench which holds amazing views across Windermere and enjoyed our lunch. The weather had been great all morning, with the odd cloud covering the sun, but we could now see showers moving across over Ambleside. We enjoyed the views as we headed across the felltop and to the summit. The views were amazing, especially towards The Langdale Pikes. Just as we left the summit the hail storm started, but we knew it would be short lived, so it was quite fun! We reached Lingmoor Tarn after a bit of 'wild country' walking before heading back towards the main path. We had another nice extended rest stop underneath Side Pike, after which we descended to the roadside and back to the cars.