A great day today climbing Snowdon by Crib Goch.

We set off from Pen-y-Pass at 10am and climbed the first section of the PYG Track branching off onto the steep path climbing onto Crib Goch. As we climbed the steep rocky section onto the ridge we entered the cloud, but the rain from this morning had passed for now.

We had good fun crossing the ridge and descending over the pinnacles onto the easier ridge beyond. After a short lunch stop we climbed up over the summit of Garnedd Ugain and followed the ridge to meet the main Llanberris path, following this to the busy summit of Snowdon.

From the summit of Snowdon we descended the first section of the Watkin Path turning off and following the ridge to the summit of Y Lliwedd, as we climbed the final scramble to the summit the cloud broke giving us some wonderful views all around, although we were back in the cloud on the summit it wasn't long before we were back out of it again and with some wonderful views we descended quickly down to the Miners Track back to Pen-Y-Pass.

A magnificent day today running a Langdale Activity Day.

After meeting outside the Stickle Barn Pun in Langdale, we got our rock climbing kit together and made our way up to the Stickle Barn Crag. After sorting out the top ropes the Emily, Sam and Andrew were taught how to 'tie-in' and belay before cracking on with some climbing. Everyone climbed very well, even when they did a route that was much harder than the first, and in the wet! The showers were short and separated by some glorious sunshine, British summer working its magic! After a couple of climbs the group enjoyed an abseil down the face of the crag.

After a spot of lunch back down in the car park we got our Ghyll scrambling kit on and headed for Stickle Ghyll. Due to the recent rainfall the ghyll was high which meant it was going to be great fun! Once again the group did really well and had loads of fun climbing the waterfalls, jumping in the pools and boulder hopping!

A wet and windy day Geocaching on Scafell Pike from Seathwaite today!

Unfortunately as the weather had been so poor and the forecast for the day was for more rain, all of the group bar one decided not to climb Scafell Pike today. However Sue who was very keen to climb Scafell Pike was up for it! On my drive down to Seathwaite the road alongside Derwent Water was slightly flooded, the night of rain had  had quite an impact, however as we got closer to 10am the rain eased and the cloud was lifting higher and higher by the minute.

We set off from Seathwaite Farm and after just a few hundred metres we had to strip off a layer as it was quite warm, and best of all, dry! On the way up towards Styhead Pass Sue told me she enjoys Geocaching in her spare time, and she had her GPS with her today with some of the local Geocaches programmed into it. For those of you who may not be aware of what Geocaching is, it is a fun sport whereby you use a GPS to locate registered items in outdoor locations (Usually a lunchbox with items in, including a notebook in which you write your name and date of visit). We reached Styhead Pass and had to walk about 160m off of the track to locate a Geocache under a boulder. We joined the Corridor route where we got intermittent views down into Wasdale through the mist. We climbed well and as we reached Lingmell Col we were faced with a strong wind, and it was only at this point it started to rain. Towards the top of the ascent we went and located another Geocache. A short walk brought us to the windswept summit of Scafell Pike, which with photographic evidence counted as another Geocache for Sue, woop!

We had lunch in the shelter before descending to Broad Crag Col. We made rapid progress over Broad Crag and Ill Crag to Calf Cove, and then onto Esk Hause where we were again under the mist and getting views down the Borrowdale Valley. We continued to make rapid progress and an hour later we were back at Seathwaite Farm.

A windy day today climbing the Old Man of Coniston.

We set off from Coniston just after 10am and climbed by Church Beck into the Coppermines Valley, following the track up through the slate mines to Low Water.

As we approached Low Water we reached the cloud base restricting our views for the rest of the day. Turning the corner to the summit of  The Old Man of Coniston the wind got really strong, we took a short stop on the summit before continuing along the ridge, crossing to the summit of Brim Fell and descending to Levers Hawse, dropping down a little on the eastern side of the ridge to get some shelter from the wind to eat our lunches.

After lunch we continued along the ridge climbing to the summit of Swirl How before descending the Prison Band and dropping down to Levers Water, by now the weather had deteriorated, it was raining quite heavily but as we dropped down to Levers Water we dropped back out of the cloud. We followed the mine tracks back down to the Coppermines Valley and followed Church Beck back to Coniston.

A fabulous day today climbing Scafell Pike from Seathwaite.

We had a great time walking the route today in glorious sunshine. As we reached styhead pass we had amazing views of Lingmell, Scafell Pike and Great End. The group all climbed very quickly and soon enough we were on the summit of Scafell Pike enjoying the views. There were quite a few people out and about today which was good to see. The sun did get caught behind some clouds on our descent but for most of our descent down Grains Gill we were in the heat of the sun, lovely!

A lovely day walking with a group from SAGA.

After meeting them outside the Borrowdale Hotel we followed the public footpath along the southern shore of Derwent Water. After a night of horrendous rain the day was amazingly bright, sunny and warm.

We then joined the road and walked into Grange. From Grange we followed the good path alongside the river all the way to Rosthwaite. We decided to stop here for a cup of tea in the local cafe before catching the bus back up the road to The Borrowdale Hotel, a lovely day out!

A great day on the Helvellyn Ridge today.

We set off from Dunmail Raise at 10am, climbing by Raise Beck in quickly improving weather, by the time we were on the summit of Seat Sandal the bad weather had cleared most of the summits and there were some great views.

As we climbed from Grisedale Tarn up onto the summit of Dollywaggon Pike the weather was looking great, only the summit of Great Gable was in cloud now.

We crossed the summit of Nethermost Pike and climbed to the summit of Helvellyn, stopping for lunch in the wind shelter by the summit cairn before continuing north, crossing Lower Man and following the ridge to the summits of White Side and Raise before crossing Sticks Pass and climbing onto Stybarrow Dodd.

As we crossed Watsons Dodd and Great Dodd the temperatures increased and we were now in sunshine descending over Clough Head and down by White Pike to meet the Old Coach Road and down to Threlkeld.

A great day climbing Scafell Pike from Seathwaite today.

Starting from Seathwaite Farm we made our way to the Stockley Bridge. We climbed by Taylor Gill Force and up to Styhead Pass.  The cloud was sitting on the summits, but it was gradually improving. 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 we found ourselves up in the mist, and it seemed we would not be getting any views today. Soon enough we were at Lingmell Col and making our way up towards the summit.  We bagged the summit and then got into the shelter out of the wind to enjoy 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 enjoyed the final descent alongside Grains Gill.

Day 4:

After a slightly later start than on previous mornings we set off from Wasdale Head just after 8am, our numbers slightly depleted, but with bad weather forecast for tonight our packs were a little lighter as we had decided it wise to spend the night at Honister Hause YHA instead of camping out in gale force winds and rain, this meant that we could walk the final two days with day packs!

We made good time climbing the steep southern end of Yewbarrow, reaching the top at about 10am and after a short photo stop on the summit we continued, dropping down over Stirrup Crag and climbing the long slope to the summit of Red Pike.

The ridge then lad us up towards Scoat Fell, we dropped our packs off behind a rock just short of the summit of Scoat Fell and crossed the top descnding to the wonderful summit of Steeple, returning over Scoat Fell to pick our bags up and continued crossing Black Crag and climbing to the summit of Pillar, stopping to eat our lunches in the wind shelter above Pillar Rock.

After lunch we continued, descending to Black Sail Pass where after a short detour to pick up some water we made good time scrambling up the steep slopes onto the summit plateau of Kirk Fell.

A slight detour from the main path took us around the lower eastern summit before we rejoined the main path and dropped down to Beck Head, by now the clouds were starting to build and we were wondering whether we would make it to the hostel before the rain started, but we reached the summit of Great Gable in good time and as we turned north it felt like we were on the home strait!

From the summit of Great Gable we estimated that we would reach Honister Pass at about 7pm, but we made good time crossing Green Gable, Brandreth and Grey Knotts and were walking through the front door of the hostel at 6.20! Just in time to order dinner at 7!

Day 5:

As we sat at breakfast at the Hostel watching the wind and rain outside the window we agreed that we had made a wise decision not to camp out last night, although none of us were looking forward to stepping out of the door into the rain this morning we knew that the hard work was done, and this final leg was the easiest of the five.

As we made the final preparations to leave the hostel though the rain and wind eased, and although there was still plenty of could hugging the fells we climbed the slope onto Dale Head in the dry!

From Dale Head we made good progress, crossing to the summit of Hindscarth and across to Robinson, with occasional glimpses of views down into the valleys on either side.

We descended north from Robinson over High Snab Bank and down by Newlands Church, opting to follow the lanes rather than the paths back to Keswick as the rain was now back. We made great time on this final leg arriving in Keswick in about 4 hours, having to wait for everyone else to meet us as we were much earlier than expected!

After a quick drink of champagne outside the Moot Hall and some photographs we retired to the Dog and Gun for a well deserved drink!

Well done to all participants over the week, especially Colin and Mark who competed all 5 days.

This week is the week, the week our long awaited 5 day backpacking trip of the Bob Graham Round was to start. The Bob Graham round is traditionally a fell running challenge, which takes in 42 peaks over 72 miles. The fellrunners aim to complete it in under just 24 hours, we were to take it a bit more gently and cover the 5 legs in 5 days.

Monday 11th June- Day 1:

The challenge was to start outside the usual starting point, the Moot Hall. We met Clive, Colin, Nicola, Sasha (The yellow Lab) and Mark with their kit and after loading the expedition kit into the back of the car, we took our daysacks and got on our way. Our first objective was only to be the 4th highest mountain in England, Skiddaw. We left Keswick and joined the good track that traversed up the side of Latrigg. As we reached its northern side we joined the track that climbed Skiddaw's long southern face. At about 700m we found ourselves in a cold mist. We kept on plodding up this monotonous track to the windswept summit. We didn't stay long and we left the summit to the north, carefully pacing out 600m. We wanted to try and stick to the runners line as much as possible. We crossed the fence and started to descend the long grassy slope on Skiddaw's eastern face, and after not too long we were again under the mist. It seemed it was clearing and we could see summit number 2, Great Calva. As we reached the valley bottom we crossed the track and started to make our way directly to the summit of Great Calva. This track also seemed to go on for a while, so when we reached the summit we were relieved.

We left this summit to the east and made our way over some heathery ground to the beck. Our next official objective was Blencathra, but we opted to also 'bag' Mungrisdale Common as the runners line passed within just a few metred of the summit. After crossed the river we plodded up the long grassy slope once more. After reaching the rather flat and dull summit of Mungrisdale Common we headed for the far more interesting Blencathra. After walking over Atkinson's Pike another short ascent brought us onto the summit of Blencathra. Our aim was to now descend into Threlkeld and meet John with our expedition kit, and what better way to go about it than to descend Halls Fell Ridge. We enjoyed the scramble down the ridge which was by far the most interesting bit of this first leg.

We reached Threlkeld at 5pm, and as there was no chance of watching the England game as the pub with the TV was shut, we grabbed our expedition kit, and by 6pm we were back on the trail again. This was mentally and physically very hard. After 8 hours of walking we had just added about 10-12kg's of weight to our backs and were heading away from civilisation to camp on the hills. After crossing the A66 we started to make way for Clough Head, behind which we would camp for the night. We crossed the boggy ground and reached the foot of the fell. We started to traverse its base while climbing slightly before reaching a steep track up its eastern flank. We all dug in here and eventually we made it onto the flatter ridge. We found ourselves in the mist once again, but as it was flat, we didnt care much. After reaching the summit of Clough Head, and feeling suitably tired we were now aiming for our campsite. We descended a short way towards Calf How Pike, behind which we found some flat ground to pitch up. Camping, let alone Wild Camping was a new experience for 3 out of 4 of the challengers, so this first night was to be interesting for them. It seemed we had one last treat, as the sun was breaking through the clouds casting amazing lights across Keswick below. After eating our dinners we were soon all in slightly wind blasted tents to try get some sleep.

Tuesday 12th June - Day 2:

At about 5.30am we all stirred from our sleeping bags, some of us having enjoyed the night more than others. We all got on with our own personal admin such as eating breakfast and sorting out kit before taking down our tents. The morning had started clear and bright, but some clouds were also rolling through which cooled us down from time to time. By 6.50am we got on our way towards Great Dodd. This climb up helped to warm us up, and we were soon stripping off the extra layers. From Great Dodd a short descent brought us to Watson's Dodd, and then another short climb completed the Dodd's as we reached Stybarrow Dodd. The three summits in quick succession was a great morale booster. The day was warming up and we were getting some great views through some of the cloud. We left this summit to Stick's Pass from where we climbed up to Raise. We had a short break on this summit and then another small undulation brought us to White Side. We were all doing really well and getting into the flow of the day. A slightly steeper climb now brought us up to the summit of Helvellyn Lower Man, from which a short walk brought us to the highest of the day, Helvellyn. We enjoyed a stop in the shelter and admired the good views.We quickly crossed the next two summits of Neterhmost Pike and Dollywagon Pike before having to descend to Grisedale Tarn. The next part of the day was what we thought would be the hardest. We had to do two 'there and back' ascents of Fairfield and Seat Sandal. We dumped our kit between the two fells and climbed the loose path up onto the flat top of Fairfield. With half the job done we descended back down to our kit. Keen to have some lunch we moved our kit to the northern slope of Seat Sandal and made way to its summit. We descended back to our kit where we enjoyed a long 45 minute break, and a well deserved one at that.

After lunch we descended to Dunmail Raise via Raise Beck where we met John to sort out our kit and get supplies. Much like the previous day we had planned to climb and camp up on the fellside. We left the car and joined the southern slope of Steel Fell, and with now heavier packs again, plodded up slowly. We were again relieved to reach the summit and now had a much flatter walk across the top of the Greenburn Valley to Calf Crag. We had originally intended to camp somewhere here, but as we had a good few hours of daylight left we thought it would be beneficial to climb up onto the ridge by Sergeant Man, which would mean the start of day 3 would be far easier. We chose to follow a route up next to Mire Beck. This track weaved around buttresses and we had to contend with numerous false summits. I could tell the team wanted to stop as soon as possible, and I was worried that if I kept them walking for too much longer there would be a mutiny! By 8pm, the time I was hoping we would reach a camp spot by, we did. We had managed to ascend the extra few hundred metres and found and incredible campspot right next to Sergeant Man. The view from the campsite was great, and again the late evening sun was beautiful as it lit up the fells. Now more versed at camping the the camp was set up much quicker, and everyone was soon tucking into their evening meals. We all knew we had to pile in some calories as Day 3 was going to be mega!

Wednesday 13th June- Day 3:

We again stirred at about 5.30am and we had all had a much better night sleep. The morning was very clear to start with, but we could see there was potential for a bit of mist/ rain later on. We left camp at 6.50am again, and after just 5 minutes we were on top of Sergeant Man. We left this summit and headed over the very gentle slope up to High Raise. Now turning back to the south we crossed Thunacar Knott and then summited Harisson's Stickle. After just a couple of hours we had again got a handful of summits under our belt. After scrambling up and bagging Pike 'O Stickle we crossed Martcrag Moor and bagged Rosset Pike. It was around this time it started to rain, so after donning our waterproofs we descended to Angle Tarn. We could not take the runners line up Bowfell as it was well, steep! We followed the track to Ore Gap where we were again going to leave our kit. We plodded up this easier side of Bowfell and reached its rocky summit, from which we enjoyed slightly misty views of our route ahead. We walked back to our kit and climbed over Esk Pike, where we opted to have some lunch.

From Esk Pike we descended into Esk Hause and started to make our way to Calf Cove, and on the way bumped into John with a group! We once again dumped our kit and dashed off to the side to summit Great End. The next two tops, Ill Crag and Broad Crag also went by very quickly. We descnded to Broad Crag Col and then climbed the steep and loose track up onto the bouldery summit of Scafell Pike. This was a great point to reach, one that had seemed so far away (and looked it) earlier in the day. However, our day was not over yet, we had to negotiate one last mountain, Scafell. There are many routes up Scafell, but with exped kit you are limited to one, Fox's Tarn. This route meant we had to descend about 200m before being able to climb back up to the summit, which was just 14m lower.

We descended to Mickledore, and then down to the start of the gully that makes way to the tarn. Everyone scrambled up the gully very well. From the tarn a very steep, and again loose slope takes us onto the summit plateau. Once again everyone dug in deep, with the idea of staying at the Wasdale Head Inn keeping them going. We made it onto the plateau and after leaving our kit bagged the final summit of the day. We descnded off of the summit via the top of Lord's Rake. This descent was a real knee cruncher, especially the last bit which is down a steep grassy slope. We finally reached the roadside, which we followed along to the Inn where John was waiting for us. After not too long we found ourselves in the Inn munching on some fine food.

Unfortunately the 3 days had been just a little too much on Sasha's paws, and although she had been incredible Nicola felt she had to pull out of the walk. The team lost another walker on Thursday morning as Clive got up to go but felt awful. It seemed although his brain said yes, his body was saying no.

So today John took over the leading and they will have walked the Pillar Horseshoe above Wasdale, over Great Gable and down to Honister. Tomorrow they will finish the expedition over Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson and then back to the Moot Hall in Keswick. Good Luck!

Another great day today climbing Blencathra and Sharp Edge.

We set off from Threlkeld at 10am and climbed the steep slopes onto the Halls Fell ridge, we had some good fun scrambling up the crest of the ridge to the summit of Blencathra.

From the summit of Blencathra we descended east, dropping down to Scales Tarn, stopping for our lunches on the grass by the tarn before climbing again, this time onto the crest of Sharp Edge.

We had little difficulty crossing Sharp Edge, but almost as soon as we had climbed up over Foule Crag a short shower arrived, this lasted for about five minutes and had passed by the time we were back on the summit of Blencathra.

From Blencathra we descended west, dropping down from Blease Fell and back to Threlkeld.

Another misty but drier day climbing Scafell Pike from Seathwaite today.

We left Seathwaite Farm and made our way to the Stockley Bridge.  We climbed by Taylor Gill Force and up to Styhead Pass where we had a little stop to enjoy the views, which were being made quite dramatic by the sun braking through the cloud.  From the pass we joined the Corridor route which traversed up the fellside, and on which we gained great views through holes in the mist down into Wasdale.

We continued climbing up into the mist, and soon enough we were at Lingmell Col and making our way up towards the summit. The mist seemed to get thicker and thicker, but soon enough we were up on the windswept summit of Scafell Pike. After a few snaps we left for the summit shelter, which fortunately had noone in it, mainly because nobody could see it!

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.  We descended Grains Gill back to Seathwaite Farm.

A great day climbing Helvellyn & Striding Edge today.

We set off from Glenridding at 10am and climbed by Lanty's Tarn, following the wall onto the ridge and climbing up onto Birkhouse Moor.

So far the weather was pretty good, the cloud was just catching the highest tops but there was plenty of breaks in the cloud as well.

As we reached High Spying How, the start of Striding Edge, the cloud blew over Red Tarn and onto the ridge meaning that wee were engulfed in the cloud, this didn't stop us though and we crossed Striding Edge with little difficulty and climbed up onto the summit of Helvellyn, stopping in the wind shelter to eat our lunches.

After lunch we crossed the summit of Helvellyn and dropped down onto the Swirral Edge path, descending the ridge, which took a little care today as it was quite slippery in places, and descended onto the path below climbing again onto the summit of Catstycam before descending onto the Greenside Mine track and following this back to Glenridding.

A great afternoon Ghyll Scrambling in Stickle Ghyll today.

There was much more water in the Ghyll than over the past few weeks so we had some great fun!

Day 2 of our Navigation training course, and today our venue was Rosthwaite Fell.

After parking up in Seatoller we walked along the road for a few minutes before taking a Footpath up towards the fells. The mist was sitting low on the fells, so it would provide Carol some extra challenge which she did not experience yesterday.

We made our way up by the Gill to Tarn at Leaves where we were already in the mist. Working towards her Silver NNAS as well we took this opportnity to use the 1:50k maps too. After a couple of legs with this map we moved back onto the 1:25k map and continued with multiple bearings.

In just the 2 days Carol's skills had made a marked improvement, and she felt her confidence had improved massively. Congrats to Carol on passing her Silver NNAS with flying colours!