Lake District August 2015 (Skiddaw via Keswick route)

Rowan's first 900m mountain, the forth highest in the Lake District and England, a hard day's walking for him!

 

Having lunch on the south summit

 

Walking to the main summit. Ullock Pike is behind.

 

Rowan on the mountain descent, below Little Man

 

Rowan standing by the pillar on the main summit

Lake District August 2015 (Newlands Valley): Causey Pike->Scar Crags->Outerside->Barrow

Starting from Uzzicar, a steep climb on to Rowling End then following the ridge to Causey Pike and along Scar Crags. Dropped down from the ridge before embarking on Sail towards High Moss.

Climbed up on the Outerside, on to Style End then Barrow, decending on the NE path towards Braithwaite, and then followed the level path and road back to Uzzicar.

Walkers: Just me

 

Looking up to the scrambling just below the top of Causey Pike.

 

Stopping for lunch on Rowling End with some great view points.

 

The easy path looking back to Rowling End, from the foot of the summit of Causey Pike.

 

The little tree close to the summit of Rowing End can be seen from much of Newlands Valley

 

Some of the scrambling ahead on Causey Pike

Some more pictures from Ben Nevis

Here's a few more pictures... thank you David :)

More pictures from Ben Nevis

Here's a few more pictures from Ben Nevis...

 

David on the way up, just past Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe

 

One of Mark's Facebook selfies. Nice view of the snow covered top and the storm shelter on the left.

 

That's Russell directly in front. This picture shows just how many poeple fill the main route to the summit on a dry June Saturday!

Ben Nevis Conquered !

This years walking weekend went fantastically well, all seven on us not only made it to the top but back down again too!

Russell was first up and had to wait sufficiently long enough for the next person he decided to descend before freezing to death (there was very *deep* snow at the top even in late June). Peter, Rob and Richard also battled their way to the top along with Mark.

David and I brought up the rear of our group where we had to settle for a very misty, icey view. Temperatures not far above freezing and just three days later in Pitstone I'm typing this while it's 33 degrees! The summit made for an wintery, quite eerie atmosphere, fitting of the highest spot in the UK.

On the way down David came into his own and race away while Mark and I took a 'steadier' pace ;)

Here's the first photos, more to follow!

 

That's me on top by the storm shelter. The snow surrounds the shelter, just out of the picture.

 

On the way up it looked like the cloud wouldn't lift, but it slowly followed us up. Here, about half way up, we could see back into Glen Nevis. In the top right of the picture you can just make out Loch Linnhe.

Walkers: David N, Mark C, Peter, Richard, Rob, Russell, Tony

15/06/15 - Great Gaddesden -> Potten End circular

Sunday's walk near Hemel was very enjoyable. A short 4.5 miler but with some good hills to get in more practise for Ben Nevis! There was a, ahem, pub stop too :)

Peter, Rowan and Bailey the dog!

Practise walk - weekend 13th / 14th June

They'll be a final Ben Nevis warm up weekend of 13th/14th June, I'll send details soon :)

Photos from the Pitstone/Ivinghoe walk Sunday 31st May

The route map (approx 6.5 miles). Starting at Pitstone car park: Steps Hill, Ivinghoe Beacon, Ward Hurst Fram, Ashridge woods, Clipper Down, Down Farm.

 

Mark C, Mark S, David, Peter, Emma, Andrea, Danny

Wild garlic in covered the woodland floor on the slopes nr Ward Hurst Farm

 It was cloudy for the entire walk, but didn't rain!

 The climb up Clipper Down near the end of the walk

Important info for the Ben Nevis trip

I've included a couple of links below showing the maximum luggage size and photo ID required for internal flights. A passport isn't needed, the list shows all the ID you can take with you.

Easyjet baggage restrictions:-

http://www.easyjet.com/en/help/preparing-to-fly/baggage

Easyjet internal flight ID requirement:-

http://corporate.easyjet.com/latest-news-archive/news-year-2004/16-03-04-en.aspx?sc_lang=en

Sunday's forthcoming Pitstone / Ivinghoe Walk route...

Here's a map of the route on Sunday. We are starting at Pitstone Hill car park (free), walking to Steps Hill then on to Ivinghoe Beacon. We'll follow the Beacon path around then through the woods and up the steep hill to Ward's Hurst Farm. From there we'll cross the Ashridge estate woodland and finally on to Clipper Down before returning to Pitstone Hill. It'll give us the chance to tackle a few hills and take in some good views. The entire walk is 6 miles and we can expect to be out between 2 and 3 hours.

Meet at my house after 1.30pm or 2pm at the car park.

 

Profile of the walk, from start to finish.  Highest point: 789ft, lowest point: 530ft. Distance 6 miles.

More photos from Richmond Park...

Richmond Park..

Entering Richmond Park on a sunny Saturday afternoon!

Tony, Mark C, Emma, Mark S, Peter

Route map for the London Walk...

Walk Update

A quick update on walking dates....

The annual London Walk

The postponed walk back to in March is re-arranged for Saturday 16th May. The route will be the same as originally planned, and we'll meet either at St Albans City station to catch the train (there's a discount on multiple purchases) or at Hammersmith station (start of the walk) - which ever suits you best. It's about 9 miles and flat, easy walking following the Thames for a stretch then Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common. Everyone welcome, let me know if you're interested. This walk will be pretty much all day including the travelling.

Chiltern hills practise walk

This will be a fairly short but intense walk close to Ivinghoe/Pitstone on Sunday 31st May. I have to finalise the route and time/place to meet, but the plan is to meet early afternoon and walk for about 2 to 2.5 hours. We'll have several short but steep climbs which will be good practise for Ben Nevis. Everyone welcome though of course, not just if you're coming to Scotland.

Ben Nevis

We're now all booked up for the Ben Nevis trip Friday 26th to 28th. We'll be leaving early on the Friday morning and will arrive in Glasgow to collect our hire car. From there we'll have a 2 hour journey to Fort William. With a bit of luck we'll be at our accommodation by lunchtime! The return flight is about 5.30 in the afternoon on Sunday. We'll have a couple of hours in Fort William Sunday morning before we need to drive back to Glasgow. Remember to book Friday off work and I'd recommend Monday too if you can!

Ben Nevis

This year we're climbing Ben Nevis in June!