Loweswater Local Walk | - Click on the image above to view gallery
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 Harry and Bethan With just about the whole of the country affected by a long lasting arctic weather system a lot of the country was covered in snow and ice which meant our journey from Kent was interesting to say the least. The most trouble we had, however, was getting out of Kent. An unexpected blizzard just outside Canterbury on the day we travelled meant a journey from home to the start of the M2 which usually takes half an hour took us two and a half hours. The rest of the journey was fine though: we saw an awful lot of snow but the motorways were kept clear and were well salted in the sub-zero temperatures.  Langdale Pikes  Windermere After stopping at Lancaster we spent the night at the Kendal Premier Inn where the staff were really very welcoming and chatted about what life had been like there since it snowed just before Christmas. We also had a nice chat with Lee, the manager, as we were defrosting our cars the following morning. He was planning on driving to Ambleside that day to walk up Wansfell Pike. Lee if you ever read this I hope you had a good day and given the conditions I’m sure that you did. I also hope you found your Kahtoola Microspikes as useful as we have. On our drive from Kendal to Loweswater I think it’s fair to say I was even more excited than I usually am to see the Lakeland Fells. They looked absolutely stunning covered in so much snow I wish there were more places we could have stopped to take pictures en route but we were also keen to get to Loweswater. We did make brief stops however at Low Wood Hotel overlooking Windermere where we had the fabulous view of the Langdale Pikes across the lake. We also stopped at Waterhead in Ambleside, always a good place to stop. Given the conditions we were surprised to see so few people about but I think maybe the problems with untreated icy roads had caused many people to stay away. We eventually reached Loweswater late morning and I just couldn’t take my eyes off the fells that can be seen from Ann and Roger’s garden. Ann suggested doing a walk taking in Loweswater and High Nook Tarn which meant we would get to see a lot of the local sights.  Breathtaking view up Buttermere Valley  Grasmoor and Mellbreak We should mention though that we wouldn’t have been able to do very much of the walk without using the amazing Kahtoola Microspikes attached to our boots. I had read so many people singing their praises but couldn’t quite believe it until I had them on for myself. I don’t think I have ever felt so sure-footed before and the ability to walk across sheet ice without any problem was amazing. Our walk started from Maggie’s Bridge car park but not without first stopping at Loweswater Village Hall, where the view up the Buttermere Valley was just breathtaking. It felt good to walk over the crunchy snow across the Loweswater Meadows in the sunshine but before long we were in the shade of the trees of the Holme Woods and the temperature dropped considerably. The recent low temperatures had meant that Holme Force had plenty of ice surrounding the falls and also some amazing icicles under the bridge. It was here that I remembered I had in my backpack a new camera to play with. We had recently got ourselves a camcorder and I had brought it with us to try out the camera. As always with new things there are lots of things to learn but I had a lot of fun trying it out as well as taking lots of photos during the afternoon. The highest point of the walk was well above the tree line and the views across the fells including Whiteless Pike and Grasmoor just kept drawing your eyes towards them, especially as the sun got lower in the sky and lit the fells opposite with a wonderful golden glow.  Frozen Path  Fading light Even when the sun had set there was still so much beauty in the hills surrounding us. It really had been a memorable day for us and we can’t thank Ann and Roger enough. The pictures in the gallery that accompanies this journal entry include quite a few taken by Nigel too as he took many during the day too. I’ve also put together a short video too which I have put on YouTube. Follow the link if you fancy seeing that too I have a feeling I will be using the camcorder quite a bit more in the future.
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What an absolutely stunning set of pictures. I bet you were like a dog with two tails!!...I can only imagine how many pictures you actually took and I would have probably been the same. Looking forward to the next batch.
Regards,
Dave
PS...Thanks for your comments on ours