Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A couple of walks

On Monday Karen had a dental appointment in Egremont, rather than driving we decided it would make a good walk for the dogs. Dent with snow on its East flanks. Red Pike with lots of snow. Well what would you expect! Longlands Lake still has a lot of ice.
Our first lambs.
Not many pictures taken but a walk of over 9 miles, how green are we. Today we decided to walk over Dent. Still plenty of snow on the track.
There has been plenty of trees coming down.
Over the North side of Dent looking towards Kirk Beck.
Raven Crag by Nannycatch Gate.
Snow on the West slopes of Flat Fell.
Still cold enough for these icicles to form in the stream.
A nice walk for a couple of hours and only 5 minutes from home.

Friday, February 19, 2010

A Walk At Ennerdale

Andy's mum is staying with us for a few days, the weather was forecast to be good today & whilst we were in Oxford more snow had fallen on the fells so a walk along the shore of Ennerdale Water is what we decided to do today. Bess first into the lake, you can see how much ice has formed on the surface Margaret & Andy Looking towards Great Borne the reflections only broken by the ice
Looking down the lake towards Pillar
A short clip of Bess having to break the ice to enable her to walk along the lake Crag fishing for stones
Looking back towards Bleach Green where we had parked
We have never seen swans or geese on the lake before
Looks like the parents & two young ones
We stopped for lunch at the site of the Anglers Inn, looking across at Great Borne
Zooming in on Pillar
Lunch!
Great Borne reflecting in the lake
Pillar, Scoat Fell & Steeple
Great Borne & Bowness Knott
A bit into the sun, Crag Fell
Pillar
Looking down the lake at Rothery Sike
Back at the weir, looking across to the Red Pike range all with a dusting of snow on them
Andy & Margaret on the bridge
A really nice walk on a crisp sunny winters day

A Walk Along The River Thames

Whilst we were in Oxford we had a walk with Karen's parents along the river Thames. We parked at Iffley & headed towards the city centre Looking back towards Iffley lock Bridges at New Hinksey A common sight in Oxford people practising their rowing
And our destination & lunch at "The Head of the River" pub

Sunday, February 14, 2010

A Walk Around Kidlington

We are back in Oxfordshire for a week & today we met up with Lisa, Stuart & their dog Katie for a walk. We decided to walk over at Kidlington as we haven't walked there for a few years & it was where Karen & Bess did much of their walking when they lived there. We set off from The Moors into the fields, this is looking across to St Marys imposing spire, the new tree plantation to the right is new from the last time we walked this. Walking towards Hampton Poyle some lying water in the field here Looking back towards Kidlington & St Marys church again The next section was through a rather muddy field, Lisa was testing a new pair of shoes, they didn't look so new when we finished! The ruins at Hampton Gay, home at the moment to the sheep who have lambed.
At last we reach the river Cherwell & the dogs wait for a stick to be thrown
We walked to Thrupp & then along the Oxford Canal to The Jollyboatman pub before heading back to the river. Earlier in the walk we saw three deer, but they ran before a picture could be taken, this is a fox we could see in the distance.
Crag & Katie, they seem to be friends now
A two & a half hour walk & our dogs have slept ever since

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Cogra Moss

Yesterday we set off in the sunshine to climb a couple of fells at Buttermere, but upon reaching Crummock Water it was snowing quite hard & settling so we decided to turn back & do a lower walk closer to home. We parked near Cogra Moss & were greeted with two very low flypasts It was very quiet & apart from some workers on the banks of the lake we saw no-one Blake Fell We walked in an anti-clockwise direction around the lake to get the climb over & done with quickly.
Knock Merton & Cogra Moss
Zooming in on the windfarm in the Solway
Cogra Moss
A gap in the trees as we descend
The forest track with a sprinkling of snow on it
It looks like the lake is at an angle but the picture wasnt taken at an angle
Not the walk we had planned, but it was enough to get us two tired dogs for the rest of the day