wet, windy journey through history
08th January 2014
Today I experienced some better weather. It was very windy, cold, but dry, so a huge improvement on previous days.
Today's journey started from the curving and twisty valley of Tilberthwaite. The valley was quiet with only a few sheep grazing amongst the old mine workings for company. Some sheep were also trying to find shelter from the wind behind boulders that line the fast flowing Yewdale Beck, but this looked a wet option as the ground adjacent to the stream was sodden.
My ascent was steep and with each metre of height the wind increased in strength. I started to become concerned as I knew the upper section of Wetherlam (the mountain I was ascending) required scrambling over several hundred feet of rock. The mountain, on this North Eastern side, rose in a series of closely linked, narrow ledges. These were relatively easy to climb, but they were running with water, so slippery and the wind kept pushing away from the mountain.
After some careful manoeuvring I eventually reached the summit where, strangely, the wind was less strong. The downside was that the cloud base had dropped, so any hope of a view was a forlorn hope.
I decided to descend, rather than follow my usual route over Swirl How and beyond, as I was keen to get out of the wind. Therefore, I took a gradually descending path alongside Swirl Hause Beck. The route wound it's way downwards wth steep, rugged and rocky buttresses crowding in on either side. The crags were now wreathed in misty raiment, that drifted in and out of the gullies and crevices of the mountainside.
Eventually I reached Levers Water, a large tarn high above Coniston. This is a damned tarn, as it was once a resource for the Copper Ore Mining that took place here centuries ago. It is now a beautiful, though rather somber tarn (especially today) that stretches itself out across the wide amphitheater of mountain and crag.
The journey back to Tilberthwaite was now relatively easy, but it was getting dark. The cloud was thicker and lower now and it seems the weather is on the turn again. It was a brief excursion in slightly better conditions, so a joyous moment stollen.
Today's journey started from the curving and twisty valley of Tilberthwaite. The valley was quiet with only a few sheep grazing amongst the old mine workings for company. Some sheep were also trying to find shelter from the wind behind boulders that line the fast flowing Yewdale Beck, but this looked a wet option as the ground adjacent to the stream was sodden.
My ascent was steep and with each metre of height the wind increased in strength. I started to become concerned as I knew the upper section of Wetherlam (the mountain I was ascending) required scrambling over several hundred feet of rock. The mountain, on this North Eastern side, rose in a series of closely linked, narrow ledges. These were relatively easy to climb, but they were running with water, so slippery and the wind kept pushing away from the mountain.
After some careful manoeuvring I eventually reached the summit where, strangely, the wind was less strong. The downside was that the cloud base had dropped, so any hope of a view was a forlorn hope.
I decided to descend, rather than follow my usual route over Swirl How and beyond, as I was keen to get out of the wind. Therefore, I took a gradually descending path alongside Swirl Hause Beck. The route wound it's way downwards wth steep, rugged and rocky buttresses crowding in on either side. The crags were now wreathed in misty raiment, that drifted in and out of the gullies and crevices of the mountainside.
Eventually I reached Levers Water, a large tarn high above Coniston. This is a damned tarn, as it was once a resource for the Copper Ore Mining that took place here centuries ago. It is now a beautiful, though rather somber tarn (especially today) that stretches itself out across the wide amphitheater of mountain and crag.
The journey back to Tilberthwaite was now relatively easy, but it was getting dark. The cloud was thicker and lower now and it seems the weather is on the turn again. It was a brief excursion in slightly better conditions, so a joyous moment stollen.