Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.

The early bird catches the worm.

Up with the lark again and I had a mind to go and seek out some reflections. Ullswater very rarely gives and I've been down Derwentwater more than enough so it was time for somewhere different. The road round Thirlmere, where you can get some cracking reflection, is closed so I plumped on Grasmere. As I drove past Thirlmere I was cursing my luck because the reflections were nigh on perfect.

I suppose the Forestry people have to clear up all the damage caused by Storm Desmond in December 2015 and this is the only safe and viable way of doing it. I read in the local paper that work was being hampered and prolonged by people ignoring the road sign and still parking up and walking in the plantation which, for health and safety reasons, brought their work for the day to a standstill. People can be so thoughtless and selfish at times.

So it was on to Grasmere. This in turn didn't let me down either. For over an hour the reflection was picture perfect. I parked at White Moss and walked around all of the lake which didn't involve any road walking. I should imaging that is a good half of it. It was then an about turn to retrace my footsteps. Unfortunately, by the time I had reached the Loghrigg end of the lake, the ripples had started to appear and a slight breeze had built up so the moment had passed.

On my way round I encounter a cuckoo, was accompanied for the largest part by the smell of wild garlic and was never very far away from the singing of the woodland birds. The only humans I saw was one man sat by the lake getting tucked in to a massive packed breakfast and two women taking their horses for a paddle in the water.

I had arrive at Grasmere at about half eight, taken loads of photos and was on my way back to the caravan for breakfast before ten o'clock which I consider to be a cracking way to start a day!

Wyke Plantation and Silver How

Wyke Plantation

Wyke Plantation reflection

Silver How reflection

Silver How and Wyke plantation

Grasmere

Baothouse reflection

Grasmere reflections

Grasmere Boathouse

St John's in the Vale and High Rigg

The past six months I have been trying to live a bit healthier i.e, watching what I eat and drink and this has led me to getting up earlier and consequently getting out earlier. I never used to set off out until about eleven and I really used to miss a beautiful part of the day with the light being much better and it being much fresher. As I mainly go walking to get a way from the everyday hustle and bustle of life, the fact that there are less people there are is another added bonus although I do like to stop and have a natter with people I meet but I like it to be on my terms and not theirs.

There are a myriad of paths going up High Rigg and all, more or less, start from the Youth Outdoor Activity Centre which is just a few yards from St John's in the Vale Church. As it wasn't a Sunday, I fortunately managed to get a parking spot in the small car park.

The usual path up High Rigg is very steep in places and can just turn in to a slog so I carried on the main track a few hundred yards to take a gentler path which just meanders up the fell and brings you out just a few yards from the summit. After all, fell walking isn't a race it is to be savoured and enjoyed. The views all the way are fabulous but mainly behind so there are plenty of opportunities to stop and have a breather. The views back across to Skiddaw and Blencathra are particularly good, as is the one across to The North Western Fells.

I didn't see a person at all on my ascent and I bet I was at the summit a good half hour before the first person arrived; a young lady with her dog. Then there was a steady stream of people arriving and most were also accompanied by a dog! I suppose that, because the fell is only of diminutive size, it is an easy ascent to do with your pet dog.

One local chap, who was working the afternoon shift was getting a walk in before it started. He turned up with one of the scruffiest, most adorable dogs I have seen in ages. We talked life, dogs and about the fells we could see and in particular one to the far west which neither of us could name. I have an app on my phone which is supposedly for that specific reason but it failed miserably. I pointed it westwards and it named the fells to the North; a huge failure!

I had wanted to take some photos looking across to the Helvellyn Fells but the sun wasn't in the right position. I wandered around the extensive top of the fell for a while with the hope that it would move across but, at this time of year, the sun is high and is directly above you most of the middle part of the day. This ain't good for photos.

I returned back to the summit and took a few more photos before heading back down. Once at the Activity Centre I took the bridleway down in to the valley just to lengthen my walk and then returned back up to St John's Church where I had my lunch. The present building dates from 1845 though there has been a church on the site for much longer. Although located in an isolated spot, the road which passes the church was once an important way, it is part of a track which still leads from Matterdale which is over Ullswater way to Wanthwaite and then on to the Naddle Valley where, at one time I suppose, carried on to Keswick.

The walk was good, the people I met were good and my egg sarnies were good. What more could a man wish for?

Gravestone, St John's in the Vale Church

St John's in the Vale Church

The Vale of Keswick

High Rigg ascent

Blencathra from High Rigg Summit

Bleaberry Fell from High Rigg Summit

Bleaberry Fell

Thirlmere from High Rigg Summit

Clough Head

Man's Best Friend

Skiddaw and Lonscale Fell

Blencathra

Skiddaw

Final descent

St John's in the Vale

Loadpit Beck Wood, Bingley

This little walk is more or less on my doorstep and I never even knew it existed. Sometimes it is all too easy for me to jump in to my car and head for the Dales or the Lakes and, by doing this, I miss some right local walking gems. A few months ago I went up in to The Folly in Cottingley Woods which, up until then, was another local beauty spot I had never visited and I thought it was a magical place. I have Sal to thank for both of these finds; not having a car and not being a good public transport traveller can certainly have its advantages. She really is an expert on on her local Bingley area, both in walking, exploring and historical terms.

There is really not much of a description I can give to this walk as it was just a straightforward stroll along the top of a wooded ravine with Loadpit Beck running along its base. The Beck starts life in the River Aire in Shipley and meanders its way through Shipley Glen before finally finishing its little adventurous journey in Compensation Reservoir which is just out of Eldwick.

It was a sunny walk with all the vegetation being green and lush. Also it was a walk filled with birds who merrily sang away and accompanied us along the entire length of our journey. Just before we returned back in to human habitation, the beck and path met at a delightful bridge where numerous footpaths converged. You could have headed off on The Dales Way Link which would have taken you to Ilkey and beyond or followed one of the many paths on to Baildon Moor. We returned to the tarmac though, namely because it was the way up to The Anchor Inn in Eldwick!

After wetting our whistles in the beer garden we set off back to Gilstead which had been our original starting point. I was told there were a few different paths which we could have taken on our return journey but, as we had enjoyed our walk through the woods so much, we just reversed our steps.

Sal had come up trumps again with this walk, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I also thoroughly enjoyed her company. We said we could come back in autumn when the colours in the woods would be spectacular. All we have to hope for now is a sunny autumn day when neither of us has any commitments. The commitments part should be easy but the sunny day could prove to be a bit tricky!!

Entrance to the woods at Gilstead

Loadpit Beck Wood

Loadpit Beck

Loadpit Beck Wood

Loadpit Beck

Loadpit Beck Wood

Tewitt Tarn and the search for the lone tree.

Even though the tarn area is usually quiet, I was expecting it to be busy being as it was a Bank Holiday Saturday. Surprise, surprise, I got a parking spot and only saw one man and his two dogs the whole afternoon. My main reason for going was to try and locate a tree which a lot of my photography contacts publish on a regular basis but that proved to be easier said than done.

After having taken more than enough photos of Tewitt Tarn and the surrounding fells to last a lifetime, I set off in search of the tree. I have had a quick look for it on previous visits without any luck so I decided that this time I would cover every inch of Low Rigg until I found it! I set off on the footpath to High Rigg but deviated from it to explore some rocky outcrops to my right. No luck there so I then headed in the direction if the hause and High Rigg.

This led me only as far as a pretty big wall which I had to clamber over. I was glad to be alone because I made such a palaver of getting over it and at one stage I had my right boot stuck between two large stones. Much swearing ensued before I managed to free my foot and get back on my way. I saw the main path below and headed down to it almost giving up hope of completing my task.

The only other place it could be was on the other side of a rocky rise to my right so, as the last resort, I circumnavigated it and lo and behold there stood the tree I was after in all its glory. It is precariously perched on small crags but if you get in to the right position, it frames the distant Tewitt Tarn and the slope of Blease Fell on Blencathra perfectly.

Suitably chuffed with my find, I fired off a few shots and then, using my camera bag as a cushion, I had a chill in the warm sunshine. I reflected that, even though it was a Bank Holiday, I was lying in my own quiet and beautiful world; the only sounds I could hear were a few cows by the distant tarn and birds in the nearby woods which I don't think anyone could possibly class as noise pollution. Also Blencathra was displayed to perfection directly in front of me, as well the Skiddaw Hause bridleway which I ended up on the next day.

Unfortunately I eventually had to leave my own corner of heaven and rejoin the hustle and bustle of the Bank Holiday weekend traffic and visitors but I had found my tree, my own little haven and everything in Norm's world felt good.