August 24th ..............Scafell Pike

All my fears about going and camping in the Lakes on an August Bank Holiday turned out to be baseless.
After what turned out to be a fairly leisurely stroll up the Corridor Route from Borrowdale to the summit of Scafell Pike, we camped over in Buttermere and enjoyed a good chat with the local midge population!

On the way to Sty Head Tarn

On the Corridor Route

The descent path via Ruddy Gill

The path alongside Grains Gill

August 11th...................Arncliffe to Malham

The best walk in the Yorkshire Dales..........probably 

Arncliffe.....Malham Cove....Malham......Gordale Scar.....Arncliffe........16 miles (ish)

Starting in the perfectly formed village of Arncliffe, with the green surrounded by stunning cottages and a pub, start by heading out along the track behind the pub up towards the moors.

As you climb through the fields up onto the balcony path above Yew Cogar Scar, the view opens up into Littondale, possibly the best view of any of the Dales is to be had from here.

Over the top and the long open expanse of the high limestone pavement makes you feel very small in comparison to the vastness of the wilderness around you.

 With the wide open spaces  of the wilderness behind, you enter the spectacular "Watlows", now a dry valley that would have raged with the melt waters of the last ice age

Very deep and very steep sided this valley would have supplied the waters that once flowed over Malham Cove, but is sadly no more and we just have to use our imaginations to visualize how amazing the falls must have been.

The view from the top of Malham Cove never fails to inspire, and means that we are nearly half way round the walk.

And the view from the bottom is no less inspiring!  Still along way to go though.....

In the village of Malham many ancient stone footbridges cross the beck  to  ensure the locals can get home without getting their feet wet!!... A pub and plenty of tea shops here, so its a good place to stop and rest before heading on again.

From Malham we make our way along the beautiful wooded path towards "Janets Foss" waterfall, and then on to Gordale Scar.

The exotic vegetation looks like it would be more at home in the rain forests of South America.

Gordale Scar.........very difficult to photograph, and far far bigger than any image portrays. 

With no sense of scale its hard to believe that the waterfall in the background is probably 20m high!

Now all you have to do is climb the waterfall and walk 7.5 miles back to Arncliffe........

August 10th ...........Hebden suspension bridge

Just a little way down from Grassington this suspension bridge crosses the River Wharfe, there are some stepping stones but they regularly get covered by the waters that rush down the river after a heavy downpour up in the hills.
Its a lovely walk alongside the river between Grassington and Burnsall and very popular being part of the "Dales Way"

I've crossed it many times and wondered how old it is........I'm sure its very safe...

According to my friends at UK Climbing.com  the bridge was built in 1885 after the drowning of a man crossing the stepping stones in 1884.
Source: Joy, David (2002) Hebden. The History of a Dales Township. Hebden

Best of Everest (full feature)

20th July......Malham limestone

The limestone around Malham, Malham Cove and the villages of Upper Wharfedale define the area from other parts of the Yorkshire Dales.  The local stone from the limestone pavement has been used to great effect to build the dry stone  walls, farms, barns and cottages, bringing a bright look and a distinct feel to this iconic  area of countryside. 
Traveling through this limestone country always makes me feel as though I'm in the very heart of the Dales,  .................and trying to imagine what it would have been like to witness the rivers and waterfalls that raged and tumbled as the ice melted from the last ice age 20,000 years ago...... what a time it would have been to be there with a camera!!

The amazing Watlows dry valley

The Old Post Office, Malham

En-route to Malham

23rd June .......Wharfedale meadows......

I set out from Conistone near Kilnsey in Wharfedale to walk up to Kettlewell through the fields full of buttercups and wild flowers which are in full bloom at the moment, and then up onto Great Whernside.
The meadows were stunning and I spent quite a while capturing some images in there.  I passed through the back streets of Kettlewell and walked along side the Dowber Gill Beck heading for the Gt Whernside  but as I climbed higher towards the summit the cloud descended and wind picked up.
The plan was to to return over the tops but a hasty retreat back down to the tranquility of the dale was the best option with the opportunity to get some more pics of the flowers and barns.

16th June....Bessy Boot and Glaramara

Bessy Boot is one of the less visited tops, but standing on its own at the end of Glaramara it has some fine views over the surrounding mountains.
The path to its summit is steep, ill defined and and easily lost, and without a dry way to cross Comb Gill visitors who like the security of easy to follow paths will find this route not to their liking. 
The reward for those who push for the top is a wild remote fell, devoid of motorways and cairns, but full of peace, tranquility and hidden corners.
Having made the summit, the way to Glaramara over the open fell is  complex and would be a challenge in poor weather, many false tops and sheep paths to fool the unsuspecting walker onto steeper ground......what a wonderful place to get lost though :-)

Stockley Bridge

Comb Gill

Tarn at Leaves

High House Tarn and the Langdale Pikes

Bowfell from Esk Hause

The top of Ruddy Gill

Random stump

If you're missing the winter

If you're missing the winter have a watch of this from the Orion Face on Ben Nevis
Why we do, what we do..The Orion face, Ben Nevis

1st June....Scafell... Lords Rake

As I arrived in Wasdale it was obviously another busy day up on Scafell Pike so rather than go with the crowds I left them behind and headed towards Mickledore for an ascent of Scafell via  Lords Rake.

The decent onto the start of Lords Rake wasn't too pleasant, very slippery, loose scree made for an awkward scramble down to the path,  once on the path Lords Rake is only a few yards away.  I was surprised to see 2 large banks of snow still remaining in the bottom of the rake, a testament to the large amount of snow that came late in the season, and the chock stone at the top of the Rake still hanging on waiting to fall into the gully.

I'm afraid the climb up Lords Rake isn't pleasant, loose muddy scree and the risk of rocks falling from above meant that I moved quickly to get out of the situation asap.

The scenery and situation though is stunning and will be amazing in winter when the snow has covered the scree, ......can't wait!!

The River Duddon

Lingmell Beck....only flows in winter

The path to Mickledore

 Scafell

Lords Rake from the approach path

Snow in Lords Rake in June!!

Lords Rake, scree

The collapsed chock stone, about the size of a large white van!

Looking back along Lords Rake towards Scafell Pike

Looking back along Lords Rake towards Scafell Pike

Deep Gyll from Symonds Knott

Scafell Pike with weekend crowds

Scafell Pike from Wasdale