Haweswater

We were glad to set off walking to generate a bit of heat into our limbs. We could see that the sun had reached the fells at the bottom of Haweswater, but it looked like it would be a while before it reached us. Dozens of birds flew above us and onwards to the head of the valley. They almost formed a murmuration, although they looked a bit big for starlings.  

By the time we reached The Rigg I was ready for a pee. I was about to stop and have one, when I looked behind and saw that we were being followed by two people, a couple of hundred yards behind. Damn! It looked like I'd have to wait. With any luck they'd divert off our path up to Kidsty Pike. They didn't of course, and followed us for another 20 minutes. In the end, I decided it would be best to wait and let them pass. It was quite a relief when they were out of sight.

I had intended doing the Explorer hill Castle Crag today, but when we got near to it, the gradient looked too steep to ascend. I'd work out a more suitable route up at a later date. The path along the west bank of Haweswater is very pretty. It forms a section of the Coast To Coast route and so many people will have plodded along it. The clarity was superb today.  Looking way beyond the reservoir's dam, I could clearly see the 'golf ball' radar station on Great Dun Fell in the Pennines.

It wasn't long before we started spotting the deer on the hillside and on the skyline. There were dozens of them. Later on, we caught up with the two people who'd walked past us earlier on. They were seated having a drink. The women said that she'd seen about 50 deer. I was just about to Tommy Top her by saying that I'd seen at least 60, but very charitably I decided not to.

Low Raise

About a mile away from the dam, Measand Beck drops off the fells and into the reservoir. We started following the beck upwards. It certainly carried a lot of water and there were some nice waterfalls and cascades to be admired. Just after a deer fence, a footbridge crossed the beck. I've been over that before; the path on the other side takes you up to Wether Hill on High Street. Today though, we wouldn't be crossing it. Instead we followed a track towards a hill on our left, Measand End. The higher we got, the stronger the wind got, and the colder we felt. I've got a lovely pair of warm gloves. Unfortunately, one of them is missing a thumb and so I seemed to be forever trying to warm it up. The track levelled out above Measand End and we could see the cairn on the top of Low Raise in the far distance. There was also a lot of deer about, but they all disappeared out of sight towards Haweswater as we approached. In the far distance a farmer came up the hillside on an ATV with two Collies on the back. I presume he was on the lookout for any stray sheep. He disappeared over the hillside towards Haweswater. A few moments later deer started appearing and running away from Haweswater and towards High Street. At least the farmer's disturbance had enabled us to have a better view of the deer.

There was a large cairn and stone shelter on Low Raise. I tried to find a sheltered spot, but there wasn't one to be found. 'Let's go up to High Raise, we might find a more sheltered place there' I said to the Kapitan and the Cabin Boy.

High Raise And Kidsty Pike

Believe it or not, High Raise is higher than Low Raise and the wind was much stronger, and much, much colder. We hunkered down behind a few meagre rocks to have our lunch. It was lovely and sunny, but we just seemed to get colder. Halfway through the break, somebody appeared behind us. I think he was looking for shelter behind the same rocks we were using. We couldn't see his look of disappointment since he had a buff over the lower part of his face. When we eventually got up to go, I spotted the fellow making his way down High Street on his mountain bike.

We descended from High Raise and contoured around to Kidsty Pike. I love the views from the summit of Kidsty Pike. It seemed like a sheer drop down into the Riggindale valley. Further down the valley we could see yet more deer. A couple of walkers approached us at the summit, but it was too windy for conversation. We started making our way eastwards, back towards Haweswater.

Return 

It is a fine descent from Kidsty Pike. It offers amazing views of Haweswater. Admittedly, it does get a bit steep and rocky around Kidsty Howes. There were lots of bags of stones lying around and so it looks like there'll be some stone steps over this bit in the near future. After 2 hours walking in a strong, cold wind we suddenly reached an altitude where it stopped. It was amazing how much warmer we felt. The Cabin Boy even had to stop to change from her winter to summer attire.

Mardale was still in shadow as we made our way back to the carpark. Somebody had parked in front of me with a trailer full of sheep. The farmer, whom we had seen earlier near Low Raise, suddenly turned up with the 2 Collies on the back of his ATV. This was obviously the collection point for the sheep. We followed the ATV back down the Haweswater road. The farmer was really motoring. How those dogs stayed on the quad bike, I shall never know. They both must have had their paws around the farmer's neck.

It had been a perfect day's walking in the Lakes. Sun, cold wind, remote fells and classic views. Even some deer to keep us entertained. You couldn't ask for more.