Grisedale Pike.Hopegill Head.Ladyside Pike.Lake District. Lockerbie.

                                               ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN.
Although I didn't know it on the day, this turned out to be a sheep themed post. The herd of sheep in the main street running through Lockerbie, a town with a long history as a livestock market, particularly the lamb and sheep trade, hence these individuals taking pride of place near the town centre. Lockerbie is a small Scottish borders town around 30 kilometers from the border with England.

Lockerbie also has a beautiful Black Angel, in the shape of the town's war memorial. The reason why we were in Lockerbie I'll reveal at the end of the post.

It was a Lake District trip to climb the scenic horseshoe of Grisedale Pike, Hobcarton Crag, Hopegill Head and Ladyside Pike, a compact half circle of peaks between Cockermouth and Keswick. We had watched the usual forecast the night before but on this rare occasion Carol at the Met office let us down. Normally reliable for the last six years the BBC forecast promised no rain and sunshine all day but when we arrived at the car park in Whinlatter Forest near the top of Whinlatter Pass it was dull and cloudy, despite a noticeable breeze. Oh well, cant win every round with the weather. On the plus side the car park meter had been vandalized and was out of action, as this is normally a paying car park, but maybe someone had taken exception to the fact it's not in a town or village but in the middle of a upland pine forest with nothing else around it. I notice online the pay for parking in this particular area has a lively debate centered around it. I was here with Graeme, Alex, David and Bob R squeezed into a carload of five for this round of hills. As mean Scot's we were glad we didn't have to pay, which is normally an untrue lazy stereotype if you look at UK wide charity donations over the years, but in this case was a welcome surprise. I think it's £7 quid for an all day ticket. For a single person that is quite a financial hit- not so bad split between a carload. Part of the reason for that must be the mountain bike trails and various other modern attempts to turn the wilderness into a paying theme park which seems to be an increasing trend.

Off we headed uphill and soon reached the end of the forest and the start of the cloud level base.
Although not raining the air up here was damp. With heavy hearts used to constant sunshine on trips away we carried on, hoping it would clear. A small pine tree was passed, covered in Christmas decorations, a few of which had been blown off by the wind and were scattered untidily over the hillside. Another modern tradition it seems and an incongruous sight on a windswept misty hillside.

Alex sporting a colourful pair of trainers. The man has style!?  Not having looked up the route online, which would tend to spoil any sense of the unknown for me, I left it to Alex and Graeme to learn the route and any obstacles involved. For me the surprise element was the best thing about the day.

Grisedale Pike,791 metres, was duly climbed in thick mist then we carried on along the ridge, buffeted by an ever increasing wind to Hopegilll Head, 770 metres.

Although you couldn't see much we could sense a  large void on the right passing Hobcarton Crag. Doing the round of Munros so many days were passed like this, leading to a determination, in me at least, to only go up interesting summits in good conditions once I'd finished them and not get sucked into list ticking again just for the sake of it. Graeme is on his third round of Munros which I find hard to get my head around. A woman has just completed seven rounds, all accomplished since the first in 2005, at roughly one round per year which is some achievement. I confess I was bored with mist and rain just past halfway on my first and only round and got sidetracked into other sports for years but my ongoing interest in aiding, abetting, or rescuing stray butterflies and other creatures has never dimmed. Single minded in that at least. Windows into the soul they say, if you stare at them for long enough.

Graeme and David were not bothered in these conditions about doing the full round and turned back before the scramble leaving Alex, Bob R and myself to tackle the greasy slabs alone in playful winds. It is an easy scramble normally in good conditions at a sedate angle but provided good sport here as the slabs were damp with mist and polished and the breeze howling over the edge was bracing.

Bob R taking the lead. Oldest guy in the group going first, showing us the way.

As we couldn't see much and didn't know what was below us, drop wise, this was the most entertaining part of the ridge and the section we enjoyed the most. What horrors would we find buried in the gloom ready to...
S
C
A
R
E

U
S!!!

Think this sheep got a bigger fright at the bottom judging by its expression. (On second thoughts I might rephrase that.)

Mountain slug.

A view across the valley/dale.

A view of the scramble down the ridge. We finished with a steep heather and grass descent into Hobcarton Gill off Ladyside Pike that was a knee buster and leg killer but got us down fast to pick up the path back to the car. Around 5 hours for the horseshoe.

These must be the cutest lambs ever. I believe these are Herdwick sheep and lambs. A famous and tough mountain breed used in the Lake District on mountain farms. The writer Beatrix Potter kept this breed on her farms locally and was a big champion of these sheep and you can see why.

Two bandits together. Like pandas in reverse colours. The lambs are born black and gradually turn white/grey as they get older, starting with the face. When the adults are completely buried under snowdrifts in winter they can still survive for several days giving them an endurance advantage in the upland regions here. The wool on the adults is tough and hard wearing so is usually turned into carpets rather than clothing.

We stopped off in Lockerbie on the way back for chip suppers.

Good chip shop seen here next to town hall, built in the late 1800s I believe. A great day out, despite the conditions. Still prefer sunny days and panoramic views though. At least it stayed dry.

When I returned to the house it was to find snails happily munching my green young plants, seeded in springtime for summer colour in the garden. After taking this photo it was thrown over the fence to feast elsewhere. Even a wildlife garden has its limits.

A Guide to Glasgow Outdoors by Bob Law just released on kindle bookstore for £1:99. Over 60 walks and cycle rides around the Greater Glasgow area. (most of the walks can also be done on a bike, as I did last year to make sure the details were accurate and had not changed.) City parks, country parks, riverside and gorge walks, upland routes and every other day out I've enjoyed on the OS Landranger Glasgow map Sheet 64 which covers a wide area around the city. Packed with 165 original colour photographs through the various seasons, many never seen on the blog, this is also a love letter to Glasgow and the surrounding towns and rural areas. Link here. The first section of this guide is free to view.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=A+guide+to+Glasgow+outdoors.+Bob+Law&rh=n%3A341677031%2Ck%3AA+guide+to+Glasgow+outdoors.+Bob+Law


Video this time is a mommy bear climbing a near vertical canyon wall leaving baby bear to fend for itself. You can see one reason why bears need claws right here. No wonder they are endangered. Filmed by a kayaker going down a river system and finding this happening round a corner. Best watched full screen for the drama. I pinched this from Graeme :o)