We're in the middle of a long-lasting and unusual heatwave here. There's been no rain at all for over three weeks now, and temperatures have been around 26c for at least 15 consecutive days. That might not sound like much but believe me, it's almost unheard of for Cumbria, where the weather often changes every [...]
We'd planned to visit a museum in Lancaster really. But part way down the M6 motorway, Dave said he'd heard that it was easy to get to Hest Bank now the new Morecambe link road is open. For anyone who doesn't know, Hest Bank is a small settlement on the Morecambe Bay coast, just north [...]
Yet another decent forecast; yet another (still rare) chance to get out walking on the fells. In the event it wasn't wonderful - misty again, if not quite as foggy as our previous trip to Coniston. But it was dry, and not too cold, and brightened up gradually into a lovely day - although typically, [...]
Sunday was supposed to be the best day of the weekend, so we got the shopping out of the way on Saturday - and then woke to find everything hidden in a thick blanket of fog. Undeterred, we packed up boots and waterproofs and headed for Coniston, hoping that it would clear. Of course, it [...]
Cumbria - or at least the western half of the county - seems to have escaped the worst of the wintry weather that Siberia has kindly sent our way. However, it's still been bitterly cold (the maximum temperature so far today has been minus 1c) and with three inches of snow lying on the ground, [...]
A rather hasty exploration this time, for two reasons. One, there isn't really all that much of Hawkshead to explore (it's a small village) and two, it was absolutely freezing! However, the sun was shining and it was nice to get some fresh (okay, very fresh) air and a brief stagger round. Hawkshead is a [...]
We used to call in at Glenridding quite often, usually to go walking. There are some great paths on the lower fells between the village and the slopes of Helvellyn which dominate it, and some pretty amazing industrial archaeology left over from the area's lead mining heritage. But for the last couple of years we [...]
