Langdale Pikes walk

Having only just returned from 25C heat in Spain, it was quite an awakening to be back out in the Langdales on Saturday.
Julie had bought one of our Gift Vouchers for friends Julie & Stuart, and after a false start earlier in the year, here we were for a day out amongst the magnificent Langdale Pikes.

The weather was being a little unkind, but nothing too dramatic, just a touch of cloud and a splash of rain. We set off from the Stickle Barn car park and headed for Stickle Tarn, our first stop and time to catch our breath, have a bite to eat and make an onward plan.

Low visibility at the tarn made for atmospheric conditions. It was decided to aim straight for Harrison Stickle, the highest of the Langdale Pikes. The ascent was quick and easy, everyone making rapid progress on the well maintained and occasionally steep path. The summit was breezy but quiet, in fact we were the only people around. Wind chill meant this was not a place to linger, so we made haste for the top of the Dungeon Ghyll. Having followed the rightmost path to the stream, I decided to continue onto Loft Crag and backtrack to our descent route from there. On a clear day the views from around here are spectacular, with parts of the mighty Gimmer crag revealing themselves for the eyes delight. Alas, today our visibility was mostly less than 20 metres!

Prior to our descent we passed near to the Neolithic axe working area. To think folk were 'commuting' to here thousands of years ago, incredible and humbling.

Having ticked the summits of both Harrison Stickle & Loft Crag, we returned to the valley a little damper than when we set off, but pleased with our day. The weather had kept the masses away, leaving solitude to be enjoyed that little bit more.

Thanks to Julie, Graham, and Stuart. A pleasure to meet you all and we hope to see you all again before too long.

I've been having a go at getting back into fell running. It's been a while since I took this seriously, so am taking it easy at the moment.
So far the runs have been a success. Today I built on that and went for a run on Cauldale Moor to Stoney Cove Pike. The weather was 'Cumbrian' so couldn't really see much! The terrain is actually pretty friendly, although boggy in places, but stones are in place for the worst sections, so no swimming required!
 
It felt great to be moving fluidly in the mountains, covering distance quickly is so satisfying. Don came with me too, he's a complete natural of course and maybe wondered what all the fuss was about and why I might be out of breath and still going so slow!!