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10.02 miles, 2,730 feet, 3 hours 10 minutes: Wansfell Pike, ascending via Old Lake Road, Blue Hill Road/Lane and the steps; descending via the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane, and taking in some other bits and pieces. Mainly overcast, with the cloud base above the tops. No precipitation. The snow line is rather less distinct than it was. A very cold strong wind from the south east. Terrain firm/hard/dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; 2 runners seen.
10.36 miles, 2,737 feet, 3 hours 39 minutes: Loughrigg trails, ascending via Fox Ghyll, going almost down to the caves, then to the top; the final descent was down past the old golf club. Overcast and misty - no distinct cloud base. I never actually saw the sun, though several times I had a good idea where it was. Some transient patches of blue sky. No wind nor precipitation. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell - it is half term I believe. 3 runners seen.
10.65 miles, 2,156 feet, 3 hours 17 minutes: Ambleside - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - High Sweden Bridge - Roundhill Farm - Middle Grove - High Grove - Middle Grove - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. Mainly overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,200 feet. That strong cold unpleasant wind from the east has returned - it put me off my intended target of Red Screes. No precipitation. Terrain dry with good grip. The snow line has gone, though some patches of snow are still visible above about 2,000 feet. Lots of walkers about; 8 runners seen, including a group of 5.
10.21 miles, 2,487 feet, 3 hours 27 minutes: Loughrigg trails, taking in Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, and the top, and other bits and bobs. Overcast, with the cloud base just catching the high tops, misty below that. The cold easterly wind is still with us. Intermittent snow flakes, never quite enough of them together to call it a flurry. The ground is dry with excellent grip. Lots of walkers about; no runners seen.
10.44 miles, 2,670 feet, 3 hours 26 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Low Sweden Bridge - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule Pub - Ambleside. Pale sunshine/blue sky through thin high clouds. No precipitation. The south easterly wind - cold, unpleasant - is not as strong as it was. Terrain firm/hard in most places, especially up high. Patchy crunchy snow and ice above 1,500 feet. There is a very light sprinkling of new snow above 2,000 feet. Grip was surprisingly good - I did have microspikes but did not use them. Very few walkers about. I saw 2 runners, one of whom used to be in my coaching group.
8.44 miles, 2,566 feet, 2 hours 52 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, ascending the first time from High Skelghyll, going down to the upper section of Nanny Lane, up to the true top, back along the ridge to the Pike, then down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Overcast and misty, the cloud base was at about 2,500 feet. Intermittent drizzle/light rain. The wind from the south east was only moderately strong today. Terrain firm/hard and icy in places; it was dry initially but became damp/wet and the rocks in particular were then slippery. Very few walkers on the fell; no runners seen. There was a group of about 6 people from Mountain Rescue halfway up the Wansfell steps - I don't know if they were training or helping a casualty.
8.29 miles, 2,176 feet, 2 hours 36 minutes: Wansfell, though not to the Pike. I did the High Skelghyll - Low Wood loop, up to the 3 way junction at 1,100 feet, down through Blue Hill Woods, up Blue Hill Lane, and down Stock Ghyll Lane. Overcast, with the cloud base initially at about 1,000 feet; it was a good 500 feet higher later. Intermittent drizzle/light to moderate rain. An at times strong wind from the south west, though thankfully it was not cold. Terrain wet/saturated/streaming/slippery. Very few walkers about; 3 runners seen.
Yesterday's Mountain Rescue team were helping a casualty on the Wansfell steps - a slip resulting in a suspected leg fracture.
10.3 miles, 3,367 feet, 3 hours 26 minutes: Loughrigg trails, ascending/descending via Clappersgate, Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag and Lily Tarn, and only going to the top once. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet. Continuous drizzle/light to moderate rain. An at times very strong wind from the south - thankfully it was not cold. Terrain saturated/streaming/slippery. I saw 15 walkers on the fell, and 1 runner - in the valley.
Some of that height gain will be an artefact because of the wind.
8.2 miles, 2,590 feet, 2 hours 52 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides - ascending the first time from High Skelghyll, the second time via the upper part of Nanny Lane, the true top and along the ridge - descending via the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Initially it was mainly overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet; it became sunnier as the day progressed, with the cloud base rising to above most of the high tops. No rain. A moderately strong wind from the south. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. Lots of walkers on the fell; 3 runners seen.
10.22 miles, 1,872 feet, 3 hours 6 minutes: Ambleside to High Sweden Bridge and up to under the rock step and back. The highest point I got to was just over 1,000 feet. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,200 feet. Constant light to moderate rain. A strong but not cold wind from the south. Terrain saturated/streaming/slippery. Very few walkers about; 8 runners seen.