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10.04 miles, 2,591 feet, 3 hours 15 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, ascending the first time from Skelghyll Lane and the 3 way junction, then along the ridge to the true top, down to the upper section of Nanny Lane, up to the Pike the second time before descending via the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Sunshine, blue sky, no clouds, just a few old vapour trails. No rain, a pleasant breeze from the south. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell; 2 runners seen.
14.3 miles, 3,409 feet, 4 hours 37 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller bridge - Stoney Lane - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low Pike - High Pike - south west of Dove Crag - Hart Crag - Fairfield - trods to the right/west of the tops towards Heron Pike - Alcock Tarn - Grasmere Guides race descent - Brackenfell - Coffin Trail - Rydal - Under Loughrigg Road - Rothay Bridge. A lovely inversion with cloud below 800 feet - above this level there was sunshine, blue sky, and some thin high streaky clouds. No wind, no rain, terrain dry and hard with good grip. Not many people on the fells, though there were lots lower down; 1 runner seen.
10.36 miles, 2,630 feet, 3 hours 23 minutes: Loughrigg trails. Sunshine, blue sky, thin high clouds, no rain, a moderate breeze from the west. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Lots of walkers about - the top of Loughrigg and Grasmere shore were heaving. I saw about 10 runners.
The bracken has started to rear its ugly head.
10.41 miles, 2,956 feet, 3 hours 13 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, ascending initially via Blue Hill Road and Lane and the steps, then going along the ridge to the true top and Baystones, down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, back up to the Pike, and down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. A mixture of sunshine and fluffy clouds, the latter just catching some of the high tops. No rain. A moderately strong cold wind from the south west. Despite the overnight rain the terrain was almost all dry with good grip. Quite a few walkers about; no runners seen.
Heard my first cuckoo of the year today - just above Blue Hill Lane.
10.09 miles, 2,480 feet, 3 hours 10 minutes: Loughrigg trails. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet. Intermittent drizzle. A cold wind from the south west. Terrain wet; the rocks were slippery but grip was otherwise good. The ground is softer than it was. Quite a few walkers about; 1 runner seen.
10.51 miles, 3,062 feet, 3 hours 34 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, ascending initially via High Skelghyll and the 3 way junction, then going down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, up to the true top and Baystones, along the ridge to the Pike, finally descending through the 3 way junction, Blue Hill Woods/Lane, and Stock Ghyll Lane. Overcast, initially the cloud base was at about 900 feet - it was twice that later. No rain nor significant wind. Terrain wet with variable grip. Not many walkers about; 5 runners seen.
7.56 miles, 1,848 feet, 2 hours 15 minutes: Loughrigg trails, taking in Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, and the top. Overcast, with no distinct cloud base, just increasingly misty with height/distance. More or less continuous drizzle/light rain. A cold moderately strong wind from the south. Terrain damp/wet/saturated, depending on exposure/drainage; slippery in places. Very few people about; 2 runners seen.
I was certainly glad to have my waterproofs and gloves on - to think yesterday one chap was just wearing shorts/socks/shoes.
11.04 miles, 3,005 feet, 3 hours 29 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Stagshaw Gardens - High Skelghyll - Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Low Wood - High Skelghyll - 3 way junction - Wansfell Pike - 3 way junction - Blue Hill Woods/Lane - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. A mixture of sunshine, blue sky, and high fluffy clouds. No rain. A cool breeze from the south. Terrain damp/wet and slippery in places. Lots of walkers about; no runners seen.
I heard the Blue Hill Lane cuckoo again.
10.01 miles, 2,838 feet, 2 hours 55 minutes: Ambleside - Old Lake Road - Blue Hill Road/Lane - Stock Ghyll Lane - Roundhill Farm - south ridge - Red Screes - south ridge - Roundhill Farm - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. Overcast, with the cloud base above the high tops; misty in the distance. A few spots of rain on the descent. A strong cold wind from the south east. Terrain damp/wet/saturated and slippery in places. Very few walkers on the fell; 3 runners seen.
For a change I used the tourist route in the middle third of the south ridge - both ways - rather than the racing line.
Waterproofs were invaluable for keeping that wind off.
10.34 miles, 2,783 feet, 3 hours 15 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge; ascending via Fox Ghyll, descending down past the old golf club - now called Pine Rigg. Overcast, with the cloud just catching some of the high tops. No rain. A cold breeze from the south. Terrain damp/wet/saturated and slippery in places. Lots of walkers about, some in big groups. 4 runners seen, all in the valley.
Again I was glad to have my waterproofs on - and double gloves.
13.62 miles, 3,694 feet, 4 hours 14 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Robin Lane - Troutbeck - Garburn Pass - Sallows - Sour Howes - Limefitt Park - Mortal Man Pub - Nanny Lane - Wansfell Pike - race route descent - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. Lots of sunshine and blue sky, some high fluffy clouds. No rain, no significant wind. Terrain variable - from dry to wet/saturated, slippery in places. Lots of walkers on the fells - I have never seen so many between Sallows and Sour Howes. 5 runners seen.
10.1 miles, 2,320 feet, 3 hours 11 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, ascending via Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, and Ivy Crag; descending past Pine Rigg - the old golf club. Overcast, with large cloud banks at multiple levels - Loughrigg was in cloud above 800 feet. More or less constant drizzle. No wind. Terrain wet/saturated/slippery. Very few walkers about; 3 runners seen.
10.38 miles, 2,963 feet, 3 hours 33 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, ascending initially via High Skelghyll and the 3 way junction, then going along the ridge to the true top, down to the upper section of Nanny Lane, back up to the Pike, finally down through the 3 way junction, Blue Hill Woods/Lane and Stock Ghyll Lane. Cloudy, some sunshine/blue sky. The cloud base was initially at about 1,500 feet, later it was above the high tops. No rain. A moderate breeze from the south west. Terrain dry/damp/wet and slippery in places. Not many walkers about; 3 runners seen.
10.14 miles, 2,720 feet, 3 hours 16 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route from the top to the road at High Close, through Deerbolts Woods to Grasmere shore, and back up to the top via Loughrigg Terrace and the steps overlooking Grasmere. High fluffy clouds, some sunshine/blue sky. No rain, a moderate breeze from the east. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Quite a few walkers about; 3 runners seen.
10.67 miles, 2,380 feet, 3 hours 46 minutes: drills and speed work in Borrans Park, then Wansfell Pike. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds, no rain, a lovely breeze from the south east. Terrain dry with good grip. Not many walkers about, though there were quite a few on top of the Pike. No runners seen.
In Borrans Park I did 7 drills covering 0.6 miles, then 50 faster efforts lasting about 30 seconds, with the rest of each minute being recovery - this covered 2.5 miles. The height gain/loss for each effort varied between 6 and 12 feet - enough to make a difference, but not enough to be disheartening.
I heard 2 cuckoos today, the one near Blue Hill Lane, and another near Skelghyll Wood.
10.11 miles, 2,753 feet, 2 hours 58 minutes: Ambleside to Red Screes and back again, going by the south ridge both ways. Sunshine, blue sky, high clouds, hazy in the distance. No rain. A moderately strong cold wind from the east. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. I saw 5 walkers on the fell, and no runners.
For the second time ever I had to retreat because of cattle. This was in the field adjacent to Stock Ghyll Lane with the path running through it leading to Roundhill Farm. On the way out they started following me, but they were not close, only moved slowly, and it was downhill so I did not feel threatened. On the way back, none of these applied so I went back to The Struggle.
10.32 miles, 2,553 feet, 3 hours 7 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, ascending to the top via Fishgarths Wood, Todd Crag, and Lily Tarn; descending down past the old golf club/Pine Rigg. Overcast - no distinct cloud base, just hazy/misty with height/distance. No rain nor significant wind. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Quite a few walkers about, including a very large group on Loughrigg top. 4 runners seen.
10.21 miles, 3,092 feet, 3 hours 27 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, ascending initially via Stagshaw Gardens, Skelghyll Lane, and the 3 way junction, then going along the ridge to the true top and Bakestones, down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, back up to the Pike, finally down via the 3 way junction, Blue Hill Woods/Lane and Stock Ghyll Lane. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,200 feet; misty in the distance below that. Intermittent drizzle. A moderate breeze from the south. Terrain damp/wet/saturated and slippery in places. Not many walkers about; 4 runners seen.
Blue Hill Woods is living up to its name.
11.51 miles, 2,205 feet, 3 hours 41 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, as well as a loop of the Roman Ruins and Borrans Park. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. No rain. A refreshing breeze from the south. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers about; no runners seen.
10.09 miles, 2,929 feet, 3 hours 24 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, ascending the first time via Stagshaw Gardens, The Champion Tree Trail, Skelghyll Woods and the 3 way junction, then down to the upper part of Nanny Lane and back up to the Pike, finally down via the 3 way junction, Blue Hill Woods/Lane and Stock Ghyll Lane. Sunny, thin high streaky clouds and the occasional fluffy cloud, no rain, no significant wind. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; 1 runner seen.
The Skelghyll Woods cuckoo was being very vocal today.
10.24 miles, 2,288 feet, 3 hours 37 minutes: Loughrigg trails. Some very thin high streaky clouds; lots of blue sky and sunshine, as well as a lovely breeze from the west. Terrain dry and hard with good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; no runners seen.
12.01 miles, 2,648 feet, 3 hours 36 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Stagshaw Gardens - Champion Tree Trail - Skelghyll Wood - High skelghyll - Skelghyll Lane - Heald Lane - Hundreds Road - Fell Lane - Holbeck Lane - Low Wood - High Skelghyll - Blue Hill Woods/Lane - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. Lots of sunshine; high thin streaky clouds making the sky a pale blue; hazy in the distance. A lovely breeze from the west. Terrain dry and hard with good grip. Again, very few walkers about; 1 runner seen - in the valley.
11.12 miles, 2,791 feet, 3 hours 48 minutes: Loughrigg trails. Sunshine; widespread thin high clouds making the blue sky rather pale. A cool breeze from the north. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Quite a few walkers about today; 3 runners seen.
The bracken will soon make some of my favourite trods on Loughrigg unpleasant if not impassable/invisible, so I am using them while I can.
10.45 miles, 2,974 feet, 3 hours 14 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - High Sweden Bridge - Scandale - Red Screes - south ridge - Golden Rule Pub - Ambleside. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds, no rain, a cold moderately strong wind from the north. Terrain dry and hard with good grip - apart from drainage areas. Very few walkers about, but then I did start fairly early; 4 runners seen.
12.4 miles, 3,389 feet, 3 hours 54 minutes: Fairfield Horseshoe clockwise from/to Ambleside, taking the 4 trods to the left/west of the tops on the ascent, then south west of Dove Crag, down the right/west/non-race side of the wall, and the rock step. Lots of high clouds, some rather weak sunshine, patches of blue sky. No rain. A strong cold and at times unpleasant wind from the north. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Lots of walkers about today; 7 runners seen - 3 in the valley, 4 on the fells.
By the time I got to the top I had all over waterproofs on as well as my usual gloves to keep the wind off.
10.08 miles, 3,005 feet, 3 hours 19 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, ascending the first time via Skelghyll Woods and the 3 way junction, then going along the ridge to the true top and Baystones, down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, back up to the Pike, finally down via the 3 way junction, Blue Hill Woods and Lane, and Stock Ghyll Lane. Lots of high fluffy clouds, some sunshine/blue sky. No rain. That cold wind from the north persists, though I managed without using my waterproof top today - just. Terrain dry and hard with good grip. Not many walkers about; 2 runners seen - and lots of butterflies.
11.17 miles, 2,650 feet, 3 hours 47 minutes: Loughrigg trails, taking in Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, the top, and Fishgarths Wood. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds, and a lovely breeze from the south west. No rain. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers about; 5 runners seen.
The bracken is now waist high in places.
12.66 miles, 3,354 feet, 3 hours 47 minutes: Fairfield Horseshoe clockwise from/to Ambleside, going over most of the tops on the way up, the exception being Great Rigg where I went to the left/west; from the top I went south west of Dove Crag, down the non race/west side of the wall, and down the rock step. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds, no rain, an intermittent cold breeze from various directions. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers on the fells; 2 runners seen - in the valley.
10.39 miles, 2,703 feet, 3 hours: Rothay Bridge - Roman Ruins - Borrans Park - Stagshaw Gardens - Champion Tree Trail - Skelghyll Lane - Holbeck Lane - Low Wood - High Skelghyll - 3 way junction - Blue Hill Woods/Lane - Stock Ghyll Lane - Ambleside. Overcast, with confluent high fluffy clouds. No wind nor rain. Terrain hard/dry/good grip. Not many walkers on this route: 4 runners seen - 3 of whom were in the valley.
10.9 miles, 2,459 feet,3 hours 26 minutes: Loughrigg trails. Sunshine, blue sky, some streaky/fluffy clouds. No rain nor significant wind. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; 1 runner seen.
Two new cuckoos heard today - from roughly halfway along Loughrigg one was down towards Skelwith Bridge, the other down towards Ambleside.
12.91 miles, 3,375 feet, 4 hours 6 minutes: Fairfield Horseshoe race route, starting/finishing in Ambleside. Sunshine, blue sky, no clouds, no rain, a nice breeze from the south east. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Quite a few walkers on the fells; about a dozen runners seen.
I set off at 8 am, so the racers did not catch me. I went to the left of the first 2 tops, but over Great Rigg - I made the cut off time with 5 minutes to spare. I descended on the race side of the wall, going down the rock step.
11.11 miles, 2,818 feet, 3 hours 8 minutes: Ambleside to the top of Red Screes and back, going up and down via Stock Ghyll Lane, Roundhill Farm, The Struggle, and the south ridge. Sunshine, blue sky, streaky high clouds, a lovely breeze from the south, no rain. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers about; no runners seen.
The Struggle has been resurfaced, but they have left it with a layer of fine gravel on top.
10.74 miles, 3,230 feet, 3 hours 38 minutes: Wansfell Pike twice, ascending the first time via Skelghyll Woods and the 3 way junction, going down to the upper part of Nanny Lane, up to the true top and Baystones, back along the ridge to the Pike, then down via the 3 way junction, Blue Hill Woods/Lane and Stock Ghyll Lane. Sunshine, blue sky, and high fluffy/streaky clouds. A strong wind from the south east. It did not rain on me, though I could see showers to the south and west. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers about; no runners seen.
It was very warm in the valley, but just right higher up.
12.23 miles, 3,613 feet, 4 hours: Rothay Bridge - Under Loughrigg Road - Rydal - Fairfield Horseshoe clockwise - Nook End Farm - Golden Rule Pub - Ambleside. Wall to wall sunshine, a strong blustery wind from the north, no rain. Terrain hard/dry/good grip. Very few walkers about; 2 runners seen.
I took the first, second, and fourth trods to the left/west on the way up, went south west of Dove Crag, down the right/west/non race side of the wall, and down the rock step. The first and second trods on the ascent now join up, thus avoiding a brief section of the tourist path.
10.27 miles, 2,590 feet, 3 hours 26 minutes: Loughrigg trails, ascending and descending via Fishgarths Wood, and taking in Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, and the top. Sunshine, blue sky, a few streaky/fluffy high clouds. No rain, a gentle breeze from various directions. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers about; 3 runners seen.
10.13 miles, 3,047 feet, 3 hours 32 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, initially via Skelghyll Wood and the 3 way junction, then via the upper section of Nanny Lane, the true top and Baystones, and back along the ridge; the final descent was down the race route and Stock Ghyll Lane. Sunshine, blue sky, very few thin high clouds, no rain, a lovely breeze from the north west. Terrain hard/dry/good grip. Not many walkers about; 1 runner seen - in the valley.
10.11 miles, 2,418 feet, 3 hours 21 minutes: Loughrigg trails from/to Rothay Bridge, ascending via Under Loughrigg Road and the path up behind Pelter Bridge car park, and descending down past the old golf club/Pine Rigg. Sunshine, blue sky, no significant clouds, no rain, a lovely breeze from the east. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Quite a few walkers on the fell. I saw 1 runner in the valley, and a group of about 10 on the fell.
The bracken is chest high in places, but not yet blocking many paths. The bracken itself and its shadow made seeing the sound difficult in many places.
11.53 miles, 3,071 feet, 3 hours 39 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Stoney Lane - Rydal Park - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low Pike - High Pike - Dove Crag - Pile of Stones (HBR) - back south west of Dove Crag - Scandale - Sweden Bridge Lane - Ambleside. Lots of sunshine/blue sky, scattered high fluffy clouds. A strong pleasantly cold wind from the north. No rain. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers on the fells, though town is busy. 4 runners seen.
I went up on the race side/east of the wall. There is a new trod - on grass rather than rocks - just below the rock step, for those that have gone around it.
10.69 miles, 3,151 feet, 3 hours 47 minutes: Rothay Bridge to Silver How and back, taking in Lily Tarn on the way out, Loughrigg top both ways, and going down/up the race race route to/from High Close. Lots of high fluffy clouds, some sunshine/blue sky, but far less that we have been having recently. A refreshing cool breeze from the north east. No rain. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers about; no runners seen; one cuckoo heard - near High Close.
10.04 miles, 2,904 feet, 3 hours 12 minutes: Ambleside to Red Screes and back, ascending via Rydal Park, Low Sweden Bridge, the rock step, High Sweden Bridge, and Scandale; descending via the south ridge, The Struggle, and the Golden Rule Pub. Sunshine, blue sky, high fluffy clouds, even higher streaky clouds. No rain; a lovely cool breeze from the south. Terrain dry/hard/good grip. Not many walkers on the fell; 1 runner seen - in the valley.