Author Topic: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley  (Read 1745 times)

Mel

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A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« on: 20:37:37, 16/10/17 »

I spent the weekend at my pal's caravan this weekend.  The weather forecast was awful with heavy rain and localised flooding and I did wonder if it was a good idea.  After a fairly grotty drive up and being diverted off the A1(M) through the back of beyond due to roadworks, I finally arrived at just before midnight on the Friday!! The weather was surprisingly calm and mild.


On the Saturday I got up and had a leisurely morning.  The weather was mizzle-y and low cloud stubbornly covered the higher fells.  I decided against doing either Helvellyn, Clough Head or Bowscale Fell mainly due to the fact I couldn't actually see them!  Instead, I opted for an Autumnal low level waterfall walk around my favourite Lakeland fell - High Rigg.  This little hill is on the doorstep at the caravan site and (I believe) belongs to the farmer who's field the caravans are on - well, it's his sheep that scamper all over it anyroad! 


I decided to try out my gaiters with my walking shoes in the hope that any wet grass/bracken would not soak my lower legs - it worked and my feet stayed surprisingly dry given the very soggy and squelchy ground conditions.  I'd also given my shoes a liberal coating of waterproofing stuff and I can confirm that Cherry Blossom Universal Fabric Protector works just as well on suede and nubuck shoes as the higher end (and priced!) Grangers or Nikwax.


Anyway, some pictures from my lovely, autumnal, low level adventure:


View towards High Rigg across flooded fields in the Naddle Valley:




View towards Dodd Crag (Bleaberry Fell) from the flooded Naddle Valley:  



View towards Lonscale and Blease Fells from the Naddle Valley[/font]
(Skiddaw is firmly buried under cloud):  



Rose Cottage and High Rigg:  



Dodd Cragg from the western flank of High Rigg:  



Shoulthwaite Gill:  



Lovely autumnal colours in the woodland at Shoulthwaite Moss:



Some undiscovered walks to do in better weather and better views:  



View from Smaithwaite of Helvellyn buried under cloud above Stannah:  



The weir has burst it's banks at Bridge End Farm:  



From here I returned back to the caravan via the Eastern flanks of High Rigg, passing my favourite tea room at Low Bridge End Farm but, as the gloaming was setting in, I didn't stop for a cuppa and scone.  I completed the walk from St. John's Church in the dark!  It's amazing how alive your senses become when you're walking alone... in the dark ... in the middle of nowhere!!!  I did have a torch with me but tried my best not to use it, much preferring to scare myself silly wondering what caused that twig to crack *over there* ... behind me (of course), water droplets landing on my head when walking through trees was obviously *things* attacking me! ... what WAS that snuffle?  Is that the beck I crossed on my outward journey burbling away or is it a giant River Monster with a hungry belly?



A wonderful 7.5 mile walk in weather which was much better than I expected (no rain!) so my new waterproof jacket didn't get a proper testing.


On the Sunday my hips and ankle hurt really quite badly so I had a lazy day in the caravan watching the sunshine and showers dance a merry dance over High Rigg and reading my pal's Wainwright books.


Thanks for reading  :)

Welsh Rambler

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #1 on: 20:47:06, 16/10/17 »
Sounds an adventurous walk Mel  ;D  Maybe carry a dog lead and pretend your Rottweiler is close at hand  if you meet undesirables.


Lovely Autumn colours. Thanks for sharing  O0


Regards Keith

Mel

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #2 on: 20:54:11, 16/10/17 »
 ;D  Cheers Welsh Rambler. Considering I never saw another living soul on the whole walk I don't know why I was thinking they were all lying in wait in the dark to ambush me  :D

Dovegirl

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #3 on: 00:34:18, 17/10/17 »
Lovely autumnal  photos Mel    :)   Your walk in the dark sounds spooky! 

Ridge

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #4 on: 07:54:45, 17/10/17 »
Lovely photos Mel. Good that your weekend wasn't a total wash out.

April

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #5 on: 08:29:26, 17/10/17 »
Pleased you got one good walk in Mel  O0 The weather wasn't as wet as forecast like you say and we even got sunshine for a while in Patterdale  :o
Hate will never win

sunnydale

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #6 on: 08:32:51, 17/10/17 »
Lovely photos Mel, glad you enjoyed your walk O0


Tracey :)
***Happiness is only a smile away***

adalard

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #7 on: 09:35:43, 17/10/17 »
Lovely pics and write up, Mel. Glad you had a good time despite the weather.  O0


And I'm impressed that your feet remained dry after seeing those flooded fields - if you had a canoe you could probably have paddled across a couple of them!  ;D


Hope the hip/ankle problem clears up.

beefy

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #8 on: 11:15:13, 17/10/17 »
Nice one mel  O0
We were wondering how you were doing on Saturday
Leave only footprints, take only photographs, kill only time ...

Jac

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #9 on: 11:59:16, 17/10/17 »
Glad you enjoyed your weekend and your feet stayed dry  :o that is truly amazing. Were you walking on the water ???
So many paths yet to walk, so little time left

lostme1

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #10 on: 16:03:58, 17/10/17 »
Thanks for the TR and photos. At least you made the most the weekend even if you weren't climbing to great heights. Hope your hips and ankle are better now.
These boots are made for walking.... so long as the rest of my body agrees

Mel

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #11 on: 19:27:04, 17/10/17 »
Thanks everyone for the replies  :)


Dovegirl - yes, it was spooky ... but it is getting near Halloween and I even saw some vampires (well, bats)  :D


Ridge - it was a lot better than I expected, weather-wise.  There's heck of a lot of water coming off them fells though  :o


April - I was determined to have a walk of some sort, even if it was absolutely tiddling down.  Got some new low/mid level walks in the bag for my next visit too which I'm pleased about  O0


Tracey - aye, much better than the housework I could have been doing  :)


adalard - a bit of nifty footwork (ie. walk on roads!) works wonders.  To be fair, there was ways round the flooded bits and I just took pics of the worst parts.


beefy - cheers.  You should have waved from Patterdale  ;D


Jac - haha, I have to admit, some people say "oh Jesus" when I walk into a room so you might be onto something with that walking on water comment  :D


lostme1 - I love low/mid level walks.  Sometimes the scale and perspective of the bigger hills is better from part way up them than from the top.  The ankle will always give my gyp and some days it's better than others, and the hip was just protesting from being in a shape that wasn't a chair / sitting down position  ;D


Thanks again for the kind comments everyone  :)

pleb

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #12 on: 09:35:04, 18/10/17 »
Sounds like an adventure! :o
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Mel

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Re: A Squelch around the Naddle Valley
« Reply #13 on: 18:51:36, 18/10/17 »
It was pleb.  A pleasant adventure  O0

 

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