Wednesday 22 July 2009

Not much of a holiday

Well this year we had little choice but to keep doing jobs around the house. Today the electrician is here putting in power to the new greenhouse (or glasshouse as posh people say) So we have a huge trench down the lawn which is 18inches deep to take the cable. Bella is not happy at all, she is mewing behind the door in my study because she wants to play with the electrician...

Little does she know that next week she will be in action on the fells once again. Mind you that might mean a repeat of this experience below.



Yes Bella in Buttermere with her first ice cream tasting. This was a picture taken by kira who just happened to capture the moment last May when 6 months old Bella tried ice cream! Since then it has met with doggy approval on more than one occasion. You will note I expect, that its only the bit left on the stick, I managed to eat the rest.....

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Found this piccie of Jock

I was browsing around the other day and found this piccie on another site and just had to show it to you all. Its our dear old Jock standing attached to the old A board outside the Moot Hall on a wet morning looking somewhat forlorn, poor fella.





Pete would have been around somewhere but obviously one of the clients took this photo, so if you know who took it please get in touch and let us know when it was and what walk you did. If you have anymore photos of Jock I would love to see them too. I still miss him and Bramble.

I also wanted you all to know that the website will be given a new look fairly soon. The address will still be the same i.e. www.keswickrambles.org.uk but the September Programme can only be seen on this blog until the new site is ready, so if anyone you know wants to view the programme please tell them it is only on the blog at the moment. October is not available yet so please be patient whilst we go through these changes.

You can always contact us by email at armstrongps1@madasafish.com

Sunday 12 July 2009

New Gadget

I have a feeling that many of you are dog lovers and I know that Bella always has been a favourite of yours. So I have added a new item called in Blogger parlance a Gadget. This Gadget shows a daily puppy, so I hope you enjoy seeing them, it starts with Elsie the Beagle....

I will be putting the September walks onto the blog very soon, maybe even tomorrow if I have time, so if you are keen to know where we will be going in September, watch this blog.

Tuesday 7 July 2009

Scafell Pike in July



It was a warm sunny morning when I took this picture high above Stockley Bridge as we made our way up Grains Gill towards the looming cliffs of Great End above us. Nine of us set out and one small brown dog; Bella, a Border Terrier, she's with Lyn our leader. Pete; that's me writing this piece, took the pictures. Everyone else is in this shot; Bridget is on Lyn's right then there's Karen on Lyn's left, then Colin, Judith, Robert from Switzerland, Wayne, and Martin from Texas on the end. We're at the bridge over Ruddy Gill, marked FB on the OS 1:25000 map just above the point where it joins Allen Gill to become Grains Gill at 234099.









The summit of Scafell Pike was shaped by some mighty volcanic upheaval and is a barren rocky place covered in tourists having lunch, here's just a few of them.



I didn't catch what Judith was saying to Karen but I recognise the place, not far below Lingmell Col on the Corridor Route; it was getting hotter all the way. In the background, just left of Judith's finger is Styhead Tarn at the southern end of the Corridor Route, and it looks a long way off!



Same place; still above 2,000ft, this time with Great Gable as a backdrop.




Lyn and Bridget still managed to look cool, despite the increasing heat in the early afternoon, as we began our descent of the Corridor Route on the way back to Stockley Bridge.



We took a short break just below Styhead Tarn where the footbridge crosses Styhead Gill at 223102 before the final steep descent down to Stockley Bridge. It was Bridget's first ascent of Scafell Pike; she'll be a mine of information now on the ups and downs of England's highest peak; Colin looks pleased to have done it too.

Saturday 4 July 2009

Catbells 29th May

Just in are some new photos from Kath who was on this walk. She was an Aussie and had worked at a Vets in the past so was really good at walking dogs. So of course she took control of Bella and had her walking very much to heel. She also introduced Bella to the water at Nichol End Marine by going in with her. Anyway, Kath thanks for the photos and here are some of them as promised on the blog.

We took the launch across to Low Brandlehow as the jetty at Hawes End is in need of a repair job so this first shot is of a tranquil Derwent Water.



Oh what a shot Kath, that really makes you want to drool for the Lakes.....

Next up is a view on the way around the back of Catbells; this is the way that Beatrix Potter used to come when she walked from Fawe Park where she stayed with her super rich parents.

But do you know which two mountains it shows?

Next up we have our fair Aussie herself.

Of course no set of photos is complete without the doggy element. Did you know that one of the pubs in Keswick has set up doggy dating? Well it has, and it is the Dog and Gun Pub of course, where else would any self respecting terrier go to meet a mate? But shh - don't tell Bella, I don't want her to get ideas.......



She is too young yet for boyfriends and beer...

Changing the subject, we have all the group together towards the end of the walk on the little swing bridge just outside Portinscale, it really does move as you walk across it and its the only place where I have ever seen a Kingfisher over the parapet flying low along the side of the river, a fabulous bright blue.



So a fun day was had by all and we walked back to Keswick in good time. Mark in the foreground was keen to enjoy a pint in the local hostelry that night which turned into a couple more...... You can always rely on Pete to want to extend the walk to the pub afterwards, which is what happened on our last excursion up Scafell Pike on Thursday. We ended up drinking lager etc and eating crisps and olives in Bar 26, but that is another story and one that I shall ask Pete to blog about ha ha...

Friday 3 July 2009

Cancellations

Hi Folks,

A couple of walks cannot take place as circumstances have changed and the leaders cannot now do them.

Sat 4th July Esk Pike is cancelled
Mon 6th July Great Gable is cancelled

All others are ok as far as I know.

The September programme has now been agreed and I will post it here soon.