Thirlmere loop March 2025

I’ve thought about a loop of Thirlmere for many years and have a few in my head,but with a forcast of strong SE winds and the rain mixed in on the next day,I had decided to not go…but I changed my mind 

Parked up in the free parking past Swirls carpark I set off on a lovely path that hugged the shoreline of Thirlmere,with the wind was strong already these feathered friends were hiding in one of the bays

Two jets screamed through the valley followed an hour or so after by another two ( Or a 2nd lap ?) but I didn’t get a good shot of them,crossing the dam wall the wind was howling a good steady 30 mph 

I followed the standard path up towards Raven crag but at the top turned North.Here I had the Birkett of the The Benn to collect and what a stunning top it is,so I sat a while and had a snack.Havent been trying to do the Birketts list,but this was 540/541 with Pillar rock left to finish

Just as I was leaving I heard the rumble of a plane and watched one of the big beasts slowly fly by,always look too slow as if they might fall out of the sky 

I left the tops as it was really windy and made my own way across the rough ground,this old ruin must have been a place to look out from back in the day

As it’s been so dry these wet fells we’re dry,I broke away from the forest edge and made my way up to Armbroth Fell the wind here was a steady 25 but gusts too 45 mph so at a slow steady pace I just made my own way over the pathless rough ground

There’s the remains of some old quarrying up on the fell side and I thought I might find some shelter there,it was early still 2pm but I decided this would do for the day 

We had jet No5 come through on a solo run late afternoon 

I bagged myself an Oookworks  inner some time last yr but it’s much bigger than my Custom one Ron made me yrs back,so I thought I’d take it out for a run…very nice a true legend was our Sean  ( yes good and bad service ) 

Went back to the Sawyer squeeze filter and very impressed ,it filters well just holding bag up,gravity feed 

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It was nice to sit and brew and wait as the day ticked away,it had been a very quiet day,I’d only seen two people,those on path up towards Raven crag 

Sunset never happened,a shame after all the ones at home recently,but the wind died down and some stars came out for a while 

Just a touch of Aurora behind the cloud

L.N.T was not possible as it rained well through the night,you can see just how dry the ground was,much needed water 

Always great to see some wildlife roaming around these wilder places 

I was awake for 6 but was sat in clag so I thought I’d wait a little not setting off till 9 am ! Glad I did  as just as I set off it cleared out 

Hartsop tarn was majestic and quiet,apart from the bird life chattering away…was odd to see a Cormorant there  

The skies kept trying to clear and then they did patches of blue filling the skies…how wrong can one weekends Forcast be ?

After steep descent down from the tarn I crossed the road and followed a lovely path near the shore edge,before crossing the main road and climbing the forest track 

The temperature had now climbed up to 17c and I had a nice sit on the bench down from the old lead mine works to just soak in the views  

The forest carried me back along the East side of the lake,away from the traffic and giving some nice shade at times 

 I enjoyed the trip much more than I thought I would,but next time I’ll take the high ground more,would go into a nice 2 night camp trip,if when crossing the road I’d climbed up to the ridge line.Maybe then continue alone and camp on the Dodds or even Clough head 

Safe travels Peter 

Dodds wild camp Feb 2025

I met up with my brother Jamie and we drove on the last bit and parked up just past Swirls car park and we’re off for 9 am ish 

It was a nice crisp cold winters morning,the drive up had started in fog but that had mostly finished around Windermere 

There was a crossing by the Red Arrows but think we were not under the flight path enough,but did get to watch this guy wing it’s way slowly along the Thirlmere valley 

Cloud was building up but never made its way past Dunmial/Hellvelyn  to reach us 

Hart crag in the distance 

Ski tow hut 

We had a nice stroll up to Stybarrow Dodd and a wander out too Hart side,doubling back we walked across to Watsons Dodd.Having a hunt around for water we loaded up and had a slow heavy plod up to Great Dodd summit 

We had pitched early ish so enjoyed the views but the cold wind meant I made use of the tent door way to watch some of those views

Tonight’s tea was a favourite,supplied as always by my fave supplier Basecamp foods  

We had a nice sunset but with the last of the sun went the heat and I soon retreated back into the Scarp,with Maggie sunuggling down into her Woofbag 

We had some cloud blow through for a few hours but by 8 or 9ish it was clear so I took the time too snap off a few night shots,the wind was being really unfriendly on finger ends 

Over night temps had dropped to -3.4c and the wind had increased some..6 am had us still in clag but it started to break up around 8 and in a few mins had cleared to leave good views again..a -14c windchill made packing a quick and smooth operation 

L.N.T was hard to do 

We retraced our steps mostly and I was home in time to watch my son win his basketball game