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Thwarted Lake District trip

Thwarted Lake District trip


Postby 37lumleyst » Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:11 pm

Date walked: 03/01/2010

Time taken: 2

Distance: 4 km

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I checked the forecast for Sunday morning and apart from a few light snow showers it all looked good for a trip across to the Lakes to do a planned walk around the head of Haweswater taking in 7 Wainwrights. I left the house at 0600 sharp and headed across the A66 to Cumbria, unfortunately my journey was halted short at Scotch Corner where I met the signs stating that the A66 was closed due to heavy snow across the Pennines – gutted!

I decided I wasn’t going to just go home as I had dressed and packed for a day in the frozen wastes and wanted to get my first New Years walk in, so I headed homeward bound towards the Cleveland Hills, which are only a few miles from my house. I parked the car at Clay Bank top and got ready for a stroll across the hills. The weather was cold at -5 with little to no wind and the odd snow flake gently falling.

I started by following the Cleveland Way up Hasty Bank and as I climbed I could see a bank of very dark cloud approaching, quickly I was engulfed in a white out. This wasn’t a problem as I have been walking these hills since I was a boy and know them extremely well. I reached the plateau top and walked West towards the Wain Stones, which are a craggy mass of jagged rocks at the Western end of Hasty Bank. The entire way across the top was white out and to be honest I wasn’t in the mood for a walk like this given that I had set out for the Mountains of Cumbria, so I decided to have a hot drink and bite to eat sheltered in the Wain Stones and then take the lower forest track back to the car. I would have been satisfied with this given that I hadn’t had any view’s to speak of save for the end of my nose!

I got myself tucked into a rock crevis which was free any wind and settled down to a morning cup of hot Oxo and a sandwich. Once refreshed I noticed that the snow had stopped falling and it was now much brighter. I popped out from my wintery refuge to see clearing views across the North Yorkshire Moors and the Cleveland vale. I decided to retrace my steps back across the tops back to the car and take some morning shots as I went.

I’m sorry this isn’t the summit topping, multi peaked report I had in mind but I did enjoy the short walk non the less and it reminded me that I too have great scenery right on my own door step! I hope you enjoy the pics all the same :?

It also allowed me to spend the afternoon at home sledging with my little boy.

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Wian Stones looking West to Cold Moor




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Early signs of the break in the weather


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The Cleveland Plain with Roseberry Topping in the distant left


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The ascent back through the Wain Stones


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Looking East into Bilsdale and across the N. York Moors


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Cold Moor with the weather that had passed darkening the West sky's


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North across the Cleveland Pain and out to sea


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Retracing my tracks across hasty Bank with Round Hill on Urra distant (Highest pint on N. York Moors)


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Roseburry Topping (zoomed) & Captain Cooks Monument ext right


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Hasty Bank top and the route back to the car
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37lumleyst
 
Posts: 297
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Re: Thwarted Lake District trip

Postby mountain coward » Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:32 am

Hope the A66 clears before my trip to North Lakes in a couple of weeks! Love the last photo especially - nice light on it. And Rosebery Topping (despite sounding like a packet dessert in a supermarket!;-) is always a delight to look at. That would be good fun in snow! And maybe Alan Hinkes would be up there (well, we can dream;-)
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Re: Thwarted Lake District trip

Postby johnnyaztec » Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:20 am

Was out on that particular Sunday in the lakes just posted my walk report for it! We could see the cloud you were under approaching the lakes as we finished our walk,turned out to be fairly benign though.was in a whiteout on Skiddaw summit on the Saturday which was fairly sinister to say the least.looks like a very nice area you ended up in even with the cloud coverage.
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Re: Thwarted Lake District trip

Postby canisp » Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:42 pm

Hard luck on not reaching the lakes, but this looked an excellent plan B.
Roseburry topping looks interesting :D i’d never heard of it so did a bit of googling, if ever i’m over that way i’ll give it a look in.
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Re: Thwarted Lake District trip

Postby 37lumleyst » Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:40 pm

canisp wrote:i’d never heard of it so did a bit of googling, if ever i’m over that way i’ll give it a look in.


Cansip - it gets its distinctive shape as a result of mining in the area, an industry that is long gone now but like many places, the scars of the eary industrial revolution remain for all to see. Its also known as 'Cleveland little mountain' but you wont see that name on any OS map :lol:

Its not a big hill comming in at 299m but its a good climb none the less, legend has it that the vikings used it as a land mark for navigation but having sailed the North East seaboard for many years, I find it difficult to see how they could have - still makes for a good ledgend none the less.

It also forms an optional extra to the Cleveland Way - a 110 mile walk around the West and Northern shoulder of the North Yorkshire Moors national park and is a worthy addition.
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37lumleyst
 
Posts: 297
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Location: Teesside

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