December Dawdling with the Lakeland Meanderer

 Glad to see you safe and sound in your favourite bolthole, as you say the surroundings are what make it and the weather just shows it in a different light- all the better for pictures with a new look. Enjoy the week sir and we look forward to seeing your "drivel" later on.

By the time I had got myself sorted today it was getting on for 10.00 before leaving the cottage. There was no rain but very overcast and light levels were very so I don’t expect much in the way of usable photos from the day. Decided on the clockwise route up to High Sweden Bridge and although there was no rain falling it was very wet underfoot, with little streams running down and across the tracks. Fairly uneventful trek up to High Sweden Bridge which was quite full of water due to quite a bit of rain recently. The path back down to amble is a bit more solid than the largely fell based tracks on the way up through Low Sweden Bridge and Low and High Sweden Coppice. Just before getting back into Ambleside I took a detour off in an easterly direction ending up on part of the marvelous bit of road known as The Struggle, for a few hundred yards before turning off and heading for Roundhill Farm. From here it was across some very wet field paths to cross Stockghyll before turning back to Ambleside and taking yet another detour through the woods that are the home to Stockghyll Force. Photos were taken but how good they will be is yet to be judged. Back to the cottage for an hour or so and a sandwich or two before taking a stroll through Rothay Park to the River Rothay and down to the pierhead. Very quiet down there today. A boat came in and maybe 10 people got off and not many more got on to go down to Bowness. A sit down on the front for a few minutes and then a gentle wander back to the cottage. Sorted a few things out, charged batteries for both cameras and phone. Caught up with a magazine or two and eventually wandered off to the Golden Rule for an hour or so. Chinese takeaway was the plan for tea but the usual place , The Lucky Dragon, is closed till Thursday so went to the Jade Garden restaurant that also does takeaways….. Never again!!!! About £3 more than the Lucky Dragon would have been and nowhere near the quality, or quantity. May have to put a mention on Trip Advisor, what a rip off. More magazine catching up and a bit of TV although as usual not a lot on that I really cared to watch. Looks like another reasonable day tomorrow so could be that my favourite trek over Loughrigg Fell to Grasmere and back may be on the cards. Need to be up and out earlyish though so have to see what time I drag myself out of bed… Within any luck may be a better day for pointing the camera at the scenery. Have to wait and see..

Weather is much better here today Dave, let's hope it's the same for you. Have a good day.

Not a vast change today unfortunately, so another lazy morning followed by a short drive to Bowness for a wander round the hiking shops to see what bargians wrere around, but nothing really grabbed my attention. No photos as the light was still very poor soa visit to the Lakeview Inn for a pint of Jennings Cumberland Ale, no Dizzy Blonde here, along with one of their amazingly cheap carveries. Less than £8.50 for a pint and large plate full of 3 meats, turkey, ham and pork, a huge Yorkshire pudding and a sausage topped with with more veg than I really should have, but it all got eaten. So a nice quite hour was spent tin there before wending my back to Ambleside to park the car at the cottage and wander back into the village to check out the outdoor shops. Some really good bargians going but nothing that I really needed. Berghaus jackets down from £260 to £180...amazing bargains but I already have 3 good jackets so no point in buying another one, much as I would ahev liked one!!. A quick trip back home for half an hour before going for a chat the lads in the Rule. very quiet in there tonight but may not be quite so tomorrow, one of the guys is 66 tomorrow so that may be a bit more livel. Weather definitely looking a bit better so the much awaited trek across Loughrigg to Grasmere could well happen. Just have to wait and see if the Met ofice maps are correct...

Won't happen of course but if they bring those jackest down to around £100 I'll have one for sure. Some very good deal going on boots as well

I got a bargain on a ski jacket on Orkney, it was down from £170 to £29, there was only one left tucked away right at the back of the shop, it's a bit of a naff green colour but it's very warm - and no I don't ski 

Sorry for the delay folks but internet connection problems have again reared their head. But it must be down to my laptop which is best part of 7 or 8 years old and so maybe not quite as compatible with the modern hub as it should be. Am able to connect to sites but then when trying to go to a different page on the site I get a page saying 'BT homehub cannot connect to broadband' but then when I backpage and then try again am getting the page OK... All very annoying and frustrating. So this is being typed into Word and copied to the thread so as not to lose connection and have to start all over again..
Anyway Wednesday dawned reasonably fine albeit quite overcast so the intended dawdle across Loughrigg Fell to Grasmere was on. Rucksack packed and camera ready off I went at about 10.00. But after about 5 minutes realised that I had forgotten my phone, so wandered back for that. With so few people about this time of year there was no way I was gonna venture out onto the fells without it. So for the second time within 10 minutes crossed Rothay Park to Miller Bridge and on to the short sharp climb up Miller Brow to the stone stile that leads on to Loughrigg Fell. upwrads then along the wet track to Lily Tarn with the obligatory stops on route to to the top for photos, albeit don't expect much as the light was very low and flat and quite overcast. But we will see in  few days when I get to looking at them properly. A few more minutes spent round Lily Tarn and then on eastwards to join the main track across the fell from Ambleside bound for Loughrigg Tarn. Very few people on the fell, a couple followed me up to Lily Tarn but must have gone down the south side to Clappersgate and Ambleside as I didn't see them again. For the best part of a mile and a half I only saw 3 mountain bikers and then not for long !! By the time I reached Loughrigg Tarn there were a few more folk around. Didn't stop at the tarn mainly cos the Langdale Pikes were covered in cloud so nothing really worth photographing. Did take a few of the farm and a couple of cottages before getting onto a stretch of tarmac for half mile or so before turning off to the right through the woods above Grasmere eventually breaking out at the top end of Loughrigg Terrace. Stopped on one of the many benches half way along the slope of the terrace to have what meagre rations I had made. A couple of bread buns filled with ham along with a small pork pie and an ASDA chesse and onion pastie. Having consumed them it was onwards down the remainder of Loughrigg Terrace. My original plan for the day was to drop down to walk along the shore of Grasmere into Grasmere village and then head out towards Rydal along the Coffin Route. But because of the debatable cloud cover and time common sense took control. If I had really got a pace going I would certainly have made it across the Coffin Route but no point in taking any chances, certainly at this time of the year!! Last thing I want is to be responsible for calling out the Mountain Rescue.... So from Loughrigg Terrace I took the lower path alongside Rydal Water and throught the woods at the eastern end of Rydal Water and out onto the main road at the Badger Bar. Didn't stop for a pint but wandered on towards Rydal and back towards Ambleside through Rydal Park. Back to the cottage and unpack and drop what few photos I had taken onto the portable hard drive, a quick look through indicates there may be a few worth looking at, but time will tell. A quick shower followed before wandering down to the Rule for the daily chat with the locals and staff. The guy who's birthday it was, was not in the best of spirits, he had taken his Harley Davidson out for a little jaunt and while he was out a drive belt of some description broke!!! That is gonna cost him around £550 he reckons, so not the best of birthdays. Had my usual 3 Blondes and went back to the cottage for an hour or so before going out again to the Unicorn for a 'proper' meal ... Sirloin steak and all the trimmings. One of the little perks I treat myself to once a week when I am here.. Then back home again, tv on, not there was much worth watching and try to sort some things on the laptop which was increasingly frustrating due to the inconsistent internet connection. Really must get a new laptop, at 7-8 years old this one is getting a bit past it.
Thursday started off very cloudy and damp so didn't rush to get out og bed today, lay in till around 8.30. The poor weather looked set in for the day so no walk today. A bit of tidying, a bit of washing and some reading was the order of the day. I did get out into the village for a half an hour or so just to get a bit of fresh air. By around 1.30 I could not see the top of Loughrigg Fell such was the state of the low cloud. Chinese takeaway was originally on the cards for tea tonight as the shop was supposed to reopen today following holidays, but having got there after the regular chat in the Rule ther was a notice on the window saying 'Sorry open Friday' !! So the next best thing, fish and chips, was the enforced choice. The weather forecast for Friday oloks even worse than today, so this may be the last report of any substance.
So will have to see what actually greets me when i open the curtains and decide from there, although hopes are not very high.  Who knows, another trip round the outdoor shops may result in me treating myself!!

Well today is almost as wet as yesterday so a bit of cleaing and just about all packed. Most will be in the car tonight to save too much noise early morning. Like to be away by 8.00 if i can. Must have been a lot of rain overnight as Stockghyll Beck is almost double what it was yesterday. Wish i could get up to High Sweden Bridge. I reckon Scandale Beck which flows under the bridge will be quite spectacular today, but alas, it is not the sort of day to go up there just for fun... too wet underfoot, would be almost like walking through a river. Have had a walk into the vilage and won £25. Handed a pile of old lottery tickets in one of the local lottery shops and lo and behold one was a winner. So had alook round the outdoor shops and put it towards anew pair of walking shoes, not boots. So that was my little bonus treat for the week. The internet is fine today, not had a problem with it all today. But you are almost certainly right Ruth, this laptop is getting on for 7-8 years old and the BT Hub in the cottage is only a coiple of years old so incompatibility can be expected I suppose. Oh well last bit of packing to do, last hour or so's chat in the Rule followed by a Chinese for tea and then reasonably early night.