The Lakes

Every so often Travelodge have a sale on, and in the last one I managed to bag a room in Penrith for £19. Susan came up to join me, and we headed off to do Cat Bells. All day it threatened to rain, but the cloud stayed high and we had some good views.

The path up Cat Bells is straightforward, and it was a popular route for a January weekend. We had our lunches at the top before returning to our cars via the shore of Derwent Water.



Sunday wasn't the best day for heading high, so we pootled. A visit to Aira Force, a stop off at Glenridding and a drive down to Haweswater were on the agenda, before heading back home.

Scotland the White

I love Scotland, and have always fancied a winter visit, so when I heard that a few others were heading North for the weekend, it seemed rude to say no!

We drove up on Friday evening, staying at the Ballachulish Hotel. The sunrise was stunning, but there was no time to hang around as we dashed to Aanoch Mor and the Nevis Range ski area.


The views were breathtaking, looking right the way across to the Skye Cuillins. The skiing wasn't bad either! It was a bit of a culture shock actually queueing for a lift, rather than engaging in a scrum.


It was also the first time that I had seen the summit of Ben Nevis, so close up and so clear. I could make out more detail than when I had climbed it!

The decision had been to ski at Cairngorm on Sunday, so we headed over that way to sleep. The following day couldn't have been more different to Saturday - blizzards, no visiblity and generally grotty conditions. At one point I was being blown backwards up the hill! At about 2pm they took the decision to evacuate the mountain. I don't think I've ever been so wet skiing. It was still a fun day, and gave amazing bragging rights this morning in the office!

Margery Hill

I'm told that Margery Hill is the highest point within the City of Sheffield.


I left the car at Kings Tree and walked via Slippery Stones up to Howden Edge. There were quite a few people around, mostly running or biking. Once up on the edge, I toyed with the idea of heading along Outer Edge, but decided that would take too long. As it was, I thought it may be going dark before I got back.

I followed Howden Edge, past the trig point of Margery Hill and then down past Nether Hey to by Howden Dam. The path from there seems to go on forever, as you can see Kings Tree on the other side, but have to go a long way round.

(Technical Data: distance = 14km, ascent = 500m)

Magpie Mine

Having looked at the weather, I decided that today was not a day for walking. With that in mind, I decided to go out to Magpie Mine near Sheldon. The old mine workings looked quite dramatic in the mist.