Abandoning Wainwright

With everything from thunder to winds which, will ‘impede walking’, forecast by MWIS it was a weekend to leave the mountains alone and hike out those low level tracks and trails which hang in on the edge of Lakeland.

Autumn brings its own rewards and though the light was not exactly congenial to photography, the trees are adorned with a colour spectrum to rival any New England Fall.

Walk number one started  on the Lancaster canal and looped around to  Warton Crags.

Grey obliterated most of the view and the usual distance hills of Lakeland were sadly absent, even looking south was simply the dullness of sticky tape sky.

Locks and lanes replaced hills and valleys with Silverdale having a far better representation on other days.

In the end I abandoned the ‘long game’ and concentrated on things a little closer.

A theme which was to stay with me when we wandered a little further north into Grizedale Forest.

Rain and mist increased. Water dripped from every available twig and branch.

There is  a humorous element to walking through Grizedale.

Whoever heard of clock work trees

and stone serpents’ tails.

Damp and wet nurtured fungi looking as appetising as steaks.

Some may  throw in an odd colour warning.

Looking like Jell-O

or tiny stags horns

Water dripped and flowed.

We managed to go the wrong way and miss out Caron Crag, but with mist like this

there was little doubt that the promised view of Coniston would be mere imagination.

Instead we were satisfied with Tarns

and valleys and occasional blue skies.

Day one

Day two – the Silurian way – sort of

And you will need this map