Sunday, 11th October 2020
After I’d checked out of my accommodation, I decided to do a short walk before I headed home. The weather was absolutely stonkingly, unbelievably, amazingly good and it would have been a crime to leave without squeezing a little walk in before I left. A quick looksee at the map showed Orrest Head being within walking distance so I set off up Troutbeck Bridge’s equivalent of The Struggle – the road by the side of the pub.
Looking back down it:
Eventually I popped out onto the A592 Patterdale Road, crossed it and headed up a wonderful ancient lane:
I headed into Low Hagg Wood:
Lovely woodland. It smelled all earthy and autumnal and I kicked through the leaves like a child.
I missed my turnoff and ended up in High Hay Wood. I found a fingerboard pointing the way to Orrest Head (only half a mile) so wandered off in that direction – back up through High Hay Wood. I may have wandered out of the wood a bit and up some grazing pasture, then back to the wood and then through some more grazing pasture. I found another fingerboard pointing the way to Orrest Head (only half a mile) so set off in that direction. I may have ended back up in High Hay Wood again, or it might have been a different wood – who knows!
Some pics from this aimless ambling:
After a while I spotted some people coming down the hillside and looked beyond to see a gaggle of folks on the skyline. I took a wild guess that they were on Orrest Head so just aimed for there. I found a fingerboard pointing the way to Orrest Head (only half a mile). For goodness sake! Seriously?
Luckily, from here there were regular marker posts to assist the navigationally challenged.
And an impressive Pointless Stile:
Higher and higher I got:
Until, yay:
I actually had to queue! Snowdon, eat yer heart out.
I sat and enjoyed the sunshine and a coffee and people-watched for a good long while. It was really lovely to see so many people out enjoying the day. All ages, all abilities. Eventually though, the crowds became too much for me and my mind daydreamed back to the wild, remote Scandale Valley and I decided it was time to head back down. I chose a southern exit and discovered this was The Tourist Route up to Orrest Head. In reality it was a very easy track that meandered its way gently through woodland:
...eventually popping me out onto the A592 again.
A short walk along the road and I returned down The Mini Struggle Road back to my car.
A smashing short walk at just under 4 miles. It’s definitely one to do on a sunny morning so the sun’s behind you, lighting up the fells opposite, and making Windermere look magical
My track recording looks like I’ve drawn a squirrel eating a nut. And I don’t care.
A pano-vid from the top:
What a really lovely weekend. I need to do this more often 😊