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| View from Skelgill Bank down the Borrowdale Valley |
Catbells
We were unsure as to where to go on the day after our hike\climb over Walla Crag, but the actual day on Walla Crag sorted that out. Beautiful views decided it, we were going up Catbells.
With any luck, not that it was needed, there would be ample opportunity to shoot some awesome landscapes during the trip.
We were aware that, although Catbells has a modest height of 451 metres, it is still one of the most popular fells in the area. Indeed, a fellow climber described one day of it appearing like a bus queue with a large assembly of climbers making their way up the fell. With that in mind, we were going to have to start out early to have any chance of shots without climbers in them.
We began our ascent at the Northern end and proceeded up Skelgill Bank, there was a small car park with space for maybe a dozen vehicles, we were third in.
You don't have to climb far before the views and landscapes start to appear ...
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| Catbells - Lake District Landscapes - North to Bassenthwaite |
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| TheRoute |
On reaching the top of the first "hump" above the scree we met with a friendly, jovial gent and got chatting about things in general as we took a breather. His name was Tony Rathbone and he was accompanied by his sons dog "Jack".
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| Catbells - Lake District Landscapes - Tony Rathbone & Jack |
We stood for quite a while, longer than we had planned, but didn't notice the time pass as we swapped anecdotes and he related many tales and stories from the area. Like our own guide!
(Incidentally, if that first hump has a name, and you know it, please leave a comment!)
Most interesting were his stories of fell-running when he was a young lad. He used to run, yes run, up Catbells in an old pair of football boots because he couldn't afford running shoes in those days. To say we were impressed would be an understatement.
Even more astounding was the fact that he was 82 and had recently completed a 950 mile bike ride from Lands End to John O'Groats, for cancer care charities, with his pal Billy Skipper!!!
Read about the bike ride
He was to meet up with his climbing pals of the walking group from the local Tavern. Now I have to admit that I missed the group name, it was either "The Taverners" or "The 'something' Taverners", if you know the name then please leave a comment, cheers.
He stayed with us to the top of Catbells where we could see his pals were on their way up.
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| Catbells Summit - Jill meets the rest of the Taverners |
The sun was out, so was the heather, and the clouds were well formed, so shots abounded on the climb in all directions up to the top. West to Causey Pike, East to Borrowdale and Derwent Water, North to Skiddaw and Keswick. A few of our favourites are in this post for your enjoyment.
The further climb to Maiden Moor and on to High-Spy beckoned but we had places to be and decided to call it a day. But that further adventure is coming ... :-)
We met up again with Tony, who entertained us further, as we descended down an old miners track on the western side, past Little Town, back to Skelgill.
The day was a prime example of the friendliness and camaraderie displayed by the people you meet when your climbing/hiking/walking. A fantastic day. Thanks Tony.
Off into Keswick for a coffee and a large piece of cake. Happy Days!
Landscapes
Although the weather was spot on, it was windy on the summit and the ascent so a tripod was required and the camera bag was hung under the tripod to increase stability. It's a new tripod (a 3-Legged Thing Eric) so I haven't had a chance to fit spikes yet but they're definitely on the list.
The usual accessories accompanied - polariser, ND grad filters, shutter release, L-bracket.
A belt-n-braces approach was used with a secondary bracket of three from the main shot (just in case)
If you like landscapes, check another of our previous Lake District posts
Links
Wikipedia information on Catbells
Walk Lakes - Catbells
Lake District National Park - Catbells
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