The biggest little hike in Cumbria.

Gummer's How from Windermere (literally in it)

There are lots of motivation posters carrying messages along the lines of "The best views only come from the hardest climbs" - well Gummer's How proves them all wrong.

Located at the bottom end of Windermere this diminutive fell is just 321m high and, as if that wasn't tiny enough, you can drive up the first 200m.

From the car park there's a clearly signed route which starts off as a nice gentle amble through the woodland before reaching a flight of stone steps.  At the top of those you can choose to take the gently ascending track that winds around the back of the fell, or enjoy the slightly more scrambly route to the summit (honestly, it's really not tricky and most kids love it).  Once you're there, you'll be rewarded with views sweeping from Morecambe Bay to the south, all the way around past the Coniston Fells opposite and up along the length of the lake to the high peaks of the central fells in the north.

Scrambly route

Stone steps

Well signposted but not well spelled

Worth it for the views

It's generally overlooked by serious hikers as it's a really short and easy hike - but that makes it perfect for families or a quick blast after Sunday lunch, or for those still confined to low level hiking for the time being...

It's also perfectly positioned for catching breathtaking views of inversions.  It was where we saw our first and we regularly pop back there through the autumn and winter months - it's especially gorgeous after snow.

Wonderful winter woodland

My first ever inversion

Stunning snowy inversion

First folks up there in the snow - stunning!

WRONG!

Why mention it now?  Well, during the summer months there's lots of folks looking for family friendly walks and this one is great.  There's a large free car park and stunning views from the start.  Once you're done you can drop down to Fell Foot Park for a picnic, or a swim, or a BBQ, or a spot of boating, or just lazing on the grass with a good book and a flask of tea (or something stronger if you've persuaded someone else to do the driving!).

Talking of cars (you see what I did there?) we want to say a HUGE thank you to Vantage Citroen in Morecambe who let us play with a Cactus RupCurl this weekend.  We normally drive an ancient Freelander with intergalactic mileage so it was lovely to have something sporty, fun and clean for a change!  Mind you, I did miss the assortment of strange knocking noises we've grown accustomed to...

The RipCurl was immense fun and we gave it a good workout - I particularly liked the fact it turned on a sixpence - not that I ever get lost or anything...  (am I the only person who continually argues with their satnav?)  Anyway, here's a few pics to give you an idea of what we did to their lovely car...

Next to Gummer's How

Overlooking Windermere

On the beach - complete with tiny man flying a kite on the bonnet

Mission Control

Checking the rear view camera...  :-)

5 Fabulous Autumn Walks in Cumbria

Dontcha just hate it when you're following a guided walk and the blurb tells you "this is a riot of colour and wild flowers in the summer months" when you're there in October?  Drives me mad anyway, so I've decided to try something I've not done before on the blog - at the start of each season I shall post 5 fantastic places to visit in Cumbria that tie in perfectly with the season.  (Of course there are far more than 5 places you could be visiting each season, these are just my favourites.)

I don't have any sort of licence to reproduce OS Maps so I'll just direct you to the starting point and you can take the rest from there.

1.  The Langdale Valley.

There are a number of fabulous family walks along the Langdale Valley and the best part is that they start an end at a rather lovely pub.  Park up in the National Trust car park next to the Sticklebarn and head off on a lovely looped walk along the valley floor.  The route is broad and easy to follow with only about 20 metres of road walking in total.

The woodlands and bracken create a riot of autumnal colours and you can enjoy a big bowl of homemade soup in the pub when you're done.

2. Grange and Hampsfell

This is a great one to do on an autumn afternoon.  There a number of free (or very cheap) local walking guides in the Tourist Information Centre so if you want something more detailed nip in there and grab one of those.  Take a route up through Eggerslack Woods and on to the Hospice at the top.  From there the panoramic views stretch from Skiddaw in the north to Blackpool Tower in the south.  Tread carefully as you wander the woods and you might just spot a deer.

Head back down into the village, nip into the chippy for a freshly cooked fish supper (wrapped in newspaper!) and take it down to the prom.  There you will find plenty of benches where you can sit and watch the migrating birds coming and going along the estuary as the sun goes down.  It's worth checking the tide times too - if you can time the whole lot to coincide with on of our high tides you could even try a paddle.

3.  Red Screes

If you wake up and it looks like a dull, grotty, foggy old day, leap into the car with a hot flask of coffee and a bag of sarnies and take off for Red Screes - one of the very best places to see an inversion.  

Wind your way up Kirkstone Pass and park in the car park opposite the Kirkstone Pass Inn (handy for a good meal afterwards).  From there take the signposted footpath at the far end of the car park and follow it all the way up onto the summit (it's very clear the whole way up with stone steps for much of the way, but still be sure to go properly clothed and equipped).  By now you should have popped out of the top of the inversion and can enjoy a day of brilliant sunshine and magnificent views.

4.  Burns Beck Moss

This is one that most people never see - it's a tiny little tucked away Cumbria Wildlife Trust nature reserve around 5 miles east of Kendal (just south of Killington Reservoir if you're trying to find it on a map or you could just click here,)  There's a very short waymarked route around the site which won't take you long at all, but in the autumn it's good old mish mash of coloured grasses and golden waterlillies and I can pretty much guarantee you'll have the whole place to yourselves. Unless we're there...

5. Wansfell

I absolutely love Wansfell in the autumn - there's just something about the colours there that makes the place special.  Plus the route from Town End is such a clear, broad track that you can enjoy the sunset from High Skelghyll (a most perfect picnic spot too) and still make it safely back to the car (assuming you've taken a torch).  There are also an assortment of routes leading directly out of Ambleside to the summit - which means they also lead directly back into Ambleside and the many pubs and restaurants there should you require some post hike sustenance.  Not that I'm obsessed with food and drink or anything...

2014 A Year of Adventures - Part 2

One of the reasons I love doing these end of year round ups is because I forget quite how much stuff we did - the big things stay in my mind, but a lot of the other stuff slips between the cracks.  We're lucky to have been able to do so much stuff in the first 6 months of the year - the second half was a little but quieter, but only a little bit...

July

July started with us swinging through the trees in Grizedale Forest with those lovely folks from Go Ape.  A lot of zipwires and a lot of Tarzan impressions...

The rest of July was then taken up with rehearsals for my role in the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.  At the time I couldn't say a lot about what we were rehearsing, but I could say a lot about Glasgow - a spectacular city that we took the time to explore and fall in love with.  The utterly tragic news from just before Christmas really affected me but the folks of that fair city are truly amazing and I know they'll pull together to get through it all.  These are just a few photos which bring back some very happy memories - if you haven't already been, make 2015 the year you visit.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum

George Square

Wellington

Glasgow University

Carpet factory modelled on the Doges Palace

Footpath of album covers

Being an "athlete" at the final dress rehearsals for openning ceremony

August

After all that rehearsing came the performance - I will never forget being out on the field with all of the athletes and a packed Hampden Park.  It truly was a "once in a lifetime" experience and I loved every single second of it.

"Music festival" in full swing.

The end of the party - my new friends & a few athletes

Nabbed me a couple of gold medallists.

After all that excitement it was back to normality and a few lovely long walks around Lancashire to get my breath back.  The berries were already turning giving me the perfect excuse for a spot of jam and gin making.

Exploring Calder Vale

Anyone else see the toothy grin?

Sloes...

Damsons

Leck Beck

September

September started with the Vintage Fair in Morecambe - glorious weather and a fly past from Lancaster Bombers.

From there it was a swift trip down to London to see the moving display of poppies at the Tower before meeting Newton Falkner at an event for Gandy's flip flops - all recorded for history with one of the worst photos of me ever taken.

If you're not sure who he is click the pic for his video.

Then it was off to Yorkshire for a week of walking. The evening we arrived the weather was clear - then the fog moved in and refused to move out again for the entire week...

Last view before the fog rolled in.

Super close up of Scarborough Castle

Sheriff Hutton

Sheriff Hutton church - where Richard III's son
is buried.

And after such a long and dry (if everso slightly foggy in places) summer we just had time to pop to Haweswater Reservoir to take a peek at the old village of Mardale Green - flooded when they created the reservoir it appears every now and again when the water levels dropped.  Some of the newspapers at the time described it as an "Atlantis" - not quite, but it was eerie wandering along the long submerged streets and sitting on the ruins of an old farmhouse for lunch.

Oh - an there was Shap Abbey on the way home.

October

The big news in October, which I don't really have a photo for, is that we were approached by a publisher and asked to write a book about Cumbria.  There was a bit of too-ing and fro-ing on content, the upshot of which being that we have now been commissioned to write a book covering the recent, ancient and natural history of 10 sites in Cumbria.  It will be a balance of Steve's gorgeous pics and my mad ramblings and will be available in October 2015 - perfect for next year's Christmas lists!

The book will have lots of Steve's gorgeous pics!

In other news in October, we introduced some very dear friends to Cumbria, explored Stott Park Bobbin Mill, slummed it Hipping Hall for a night and attended our very first spoon club meeting.  Oh, and on 31st of October I stuffed my foot up, thus curtailing hiking activities for the rest of the year...

Gorgeous Cumbrian View

Stott Park Bobbin Mill

Stott Park Bobbin Mill

Spoon club - from this...

...to this.

Hipping Hall - hell - hell on earth I tell you...

Oooooppss!

November

So... things to do with a dodgy foot.  First of all there was Kendal Museum - fascinating and everso slightly brilliantly bonkers!

Kendal Museum

Then there was Kendal Mountain Festival where people with far worse injuries than mine explained how they shrugged them off before hopping up the north face of the Eiger, on stilts whilst juggling flaming torches... or something like that.

Next was a spot of Christmas Card making back at the glorious Quirky Cafe in Greystoke (well I made Christmas Cards, Steve was learning how to blacksmith) - we were even treated to an inversion along the way.

Taken from the M6.

Learning to paint Christmas cards

The Legend of Greystoke

But the MOST exciting thing in November was that Steve finished his challenge of 214 Wainwrights in 214 days in 2014.  We celebrated in style on top of Castle Crag.

A fantastic achievement!

December

And all of that goes some way to explaining how December seems to have come around way too soon again.  At the start of the month there was a quick visit to London where I finally managed a trip to the top of the Monument.- been meaning to do that for ages - there are a LOT of steps to climb but the views from the top are worth every step.  It was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London and is definitely worth a look - it's one of London's quirkier attractions plus you get a step class to boot!

Then on to Glasgow for a reunion with my Commonwealth Games friends and an excuse to explore the Botanical Gardens which we missed last time.  Not every country celebrates the gardens of the world in the same way we do - but where else can you wander around the tropical house in t-shirts in December while the hail pounds down outside?

Love how this captures the energy of the evening.

Back home and it was time to welcome an old friend back to Morecambe Prom - so great to see Eric back where he belongs, and lovely to meet his wife and daughter too.

From old friends to old adversaries and scores to settle.  For 4 years we've been trying to spot the bittern at Leighton Moss and finally we managed it - but was that enough for us?  Oh no - now Steve wants a pic of it in the snow.  Some folks are never satisfied!

Just time for a festive trip to Spoon Club where my hands fared rather better than last time and I managed to create a vaguely festive tree decoration - albeit one a little on the large side.

Christmas with the family meant lots of food, lots of fun and even a sighting of Santa on Christmas eve...

Christmas Eve sunset - complete with Santa zooming past

Of course we found time for a quick hike - at 7 miles it's the longest since I did my foot in, and I paid for it afterwards - but sometimes you just need to stretch your legs. The Chilterns are a little less lumpy than the fells we're used to, but it was a perfect crisp winters day and we definitely made the most of it.

St Giles Church, Chalfont St Giles

Our fabulous year was rounded off with lots of excitement when we found that we'd made the shortlist for the UK Blog Awards and got our pics in the local paper - not quite sure what it all means, but my mum's convinced I'm famous.  :-)

So that's it for 2014 - it's been a cracking year and 2015 has a tough act to follow (if you missed Part 1 it's here).  We have the small matter of writing a book and launching our walking guides to fit in around our adventures, but I'm sure we'll manage it somehow.  Thank you for taking the time to read the blog and may we both wish you a fabulous, fun and adventure filled new year.

Here's to 2015!