Exchange-a-pic

I have had a genius idea.  I mean properly genius.  OK, it maybe has one minor drawback but nothing's perfect is it?

Don't you ever wonder where people were when they had their genius ideas?  Where was Frank Whittle when he came up with the idea for the jet engine?  Or Laszlo Biro when he decided to create the ballpoint pen?  Or whoever it was at Primula who first thought about putting cream cheese into toothpaste tubes?  (Mock all you want, but that stuff rocks on camping trips!)

Well, for the record, my lightbulb moment came at around 6am one morning as I was lying in bed in my rather fetching big fluffy teddybear PJs.  ( a) be glad I didn't run naked down the road Archimedes style and b) what were lightbulb moments called before Thomas Edison came along?)

Anyway, back to my genius idea - or more specifically the flaw in it - the Dragon's Den "I'm out" moment, if you will.  The flaw is this - I can see absolutely no way whatsoever of ever making any money out of it.  A minor detail in an otherwise perfect plan.

So what is my idea?  It is this - if you come to Cumbria for a holiday and the weather doesn't meet your expectations, simply send me your holiday pictures and I'll "replace" them with photos taken from the same spot when the weather was perfect.  See?  Genius - even if I do say so myself (which I just did, so it's too late to stop me now!) - though clearly, no-one is ever likely to pay me for such a a service.

Shiny Car - less than shiny weather...

The idea came to me after we'd borrowed a lovely shiny, brand spanking new, top of the range Toyota C-HR for the weekend from Vantage Motors in Morecambe - it's one of the perks of the blog and social media that they'll trust us with such a beauty, in exchange for us taking some nice photos of it in stunning Cumbrian locations.  (An idea which worked perfectly well in the past when they let us loose with a Hilux and a Citoren Cactus Ripcurl)

The only problem was that for the entire 48 hours that we had the C-HR, it steamed down with rain - which was when the genius idea came to me - how about I post the pictures we took, next to a picture of the view on a nice sunny day, and you can put the two together in your mind?  (Or photoshop them if you're properly clever!)

The other problem was that although the car was indeed very lovely, I got the distinct feeling that we weren't the target demographic the marketing department had in mind and that our adjectives and adverbs may not connect with their desired audience.  With that in mind, here are our "Exchange-a-pic(TM)" photos of the car with all adverbs and adjectives translated for their target market...

Kirkstone Pass

A Slightly soggy Kirkstone Pass

"Here's what you could've seen" #Bullseye

The spry (dope) C-HR was quite at home nipping around the windy lanes of the Lake District and its snazzy (lush) appearance certainly drew a few admiring glances.

Derwent Water

Although the weather conditions were somewhat inclement (totally sucked) the demisters were splendid (bae) when it came to clearing the windscreen.

Sandside

One of our favourite views and a top spot with local fishermen (and ospreys during the summer).  Although we didn't venture far outside the car, the swish (on fleek) interior was the perfect place for a flask of tea and an eccles cake (netflix and chill - I'm not convinced that one's entirely accurate...)

Coast Road to Barrow

The C-HR was definitely a zippy (certy) little motor and was perfect for darting up and over Birkrigg Common.

Leighton Moss

Of course we took it to Leighton Moss - we LOVE Leighton Moss - our next book is about Leighton Moss.  In fact I'd go so far as to say that Leighton Moss is fandabidozi (snatched), the birds are fandabi-double-dozi (sick) and the cakes are fandabi-triple-dozi (absolutely mint).

Out in April 2017!

We were also really rather taken with the absolutely spiffing  (peak) attention to detail and quirky features such as...

It's a hybrid - cosmic! (reem)

The rather dapper (legit) interior

At night this illuminates the pavement as you approach the car - how
delightful! (fresh)

If you're now inspired to head down to Vantage in Morecambe to try out your new urban slang and take the car out for a test drive - don't forget to tell them it's totally boss and that Beth sent you. 😉

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 14 - Because of the roads...

Cumbrian roads have been in the news a lot since the floods – images of tarmac submerged, damaged or, as in the case of the A591 between Grasmere and Keswick, washed away completely have been splashed across the news pages, websites and social media.  We’re not the first people to try building roads through the Lake District and we’re not the first to have those roads washed away – there was a flood many moons ago which swept through what is now Thirlmere, and sent the locals fleeing to the trees for safety as it swept away everything in its path.

There are old Neolithic trading routes, Roman roads, coffin trails and industrial routes created to ship materials from quarries in the hills to the main routes south (there's some great old pics in the Frances Frith books which are well worth a look).  The county’s history can be mapped by studying these wonderful old roads and trading routes and this history is something that will be recognised and better protected and understood when (not "if" - I'm an optimist!) we achieve World Heritage Site Status.

High Street - Old Roman Road

Kirkstone "not quite as passable as usual"

The A6 and site of the Old North Road

The Roman route up onto High Street

Coffin route near Haweswater

Gatescarth Pass

Gatescarth Pass

Approach to Hardknott Pass...

Damage on A591

Fixing the A591

To learn more about the bid and to register your support with just one click (honestly, just one click, no email address needed or anything) please visit the World Heritage Bid site here.

To go back to day 1 of the advent calendar please click here.

#LakeDistrictBid Advent Calendar Day 9 - Because it's beautiful

Right, back to my #LakeDistrictBid advent calendar - which is also now doubling up as a reminder to everyone as to why they shouldn't cancel their holidays up here just because of the recent flooding incident.  We still want you to come so tell your friends (hell, you an even bring your friends if you like them enough!) that we are open for business - and if they need persuading, show them the photos below - just a random selection of some of my favourite pics that Steve has taken.

Please click HERE to visit the Lake District National Park Authority website where you can learn more about the whole process and register your support for our bid to achieve World Heritage Site Status.

Click HERE to go back & start the advent calendar from to Day 1.

Red Screes Inversion

Alcock Tarn

Snowy Fells from Kirkstone Pass

Red Screes Inversion

From Loughrigg

Flanks of Helvellyn

View from Sca Fell

Herdy!

Pillar from Ennerdale

Dorothy Farrers Spring Wood (Kentmere)

Photographer - Stony Cove Pike.  :-)

Head Above the Clouds

“Inversion, inversion in inversion” I chirped as I bounced up and down on the bed at 6:30am.  You really have to pity Steve at times.  Grabbing some clobber I decided that, for a change, we’d nip up Hampsfell as we’d not seen an inversion over the bay before.  Steve wasn’t so sure, but then he’s never been much of a morning person.

Hampsfell Hospice

I bounced up the fell, full of the joys of spring, but the bounces got slower and further apart as I neared the top and realised we needed to be considerably higher.  Steve emerged from the mist with a face that said he perhaps occasionally missed the quiet and rather more predictable life he enjoyed before he met me.

Bribing him with coffee and the promise of pies from Higginson’s we switched to plan B – head back to the car and aim for Red Screes.

There were no breaks at all in the mist along the A590 and we began to have our doubts but, as we neared the top of Kirkstone Pass the cloud began to thin and out we popped.  We parked up in bright sunshine and began our hike up the fell.  Red Screes is a straightforward hike with steps most of the way and a bit of a scramble towards the top.  By now my early energy levels had dropped and Steve disappeared off ahead to get some shots from the summit.

I caught him up at a small rocky outcrop around Snarker Moss where we set about the coffee and a couple of Scotch Eggs and sat back to take in the views.  I’m a huge fan of trashy “end of the world” disaster movies and sitting above the clouds with just the peaks of the other fells around us reminded me of the scene at the end of “2012” where the sea has covered the globe leaving only the highest peaks in the clear.

We had no other big plans for the day so rather than race around we decided to sit back in the sunshine and watch the clouds as they ebbed and flowed in the valleys below.  The fells were deserted and the only other sound was a skylark singing away as it flew high above us.  The fells are usually such a high energy place so it was lovely to just relax for a few hours up there and take in the views;  I’ll admit I had a quick snooze before we decided it was lunch time and polished off a couple more pies.

By now the inversion had dissipated and the breeze had picked up so we began to make our way back to the car.  We passed several other hikers along the way and part of me felt sorry for them for missing the best part of the day but, if I’m honest, another part was secretly glad we’d had the fells to ourselves for so long.

It was still far too nice a day for rushing around so we paused for a well earned pint and a bowl of chips in the wonderful Kirkstone Pass Inn before finally heading home.  It may not have been the first inversion we’d seen and possibly not even the best, but it was certainly the most relaxing and one we’ll remember for a long time to come.

Call me irresponsible?

Beautiful Blencathra

The unseasonably snowy weather has left the fells looking stunning with deep snow carpeting the peaks.  For those of us drawn to the outdoors they have been pretty much irresistible since the snow first arrived in mid November and there have been dozens of pictures and blogs showing them from every angle in all their winter glory.

Kirkstone (just about) Pass-able

For those of us living up here the snow has also had a major downside; blocking roads and closing passes.  When you live somewhere with as few major roads as south Cumbria you really notice it when one or two of them are out of commission.  That said the gritters and snow ploughs have done a stunning job and most routes are soon passable again, though maybe down to one track in places.

Frozen footbridge.

Snowed up stiles.

Perhaps most importantly the snow on the fells has habit of luring people towards it, whether they're prepared or not and, despite repeated warnings, Mountain Rescue have been called out to assist many people caught unawares by the extreme conditions on the fell summits.  I have to admit that I do, on occasion, feel a little guilty; do those of us sharing photos and stories of adventures play any part in encouraging people to put themselves in difficult situations?

Steep snowy climbs

Beautiful but hard work!

Deep snow - like wading upwards through sand.

Most bloggers I read take the time to warn people not to head out there unprepared so I guess, at the end of the day, people need to take responsibility for their own safety.  At some point we all have to go up there with no experience else how will we get any experience?  Our motto has always been to take it steady, build our experience a bit at a time and try not to put ourselves into dangerous situations.

Beacon at Thornthwaite Crag

Raven Crag

View from High Street

Panorama from High Street

That said things do, on occasion do wrong; sometime suddenly but perhaps more worrying are those occasions when a difficult situation creeps up on you unawares.  On Friday, as we made our way upwards, we gradually realised that the snowy slope beneath our feet was getting steeper and longer as we got higher.  Sounds obvious now, and it looked a lot different from the bottom looking up than it did from the top looking down! 

Whenever that happens we find somewhere to pause and rethink; on this occasion our plan was to aim for a snow covered wall and make our way up that, the logic being that at least the wall gave us more grip than a sheer snow slope.  I'm not saying it was the best plan, but it worked, and we've learned another lesson for next time.

So, is it irresponsible to post pictures and stories from high fells in the snow?  I don't think so; the fells are there to be enjoyed and to be shared.  If you do head up there just make sure you're properly kitted out and, whenever you get the chance, support Mountain Rescue, just in case.  (If you want to make a donation their Just Giving page can be found here.)

Keep Calm and Enjoy Hiking