A YEAR IN ULLSWATER ....

The Ullswater valley is beautiful at any time of year. The seasonal moods of the lake and the fells are beguiling and stunning in all weathers. Here's a snapshot of our year in Ullswater.

February 2008:
Thanks to the help of our friend, Graham, we achieved our ambition of climbing Pinnacle Ridge on St Sunday Crag. We had done a "reccie" a few weeks before from St Sunday Crag - and from the top it looked daunting. From the Grisedale valley, Graham took us on a not very distinct route from the valley bottom to Pinnacle Ridge. OK, we took the easy option in some places, but we still got to the top!!

June 2008:
Ullswater Country Fair is held on the last Sunday in June each year on King George V Playing Fields at the end of our lane. We organise the senior fell race each year - a 2 mile dash up and down Arnison Crag with about 1000 ft of climbing. The record is a very nifty 13 minutes and 38 seconds held by Phil Davies of Borrowdale.... pretty impressive!

In 2008 we also hosted the Junior Uphill Championships for the first time. Over 100 youngsters from all over the country took part and really enjoyed the uphill courses which finished on Arnison Crag.

There were three courses for under 8s/under 10s, under 12s/under 14s and under 16s/under 18s. And they all went uphill and came down with some prizes!!

December 2008:
Over the Christmas week we enjoyed some wonderful settled weather. We grabbed the opportunity to do one of our favourite walks - St Sunday Crag to Fairfield to Hart Crag and down over Hartsop over Howe.

It was sunny in Glenridding and Patterdale. But Thirlmere and the Windermere valley were covered in mist. We witnessed rolling clouds "climbing over" Helvellyn and Fairfield and their neighbours. It was wonderful!

February 2009: This winter has been fantastic - excellent snow, settled weather systems and sunshine. We couldn't resist the chance to go up Helvellyn with some friends.

We took the route from the end of our lane up to the Hole in the Wall where crampons and ice axes were definitely needed. Red Tarn was nearly frozen over and the gullies leading up to Helvellyn were alive with ice climbers. We decided to tackle Swirral Edge!

The snow was in superb condition and the climb was certainly made easier because of our crampons and ice axes. All six of us made it to the summit and marvelled in the views.

We then descended into Glenridding via the "zig zags" into Keppel Cove, taking time to admire snow boarders and one downhill skier who skied one of the northern gullies of Catstycam - and was in control the whole time!

November 2009: This November has proved to be a month of biblical proportions! Keswick and Cockermouth made the national news because of the flooding. The Ullswater valley also experienced its share of flood waters.

The steamer pier appeared to be marooned in the middle of the lake; the road between us and Glenridding was flooded - the only way was via Lanty's Tarn or in a tractor; the lake reached the end of our lane and for a few days we could almost boast lakeshore frontage!

At the end of November it stopped raining and we got snow! We headed up to Blencathra and did Halls Fall Ridge for the first time.

It was overcast on the way up but the sun broke through as we reached the summit of Blencathra. The snow was superb and the views stunning. We also experienced our first ever brocken spectre. For a few minutes we had our very own rainbow coloured halo. It was a magical moment.

Christmas 2009: The Lakes experienced a beautiful white Christmas which just seemed to go on and on. Snow topped hills, blue skies and sunshine. It was the stuff of Christmas cards and was absolutely stunning.

On the Sunday we walked over Lantys Tarn into Glenridding. The tarn wasn't quite frozen but the snow was amazing. We enjoyed the views down the Grisedale valley and of the High Street range. We could have been in the alps!