About Me

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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Monday April 22nd 2019 Part 2 - A walk up Sale Fell

Leaving the lakeside behind I drove down the 'B' road to the A66, crossed over at the staggered junction and followed a lane which took me uphill and along past the lower slopes of Sale Fell. Several cars were parked in a line close to the wall on one side of the lane and I was lucky enough to find a space long enough to get the van into. Across the lane was a gate onto the fell and after taking a quick shot of the view from the roadside I went through the gate and set off on my climb up the fell.

Right from the start the path was fairly steep, and after going up through an area of gorse bushes I emerged onto a grassy plateau with other paths going left and right. I took the left hand one and continued climbing, stopping a couple of times to get a shot of the views and for us all to have a quick drink of water. The day was extremely warm and getting even warmer but a distance up the hill the path turned a corner and I was met by a very welcome breeze which helped to cool things down a bit.

At one point I heard a panting noise behind me and expected to be passed by someone walking very quickly, however it turned out to be a young man on a mountain bike. Presumably he had cycled all the way up from the bottom, in which case he must have been either very keen, very fit or completely mad as the path really was very steep.

Eventually I reached the point where I could see Bassenthwaite Lake in its entirety, but far from being clear like it had been when I was down at the lakeside there was a heat haze over most of it. Photography-wise I was a bit disappointed as I'd been hoping to get some really good clear shots but the views were still good, and having found a nice flat piece of rock embedded in the grass I sat for a while just taking in the scenery in front of me.


Eventually though it was time to make a move and after another drink of water the three of us set off back down the hill. Needless to say it was easier going down than it had been going up though it was still warm work, so when we got back to the plateau we had a couple of minutes rest and another drink before heading down the last section of path and back to the van.


The walk up Sale Fell and back had taken a couple of hours, and though I could have gone further to get views over the bottom end of the lake there didn't seem to be much point when everything was so hazy, however a return visit is definitely something to think about for another time, when hopefully the views will be much clearer.




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10 comments:

  1. Jules7 May 2019 at 14:45

    Such beautiful views! In my experience most mountain bikers are all three - keen, fit and a little mad. It's when they are going downhill you need to be quick to get out of their way.
    Sale Fell looks very tempting, especially if we have some good weather forecast for the weekend. It's a while since we've climbed any hills and I don't want Lily to get out of the habit. X

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  2. Tigermouse7 May 2019 at 16:23

    I hope Lily has her walking legs on if you do go up there, it's quite steep but worth it for the views. I hope too if and when you do go that it's not as hazy as it was for me, if it's clear you'll get some great photos :)

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    1. Jules7 May 2019 at 17:46

      Thank you, Eunice. I've already had the OL4 off the shelf, so it's a strong possibility we'll be up there very soon. I suspect Lily will manage just fine - she usually leaves me behind! X

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    2. Tigermouse7 May 2019 at 20:38

      It's good to know that she enjoys doing things like that - most kids would be in front of the tv with an X-box or whatever. I hope you have a lovely time when you do go :)

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  3. Bag End Gardener8 May 2019 at 17:47

    Glad you took water, it can be very exposed in the sort of conditions we had at Easter. Am glad my suggestions as your personal Tour Guide have worked out :-)

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  4. Tigermouse8 May 2019 at 19:18

    Your suggestions and directions were absolutely spot on Jayne, couldn't have been better, so thank you. You can be my personal Tour Guide next time I come up there :)

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    Replies
    1. Bag End Gardener8 May 2019 at 21:25

      You only get one freebie. 🤪😎
      My rates are extortionate for repeat offenders, ha ha ha ha ha.

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    2. Tigermouse8 May 2019 at 21:35

      I'll remember to take out a bank loan first then :) lol

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  5. Anabel Marsh9 May 2019 at 18:24

    It was a bit like that here at Easter - quite hazy. Your views still look great though.

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  6. Tigermouse9 May 2019 at 23:52

    The views were really good, hopefully next time I go up there it'll be much clearer :)

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