Tuesday 30th Dec, Fairfield Horseshoe

I was out on Fairfield Horseshoe today with Lucy for the second day of guided walking in the Lakes. Our route today was an anticlockwise circuit of the Fairfield Horseshoe starting from Rydal Hall. We set off early again to miss the large numbers of visitors to the Lakes and enjoy the early morning sunrise over Windermere.

The day started very cold with temperatures of -6 degrees C on the car on the drive to Rydal Hall. Visibility was good to begin with as we ascended up the ridge towards the first of our eight Wainwright tops we would visit today. By the time we had reached High Pike the cloud had come in and visibility was poor. The wind also picked up and it became very cold. When we finally reached the summit Lucy had rime ice growing out of her hat and jacket.

To stay warm on the summit we used a boothy shelter, to get out of the cold wind, for lunch. After a short break we headed back down the ridge eventually dropping out of the clouds just before we reached Heron Pike. The temperature increased also as we dropped and we enjoyed a leisurely bumble for the remainder of the walk.