This site came about as a result of my growing enjoyment of walking in the Lake District and meeting the very inspiring couple, Roger and Ann Hiley and their wonderful dogs Harry and Dylan.
I met Roger in the Lake District when he was working at George Fisher’s (our favourite outdoor shop and cafe) in Keswick. I was having trouble getting to grips with my Oregan GPS and Roger spent many hours patiently explaining how to set it up and use it effectively. Since then we have enjoyed their website Loweswatercam.co uk which always makes me want to walk the fells. Over the years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed their walks, local knowledge and the glimpse of their family and friends. When we’ve been up in Cumbria they have been great to meet up with and we’ve really enjoyed their company – thank you Roger, Anne, Harry and Dylan!
A Photographic Journal:
The idea of this website is really just to record our wonderful visits to the Lakes but also other events as a reminder of what we’ve been up to . . . . (though I still need to work out how to do this effectively on a website so it’s rather minimal at the moment, in case I end up having to restart it)!
We hope you enjoy looking at this site of family walks in the Lake District and other events and that our walks will inspire you but make sure always carry a map and compass and understand where you’re heading – I wouldn’t want anyone getting lost! Remember the weather can change very quickly in the Lake District so always be prepared with waterproof clothing, good footwear and sufficient supplies for any trips you undertake.
I’m struggling to get to grips with making my own website – it’s not as easy as the books make out to someone with as little technical know-how as me! But, hopefully I’ll get there in the end so please be patient if this website is a work in progress and still has a long way to go to make it do what I want it to . . . .
Alfred Wainwright (“A.W.”) 1907-1991 – is probably best known for his seven-volume series, ‘A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells’ (first published between 1955-1966). He divides the Lakeland Fells into seven geographical areas – each area corresponding to a different book. He planned the series meticulously producing on average a page every evening for thirteen years.
The ‘Pictorial Guides’ have become a standard guide for the 214 fells included and many fell walkers try ‘peak bagging’ the ‘Wainwrights’ – something we, as a family have just begun! The guides are an inspiration to many a fell walker with their handwritten notes and detailed drawings in pen and ink. Wainwright explained his purpose,
“I was gathering together all my notes and drawings and a host of recollection and putting them in a book so that when I become an old man I could look through them at leisure, recall all my memories, and go on fell walking in spirit long after my legs had given up.”
These guides have also been our inspiration for family walks in the Lake District and I would love to be able to name the fells we can see. Slowly, with the help of his clear panoramic drawings and charts and OS maps, I’m beginning to build up a recognition of some of the fells though there’s a long way to go before I can identify them with any certainty. Looking at the photographs transports me back to happy memories.
The purchase of my Garmin Oregon 450 has opened up the Lake District to us like nothing else. I found www.gpstraining.co.uk brilliant for its online training course, (take a look at the website for it’s sales and courses) after Roger Hiley got me started initially. It’s given me, my husband and young daughter, Mila confidence to plan our routes and feel safe that we are where we think we are especially as I have a remarkably poor sense of direction and even with a map in front of me I couldn’t always be confident, now, with map and Garmin in hand there’s no stopping us.
“Bagging the Wainwrights” has been a fairly recent decision as a way of encouraging our daughter to get excited about our planned summer walks, knowing that a summit will be reached and a tick can be put on the chart – 214 our goal – a long, long way off.
I aim to record our walks trying to name the fells photographed so that, ‘fingers crossed,’ in time,we’ll go out walking, and without referring to any guide, I can point out the various fells we can see and maybe even remember some of the wonderful comments Wainwright wrote about the fells. I’m not promising that I’ll name the fells correctly but I’ll give it a go!
Some of the photographs/routes pre-date the Garmin
One year my camera broke in torrential rain so that year very few photographs were taken.
Hopefully Pal and Mila will enjoy remembering the great adventures we have shared.
It’s going to take me many years to try and input photos etc, so Mila will probably be long gone on her life’s journey before I finally get anywhere like up to date!
You are welcome to copy and use any of the photographs on this site for non-commercial use and on the understanding that you ask for prior permission and that you credit me as the photographer