Repeat performance...

The weather was perfect as we left our little van tucked away on a site in Low Manesty woods, and we headed towards Langdale... to walk up to Pavey Ark.

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This was the very first walk I did with my husband, after we'd been seeing each other for a few weeks ... the weather was freezing ... it must have been December ... and I'd never done anything like it in my life before, apart from a few geography school trips. On that day, every time I struggled, he kissed me to encourage me to carry on further (well it worked then and I did make it to the top, and that day is a fond memory of our early times together! Aahh! I wondered what our our 20 year old selves would have made of us as we tried to re-create our youth. Would they have been encouraged that we are still very much together, not quite in tip top condition after all what's happened to us since we hit 50, but still out in the hills. Would they have sniggered at the clothes we we wearing now ... with Mr B, cap turned back to front to keep the sun off his thinning hair, and my comfortable trousers.The biggest surprise of all would be our caravan and not the tent that Mr. B favoured in those days long ago!

Anyway, for the last few years we kept saying we should do Pavey Ark again, but it is a bit steep, to say the least.

With my setback last year, I was determined I was ready to complete a big walk.... and I did. It wasn't  easy, I really struggled in the steeper sections, but when I looked around, so was everyone else.... it wasn't just me!

Spurred on, I made it to the top!!! Slowly, but I got there! And when I did, he kissed me! So sweet!

               

After a long steep climb, you are rewarded with the huge Stickle Tarn, which Inca needed to swim in as usual.

A rare photo of me to prove I did it ... just had to get down again!

Back at the car it gave me such a feeling of satisfaction that I was able to complete this after all that went on last year.

What's next .... bring it on!

xxx

Defeated

On our last day we wanted to do a circular walk around the little village of Butleigh, just south of Street. Armed with our map downloaded from the internet, we set off from the car park at Combe Hill and were soon rewarded with views like this...

Inca made a new friend ...

 We walked through woodland, all fresh and spring like ...

 We ate our picnic on a bench here ...

 ...  we could see the top of a memorial to a certain Admiral Hood who used to live in Butleigh.

 We passed through fields ... with Glastonbury Tor in the distance....

We climbed over stiles, with Inca squeezing through the gaps at the side...

 Spring flowers were all around us ...

We were having a lovely time ... until we came across this at the end of the field

We just couldn't get past this stile ... there was no way through for a large labrador! We'd already lifted her over one stile, but this was too much .... a double stile with a plank bridge and no access for dogs! We couldn't believe it ... we'd come so far and had to go back the way we came.

We ended up walking back to the car on a road like this.... with high hedges on either side

... so I can't show you the rest of the walk, because we missed the path through the cider orchard, and we missed the great cedar drive, and we missed Butleigh House, with every chimney stack a different pattern, and we missed St. Leonard's church .....

In all the times we've been out walking we've never been defeated by a stile before.... it was so disappointing!

Glastonbury Tor

We've encountered the 'Glastonbury experience' a few times now, with it's heady mix of mysticism and mythology, so we decided not to linger with the hippies in the High Street and headed for the Tor instead.

We strolled out of town, uphill all the way, and were soon walking along leafy lanes. I love these tree roots that we saw along the way.

We could see the famous hill looming ahead of us .... it can be seen from half of Somerset ..... at first it seemed like a gentle stroll....

but as we got closer the steepness of the slope became more apparent. It was not going to be as easy as I thought!

Glastonbury Tor has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries and has many mythical connections..... it has been called a magic mountain, a faeries' glass hill, a spiral castle, a Druid initiation centre, a hill fort from the time of King Arthur, a magnetic power point, a cross road of ley lines ... and a converging point for UFOs. The legends are many. We do know for certain, that the last abbot of Glastonbury Abbey was dragged up here with two of his priors and hanged in 1539, at the time of the Reformation. It is easy to see why the little town has become a centre for all things weird and wonderful.

At the start of the climb we came across this carved stone and wondered what it was ....  thanks to Rowan who left a comment on my previous post, I now know that it's a milestone to the nearby town of Wells. The carvings represent the mute swans who ring the bell for food at the Bishop's Palace. (Isn't the internet a wonderful thing!)

Meanwhile, while we were pondering over the stone, Inca had found somewhere to have a sneaky swim!

No matter where we go, we always end up with a wet dog!

The path up to the Tor was well laid and snaked around the contours of the hill. Halfway up, the heavens opened and we quickly made our way to the tower at the top.

This is all that remains of St Michael's Church which was built in the 14th century. It was quite strange, that on our way up we saw very few people, but when we got to the top it was packed! There was a huge school party of French teenagers all huddled inside the tower. Hopes of shelter from the rain were dashed when we saw that there was no roof and the rain was pouring through.

We decided to head straight down as fast as we could, with the tower brooding in the rain behind us.

From some angles, it looks like the tower isn't on the top at all. Very odd!

So... did we have a mystical experience at the top?

No, I can honestly say, that in all the wind and the rain, the "energies of King Arthur" didn't come to us, nor were we "empowered by magnetic energies opening our crown chakra" and we didn't feel the "holy vibration" ... but it was a jolly good walk!

Off to Somerset

Tomorrow we're taking a trip in our caravan, and will be staying near Cheddar Gorge in Somerset.

Last time we went, we had a lovely time wandering round Bath, Glastonbury and Wells, visiting museums, cathedrals and teashops.

This time we're taking the 'Beast' with us, but I don't think big black labradors are invited into many dainty places so we're hoping to do lots of walking out in the fresh air instead. Much cheaper!!!

Top on our list of priorities is to get to the top of Glastonbury Tor.

(All photographs from Google Images)

Orrest Head and Grasmere

Circumstances and weather have kept us from doing any decent walks so far this year, but on Saturday we took a drive up to the Lake District. We stopped off at Windermere first, to do this little walk. A twenty minute walk through woodland rewards you with a wonderful view of the lake.

We've done this walk a few times before, but this time I was disappointed to see how unfit I've become after all my treatments last year. While I could never say I resembled a mountain goat, and if I'm honest I do prefer my walks to be of a gentle gradient, I've never had a problem before,walking the short way up to Orrest Head. This time my legs felt like lead, and I relied on Inca to pull me up!!!!

This was the first 'big walk' Inca did when she was a puppy ... so cute in her little red harness!

I remember it was so windy that day, that she got whipped up into a little frenzy of excitement and was running around all over the place!

On Saturday the skies were a bit grey but the view was lovely just the same.

Of course it was much easier coming down! 

I've missed walking in woodlands so much!

On the way back to the car I noticed this sign for the first time ... I hadn't realised that Windermere is exactly half way between Land's End and John O Groats.

After lunch we had a second little walk, down through the woods to Grasmere. This is where we would love to live ... it's the most lovely little spot tucked away behind the village. There is a wonderful house for sale right now, but it's way out of our reach. Still, it's nice to dream!

We had decided to keep Inca out of the water because we thought it would be a little chilly for her ... but it proved impossible. She is drawn to water like a moth to a flame, and nearly pulled the lovely Mr B. in with her! She just loves to swim!

We finished up, as always, on the bench with one of our favourite views in front of us. 

Wouldn't this be lovely if it was your very own local walk?