Walk Three - Loughrigg Fell

Now, please don't feel disgust or disappointment that on our third day in the Lake District, we only tackled one fell. And a baby fell at that. We had a very good reason because we had reservations at the rather wonderful Holbeck Ghyll later in the day for spa treatments and afternoon tea. So, we opted for a little walk in the morning rather than tackling anything too dramatic.

But my goodness, Loughrigg Fell really is a beauty of a walk.

The fell sits about the incredibly picturesque Rydal Water with views onto the high Helvellyn ridge, into Grasmere and up to Helm Crag. I was expecting prettiness and maybe a few oooohs and aaaaahs but I fell a lot more in love with the Lakes on this walk.

Again, we were up and out early and to the Silver Moss car park well before 9am. The path initially snakes through some pretty woodland and over (or through in Storm's case) a couple of streams. But then, the pretty started with woodlands full of bluebells and for once, I was thanking goodness for the late spring because seeing this was stunning. But there was better to come.

When we came out of the wood, blinking in the light, there, upholstering the hillside were more bluebells. Thousands and thousands over the stretching upwards and downwards in all directions. It was simply gorgeous.

After skirting around the fell on Loughrigg Terrace, we then took a steep path upwards and soon, we were on the flat fell top and were ticking another Wainwright off our list. The views were fabulous - not high but spectacular.

We danced back down the steep path but then turned in another direction and walked above Rydal Water to the huge flooded cave and yes, Storm had a little swim here too. Following the path down to the water's edge, we doubled back on ourselves and skirted the shore back to the car. Storm darted in and out of the water, porpoising happily in the beautiful water.

Loughrigg Fell is gorgeous and the paths around the base of it are very accessible for everyone - we saw buggies and wheelchairs taking the low level footpaths. For a snapshot of the beauty the Lakes have to offer, this is perfect.

And it was perfect to work up an appetite for Holbeck Ghyll's truly delectable afternoon tea too...

Love the sheep seats by the fire at Holbeck Ghyll

Walk Two - Helm Crag & Gibson Knott

Ahh, sunny days in the Lake District when walking is a pleasure, the views are spectacular and you stride along with all the bounce and energy of a tennis ball. Aren't days like that just the best?

Well, this wasn't one of those days. No, this was a day where the rain ricocheted upwards into your face and the rustle of waterproofs accompanies your every move like a prison guard.

We started from Helmside, thanking goodness for our rain resistant maps with every soggy step. After a little trudge alongside a stream, we crossed a little bridge and headed up the slope in front of us. The zig-zag path can't be seen from the bottom of the fell but it is there and we squelched upward and eventually arrived on a little plateau between the two peaks with clouds swirling upward from the valley opposite. I am sure that the views would have been fabulous. As it was, I can only discuss the view two metres in front of me. Which was wet and grey with hints of grass and rock.

We turned left toward Helm Crag - the path looks impossibly step but in reality, it's a stepped rocky walkway and you edge peakwards quite happily. On the top, the famous Howitzer (the only peak not actually scaled by the legendary Wainwright who never climbed to the very top) looks fearsome and it's a short, slippery scramble to the very top. A cuddly toy awaits those who arrive at the top in some kind of Generation Game pastiche.

Retracing our steps, we descended then ascended to Gibson Knott, where the path skirts the left hand side of  the ridge. The mist thickened or it might have been the steam rising from Storm who was soaked to the skin and puffing along like a canine Thomas The Tank Engine. The top of Gibson Knott is a rocky grassy combo but again, I can't tell you about the views or the vista. So we amused ourselves by humming The Dambusters theme tune (in honour of Gibson of course) as we descended back to the stream.

Despite the weather (and Storm smearing herself from top to tail in sheep poo) this was a great walk - two Wainwrights ticked off in quick succession - a sense of achievement well worth the water in the boots.

We can recommend this little amble. And we can also recommend the stream at the bottom of the fell should you also need to wash off an oddly coloured and very pungent dog.

Walk One - Helvellyn & More

Our first full day in the Lake District announced itself to us with blue sky and sunshine. And, thanks to Storm, we were up, out and ready to walk by 9.30am. Relaxation on holiday? For weaklings and non-dog owners clearly.

Unsurprisingly for a Sunday morning at half-past-quite-early, the car park at Wythburn was empty and Storm sprang from the car, ready to tackle her first Wainwright. The path pointed us to the peak from the word go and we headed upwards, ever upwards. Luckily, the heat allowed me to disguise (probably very badly) my stops as dog-watering opportunities rather than the 'heaven help me before my legs give way' breaks that they really were.

When we arrived, hearts racing, onto the plateau between Helvellyn & Nethermost Pike, the views were fabulous and the ledge looking out to Striding Edge was the perfect place to stop for a rewarding early lunch. Then, it was on to Storm's first peak - the packed top of Helvellyn which seemed to be on everyone's itinerary for a sunny Bank Holiday weekend.

Storm & Striding Edge

Helvellyn!

After the obligatory cairn-side pics, we re-traced our steps and headed onwards to Nethermost Pike with a jaunty spring in our smug steps. More photos of course and then we were on to Dollywagon Pike where Storm celebrated with some apple. Honestly, she knows how to live.

Nethermost Pike

Dollywagon Pike

Storm sure-footed her way down a very stony steep path to Grizedale Tarn whilst I wibbled down after her like a slightly drunk Weeble. Descending is not my strong point. Indeed, given the huffing and puffing of earlier in the walk, you could say ascending isn't a strong point either but hey-ho.

We walked along the water's edge to the top of Raise Beck and then it was a downward walk again. I stuck to the path like the boring traditionalist I am. Storm plunged from rocky path to rocky stream, flinging her head under the water and throwing it backwards in the manner of a 1980's shampoo ad model. It's because she's worth it you know.

Before we hit the A591 we turned right and followed the signs to Thirlmere through fields and woods, sighting the car after six and a half hours of walking. It was a beautiful route - high hills, great views, tarns, rocks and clear paths.

Storm was a dog tired dog. I was sun-warmed and happy. If all days could be like this...

A Waterbaby On Holiday

So, we're back from our holiday in the Lake District and I'm typing to the accompanying rattle and hum of the washing machine and the whir of my laptop as it downloads photos from my camera. Ah, the traditional post-holiday slap of reality...

Anyway, I'll be writing quite a bit more about my first holiday with Storm over the coming week but, to ease myself gently back into things today, this blog is a selection of some of my favourite images of Storm the waterbaby on her holidays.

These images were taken by Coniston Water on Wednesday 29th May. I'd had a horrible day walking (more of which anon) and the trip to the water's edge was just what was needed to restore my smile. Watching Storm porpoising, leaping, splashing and swimming was just wonderful.

Here's Storm, in her element...

That Holiday Feeling...

We're all a bit de-mob happy in our house this week. Firstly, it's my birthday on Friday and then soon after, we're off on holiday. Another birthday? So soon? How can that be? I'm aging faster than is strictly necessary.

And, after years of scoffing at my parents as they and their dogs set of on holiday with a car bulging, not with their things but with the 'essentials' for the four-legged travelling companions, I am starting to regret those chuckles.

As this is our first holiday with the  gundog in question, I have been looking forward immensely to taking her away with us. I have visions of long walks, her splashing happily in the streams and tarns of the Lake District and her curling happily under tables in pubs as we share a post-walk drink or two.

However, as the holiday has approached, I've felt the need, as I so often do, to write a little list. Lists are, for me, very relaxing things. I am trying to wean myself off them however but it's not going very well so far.

Storm's holiday list is seemingly more extensive than mine but I hope you can forgive my 'First Holidays With Dog' paranoia about forgetting things. I know she won't mind if she doesn't have her cotton wool pads for her post-breakfast eye wipe and I know it won't be the end of the world if she doesn't have her cod liver oil tablet but I just can't help myself.

I am, like an annoyingly earnest Boy Scout, at my most happy when I'm prepared. I adore organisation and abhor chaos and anything seat-of-your-pants. Spontaneity and I are not the best of bed fellows. At university, I used to re-write my lecture notes of an evening to make sure they were neat enough. Neat enough for whom I hear you ask? Indeed.

And so, when we set off on our holidays, with my check-marked list and tidily packed bags, how long do you think it will be until I realise I've forgotten something?

I blame my age you know.

Laughter Lines...

Talking to my cousin a few weeks ago about Storm and the impact she's had on my life, he made the statement that "...a dog will do something every day that makes you laugh".

About the same time, a link appeared on Twitter to a piece in the Daily Mail which states that owning a dog can make you much healthier, not only because of the exercise from all the walking/ball throwing, but also because of the all-around benefits of their companionship.

This is certainly true in the case of Storm and I. As I've already mentioned, Storm's presence at my side when my beloved son goes off to his Dad's makes me feel much better. I love walking her, I love it when she's on the sofa next to me in the evening, I love that when I'm at my desk (as now) she's on the floor by my feet. I love our gundog training sessions with Sarah Miles, the drive there and back, the time in the woods and the learning of a new skill. She's great with my son and step-children and my partner has fallen in love with her too.

But my cousin was so right about the funny side of dogs and she does make me laugh every day. When she misjudges her leap onto the sofa and ends up headbutting the back, I giggle. When she's given her bone and she's so excited, she has to carry it around tail wagging furiously for at least 10 minutes before settling down with it, I chuckle. When she tries to encourage me to play with her by rolling her ball toward me with her nose then staring at me in what she clearly assumes to be a winning fashion, I guffaw. When she does her famous (well, famous in our house anyway!) Yoga-Dog stretches and ends up reversing across the kitchen floor, I chortle. When she sits in the bathroom with me with her head nodding as she follows drop after drop of water down the shower screen, I snigger. When I come home to her after a trip out and her tail wags so much her rear end almost takes off, I smile, laugh and my heart melts a little bit more because of my beautiful girl.

In short, there are hundreds of times a week when she makes me smile or laugh, hundreds of memories, hundreds of moments, hundreds of drops of happiness that Storm showers on my life.

I'm just wondering if you can claim for owner's skincare on pet insurance because I seem to have acquired a lot of laughter lines in the last few months.

Not Such A Dummy...

Well, as you can see, and after much coaxing and work, Storm is now holding dummies and we have our own at home to practice with.

For those of you that don't know, her reluctance to hold had been a bit of a stalling point in her training but now, fingers crossed, we've beaten that. Whoop whoop, toot toot and hurrah.

It was an interesting hurdle to come across, especially as we were told vaguely when we got Storm that she wouldn't make a gundog. So, when the hold issue appeared, we thought we'd found the problem. We might not have of course, the problem could still be waiting around the corner and this was just Storm throwing us a little curveball to check us out.

However, with patience, we're moving on. Sarah is very keen to keep training fun for Storm - she's got a sense that my gorgeous girl might have been pushed a bit too quickly and stopped enjoying herself. Then, like a child in a lesson with a dull and monotonous teacher, Storm just stopped listening. But I can't be anything but happy about that because if she'd behaved perfectly way back then, then she never would have been rehomed, I would still be dogless and this story of ours would never have started.