A brief taste of summer.

Last Saturday the forecast was for an improving day so we headed out to climb Helvellyn from Swirls - the easiest route up. It was raining as we left the car but we had faith in the weather forecast. How daft!!!! It was still raining when we reached the summit and a strong wind blew from the west. We sought shelter had a bite to eat and then head off for Raise before becoming too cold. The rain continued and we saw very little. As soon as we reached Sticks Pass there was only one option - descend as quickly as possible. Finally as we dropped below 500m the rain stopped and the cloud started to clear. This meant that we'd more or less dried off before reaching the car. Despite the weather it was a good wee outing.

Sunday was a much better day. In the morning we went for a short bike ride and then in the afternoon headed for Loweswater to walk over the Fellbarrow range. This is a great low level wander and gives tremendous views of the Buttermere valley.

Tuesday was a beautiful summers day - what a difference!!! I couldn't resist having a wee stroll on the hills and headed for Sharp Edge on Blencathra. It's been a while since I did this classic scramble so it was great fun despite being quite busy. To escape the crowds I descended view Doddick Fell ridge and saw no one - what a contrast.

Wednesday was another great day but this time I waited for Susan to get home before heading to the hills. We went again to Blencathra but this time we climbed it's other classic scramble - Hall's Fell ridge. It was much cloudier than expected so the hoped for sunset was a little disappointing. We were, however, treated to a full moon rising over the fells. Two great scrambles in two days can't be bad!!

As I write this the rain is falling again in Cumbria and the forecast for the weekend isn't great. Let's hope that summer will return before August comes to an end.