First Light on the Old Man

I promised TJ a sight of the Cow and Calf at its best and managed to conjure up a temperature inversion this morning before we headed north into the Dales. The first light on the Old Man was as beautiful as I've ever seen it. I'm on a roll right now with the weather. I'm hoping this will be worth a few points going forward! I'm now expecting nothing less on my next reciprocal visit to the Sheepshead.

The mist soon cleared to reveal a cloudless blue sky, uninvaded by clouds until right at the very end of the afternoon, when we were presented with a dramatic sunset (more points?) over Great Whernside. The air temperature remained cold, the remaining snow patches staying intact, much like the frost and iced over puddles in sheltered places. There was not a breath of wind all day, which meant that the sun felt warm despite the low air temperature, indeed so warm that we were walking in T-shirts most of the time. I would have donned shorts if I'd had the wherewithal to have packed them. There's a lesson there: always pack the shorts, even if I'm not up for running!

Having ridden up and down Coverdale on very many occasions, today was a chance to explore some of it by foot. We chose a route which combined the tops with the valleys, between Horsehouse and Gammersgill. As usual, we arrived back at the car at dusk, with just a few minutes of daylight to spare. In four hours we never saw another soul!

PS It's worth visiting TJ's blip for the extra where she decided she wanted to stand in the snow!