St. John's in the Vale

I went up Blencathra this afternoon. It turned out to be quite an epic. Once I reached Knowe Crags at the top of Blease Fell, the temperatures were well below zero made colder still by a considerable wind chill. Without crampons which I had foolishly overlooked, progress was slow because of the ice underfoot. But for all the throbbing fingers and frozen cheeks, I loved every moment of the slow and difficult journey across to the summit at Hallfells Top before I headed back the way I had come. I met only one other similarly enchanted walker, and he without gloves or hat and an opened jacket and shirt. How lucky are those who never suffer frost-bitten extremities!!

The views from the rim of Blencathra were utterly spellbinding. The sun came and went through clouds hanging above St. John's in the Vale, shafts of lights illuminating fields, fellsides, rivers and tarns. I would have sat down and dreamed had it not been for the body-numbing cold which meant I had to keep moving. And each time I removed my gloves to take photos, I had to steal myself for the inevitable throbbing that would result. It was worth it. This photo does not do justice to the beauty I saw today, but it's a memory for me.