The Dodds

We'd seen the mountain forecast yesterday for cloud being slow to clear so we were in no rush to get up. Pretty luxurious really!

With barely a breath of air, we finally left the van at half ten... Half past ten! 

We strolled along the Old Coach Road towards Clough Head. I'd walked this very same route with my dad a few years ago and it brought back some lovely memories of a wonderful day in truly stonking weather.  Once you get up onto the ridge, you stay high for a long, long way with, at different times, views across to Blencathra, down Thirlmere, across to Hellvelyn and then up Ullswater (blip). We chose it today specifically to avoid the holiday crowds and we weren't disappointed. We met only a few people along the way, all heading toward us, so by the time we'd reached the last top, we had the already quiet hills to ourselves.

The first couple we met told us, in horror, that we were 'heading into misery'. We thought at first they must mean midges or flies but in fact, they just meant thick fog. I could never describe any day in the hills as misery so we had a little chuckle at this after they'd gone, recounting some of the abysmally magnificent weather outings we'd had.  The mist was actually thinning as we were heading into it so we had many more openings in the clouds than they seemed to have done and that made it feel all the more special.  

It wasn't until the last couple of tops that the blue sky really started to show and it was amazing how the green of the hills suddenly started to glow after the haze that had shrouded them for much of the walk.  We spent time on nearly all the tops for a sit down and a look around. We normally just take a steady continuous pace but it was just good to slow it all down.

On the way home, we treated ourselves to a mango sorbet at the services and then finished off our 24-hour holiday with fish and chips taken to the top of the moors road before driving the last couple of miles home.  

A perfect outing.