With a promising weather forecast we headed south and parking at Glenridding, started the 9.5km circular trip up to Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike.  The path up to the former was well marked but quite steep in places while the latter involved a bit of a clamber up some rocky steps.  Reasonably clear skies from … Continue reading Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike →

With the winter weather starting to recede we drove west to Whinlatter and, parking at the Forestry Commission visitor centre, walked up the well-defined path to Whinlatter Top and on to Brown How.  This was a relatively short walk in a bitterly cold wind with quite a bit of snow visible on the higher surrounding … Continue reading Windy Whinlatter →

A friend recently gave us a large bag of damsons so the obvious thing was to try and make our own Damson Gin.  The recipe seems fairly easy - damsons, sugar and lots of Gin - so we have made 6 litres of the stuff (in for a penny, in for a pound).  Will let … Continue reading Damsons in Distress →

No joke, this is national pie week in the UK, first full week of March, so in order to celebrate (and make good use of some leftovers) we made a rather large gluten-free chicken and leek pie which should last a few days...

March normally heralds the start of Spring but someone has forgot to tell the weather Gods that.  With treacherous conditions on some of the roads this isn't the time for venturing too far and after a short walk up the lane it became clear that even with an improving weather forecast, it will take some … Continue reading Springtime? →