CUMBRIA: Latrigg and Fitz Park (7.7 miles)

 Saturday, 20th November 2021

I had a lovely weekend based in Keswick.  I stayed at Lindisfarne House on Church Street in Keswick.  Lovely comfy room, warm, en-suite, wifi and a delicious breakfast.  What's not to like!

The weather was looking a bit iffy today so I chose a nice autumnal "see where my feet take me" mooch.  I ended up on Latrigg, returning through Fitz Park.

Looking along the River Greta:

Latrigg:

And the Skiddaw range:

After following the main "4 miles to Skiddaw" path I spotted a woodland trail off to the right.  I decided to follow it.  I got fleeting glimpses across Keswick and Derwent Water to Catbells:

And from a little higher up:

I was enjoying the woodland trail and kept to the higher paths.  But suddenly, I burst out onto the tree graveyard.  I bit of a shock to the system:

After a quick look at the map I decided I didn't want to follow the full trail to the end, particularly as the weather was squally now.  So I decided to go straight up the side of the fell, across the tree graveyard to the top of Latrigg.  It was very steep and perhaps stood me in good stead for tomorrow's walk.  This was a bit of a trespass really and I aimed for a fenceline I could see which, if I could get over it, would put me on access land.  Luckily I found a gate.  Alright, I had to climb over it as it was tied shut, but sturdy enough not to collapse on me.

I eventually reached the top Latrigg and saw the weather front coming in: 

The path was very busy and I decided to wander a bit over Mallen Dodd to see what I could see:

Hmm, more weather heading my way.  I made a not very hasty retreat back to the path, hood up now as it was windy and raining. 

I followed the Cumbria Way for a while back down, stopping at a large tree trunk for a snack stop in the shelter of some trees.  Then I decided to take a less trodden looking path off the main track.  I'm glad I did as it was a very gentle way down Whinny Brow and some lovely views:

I rejoined my outward route for a while.  It was properly raining now and I decided to have a proper wander round Fitz Park to see the autumnal colours:

I loved the contrast of the dark trunk and branches against the russet / copper of the leaves on this Beech tree.

After a really rather random walk I reached the river and wandered along it for a while.  It reminded me a little of a smaller version of a walk along the River Severn through the park in Shrewsbury.

Wonderful wooden eagle sculpture:

The rain was dripping off me now so I headed back to my B&B for a quick cuppa and five minutes feet up before heading out again for a mooch round the shops.  The rain had all but stopped now so at least I wasn't dripping soggily in all the shops.

I bought some new walking shoes - Keen Targhee III, had fish and chips for my tea and got sorted for tomorrow's walk.

Despite the kakky weather it was a really nice mooch - it was a lovely blend of river, hill, woodland ... and shopping!  I felt myself unwinding and relaxing as the day went on.  

Thanks for reading.