Up On the Misty Moors

Wednesday, 23rd November

Planned to ascend oh lots of peaks today from a place called, Longlands behind Skiddaw. I have not driven there before so it was all a bit of a challenge. I began the day by getting up very late so was a bit dozzly to begin with. All went well until I spotted a side road with, To Longlands written on it. As soon as I turned up it I knew it was a mistake. This singe-track road covered in squashed wet leaves and some kind of pooh did not bode well especially when I discovered that I had picked a day that it was being used for the trail hounds. The hounds, which I met as I was going up to the moors, were being trained, or perhaps it was an actual race, I don't know. There were a lot of them and even more cars, jeeps, landrovers all endeavouring to do two-point turns on the road with me snaking my way through.
After I finally managed to get to Uldale and onto the moor, I myself attempted the same manouvre on a tiny road only to find afterwards that I could have parked further down it in the first place.
Finally reaching the moor I began a long plod into the mist which had thickened alarmingly as I had been driving. I took one look up at the mound, which was the first fell, realized there was no path, that I didn't know what I was looking for as I had not been here before and that I could no longer see further than a few feet in front of me. I pulled out my i-pod, listened to the new Kate Bush album and decided to walk along the moor road in a circle back to the car. It took about an hour and a half.
Not sure if I actually enjoyed today but at least it was some exercise and I got to know Uldale Commons much better.