As Atlantic lows spiral towards us strong winds and heavy rain bring a distinctly autumnal feel to the week, I've found myself looking back at a diverse, challenging but deeply rewarding summer at Blaithwaite House.
Weather
This summer's weather has been truely mixed: April was dry, sunny and characterised by cool northerly and north easterly winds. After this excellent start, with the exception of a couple of good weeks in July the summer was a distinct dissapointment, reports suggest the coolest summer since 1993
Centre
The weather did not put off Blaithwaite's campers, folk have arrived in the biggest numbers since Kay & I have been here to enjoy our upgraded camping facilities. Schools' weeks from mid-March right through to mid July saw intense activity, especially late June and early July & we have enjoyed welcoming back Church groups & our regular summer youth camps..
Lake District Fells
Its been my best summer of fell walking for years. I completed the Mountain Leader Assessment and enjoyed some great days out.
Its hard to pick a best day but Great Gable took a long time for me to get to & was very enjoyable
Caving
Caving has been a bit limited this summer but we plan more for the winter. Venues such as Sell Gill Holes & Bull Pot of the Witches tell their own story of wet opportunities to get out!
Reading
Over the last few weeks I've really enjoyed reading Nick Baines's (the Bishop of Bradford) excellent blog and on the outdoorsy front Hendrik Morkel's Hiking in Finland is a treasure trove of information!
Running
Running has had to take a back seat since injury in May, the outlook is very uncertain in this area so I've just joined the new gym in Wigton to try to maintain some of the basic fitness I always kept through running.
So with a stormy week ahead & a busy activity weekend scheduled I'm looking ahead to a trip to the North West of Scotland and a change of season at the Centre..................................
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