A challenging day

A U3A walk today starting from what most people know as Tom Ghyll bridge car park. Ruskin didn't like the name Tom Ghyll so renamed it Glen Mary. The NT have now also renamed the car park so everyone gets confused having known it as Tom Ghyll for years. I think the weather forecaster must have been to an Xmas party last night. The forecast was for a heavy shower at about 9am and may be  some intermittent light showers later. Well, it pretty much pee'd down all day with a combination of snow, sleet, hail and rain with some serious gusts just to add to the discomfort. Not to be put off by the weather we still managed an 8 mile circular taking in Tom Ghyll, Tarn Hows, Tom Heights, Black Crag, Hodge Close and Holme Fell. The ascent of Holme Fell was particularly unpleasant as we were treated to some horizontal hail. It was incredibly wet underfoot with some large sheets of ice waiting to catch you out if you weren't paying attention. Now home and warming up with some hot tea. The panoramic view is from the top of Black Crag - the only time today I took the camera out.