Feel free to add your own stats in the comments below…
This year, I’ve tried to do at least one hill a week in winter and at least 7 per week in Spring/Summer and Autumn. Still haven’t been to Scotland or Wales and have stuck to the Lake District Hills and my local Pennines…
Still my favourite photo from this year from my High Cup Nick walk
Wainwright Reascents: 200
Wainwright Outlying: 2 (Caermote and Watch Hill)
Hewitts: 2 (Penyghent and Cross Fell)
Birketts: 23
Nuttalls: 3 (Great & Little Dun Fells and Iron Crag)
Other: 60
Hill grand total: 290
Scottish trips: 0
Car Camping trips: 0 😦
English trips: 4 (all Lake District but just further away)
After-work hills: 13 – must try harder!
Gills explored: 1 – must try harder!
Crags got stuck on: 1 – but got up it in the end
Outdoor climbs: 2 outings (both to my favourite local quarry) yielding:
3 Moderates, 4 Diffs, 4 VDiffs, 3 Severes. I still won’t go climbing indoors…
Attached ticks: 2 – both in one walk
Same as last year, I did my most local hills very many times – Binsey is conveniently just a mile from my favourite tea-room, Craggs, so was climbed a disproportionate 22 times along with his neighbour Whittas Park! I took advantage of visits to the Workington area for my 2 Covid jabs and my ‘flu jab to visit areas I don’t normally get to nowadays, e.g. Ennerdale and the Cogra Moss area of hills – it was really nice to walk somewhere different 🙂
Unfortunately this year, I found that I’m now at a disadvantage living locally to the Lakes hills as you can only really get parked to do anything if you’re staying in lodgings in the valley you want to walk in. Otherwise there is no parking until around 1500 or 1600 which in winter is just too late to set off and can be quite inconvenient in summer too! 😦
The parking problem hasn’t got better in winter either and weekdays are no longer any better than weekends. The only peace and quiet on the hills now is probably along the southern side of Ennerdale which I enjoyed for the tranquility and remoteness. That has at least prompted me to find new areas to walk and I’ve enjoyed the stuff I’ve done in the Pennines this year around Appleby.
Weather-wise this was probably the shortest summer ever as the good weather didn’t start until the last couple of days in May but then it was good until around the end of October so we made up for it a bit at the end of the year. The winter has been wonderfully mild this year (just how I like my winters).
On a personal level, I’ve probably had the worst year I’ve ever had in my life – it’s been one major upset after another. I’ve lost many things in life which I hold very dear – my beloved caravan in April (I was made to have it scrapped), my beloved Sunny this month (beyond MOT’ing any more) and very many other things – more or less something at least every month. My diary makes depressing reading and I’ve definitely moved from a ‘glass half full’ to a ‘glass almost empty’ person – even Richard has noticed this.
my lovely old 1975 Willerby Lomond which was my home for 20 years and then lived on this site until an ownership change 😦
At least the Sunny won’t be scrapped by me and will retire to my garage. At twice around the clock and only ever breaking down about once (at home) in 27 years, he’s never let me down and has been the best car ever. I’ll really miss driving him though as he was great fun as well as being very reliable. He was, of course, also my ‘camping car’ which I used to sleep in on trips – the new ones just aren’t comfy or roomy enough.
no words! 😦
I bought a 7 year old Ford Ka this year from a local dealer (who everyone is now telling me I should have avoided like the plague) as I knew I was going to lose the Sunny soon. I drove it to work 2 days and then it broke down pulling out in front of a lorry (which miffed the lorry driver somewhat!). Since then, it’s been in and out of the original garage for work doing under guarantee after I took it into the Ford garage for a small job doing and they ran a check on it and found a really long list of major stuff wrong. As they say, buy in haste repent at leisure!
One bright point this year though, is that I’ve got ‘Millie’ my motorbike back on the road after not really riding her for over 10 years and we’ve had quite a lot of fun. She was handy to take to the shop in Keswick on summer Saturdays too as then I could get parked okay 🙂
Millie Motorbike! 🙂
Hope we all have a better 2022 and thank you for reading 🙂
The Adventures of a Mountain Coward 
Happy New Year Carol!
Impressed with your stats for 2021. 200 Wainwright reascents is very good, I achieved nowhere near that last year. Sorry to hear the Sunny has been retired, it’s a lovely car. The caravan is a loss too but it’s nice to hear ‘Millie’ is back on the road, I will keep an eye out for you both. I’m busy with work this month and spending time in Wales next month so could we start walking the Howgills again in April? I look forward to seeing you and continuing our exploration of the Howgill Fells!
All the best, Simon.
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I was just wondering how you were doing and considering leaving another comment on your website to find out. I’d be delighted to do some Howgilling in April with you – I’m definitely finding further east of the Lake District quieter and better for walking (and parking!).
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Happy New Year! That is an impressive list of hikes and climbs. Sorry to hear about your car and caravan (we call them trailers here). I enjoyed your reports and photos in 2021. Keep them coming! Wishing you a better 2022.
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I’ve enjoyed your blog posts and photos this year too (even though I couldn’t comment!) – keep ’em coming 🙂
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Happy New Year Carol. Amen to your comment of a better 2022 – surely it has to be. The last couple of years have been pretty rubbish for reasons some of which are obvious and some not. Really sorry to hear about your car and other issues – I’m going to have to face up to the fact I’ll lose my beloved old Mini at some point (it will be 18 years old in a couple of months and I’ve had it from new).
Hill wise I’ve had my worst year ever. Partly due to pandemic travel restrictions but also due to having to work when supposed to be on holiday, physical niggles and various other things which mean my confidence has taken something of a knock. Parking has continued to be a worry too and I’ve had to face up to early(ish) starts which doesn’t sit well with me as I am not a natural early bird. Early for me meaning before 9am and there are a number of hills I haven’t done yet where I’m pretty worried about how I’m going to manage the logistics
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I’m glad someone else gets attached to their cars – I was hoping everyone wouldn’t think I was nuts! My Sunny is 27 and I’ve had him since he was 3. My motorbike is 47 this year and I’ve also had her since she was 3.
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What a year you’ve had, Carol. So sorry for your losses – I know your Sunny meant a lot to you, and completely understandable. Our cars share a lot of memories with us and see us through some important times in our lives, don’t they? And to have one that’s so reliable for so long is particularly special. I’m truly sorry it’s been such a bad year for you, so here’s hoping that 2022 sees much brighter times, and that you can return to the ‘glass half full’ person you were before.
We noticed the summer was short down here too. 2021 was the first year that, other than the period around July and August, I found I was walking in my wellies rather than my walking boots for most of the time as there was too much mud around that never really seemed to dry out. I guess we’ll see what conditions this year brings and hope again for better times to come. Still, 290 hills is no mean feat, although I don’t envy you the ticks, and I’m looking forward to following many more of your adventures in what I’m sure will be a better year to come. So I’ll say Happy New Year, Carol, and lets embrace 2022 as a fresh start. And as the days begin to lengthen once more, may that glass of yours to fill up again very quickly. 🙂
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Thanks Alli – I’m hoping I become less negative again – I’ve seemed like a real old grouch this year and I feel sorry for those who have to deal with me (admittedly not many folk)!
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I’m sure you’ll pick up again. We all go through pits and troughs in life – and I don’t think you’d find many people who haven’t taken a downward spiral over the past couple of years and been hard to deal with as a result. I certainly have, as have most people I know. So you’re very much not alone. Still, it’s a New Year now, and lets hope 2022 will enable us to bask in a more positive light at last. 🙂
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A good list for the past year. Hope you have a better ’22.
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Thanks John – I’m really hoping I do!
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Sorry to hear about your car and other problems Carol. One of the reasons I’ve not travelled much this year, apart from Covid, is car and income problems. Both hopefully rectified at the end of next year.
In life you do have highs and lows- the main trick is to ride out the bumps until better times arrive. Over the last few years I’ve been in a similar situation but despite being a glass half empty by nature person I am optimistic it will change in the future as it always has in the past. If it’s going to cost too much to fix (and a better car offer comes along) might be better to swap though 2nd hand car prices have shot up since Covid. Best wishes for the coming year and keep taking those long walks, for the positive endorphins, until things do get better.
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I only really bought the Ford Ka to take to work as I don’t want to hammer my Polo now the Sunny is out of action – I’m deliberately keeping the Polo low mileage. So it was just for 2 years and I wasn’t very fussy about what I got – just it had to be cheap to tax. Being 7 years old I thought it would be in reasonable condition and you can only check so much yourself on the forecourt. An expensive mistake though. I don’t intend to get another second hand car if I can help it. I intend to get a brand new car (probably another VW Polo) in the last year that petrol cars are available and then, hopefully, it might last me out!
Car-wise I can’t go ‘electric’ here as it’s too rural so will take a couple of days to charge and I already pay more or less £300 per month in winter for electricity as I’m all electric and in a very cold house and area! 😮
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Hi Carol, Don’t know if you’ve heard about these tiny plug in ceramic heaters ( same shape and size roughly as those plug in air fresheners are but they help to take the chill off rooms. Around £24 quid a plug on amazon but only around 8 pence an hour to run apparently. I was thinking of getting a couple myself just to try them out but I’ve got my bag and jacket and so far they’ve been fine for keeping me warm..Just a thought for extra heat if you are still feeling the cold.
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I think I’ve seen them – well, a little bigger than you say but I’m sure they were ceramic ones. I was considering one the other day to see what it was like. I mainly have storage heaters (in 2 rooms and the downstairs passageway) and they’re very expensive to run – they are good though. My solar doesn’t help until around the end of Feb as the sun is being kept off my house by next door’s house for 3 or 4 months in mid winter…
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Happy New Year Carol! 😀
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I’ll be honest and say I only came to the Lakes twice this year, but both were in the school holidays. Both times I had no issues parking for walks especially in the week (rather than weekends). I parked at Seathwaite twice, once 8am on a Monday (in Oct half term) and 9.30am on Tues in late July. I parked in a layby by Ullswater under Glenridding Dodd easily at midday on a Thursday on 1st Aug and by Carrock Fell on a Friday. It is busier up there but I stayed in Grasmere and keswick on my visits and we were able to eat out if we needed to (booked a few days in advance). A bit of planning seemed to work for us and we were in the popular places as well. I guess it depends on when you want to go for a walk, maybe its the time of day if you are working first it could cause issues parking when you finish?
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I’m really surprised you got parked in the Ullswater Valley – my favourite Lakes area for walking is Patterdale but I just daren’t go as it’s not worth me driving all the way around there and not getting parked and wasting the day having to come back ‘unwalked’. Same for Wasdale which I’d love to get back to. Around Carrock Fell is always fine but those are my very local hills and I’m on those all the time so want to branch out. The Buttermere valley has been horrific all year.
I’m not an early starter admittedly – 0800 starts are definitely out for me!
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