Had we pre-spoke about walking the Newlands Round when the fells are still under Winter conditions we would have called each other barmy and who could blame us, to undertake such a walk whilst still in the cusp of winter on paper, well you just wouldn't think of it, a walk such as this simply is reserved for the summer months or at least when the ground is much firmer underfoot, well that's my thoughts anyway.

The reason for todays walk on the Newlands Fells stems from a rather inaccurate forecast the evening before when I spoke to David about completing a pre arranged walk from the Mell Fells to Glenridding Dodd collecting six summits along the way, however we hadn't compensated for the heavy snowfall which fell during Thursday evening and Friday which saw the snow line in some parts of the District as low as 100 Meters.

David had confirmed this and with this we set about changing our planned route throwing ideas about over the phone the Friday evening whilst checking the forecast at the same time, which was kinda all over the place with one forecast predicting one thing and another something totally different, I guess during that phone call we had covered much of the District and in the end we opted to take on the Newlands Round mainly because of its bail out options should the weather turn on us or the conditions get too much.

Todays walk is an extended version of the popular Newlands Round which collects eight Wainwright summits including Knott Rigg and Ard Crags starting and ending at Gutherscale and, was a great way to introduce myself and my body into more arduous walks that I have set myself within this project.

We had arranged to meet at 07:45am at the parking spaces at Gutherscale, I was the first to arrive around 07:30am shortly followed minutes later by David, I guess even if its just a few minutes early it's always best to get a head start. I was in the process of lacing my boots and fitting Gaiters as David pulled his car alongside mine, we greet as usual with a handshake quickly asking each other what we thought of present conditions and we both agreed they were better than expected although we would need to get higher and no doubt further into the walk before we could finalise the go ahead for the full round.

David was umming and ahhing about whether or not to add his waterproofs purely based on last nights forecast which had predicted rain and snow showers then came the question do we pack Crampons which despite adding extra weight are always best packed just in case. With laden packs we shoulder up and with both cars locked headed straight from car park to fell side steadily ascending our way onto Skelgill Bank taking in early morning views over Derwent Water which had a brightness across its surface on an otherwise overcast morning. Almost in every direction most summits seen with the exception of Barrow and Causey Pike are cloud topped including the Central Ridge all the way into Borrowdale leaving the ridge looking as identical as I had left just two days earlier.

Notably the craggy ascent on Cat Bells was also greasy which no doubt had slowed the young walkers down much the same as we had experienced, despite Cat Bells being a 'family fell' during wet weather the rock below the summit can be hazardous even to the experienced as we both noted we were glad we were in ascent rather than descent. We had caught the walkers up who greeted us again briefly before they headed off from the summit towards Hause Gate while we stopped to take a few photos, the camera really doesn't do the light any justice which was sporadic to say the least.

Slowly we could see that the cloud was starting to lift revealing Maiden Moor ahead although still to the west the summits of Hindscarth and Robinson are still cloud topped as are the Coledale Fells, further east over Derwent Water the cloud had started to peal away from the Central Ridge and for long periods the village of Grange was lit up far below in Spring sunshine which looked and felt much more appetising than present conditions.

There had been a light dusting of snow over the summit of Cat bells and we could see that conditions over Maiden Moor had a more substantial covering perhaps new snow was lying on older snow. The ground underfoot had frozen and so too had any standing water which was great news for our route ahead although we still couldn't confirm the whole round as yet conditions were looking good, all we had to do however, was keep a look out on what the clouds were doing despite confirming there direction of travel they certainly bore the colour of unpredictably.

It had started to feel quite wintery, bitter even by the time we arrived at Maiden Moor summit the cloud was moving in on us and was starting to feel like a concern as my plans of completing the whole round today started to take a dive, I had been feeling quite hopeful that the route would go ahead up until now when the realisation started to sink in we may have to ditch the walk in favour of a Plan B

"We're soon approaching the point of no return Paul"

Timings, conditions and the foreseeable forecast are all taken on board, but not spoke about just yet, not until High Spy summit is reached.

We soon reached the summit of High Spy where we both agreed that the tall stone cairn looked like it had lost some height possibly due to lightening strikes or more commonly due to people standing on top of it. That was soon forgotten and conversation quickly turned to the route ahead, well do we or don't we? lets weigh up the pro's and cons, we summarise the conditions first both approving on how long it 'should' take us to reach Robinson from High Spy to which we agree 'two hours'

By now the cloud has ever so slightly started to lift from Dale Head summit and we can easily see Hindscarth Edge which if anything was positively inviting, our only concern was the heavy dark cloud and what it held should it decide to unleash directly above us yet despite this we both agree that the cloud was moving from north to south quite quickly and should we find ourselves in a snow shower or indeed a white-out we at least knew it would be brief, this was definitely a pro.

After crossing a youthful Newlands Beck we take in the slight ascent over sodden ground before reaching Dale Head Tarn, by now it's around mid morning and we are still making great time.

Even in good conditions the ascent from Dale Head Tarn to Dale Head can be quite an arduous task, and in snow, much more difficult but we knew what we had let ourselves in for and started the ascent again, in great stead. David traced the way following the path which at times was difficult to spot due to the snow depth, soon following the path via the familiar stone steps was all but impassable, only the edges of stones are sometimes exposed which causes for a pathless ascent.

By now I am starting to feel the affects of my last two walks which after twenty six miles and seven thousand feet is starting to have a slight affect on me. David continues never stopping and I am at his heel never far behind but it's no use, after a miss step David pulls away while I pause to recapture my breath during the time I took to take this photo. Head strong I get back into the ascent soon catching David up who had waited for me before setting off again.

Phew that was ermm...I struggle to find the words between panting breath.

I look up at the remainder of the ascent, which consists of around five hundred feet except this time we have the advantage of being able to use the grass verges besides the path which hadn't been swallowed up by snow drift, conversation is back on and so too are the high spirits with the summit cairn now in sight.

We had previously spotted a group of walkers descending from the summit who turned out to be part a much larger group who by now are making an ascent on Hindscarth oddly by following the path to the left and not the path which forks away towards the right found just over half way across the ridge.

The descent from Dale Head was without incident but it was noted that the snow depth had increased varying between one and three feet, this again didn't cause much a problem due to how easy the snow was to move through and by our reckonings we hadn't lost much time at all up to now.

We press on.

We break away from Hindscarth Edge and follow the path along the eastern flank of the summit shoulder which steadily progresses towards the summit plateau thereafter reaching the summit shelter which is filled with snow and not offering much in the way of sheltering. Towards the northern tip of the summit the group of walkers we had seen from Dale Head are standing close to the subsidiary summit and by the looks of it they're heading down via the Scope End ridge.

Summit time was brief with the exception of a summit photo due to chill and exposure before making quick turn around, this time in the direction of Littledale Edge.

We had both agreed on a pathless descent again using the deep snow to our advantage, in fact I even tried to slide down on my backside at one point which didn't really work! We negotiate our descent plotting a trackless route over High Snockrigg opting to descend onto Newlands Hause via a rough path which didn't really work out as planned due to the steepness of descent, oh well it was a good idea at the time and by trying this we hadn't lost any time.

Surely it's lunch time by now.

We agreed that once we had found a decent enough place to sit down it would be a great time to refuel while over looking our final two summits of the walk by which time it had started to rain. We gazed down on the cars that came and went sometimes hearing their engines long before they came into view, soon a car pulls into the lay by and two people get out before making an ascent on Knott Rigg, it might be interesting to time them although from the looks of things it would appear they have come straight off the high street as the young chap joyfully picks his girlfriend up and proceeds to carry her a short while, ok, maybe not time these two.

With lunches eaten and duly packed away we continue our descent onto Newlands Hause briefly stopping to look back on Moss Force Waterfalls.

By now we were back in the snow line which was wet and slushy causing a few slips and slides on otherwise tired feet. The short pull onto Knott Rigg summit was felt once more with aching limbs, although it was never mentioned it's always the last two summits that are the ones you can run up with your grandma which seeps away every bit of last strength you have left, if we couldn't laugh at ourselves right now we never could, which was great for spirits.

We press on towards Ard Crags.

After another short and steady pull (which would have otherwise never have been felt!) we soon landed ourselves at Ard Crags where a small cairn marks the highest spot. The views from here were dramatic to say the least peering over towards the flanks of Sail and Scar Crags where the snow had highlighted every gully in streaks of white set against the blackness of the scree.

From the summit of Ard Crags we could see Cat Bells and the hamlet of Skelgill from which we plotted our route back to Gutherscale, it was agreed that instead of heading through Little Town and the Yewthwaite Mines route back to Gutherscale we would take a more lenient route which would first see us head along the Newlands Pass towards Stair before heading towards Gutherscale via Skelgill, this route had sore feet pads in mind and I was looking forward to touching down on tarmac once again, but before all that we still needed to descend Ard Crags.

We still had quite a distance to go before arriving back at Gutherscale and time was spent replenishing energy by eating mixed nuts that David kindly handed out.

That'll keep me quiet for a while (for anyone who doesn't know me I'm the slowest eater in the world) or so I've been told.

After the pull through Skelgill we soon arrived back at Gutherscale finding the car park busy with walkers kitting down and arriving back after their days on the fells, smiles and nods are exchanged as we proceed to kit down David letting out an ahhh as he takes his sock off exposing his feet to the cool air. We had set off from the same spot walking into this walk half blind wondering if this walk would ever have been completed and on paper, it shouldn't have been but it just goes to show what can happen when two minds come together.

We part as always with a handshake followed by a date marked in the diary for our next walk, where hopefully we'll be a little further into Spring and we won't have to put as much thought and effort into a walk as we had today. After a final wave I start my car engine predicting it's going to a late one by the time I arrive home but during that time I can reflect on what a great full day was spent on the fells, that's if I can forget about the tingling sensation you feel when you've just come in from the cold.