It's fair to say that I've been focused on walking the Birketts lately and because of that those fells that I might visit once or twice a year have been put aside, just one of those fells is Bowfell. It's incredible to think that it's almost two years to the day since I last climbed Bowfell and that's why I've chosen Bowfell as the first walk of 2019

Bowfell and New Years kinda coincide for me and not just because its been a couple of years since I was last here but climbing Bowfell on New Years Day just like two years ago seemed the right thing to do, now admittedly the Lakeland fells are missing that one thing associated with December and that is of course snow and my answer to that is its just one great excuse to return when Winter decides to arrive.

Todays walk collects two summits the main one being Bowfell but my intension is to visit Bowfell Buttress first after gaining Bowfell via the Climbers Traverse, a route first forged by the rock climbers of Bowfell Buttress and Cambridge Crag, both of which should be in fine view from the Traverse if the forecast is anything to go by.

I couldn't quite make my mind up if the fells would be busy on New Years Day or would half the nation still be sleeping off last nights hangover, my question was soon answered as I drove through Great Langdale behind a queue of half a dozen cars whilst waiting for sunrise, this was incredible but in the same breath not surprising. I hadn't given the parking spaces at Rossett Bridge much thought until I got stuck behind a queue as I drove through Great Langdale where it started to creep up on me that I may not be able to get a space all of which was revealed once I arrived grabbing one of two spaces left, phew. You might well ask why not park at Old Dungeon Ghyll and my answer would be I'm really fond of the half mile leg stretcher between Rossett Bridge and Stool End farm.

There's a breeze in the air but the shade is making the valley feel cooler than it actually is forcing me to kit up wearing my jacket and beanie, gloves are added as are my gaiters which are starting to show the wears and tears of the last two Winters but I'll wear them until the last thread as they were a gift from a fellow fell walker and friend. With my car locked I head out towards Old Dungeon Ghyll passing fields of grazing sheep and remarkably a rather full looking Great Langdale campsite. Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel is bustling with not many spaces left on the car park although I couldn't see that many people milling about which I put down to them staying over at the Hotel to celebrate New Year.

Without mentioning it during my last two walks I have experienced pain in my right knee which resulted in some slight swelling down both sides, the pain was most apparent during the descent of Birk Side during our Helvellyn walk on Christmas Eve when at one point I stopped suddenly and yelped, as quickly as the pain appeared it vanished but the swelling remained. This caused a little low confidence in my right knee at the start of the walk which I try to put behind me during the ascent of The Band. My knee seems to be ok and responding to the ice packs and ibuprofen but there's always that niggling worry in the back of your head which reflects on where you place your next step, this is of course a 'confidence thing' and the only way to rebuild that is to keep walking and less worrying.

I flank right after passing Bowfell summit then start the slight descent towards Bowfell Buttress where extreme care must be taken should the cloud be down. The summit cloud drifts in and out but thankfully it isn't giving me too much navigation issues, however in zero visibility I would have avoided the Buttress altogether.

In this photograph you can see the summit over on the left with the steep scree gully dividing it from its subsidiary summit to the right. I guess you can say that what Pillar Rock is to Pillar Bowfell Buttress is to Bowfell complete with its very own Pisgah.

I caught up with the couple on the summit who had wished me Happy New Year along The Band earlier and we all watched the cloud drift then finally lift revealing the pointed peaks and craggy outcrops emerging from the cloud in front of our eyes. With just the cloud wisping away I turned around to see what was happening over towards the Scafells but I got this view instead...

Despite not really wanting to I had to make a move as the windchill started to set in along with more walkers who were heading towards the summit from the directions of Three Tarns and Ore Gap.

It was now midday and during my descent of The Band the temperature continued to rise forcing me to ditch my gloves and beanie and start zipping down anything that can be zipped down, blimey how can it feel so mild at the beginning of January. Streaks of light still penetrated Oxendale and from the lower flanks of The Band I can see walkers huddled in the sheep pen who have most probably stopped to eat lunch. Stool End Farm is reached were I kick back my feet into the back of boots ready for the half mile walk back to Rossett Bridge.

In a adjacent field I stop to watch a enthusiastic sheepdog herd a flock a sheep while the farmer tends to a nearby barn. There's the a few campers milling about between the campsite and Old Dungeon Ghyll most of whom are walking hand in hand or walking dogs. It shouldn't but it feels Spring like. Beyond Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel I spot two climbers scaling Gimmer Crag while a Winter sun beats down on the steep sided crags of Great Langdale not quite reaching the valley floor which is by now, largely in shade.