Wind has dominated the week again and come weekend despite a rather wintery forecast it continued to do so. I had planned a low level walk around Derwent Water but the forecast worsened over night so I turned to the local forecast and saw that the last couple of hours of the afternoon were a mix of showers, hail and sunshine.

The last time I walked Winter Hill in such fierce wind was during an unrecorded visit last Winter where I was fully exposed to winds so high I turned around while at the same time felt quite intimidated by the wind roaring over the anchor cables to the point they started to whistle. Today I had a repeat of those conditions and for good measure, I had two hail storms thrown in too which if your a sadistic like me, leaves you feeling more alive than ever.

Within minutes of parking up I threw my jacket on, locked my car and was on my way up Georges Lane before turning right onto Rotary Way where the road steepens and the views start to unfold.

With nowhere to shelter I stood with my back to the hail but it was no good, so I switched positions which saw my face and lips pelted by the white stuff, right there if a bolt of lightening shot out of that cloud it wouldn't have surprised me. Please stop this isn't funny anymore! By the time the shower had passed my face felt like it had just been shot blasted and so to did my legs, wind proof my arse! Hoping that no one had seen my cowardness I continued up Rotary Way and what followed made me forget all about my stinging lips.

Eventually he curtains of hail faded but the roar of the wind kept me on my toes, as if to say 'I haven't finished with you yet, stay there boyo' Street lights that I hadn't noticed before began to appear, I glanced at my watch it was 16:50pm just nine minutes until sunset, I poked my head around the corner again and took another icy blast to the face, blimey it's windier here than it was on Winter Hill. Beyond the visitor benches variations of grey palliated the sky. I was getting cold now having not moved for the last ten minutes and I figured it was time to make a dash for it.

I stood fixed to the spot letting my bare hands get colder by the minute even slipping them into my gloves for a minute or two before taking them out again to take the last few shots. The sun sank ever lower until the brightness gradually faded into an orangey red hue and then dusk. By now my body was feeling the cold and content that my expectations had been surpassed I made my way back to Pike Cottage where the owner was locking up the Snack Shack who passed with a smile and a Hi. The brightness had once again been replaced by murk which darkened as the minutes ticked by. Wilderswood was reached where I'm passed by a mountain biker heading out onto the moor his lights reflecting off the ground as the light continued to fade.

Glancing left beyond Two Lads the transmitter masts red warning lights had been switched on which must have happened in the short distance it took me to pass through Wilderswood. A white pony gnawed on a fence post which I gave a 'hey up' to as I passed, a blank expression told me she preferred the fence post to my idle chit chat. The light from an old fashioned lamp post reflected off the wet tarmac while to my left the occupants of nearby cottages settled in for the evening.