The forecast for the week just kept getting better and better peaking at the weekend with temperatures rising into the late teens, it's not often we're spoilt with such a great forecast which sent my head into overdrive on where to walk.

Because I'd been so focused on the Dartmoor wildcamp I hadn't really been paying enough attention on planning walks which I'd normally do weeks in advance prior to my leave but that's not to say I didn't have a few ideas up my sleeve.

I think it was Rod some weeks ago who walked a route similar to this while I was working and it got me thinking when was the last time I ascended Robinson via High Snab Bank which was ten years ago, where does the time go, more importantly why had I waited so long to return.

With the forecast as good as it was, and given how early the car parks are filling up I thought I'd set off earlier than usual timing my arrival at Chapel Bridge just gone 7:00am which meant a 4:00am alarm call. Early I know but to be ahead of the crowds and to be on your first summit before 9:00am it was more than worth it.

The sun had been up for well over an hour but hadn't climbed high enough to spread light into the valleys; there was even a touch of dew across the fields of Newlands. I was surprised to find the car park was empty so I pulled in right opposite the donation box advising it was £5 for all-day parking. I've had a brand new fiver burning a hole in my wallet for the last week, and I popped into the little opening, trouble was it was so new static caused it to stick to my fingers and I had to literally push the note in with two hands, whether it was static or if I just didn't want to part with my new fiver.

I was soon joined by five or six curious Llama's who were so inquisitive they were stretching their necks over the fence for a better look. As you can see, they got quite close until I pulled away, thinking it was Llamas or Alpacas who spit. It was too early to find out, so I returned to the rear of my car to lace up. Within five minutes, I was ready to leave; even the Llamas had got bored and were nibbling berries from a nearby tree. The sound of Newlands Beck provides the morning chorus, along with a quad bike in an adjacent field. 

The climbing hut is still in use to this day and is owned by 'CMC' Carlisle Mountaineering Club and is available for hire.

It was hot now, and I could feel the heat penetrating my T-shirt through to my shoulders. I don't complain; instead, I take long sips from my bite valve while taking in the incredible views into Newlands behind me. Below the car park is rammed spotting the Llamas lying down behind the wall basking in the heat as midday passes. I could have walked the full horseshoe; in fact, the few people I shared my route with automatically thought that was what I was doing, but on the day, this valley means more to me than the hill, for it was after walking through Newlands all those years ago that inspired me to create this website. 

I drop to the grass verge below the path which ends at a gate tied with rope. I throw my poles over and hop over the gate onto tarmac. The carpark is rammed. Boot open as I de-shoulder and swing my pack into my boot while finishing off a bottle of Lucozade in one squeeze. I start the car, switch the air conditioning on, and send all the windows down. The outside temperature is showing 30°C moments later it settles at 26°C. Dried sweat across my forehead, forearms and calfs prickling in the heat as I rest in the drivers seat thinking these early starts might be the next game changer.