Remembrance Sunday in Borrowdale

Several of the Lake District fells have some sort of war memorial and services are held on Remembrance Sunday. I've been to the one on Castle Crag in Borrowdale on 2 or 3 occasions in the past and as the weather forecast was promising I decided to have a night in Dobby before the season really closes in. I booked on a site I've been meaning to visit for a while - Castlerigg Farm - which is high above Keswick within walking distance of Castlerigg Stone Circle. Sadly rain set in late on Saturday afternoon so I didn't get a chance to walk to the Stone Circle. The site has one of the best toilet blocks I've come across with underfloor heating which was great for warming up slightly damp clothes in the morning. Not many places open at this time of year so there were a fair number of people there - mostly campers or motorhomes but a few hardy souls in tents too.

Dark comes too early at this time of year so I battened down the hatches and watched several episodes of Pointless and Eggheads on Iplayer. The rain cleared and the temperature dropped so I had a chance to try out my little plug-in heater which I'm pleased to say worked well. The morning dawned bright and clear and opening the doors at first light to the view over Skiddaw and Blencathra was amazing - I look forward to going back there in the summer.

My target for the day was Castle Crag so I filled up with porridge, packed up and headed for Rosthwaite. The light was gorgeous with the morning sunshine really bringing out the autumn colours.

I joined the trail of people heading up Castle Crag - I'm sure its steeper than last time! I got to the top with time to spare and joined the 100 or so people waiting for the short service and 2 minutes silence. Its a nice little service but I've always felt it would be amazing to hear the Last Post played up here. It would really ring out over the surrounding fells and valley. Perhaps one year someone will play.

After the service, I dropped down to the Allerdale Ramble and followed it down the valley to Grange where I had lunch in the little cafe before heading back along the river back to Rosthwaite.

The light was amazing but by the time I'd go back to the car it was starting to cloud over however it was time to head for home. The days are far too short at this time of year.