Latrigg, Lake District, Winter
It’s really starting to feel like winter in the Lake District now.
As the weather improved over the Christmas Break, Lisabet and I decided to embark on a hike up a fell we’ve never done before: Latrigg.
Latrigg is a rather unassuming fell, measuring only 368 m/1,207 ft high. But what it lacks in height or stature it more than makes up for with the views it has to offer.
Technically Latrigg is part of the main Skiddaw massif, the mountain range that looms above Keswick town, disconnected by a depression that drops to 900+ ft. For those with limited mobility it’s possible to reach the summit of Latrigg via a car park near the peak. We decided instead to start in Keswick and hike up the Cumbria Way to the summit.
We certainly weren’t alone and we could easily see why. The day was ice-cold and clear, with gorgeous low winter light filtering through an atmosphere of ice crystals, resulting in shows of 22° halos around the sun and mist lingering around the fells. Skiddaw, Blencathra, and the Derwentwater fells also had plenty of snow on their peaks, adding to the sense of awe.
I hope these photos convey the beauty we experienced on this hike.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using both my Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lenses. A variety of Fuji’s film profiles were utilised in the RAW developing.
As we ascended up the steep section of the Cumbria Way, the views looking back west and southwest grew more impossible to resist photographing. The sun was too weak to burn away the morning’s temperature inversion, leaving floating tufts of mist to meander around the fells.
As we broke off the Cumbria Way to take the path up towards the Latrigg summit, and patch of mist floated our way and obscured views back towards Skiddaw (931 m/3,054 ft). I quickly nabbed this 35mm composition of what turned out to be a fleeting moment.
We joined, at a distance, other groups of people near the summit of Latrigg, admiring the views and the incredible light show. The halo around the sun is known as a 22° Halo, caused by sunlight refracting through millions of hexagonal ice crystals in the atmosphere. The lake in the distance is Derwentwater.
From the summit of Latrigg, looking back towards the Derwentwater and Whinlatter fells as another patch of mist slowly creeps up the shoulders of the fell.
Plenty of dogs were enjoying the sights and smells of the fell too.
Away from the sun we continued on the summit track back down Latrigg’s eastern shoulder, affording us wonderful views of a snow-clad Blencathra (868 m/2,848 ft). More mist streamed in to partially obscure the views of the mighty fell.
Following, at a distance, other hikers back down the Cumbria Way, with extraordinary views towards the Whinlatter and Lorton fells.