Recently Mike purchased an all singing, dancing winter sleeping bag. Of course now it had to be tried out in suitable conditions!
A trip to the Cheviots was planned. Given the sub zero temperatures being forecast, it looked as if were in luck.
It was a gentle walk in and finding a suitable spot that was fairly level, had gorse and thorn bushes to offer a modicum of shelter and with running water close by we set up camp.
It was still fairly early in the day and the rest of the afternoon was spent drinking tea, snoozing and reading. There was a smattering of snow, sleet and freezing rain during the night. In the early hours of the morning the temperature plummeted. My water containers had ice in them. The tent froze, condensation on the inside and moisture on the outside of the flysheet meant that the tent was rigid with ice, interesting?
Having found a suitable spot for the tents, we decided to stay put, do a round of a few local hills with a light pack and return. Unfortunately I was forced to turn back after almost fainting. Blood pressure problems. At differing times in the past I have had both high and low blood pressure. Mike continued on while I headed back to the tent. Very frustrating, I had been looking forward to that walk. Mike returned early afternoon and an easy afternoon was had by all.
Tuesday saw the temperature rising and by Wednesday the weather was on the change. We walked back to the College valley by a circular route. Freezing rain, hail and wet sleet came sweeping in and a second breakfast in Wooler seemed a good idea. More winter trips are in the pipeline.
A few photos from my daily perambulations.
