With the government taking drastic measures to stem the infection of Covid-19 I fear it's only a matter of time before the country goes into lock down. I would like to report that myself, my family and friends have managed to avoid infection and up until writing this, are still in work.

If I can pass any advice from my humble self it would be from those of my companies CEO "abide by the governments advice and do not panic" this of course hasn't applied to the idiots who have selfishly stripped the shelves bare but for most, we comply.

I was in work this morning and with a good forecast ahead I thought I'd return to a walk that I would usually do, admittedly, after the clocks have gone forward into British Summer time but with what appeared to be a bright forecast I thought I'd take my chances on Dow Crag South Rake followed by Coniston Old Man and Brim Fell from where I crouched down to take it all in forgetting for those few moments what was happening in the outside world.

I left work in Preston at 12.30pm and by 13:45pm I'd arrived at the car park at Fell Gate just outside Coniston. I had mixed feelings on what I'd find when I reached the car park thinking that most folk would stay home but what I found was the exact opposite, the car park was rammed from end to end and from what I could see most of the cars belonged to families eager to get out. This was not what I expected. Still wearing my work clothes I changed whilst sat in the drivers seat then added my boots at the tailgate. The forecast was for a bright day but in actual fact we had high level cloud which the sunlight couldn't penetrate through, bugger.

I'd never felt so eager to get boot onto fell and with a final sweep of the boot I locked up and made my way towards Boo Tarn passing hoards of families returning back to their cars and I found it difficult to take photo's due to the amount of people in the frame so my camera remained in its bag at least until I was clear of the crowds.

I was still exposed to the wind which was unrelenting to say the least, during this descent I was nearly knocked off my feet twice, on the first occasion I was caught by gusts which caused me to stop dead and dig in with my walking poles, I was holding so tight to the handles my right thumb unlocked the strap without actually lifting the locking mechanism on handle of the pole.

Bonkers.

I hadn't realised how much energy was struggling through the high winds during the descent of Dow Crag until I started my ascent on the Old Man where my good pace started with a crawl, never mind it looks like it's going to be one of those 'head down look at your boots kind of ascent' which I actually enjoyed. With the summit of the Old Man in sight I passed a young girl and her dog heading for Brim Fell and over the wind a Hi was shared. Despite the crowds I had a few moments where I had the summit to myself but it was no place to hang around given the near freezing temperatures and wind which incidently, wasn't as strong as it was back on Dow Crag.

After taking a few photos I turned heel and started to make my way towards Brim Fell.

It was whilst stood here some years ago I was almost brought to tears by the sheer beauty of the landscape, it was around the same time of the day but if I remember rightly I had blue skies and a shimmering Irish Sea to feast upon, this afternoon I may not have the same conditions but at least miles out, the Irish Sea still shimmers.

With my pack resting against the summit cairn I sat here shielded by the wind just looking out were for a few moments I I'd forgot about Corona virus, I'd forgotten about the worry should I or one my family members catch it and not even the thought of supping a pint in my local entered my mind, for those few minutes, I'd forgot everything.

**********

What may have seemed a sensible thing to do last week is quickly changing as the possibilities of a Goverment lock down are looking closer by the hour. If that is the case then this walk could well be my last until Covid-19 has blown over and who knows how long that could take. With hoteliers, pubs and local businesses closing down we must all do our duty and not flood the countryside but continue to follow the governments advise by remaining indoors and maintaining social distancing, I for one am heartbroken not knowing if or when I may get to walk the Lakeland fells again but lets make one thing clear, the fells and lakes are going nowhere.