David and I had planned a two car High Street walk leaving one car at Mardale Head and the other at Burnbanks but Storm Darragh arrived leaving us no choice to cancel the walk, fingers crossed for next weekend eh. Storm Darragh battered the north west with wind speeds reaching 60mph in my hometown of Wigan but I still managed a local dog walk yesterday finding the local boating lake looking like a scene from the north sea in the middle of a winter storm but like me I think Brad and Holly enjoyed blowing the cobwebs off between the wind and rain.

With the storm pushing north it looks like the Netherlands are next in line for a battering. Most of my garden furniture had been relocated so after placing it back in its rightful place I treated Brad and Holly to a four miler this morning then I thought I'd punish myself by logging into some of my favourite Lakeland webcams, certainly during the morning the cameras revealed clear summits with hints of sunshine but the speed the clouds were hurtling across the sky told another story. Lunch came and went as the forecast took a nose dive for the remainder of the afternoon, I just couldn't sit in the house any longer so I picked up my car keys and drove the nine miles to Wilderswood above Horwich.

It had started to rain during my drive to Horwich which caused me to second think whether walking across open moorland in the wind and rain would be a good idea so I thought about linking Two Lads with Rivington Pike but with just forty minutes of daylight remaining I figured I'd set my sights too high so after parking up at Wilderswood I layered up and set off for Rivington Pike.

The rain returned as I shouldered Rivington Pike where I was also exposed to gusts so strong I struggled to hold my phone straight. Three lads sheltered on the west facing wall as the rain moved across the large sky dimming the light in the process, it was now getting to point where the rain began to bite at my exposed face. I returned to the tower to find the three lads getting ready to leave but before they did they asked me did I know where the nearest bus station was? Looking a tad dumb-founded I replied that's Horwich down there before they asked did I know the quickest way to Horwich, follow Belmont Road I replied. The trio left leaving me thinking how can someone put zero amount of planning into a walk. A couple appeared who circled the tower which by now was being lashed by the wind and rain while I watched the remnants of colour make way for more rain clouds.

The woman filmed herself circling the tower on her mobile while her fella waited in anticipation to descend. As quick as they appeared they were gone. Just minutes left now as I tucked myself into the lee of the tower wall watching the colour drain from the sky. Around the corner the wind and rain lashed sideways but my sheltered wall kept me dry. There was no issue descending the pike in the dark, I could have hung on until last light but a young couple appeared with their dog and well, three's company.