Despite the high winds across the Lakeland Fells David and I were planning on another low level walk much similar to last weekends walk which we agreed we would confirm on Friday evening but my car developed a fault and I had to let David down. The local forecast was much brighter than the high level cloud and strong winds forecast for the Lake District so I planned a local sunrise walk on Winter Hill. Even if the West Pennine Moors are just nine miles from my house arriving in a different car never feels the same but thanks to Paula at least I was able to get out this morning whilst my car is getting fixed. I arrived at Wilderswood under clear skies at around 7:00am and finished off my coffee whilst staring into the darkness through the windscreen. Although it seemed relatively calm thanks to the head lamps I could see the trees swaying in the wind beyond the car park. To save the faff of lacing up I'd slipped into a pair of Salamon GTX boots back at home which I reserve for lower level walks like todays. With my head torch aiding the completion of my kit up I was just about to close the tailgate when another car pulled onto the car park from which a bloke in his mid-thirties got out along with his dog (breed unknown as it was too dark) we shared a 'morning' before I left.

With the car park behind me I passed through the gate and joined the rough track through Wilders Moor and as I began to gain height the lights of Horwich below filled my vision whilst to the south-east, low level cloud scuttled across the sky as the afterglow of pre dawn light began to appear. This was exactly why I had chosen to walk so early, seeing that afterglow sent butterflies around my stomach even at the age of 51 watching dawn unfold still leaves me feeling like a kid on Christmas Day. I'd stopped so many times, my fellow walker and his dog had now caught up with me, he wasn't wearing a head torch and wouldn't need too now that dawn was up on us. He passed me and turned left towards Two Lads whilst I made my way onto Rotary Way where I stopped to take this photo and remove my gloves as my hands were begining to feel sweaty.

There was still forty minutes until the official sunrise and as you can see there is no need for a head torch anymore. From Rotary Way I took the new slabbed path onto Two Lads and arrived right at the same time as a blanket of cloud enveloped the summit causing a sudden drop in temperature too.

Despite this I stood for a few moments looking through hazy cloud on the lights of Horwich below when a head torch caught my eye on Rivington Pike just over half a mile away as the crow flies. The cloud hung on and I left feeling slightly deflated but not worried at this stage as I knew once sunrise came I might be in for some cloud dramatics.

I entered the cloud prior to reaching the transmitter station where for the best part of this year access through has been blocked whilst new cables are being installed on the transmitter mast.

I've been here hundreds of times and I know this path well but in thick cloud and over open moor it feels a different ball game especially when visibility dropped to just ten metres whilst listening to a definite growl from the wind over which I heard the opening of a metal gate, must be one of the transmitter station workers arriving for work I thought.

I arrived about eight minutes before sunrise where hopes of seeing the sunrise were smashed to smithereens due to the low summit cloud of which I could see blue skies poking through brief gaps in the cloud. The cloud broke in what looked like 100 metres above my head which on the grand scheme of things was like bridging a gap between your thumb and forefinger. Damn it, I was so close.

I had eight minutes to wait, there was no way I was going to leave the summit one second before sunrise so I took out my mini flask, placed the lid on the trig and sipped on piping hot summer fruits whilst angry wind scuttled cloud across the summit. 8:21am came but no sunrise, in fact for the last few minutes no gaps had opened above me; for all I knew that summit cloud could be a mile thick above my head.

Sunrise came and went and I was getting so cold whilst stood at the trig that I packed up - a feeling of defeat replacing the long gone butterflies. I edged my way off the summit plateau dodging bog water until my boots were firmly back on Rotary Way. I lived in hope that although I could not see it, the strong sunshine would burn through the cloud and I'd get my dramatics so I kept with the original route and began walking south westerly towards Dean Ditch on Counting Hill, walking directly into the sunrise if you will but if anything my visibility worsened and by then I knew the cloud was too thick for the sun to penetrate, in fact the cloud must have spread and lowered over much of Bolton and indeed Greater Manchester. Those were my thoughts as I hooked a right onto Smithills Moor where I experienced almost zero visibility topped off with a cool windchill which saw me put my hood up over my beanie and walk whilst making star fists inside gloved hands such the cold. Over open moor I heard footsteps and my heart dropped a beat, half of me in that split second too stunned to turn around, a real 'what the hell' moment as I stepped right just in time to let a fell runner pass him leaving one hand out by way of an apology, I must have been miles away and put it down to not hearing the runner due to wearing my beanie with two hoods.

The fell runner slinked off into the cloud and my heartbeat returned to normal, I lowered the hoods and let the tips of my ears feel the cold. Visibility got slightly better as I approached the top of Roscoe's Tenement from where I stopped to take this photo of the eerie woodland below. After crossing the stream I joined the track and passed a barely visible shooting hut beyond the wall then joined the access road for Holden's Farm where I nearly got run over after the local farmer didn't spot me until the last minute such the density of the cloud. For the next five I put my head torch back on. I passed the sleepy farm and a field full of sheep and ten minutes later I was back on Rotary Way crossing the point where I'd taken the photo at the start of this report before finally descending through the cloud two minutes from the car park.