It was another early start, arriving at Chapel Bridge at 6:35am where I dropped five pound coins into the donation box before beginning my kit-up. After the settled weather of the previous week I'd decided to wear shorts, a decision I regretted the moment I stepped out of the car into the freezing air. The only remedy was a hurried kit-up to keep the blood moving. Accompanied by the gurgle of Newlands Beck flowing nearby, I pulled on gloves and a beanie to take the edge off the cold. I locked the car and crossed Chapel Bridge towards Newlands Church, its graveyard brightened by hundreds of daffodils adding a splash of colour to the scenery.

Sunlight was still some way from reaching the valley. Leaving the church behind, I spotted Low Snab Farm through the broken treeline, higher up than I remembered which meant the road was about to start climbing. My chest laboured on the incline, but I knew it was just a mix of lost fell fitness and the remnants of the head cold, nothing to worry about. The road naturally led me towards the cottages at Low High Snab, with High Snab Farm sitting beyond. The daffodil lined track ended at Low High Snab, after which I passed through two gates to unfolding views of Scope Beck, High Snab Bank and Robinson.

Gaining High Snab Bank can feel brutally steep and that's because it probably is one of the steepest pulls of the whole route, made no easier by the fact it arrives at the start of the walk.

Before I officially left the summit, I passed the corner of the fence marked by the extra-thick fence post, which took me straight back to the time I ascended Robinson via Hassnesshow Beck which is where the gruelling climb ended. I've tackled some steep ascents in my time, and Hassnesshow Beck is easily in the top three, good stuff.

The forecasters had said the haze would begin to lift from noon onwards, and although that was still two hours away, I found myself wondering whether the dozens of folk I could see gathered on Catbells summit included my wife's friends who were heading up this morning.

I passed through Low Snab and followed the concrete slabbed lane, just wide enough for a tractor, no wonder he'd been taking it steady, I muttered. Warm haze accompanied me as Newlands Church came into view, along with a lovely glimpse of Hindscarth and Robinson through a gap in the tree lined track. More slurry to negotiate before the track finally spat me out directly in front of the Church, where I spotted two dozen walkers heading towards me in two large groups. Where on earth had they come from? Before they reached the church, I had just enough time to take one last photo of the daffodils glowing in the mid-morning sunshine, then it was back to the car park for an early lunch before the drive home.