Bleak hills, bleak weather - Selside Pike & Branstree

For this round of Wainwrights I'd decided to include the outlying tops of Nabs Moor & Howes with Branstree & Selside Pike and finally have a look at the MBA's Mosedale Cottage Bothy something I've been to planning to do for a while. I just needed the weather to play ball but I had spent the week watching
the weather turn out far better then forecast. So with another poor forecast I hoped they got it wrong again, they didn't!!

Skiddaw was clear in the early morning but by the time I set off the cloud was beginning to build up & as forecast it went downhill rapidally. The forecast weather was meant to be better in the east of the county, it probably wasn't, I think it was pretty miserable everywhere!

MWIS predicted and actually got it right a nil chance of cloud free summits.

Not looking promising up Swindale...

the path over drumlins beside Swindale Beck & Dod Bottom - Dod Bottom looks very 'odd'...

the whole valley was full of coloured flags, future tree planting???

about to enter the cloud...

Nabs Moor summit, no view...

& Howes, again no cairn & no view...

summit shelter on a very wet & windy Selside Pike...

survey pillar between Branstree's NE top & Branstree...

Branstree's summit bowl...

MBA's Mosedale Cottage...

worth making the detour to the falls in Mosedale Beck, albeit on a sunny day...

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