Singing in the rain, I'm happy again

Monday. Another Marilyn.

Guess what? Heavy rain is forecast. But I don’t care.

Sun shines as I breakfast, but cloud blanket draws over before I leave at 10:00. I know I will be wet at some stage.

Ten minutes before the summit of the steep ancient lane from High Nibthwaite over to Low Parkamoor I notice the first specks of dark grey on the lighter grey of the Lake District stone under my feet before I start feeling the onset of rain. I branch off the medieval track, where I have pondered on its usage in olden times with donkeys or mules, and climb steeply towards the summit of Top ‘o Selside through heather and snow patches on a faint path. It is only ten minutes to the summit. Wind and rain have now become a gale, and once, partly because I am unbalanced anyway, I am nearly blown over.

As a seasoned summit bagger, wishing to avoid the disaster of missing the true summit ( which once happened on a Munro, necessitating re-climbing later) I notice there are two summits, the first being cairned.

I am enjoying the drama of wild weather because of good clothing, and knowing this is a short walk with the luxury of a car awaiting, rather than erecting a wet tent and enduring prolonged adversity. I battle to the second summit (just in case), and am rewarded by  an agreeable, partly frozen, mini-tarn just below the col, positioned as only nature can manage, and too small to appear on the map. I head down through pathless heather and more snow to the old lane, now an open track, continuing in the original direction, and down to the road where I route march back alongside Lake Coniston, still in penetrating rain, but less wind. I feel fitter and more invigorated than for many a month.

Half a mile from the car, my supposedly waterproof trousers permit ingress down my right thigh, eerily chilly and uncomfortable compared with the warm snugness provided by the rest of my apparel.

There are two contour circles of equal height on the summit, but the spot height of 335m is shown on the the one to the east, whereas the cairn is on the western one

On the ancient track, just before the rain started

Coniston Lake. Dow Crag and The Old Man of Coniston and Weatherlam etc. in the background

The cairned summit - conditions were more dramatic than the picture shows

The perfect tarn just below the two summits

Low Parkamoor here and the next pic. My route descended the valley before it. The old farmhouse is joint privately owned with the National Trust and they hire it as a holiday cottage... if you want.
Here, an extract from their advertising:
"It is eco living all the way with no mains services. The house is served by a traditional Lakeland composting toilet, pure fell water straight from the well, with cooking and hot water provided by the restored Georgian wood-burning range. Living at Parkamoor is a unique experience. It takes care and consideration but the rewards of the simple pleasure of sitting by the fire or cooking on the range make it a treasured experience."
Looking as I tramped by in the wet and the wind I'm not convinced?