Everyone arrived on Thursday evening at Glenthorne to the usual relaxing atmosphere and delicious evening meal, although the weather forecast was somewhat perturbing.

Sara: Sue led the Slow High walk, whilst I led the Intermediate walk.

As the weather forecast was warning of strong winds, I opted to take the group over to Elterwater, where it is usually slightly more sheltered.

Leaving Elterwater, heading out to Slater Bridge, we saw glimpses of sun and a number of strong gusts of wind caught us off guard.

We shetered in Cathedral Cave along the way for a bite to eat. This is a quarried cave with a high roof and an incredible pillar holding it up.

We tested the accoustics with a sing song before leaving!

Without stopping long enough to get too cold, we continued towards Colwith Force and enjoyed a beautiful walk through the woodland.

We followed the Cumbria Way to Chesters at Skelwith Bridge.

The tea room was busy as usual, but we managed to find a table inside to have a drink.

We then walked back to Elterwater along the Cumbria Way with superb views of the Langdale Pikes. We were rather happy not to be battling the elements on the first day.

Sue: I had meantime taken the Slow High walk to Sargeant Man - one of the Langdale Pikes.

Our route took us up onto Grasmere Common via Far Easedale bridge.

Looking down we could see Easedale Tarn - a striking view.

Following the ridge we continued up to Codale Head with views down over Codale Tarn.

Another few metres across the top took us to Sergeant Man, at the top of which the wind was really strong. So it was quickly off to find shelter for lunch.

As we ate our lunch, snow began to fall thickly, so headed down the Blea Rigg ridge as our route home.

We walked over Blea Rigg and Great Castle How, then down to Little Castle How and Lang How - the series of rocky outcrops along the ridge.

It was then an easy descent down to Wray Gill and over Allen Bank back to the hotel. A great day out with interesting weather.

Back at Glenthorne, tea and cakes were enjoyed, before resting and being served another nice evening meal.

The forecast today was supposedly an improvement on the day before - so both groups headed for the Helm Crag ridge, approaching it from opposite directions.

I, Sara, took the slow high route up onto Steel Fell where we were certainly tested by the blustery snow showers and gusts of winds.

After briefly sheltering behind the rocks to enjoy the views of Helm Crag and Grasmere, we continued up over the top to Steel Fell.

The views down to Thirlmere on the other side were amazing and we all agreed that the colours made the setting look more like Autumn than Spring.

We found a nice spot for our first lunch stop and were lucky enough to see a few sunny outbreaks through the clouds.

We headed off to Calf Crag, where we joined the ridge and followed it along the Calf Crag.

The entire route was a total mixture of sunshine and fierce snow showers, but once again we were blessed with a long enough break to finish our lunch and take in the views across to the Langdale Pikes and down into Far Easedale.

Down off Helm Crag, we indulged in a tea stop at the lovely Lancrigg, even sitting out in the garden before making our way back to Glenthorne for more tea and cakes!!

Sue had meantime taken the Intermediate walk on the path through the Lancrigg Hotel grounds, catching a glimpse of red deer, then up steeply to reach Helm Crag.

Winds were strong again, but there was plenty of shelter along the ridge past Gibsons Knott and Moment Crag.

However the general concesus was for a shorter walk, so we dropped down into Greenburn valley.

We ate lunch in a snow storm, but enjoyed the incredible peace and isolation of this quiet and little frequented valley.

At the bottom of Greenburn it was an easy walk along lanes back to Glenthorne.

We all got together in the evening to swap stories of the days adventures and decide which walk to do the following day.

Sue's Intermediate walk was quite an adventure today.

Snow had settled thickly and we took the path up to Alcock Tarn, usually an easy climb, but feeling like we were in a real mountain adventure.

Winds were not so strong today so we were able to linger behind some rocks up by the tarn.

The route down had its challenges on the snowy bits, but the intrepid group made it onto White Moss and the coffin route along to Rydal, where we had arranged to meet the high group for tea at Rydal Hall.

But virgin snow had delayed them, so after some of our party left us to walk into Ambleside, the rest of us strolled along the far side of Rydal Water and over Loughrigg Terrace, through Red bank wood and back down to Grasmere.

Sara: I guided the Slow High walk again, and despite the weather forecast being an improvement on Saturday, we woke up to a blanket of snow over Grasmere and the surrounding hills!

The second surprise of the day was finding that the Easter Bunny had left chocolate eggs for everyone at breakfast, so the combination made a perfect start to Easter Sunday.

We set off out of Grasmere, over the main road, heading up the challenging ascent to Stone Arthur.

With the fresh snowfall making the going underfoot rather more challenging, we took our time and picked our way up until we could find a sheltered spot for a break. The wind was whipping around and picking up the fresh snow.

After refuelling, we continued onto Fairfield Horseshoe and after a group decision of not going onto Great Rigg, everyone set off across the ridge towards Rydal.

The views were superb and a later break was well deserved at the beginning of the descent.

By the time everyone had got down to Rydal Mount and enjoyed a tea break in the lovely tea shop, the unanimous decision was to continue back along the coffin route to Grasmere in time for more tea and cakes.

Passing by Dove Cottage, the women dispersed around Grasmere before meeting up later in the evening over dinner and sharing the delights of the day.

Most women agreed that the weather conditions had added to the enjoyment of the day and that they felt that they had really achieved something.

It was even the first time for some women to walk in such conditions and a perfect place to start, sharing it with such good company.

We walked together as one group today - since our numbers were smaller with some women leaving early.

Our route took us over wild Silver How and down Kelbarrow, getting back to Glenthorne at 1.30pm - with time enough to refresh ourselves before heading home.

It was a gorgeous day and views were wonderful. We then walked down to Spedding Crag, over Dow Bank and Huntingstile Crag, stopping to eat an early lunch by the little tarn on top.

We then dropped down over Red bank, picking up the Grasmere road of yesterday's walk to stroll back and say goodbye to each other.