'Once upon a time there was a little girl called Lucy, who lived at a farm called Little Town'……………so wrote Beatrix Potter in 1905, describing the home of Mrs Tiggy Winkle.

Well, Little Town Farm is still a working farm, and was an excellent base for our Newlands holiday.

The farmhouse was a warm and comfortable haven after our high level walks. On the first day we met up in the afternoon and started to get to know each other.

From the garden we were able to see shapely Causey Pike, and the approach to Robinson, over High Snab Bank, with Scope end in the foreground.

We would some high walks to work off the excellent dinner we were served - by Marilyn, Geoff, and their daughter, Sarah.

Our first day's walk was the classic Newlands Horseshoe - this climbs to Robinson, visits Hindscarth and Dale Head, before finishing over High Spy and Maiden Moor.

The first climb of the day took us into the mist onto Robinson overlooking Buttermere, named after Richard Robinson, who bought this and other fells in the 16th century.

However there were no views of Buttermere today through the mist!

The steepest climb of the day behind us, it was bitterly cold as we visited Hindscarth (deer's gap) and Dale Head before dropping out of the mist to Dale Head Tarn for a welcome lunch break in the sunshine.

An ideal time to record the moment!

With the mist clearing, everyone was game to continue around the full circuit, so we crossed Newlands Beck to reach the High Spy path.

As we climbed we were able to get glimpses across Eel crags to Hindscarth.

Once we were at the top, it was time to enjoy the sunshine and adjust our layers.

We could see down into Newlands valley, and across to Grisedale Pike, with part of our circuit for tomorrow.

We left Cat Bells for our shorter day on Sunday, and paused to take in the sun's rays on the slopes above Little Town with a well earned rest.

For our second day, we had the luxury of a taxi to take us to our starting point at the base Causey Pike.

Today's walk would be the Coledale Horseshoe - another classic Lakeland circuit that includes magnificent Grisedale Pike.

Happily the sun was shining and the forecast was good. We paused on the way up Causey Pike to admire the stunning view back towards Derwent Water and Keswick.

We stopped to adjust layers before the final 'scrabble' (a little bit less than a scramble!) up to the summit of the Pike.

The 'scrabble' itself was a highlight of the day - great fun!

Causey Pike 'conquered', it was good to stop and take in the fabulous views, and enjoy the moment.

From here we continued along the ridge, crossing over Scar Crags, Sail and Crag Hill on the way to Coledale Hause (sorry I forgot to take photos here).

While we stopped for lunch,a mass of fell runners flew past, and clambered up through the rough ground to the top of Crag Hill (see right!)

We rounded off the Coledale Horseshoe by crossing over Hobcarton Crag, then mighty Grisedale Pike, before dropping down to Braithwaite for a well earned, cooling and refreshing drink.

Our taxi picked us up from here and dropped us back to the farm - where after time to relax we were treated to another delicious home cooked meal.

For our last, shorter day, we walked from Little Town, along the intake wall to the Skellgill end of Cat Bells, and, again in brilliant sunshine, began to climb our last mountain.

We paused on the way up to admire Derwent Water in the early morning tranquillity.

It's a steady climb for the most part, with a last haul up to the top - a few craggy sections add interest to the climb.

From the summit, we enjoyed clear views of our previous 2 days' walks - and this photo shows most of the Newlands Horseshoe, with a glimpse of the farm nestled in the bottom of the valley.

We walked along the shore of Derwent Water, before turning toward 'home' across the fields.

A Springtime holiday in Beatrix Potter country wouldn't be complete without a chance to coo over a Herdwick lamb!