While on about shortcuts and ROW's here's a blocked off stile at Ravenseat - proving that Coasters use the shooters/farm track when coming into Ravenseat rather than the footpath! (though to be fair Footprint have the track highlighted)
Going west the stile is to be found before the barn, which is clear... the blocked squeezer stile is near to the brook at the bottom of Whitsundale (or was at July lasy year)
I'll stick to the gravel track and continue past the barn in future instead of battling through the tussocks...

Late start with my partner is more like 10 or 11am - makes sunset viewing a regular occurrence.

When you walk in Australia you develop a very keen eye for faint pads. I vaguely remember the start of the pad (from the bottom) as I was a little worried that we wouldn't find it - we only had the Harvey map. In unfamiliar country it takes a while to get the eye in and start to understand the logic of a track (how the track maker reacted to the challenges that were faced in siting the track). It ran along the edge of a couple of small felled trees rising gently. You could see evidence of a haul track but it was rapidly disappearing.

I certainly felt that I was not compromising the walk by using several short cuts. We also used the sidling track up into Scarth Gap and over Haystacks which I feel is a superior line to the route up Loft Beck. We dropped off the eastern side of the saddle before Helm Crag to avoid a couple of km of road walking (we were staying at Town Head Farm) and would have used the ridge over High Raise to avoid Haweswater if the weather had been kinder.

I can recommend a cuben tarp to assist waking up. Make sure you pitch so the sun hits you early. The transparent material does little to block the sun. Sorry; its England so you don't see the sun very often.

I've just come over the stile there btw, and go on to comment on the effectivness of Sealskinz in the long wet tussocky grass...

Cuben is still very expensive here... I did buy the next best thing last year - .5oz spinnaker (could only get white!) which was costly enough - thing is I didn't have time to run up a tarp and now have no idea where it is! (hope those damn meeces haven't got to it..) Yeah, a bit of sun is good... though too late for a pre-dawn start.
'Team io' do cuben tarps (about £150 as I remember) and will make to your own specs, but after my draughty night up at Grisedale I'm considering going back to the bivvy...

When using your Bivvy Mick, do you pack it away rolled up with sleeping bag inside or pack them seperate@
Do you put the sleep mat inside or outside?
If its raining do you have a cover for the head opening rather than taking a full tarp?
Dave.

Hi Dave, I pack them separately as the bivvy can get wet and perhaps a bit muddy. With the Inov8, sleeping bag goes in bottom of pack - it's handy to have a zipped bottom compartment as it's easier to whip out to air on a footstop - with current pack I have to get everything out...
Usually outside - but rain can puddle on the Ridgerest and a few drainage holes help - to help save wear on base of bag. If already raining perhaps better inside, but it's a devil to move about and stay on it...
I hunker down and make sure it sticks out more at top - this way the bag is better ventilated (they don't breathe as well when wet) My bags are quite basic, but some have a loop with some way of helping it stay open - otherwise you don't get much sleep!
Last year, of course, I just used the tarp and midge tent, but it was like putting a tent up anyway as I decided to take the poles. Just as well as on most nights there was nowhere to rig a line... Interestingly, the tarp was wet with condensation after the 1st night and was wet for the rest of the trip (thus adding to the weight...) even with better air flow.
The brolly might come in handy for head-end cover - I've tried it on the back lawn. I tucked the brolly handle into my arm pit and it worked ok - of course a sheltered site would be necessary! I did try putting the brolly up inside the bag, which gave good room, but a slightly bigger bag would be needed to accomodate - as it was I broke mine, but a stronger umbrella might work. But a small head-end tarp would be good - you can get them but they are heavier than they need to be I think.

for what is worth , when we used the bivvy bag we use to strip down to under garments and put these in the top of the rucksack to use as a pillow , pull the cagoule over the ruck sack, get in the sleeping bag and pull the cagoule down over the head.
never had any problems with condensation and as long as we were head on the wind no problems with rain.
never seem to see cagoules now though.

I like it, sounds good ern - like a mini bivvy for the head - could run something up to try that out. As you point out it would need to be head end to wind to stop it blowing off as the 'cag' would need to cover the outside of the bag... yeah, sounds good that does, cheers

we put down on a campsite between 2 caravans one night.
as we pulled the cagoule over our heads, I got a glimse of faces at windows, they seemed to be saying " I bet they wake up dead in the morning"

lol, sometimes wondered if I'd wake up in the morning... bivvy bag... body bag - not much in it!