This was day 2 (Monday 16th December 2019) in my 5-day SOTA expedition of the Yorkshire Dales (Northern Pennines). Birks Fell was the first successful SOTA activation that I did in December 2019. As the snow had mostly melted, driving to the correct starting point wasn't a problem. The walk up was gorgeous from start to finish. There isn't anything else like going up this summit in the winter. The air was crisp and the sky was blue. The warm gentle sun rays were casting a beautiful orange colour on the farms, roads, streams and livestock during the start of the climb. The mid ascent offered the most breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and fells. The last leg involved a heavy trudge along a wall to the top - as the snow at these altitudes had not melted yet. And the snow was getting progressively thicker. At the top, it looked like arctic conditions - stunningly beautiful as well.
