In reply to Simon Pelly:
The walk in from Gatesgarth farm, Buttermere is surprisingly quick and easy, around 45 mins max. There'll be plenty water at the hut and in the nearby river.
Not sure what winter fun is to be had around Pillar etc, but i'd imagine there'll be loads, should conditions be right. There'll be a fair bit of rare flora around those gullies so only worth doing if there's a really good freeze.
A visit to High Man is pretty cool and a fine day out. Cross the memorial bridge over the Liza, then head straight for the big rocks of Pillar, it looks a bit improbable but the path is actually ok, keeping left of the crags brings you onto the High level traverse. There's also an easy scramble / walk to the summit of Pillar from there.