| Location | Grasmere |
| Those Present | Jerry, Bill, Mark and myself |
| Dates | October 10th - October 16th |
Jerry had bought an old Nissan UR-van which its previous owner had converted into a camper. Since his name was Mr MacDonald the van was christened Ronald.
It was a good journey, despite ominous hiccups from Ronald and the threat of self-destruction at anything over 55 mph; we sat in comfort in traffic jams and ate our sandwiches.
We arrive in Grasmere and found the cottage without too much trouble, and then had to endure a lecture from the owner on the use of the electric kettle, toaster, coffee maker and electric razor (despite us all having beards!). His wife looked suitably embarrassed.
The pub had excellent Theakstons and a selection of filled Yorkshire puds - Jerry was in heaven.
How many times have I said this? The weather was not as good as it
promised to be on Saturday evening.
We eventually coaxed Ronald into life by pushing him up and down the car park, and set off to by way of Langdale and Wrynose pass with the intention of ascending Crinkle Crags by Red Howe and returning from Three Tarns to Lingcove Beck and Mosedale. (picture)
We parked a little way up Hardknott and walked back to the cross roads to decide the best route of ascent. Although there was a bridge only 20 yds away, I decided to hop over the beck. I planned my route - this rock, then that rock, then the far bank. In mid air between the two rocks I realised I wasn't quite going to make it. I got a foot on the rock, but the weight of my rucksack pulled me off balance, and I landed heavily in the water. The worst thing about it was a coach load of Japanese tourists who observed the incident with some interest.
After the others had picked themselves up and managed to control their hysterical laughter, we returned to Ronald, and I stripped down to my underpants and dried off in front of Jerry's camping stove before setting off again.
By this time my left elbow was extremely painful, and I couldn't really
use my left arm. We reached the Crinkle Crag ridge and climbed the first Crinkle, but the sight of Long Top and the Bad Step made me realise I was going to need two good arms. We went down to the left into Adam-a-Cove, bearing left to reach Mosedale. In hindsight Long Top may have been better option, as the way down consisted of very steep and pathless rock and scree, and I slipped and fell onto my elbow again, which didn't improve my temper.
Eventually we got back to Ronald and set off back to Grasmere. I saw my cousin Marion in Little Langdale (where she keeps the Post Office), but we couldn't stop as we were in a queue of traffic.
By the time we got back I couldn't use my arm at all. I am entirely left
handed, and I was soon to discover that simple tasks like brushing one's teeth aren't easy with the wrong hand. I got toothpaste everywhere except on my teeth. I also had to master one handed unzipping and extraction - after all there are some things that even your best friends won't do for you!
I made an appointment to see the doctor at Ambleside Health Centre while
the others wandered round the town. He immediately sent me to Kendal hospital for an X-ray.
After an interminable wait I was told I had broken the end of my radius.
We stopped between Kendal and Ambleside for a consolation pint.
The others were getting restless, and so I persuaded them to go for a walk. They did Fairfield, returning by Heron Pike, while I wandered round Grasmere. I bought a couple of shirts in the walking shop, and was acutely embarrassed when I was unable to sign the cheque with any degree of conviction.
Wednesday October 14th - Kendal HospitalApparently they don't plaster elbows. I was just told to keep my arm in a sling and see my doctor when I got home.
Thursday October 15th - Grasmere and Rydal Water
By now I was desperate for some exercise, so we planned a low level walk
round Rydal Water (picture) and Grasmere. (picture)
We walked from the village up past Dove Cottage and then took the terrace
above Rydal Water (picture) , descended to the village and crossed the road for the
walk round the back of Grasmere.
It was very cold, but not a bad walk. At least I survived.
Ronald didn't want to start. We pushed him round Grasmere for half an hour,
and even persuaded the owner of a 4X4 to give us a tow, but he showed not a sign of life. Eventually we called the AA, who replaced a disconnected lead on the distributor and had him running in all of 10 minutes. I would like to think that with two good arms I would have spotted the problem myself, but I just couldn't face the contortions involved in examining Ronald's engine.
We finally set off 2 hours later than intended, and arrived home early
in the evening.