| Location | Birch Court, Blencathra Street, Keswick |
| Those Present | Jerry, Bill, Mark and myself |
| Dates | November 6th - November 13th |
I had installed adjustable air suspension on the rear of my XR4i
because with lowered rear springs it kept wiping off the exhaust system
with any sort of load aboard. Prior to picking up Bill I stopped at the
garage to pump it up. As I straightened up from the boot I felt an ominous twinge in my back.
Bill and I arrived in Keswick at about one thirty and made straight for the Dog and Gun. After a couple of pints we made the traditional visits to George Fisher, the Old Keswickian (for chips), etc and then drove to Blencathra Street to find we couldn't open the door - we assumed the cleaner was still there.
We walked back into Keswick, had another look round the shops, and then returned to the house. Mark and Jerry were waiting - and we still couldn't open the door.
We drove to the Heads to visit office of LCH and picked up the replacement key, which just about got us into the house and then ceased to function. By now my back was very painful, and I had to enlist some help to carry my belongings upstairs, but despite the discomfort I still managed to bravely struggle down to the pub!
We parked at Blencathra visitors' centre (Threlkeld) and walked up the
Glenderaterra intending to ascend Blencathra from behind.
We completely missed our intended route and ascended by Wroughton Gill instead(which turned out to be a route described by Wainwright).
It was misty on top, giving stomach turning glimpses of Sharp Edge and Hall's Fell ridge. A man and his son asked us where Sharp Edge was, and we tried to persuade him that it wasn't really a suitable route for descent when the rocks were wet. I don't know if they attempted it or not.
We went along the ridge and down to the car by Blease Fell.
We parked at Mungrisedale and climbed the very steep path alongside Raven Crags. The rest of the walk to Bowscale Fell and Bannerdale Crags was excellent.
We returned along the Glenderamackin valley. Jerry attempted a novelty
suicide while throwing a rock into the stream - it just went straight up and
almost landed on his head.
Back in Keswick we complained about key, as we had had to leave the house
unlocked.
We woke to heavy rain and strong winds. We walked from the house to
Spooney Green Lane and up Latrigg, descending to Brundholme woods and
back to Keswick by the side of the Greta.
We had a new lock on the front door, and went into Keswick to collect the key.
Mark had to go home and the rest of us set out from the house to climb Bleaberry Fell.
We didn't have high hopes of a good day - it was damp and foggy as we made our through the streets of Keswick and up Springs Close, but by the time we had reached the radio mast we were above the fog and in bright sunshine.
The whole vale of Keswick was filled with fog, with the peaks of the
Catbells ridge looking like islands in a vast white lake.
We picked our way across the boggy ground between Walla Crag and Bleaberry
Fell and began the ascent. A farmer and his dogs were rounding up sheep,
presumably to bring them down to lower pastures for the winter.
We stopped briefly to admire the view and then set off for High Seat. The path led through very boggy ground, and a subsequent visit indicated that it
would have been best to keep as far to the left as possible. We passed the
intriguingly named Thee Footed Brandreth and started to climb away from
the worst of the bog.
We sat against the sheltered summit rocks of High Seat and basked in the late autumn sunshine. It was actually warm, and definitely our best day weatherwise. We returned to the bog and went down by Ashness Gill to the Ashness landing stage just as the last boat back to Keswick was about to leave.
It was dry but cloudy. We walked down to the lake and caught the boat to Hawes End.
We went along the Newlands side of Catbells to Hause Gate and then along the ridge to Maiden Moor and Narrow Moor, returning to Grange by the path we had tried to find in Autumn 1988. It was very slippery on the wet grass - Bill and Jerry both fell over while waiting for me to slip.
To our dismay the tea rooms in Grange were closed, and we made a forced
march to Lodore landing stage just in time to catch the last anti-clockwise
boat to Keswick. Perhaps it was just as well we didn't stop for a cup of tea.
We drove to over Whinlatter to Buttermere and went up Gasgale Gill from
Lanthwaite Green to Coledale Hause. There was much more scrambling in the lower reaches than I remembered from my previous visit, and very windy at top, with a sprinkling of hail.
We had intended to ascend Grasmoor, but as the top was in cloud we decided not to. The days are gone when we used to struggle up mountains just for sake of it.
Instead we walked across easy grass to Third Gill Man Head. I told Jerry it was Wandope so he could have another tick.
It was still very windy, and the cold I had started the week with had returned, blocking my ears and leading to a recurrence of my balance problem (my excuse!), and so we decided not to descend by Whiteless Pike. Since we were not on Grasmoor anyway I didn't tell the others about the descent by Red Screes. We returned instead by our outward route and saw an otter in Gasgale Gill.
We returned to Keswick over Honister.