| Location | Pinewood, Stanger Street, Keswick |
| Those Present | Jerry, Bill, Mark and myself |
| Dates | November 8th - November 15th |
I got a letter earlier this year informing me that Highbury was no longer
available, but Pinewood was back, so I booked it. It's a bit worrying that the last two houses we have stayed in (Birch Court and Highbury) have been taken off the market; I hope it has nothing to do with us!
Bill had decided to get a company car, as his old Merc was getting too
expensive to run, and we arranged to all go in it (a Golf turbo-deisel
estate).
Thurs. 6th - I got a telephone call from Mark; he has problems with his water main, and has to be at home for the week-end. Feeble excuse!
We arrived about 2:30, had a pint in the Keswick Lodge and then did some shopping. Walter Wison had been re-arranged, and didn’t seem to have as much choice (not that it ever had a great deal!). We went to the house (where the key was supposed to left on the kitchen table), but it was locked, so we went back into town for a bit and tried again at 4:30; still no luck, but then the door opened and the caretaker appeared. Her husband had taken the key off somewhere in his van, so she had had to find a duplicate and was running late. Eventually we got settled in; it turned out to be a very nice house.
Sunday November 9th - Barf and Lords Seat
We parked at Crosthwaite and went up Barf from behind, through the forest. There was only one awkward place where the path went round behind a rocky outcrop. From the summit we went on to Lords Seat and back through the forest. We got back to Keswick with some time to spare, so we walked along Springs road and up Castle Head for an excellent view of the whole of Borrowdale.
Bill slipped on the greasy rock on the way down and landed heavily
on his arm and water bottle; it left an impressive bruise, and we were
relieved not to have to call out the Mountain Rescue!
We parked near Orthwaite and walked up the bridleway past Whitewater Dash to the Skiddaw House Road. Just like our previous attempt, it was misty and the summit wasn't visible, but after some discussion we took a narrow, boggy path which eventually lead to Great Calva (at least I think it was Great Calva; it was in about the right place!). It was misty and wet all the way, with visibility down to about 10 yards on top, so we came down the same way as we went up instead of following the ridge to Little Calva. In retrospect, we may not have reached the main summit, but don’t tell Jerry!
Tuesday November 11th - Helm Crag and Steel FellWe parked in the Easedale Road car park in Grasmere and did the Helm Crag (picture) , Gibson Knott (picture) and Calf Crag ridge. This time we turned right at the end and returned over Steel Fell. A pack of fox hounds had run a fox to earth among the crags on the west side of Steel Fell, but by the time we got there had gone again. It started to rain as we descended the south ridge, which rather spoilt the splendid views over Grasmere. We stopped off to buy some gingerbread before returning to Keswick. Bill and Jerry met Mark in town, and I went with him to fetch his car and show him where to park it.
Wednesday November 12th - Knott Rigg
We parked at the top of Newlands Hause and climbed up to Knott Rigg. (picture) The others continued on to Ard Crags, but as my cold was at its height and I felt thoroughly miserable (it's difficult to walk if you can't breath, and every time you open your mouth you start to cough), I went back to the car to wait for the others, where I passed the time by taking some photos. (picture) (picture)
In the afternoon we drove over to Hawkeshead, as Bill wanted to visit the clothing shop. He bought a light-weight maroon waterproof (not very!). We were impressed by the six pubs; not bad for a small village. Perhaps we should try a week there sometime!
We parked at Mireside and walked up the forestry road to the base of Dodd. I still had my cold, so while the others dashed up Dodd I walked round the corner to take some photos of the splendid views of Newlands, Keswick and Borrowdale. As I watched, the sun suddenly burst through a gap in the clouds and illuminated Newlands. It made quite a dramatic photo. (picture)
I made my way slowly up to White Stones, where the first mistake in path finding was made. The cloud had come down, and the obvious path lead to the left. It wasn't until the clouds parted briefly that we realised our mistake, and made our way up the slope to the right to join the main path to Carl Side. From there we went along Long Side Edge (picture) and over Ullock Pike (picture) (picture) , returning to the road about a mile from the car park. It was a very pleasant and relatively easy walk, which I would like to do again in clearer weather.
We went to Grasmere with the half intention of doing Loughrigg, but it was raining very heavily and the clouds were down almost to the lake shore, so we decided to settle for a low-level walk round the two lakes. As we left the cave (old slate quarry) (picture) to descend to Rydal, Jerry did a very realistic Telly Tubby impersonation. He was wearing his green waterproofs, with the hood up, and the addition of a frond of bracken completed the disguise! We sheltered in the bus stop in Rydal to eat some lunch, and were approached by a motorist who wanted to do the same walk. He produced a soggy tourist board information sheet from his pocket and pointed to a picture which showed Rydal and Grasmere surrounded by a red line, which I took to be the path we had just followed. We directed him to the car park, but as he was wearing a shower-proof windcheater and suede desert boots we didn't give him much chance of completing the walk!