News from South London Harriers
May 7th, 2008: SLH Walking Weekend Grasmere
Posted by Chris Phelan at 8:59 pmRead Dave Kent’s report on the club’s visit to the Lake District over the May bank holiday weekend below:
In the steps of AW and beyond …
It is widely accepted that the late Alfred Wainwright covered every Path, Dale, Fell and Peak in the English Lake District and this can be seen from his expertly illustrated Pictorial Guides. That is until one member of the annual SLH walking group covered many of the bits in between! Antonio managed to zig-zag his way around the fells, from one outcrop to another, from one side of the group to the other and from being out of sight to being in your face. There would only be one winner if he entered a sheep dog trial! He also ascended peaks that were not on the itinerary, he walked on water (picture supplied) and he performed the ultimate ‘Marcel Marceux’ moment, demonstrating how to nearly loose your balance on a stepping stone. He has no equal.
The rest of the group had a relaxing weekend in Grasmere where various B&B and hotel accommodation was inhabited and many eating and drinking establishments visited. Should you visit Grasmere by day (instead of being on the fells) it will be crowded and it will serve you right. Thankfully in the early mornings and evenings it is very quiet and peaceful. The surroundings are every bit as good as Wordsworth says. It turned out that Pam was in fact a local girl. Apparently her youthful experiences didn’t extend to the fells. She was therefore determined to make up for lost time on this occasion.
Saturday’s route started in Great Langdale, an inspiring place in itself, before ascending Crinkle Crags, Bowfell, Esk Pike and Rossett Pike. Esk Hause and Angle Tarn were also visited before the main decent down Rossett Gill to Mickelden and along to the Old Dungeon Gill Hotel. A small splinter group ascended The Band to meet the group at Three Tarns before descending same. They happened to witness Sue and Clive’s rare navigation error – unintentionally ascending Bowfell twice! The walk, lead by Francis, was probably the longest serious walk attempted by both Marketa and Richard Leeves (DK’s nephew). They both passed the test and will be invited again!
Sunday allowed an easier walk to accompany the main walk as far as Ambleside. The lowland scenery around Rydal Water was stunning. The composition of every view was outstanding. Marie and Nina ventured onto Lake Windermere by boat while the rest strode up the Fairfield Horseshoe. As we got nearer to the summit we entered cloud and it became very difficult to pin-point exactly how far we had travelled. Just on queue SLH’s renowned fell runner/walker – Bernie Ingrams – miraculously appeared out of the mist to clarify our position before moving on with his group of friends. Thank you Bernie! At the summit it was very difficult to find the intended descent (refer AW Book One - Fairfield 9, for excuses) however a successful descent was achieved via Grisedale Tarn. Leslie Emery rang Peter at this point to confirm that Southampton had not been relegated. The pace quickened from here. He was even up to driving north of Keswick to see an Osprey. We all encamped in the Traveller’s Rest instead.
Monday allowed Kate and Clare to complete their studying/revision, which they had hoped to do earlier, while most ventured up Helm Crag (aka The Lion and the Lamb) as seen on the BBC Wainwright series presented by Julia Bradbury. The actual summit is further along and known as the Howitzer. It was at this point that the brave ones climbed this overhanging crag and even stood up so that they could be recorded on camera (pictures also supplied). It will be hard to beat this next year – any ideas?
DK
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