The Lake District - April 06
The suns out lets go climb a mountain!
This seemed to be the mentality of many people when I recently went up to the Lake District for a few days. When I am not diving I often pop up to the Lake District and as I had a little more time I was able to get over to my favourite place Wastwater.
Driving over Wrynose and Hardknot Passes, which I haven’t done for a couple of years, I noted the surfaces are really in a poor state particularly Hardknot which is now developing a ripple effect that reminded me of the corrugations that the dirt roads in Australia gradually develop.
Anyway back to the wannbe climbers.
I decided to take a wander up Scarfell Pike. Having done it several times before I knew it is pretty straight forward from Wastwater but in the end I gave up about three quarters of the way up. The result of an idle winter since returning from Australia and too much chocolate whilst sorting through hundreds of photographs (a job I still have yet to finish) meant that my legs were really complaining, so I decided not to bother to go right to the top.
Working my way back down I passed many eager people rushing to get to the top. As always I was dismayed at the type of footwear people are shod in but even more so on this occasion. It was plain to see that the tops were covered in snow and ice and although it was incredibly sunny it seemed that people had not actually put the two things together i.e. brilliant sunshine but still loads of snow on the tops equals in all probability, a very cold summit, but no this had obviously never occurred to them as I passed them wearing trainers, tee-shirts and strappy tops with maybe a jumper tied round their waist.
What concerned me even more was that several families I passed the parents were suitably shod but the kids were wearing trainers…..do they not care? Children behave like mountain goats and are far less cautious about where they may be stepping, wet rocks, icy rocks, its all the same to them they just hop about with the confidence that comes from lack of experience of accidents. After finding that my fitness levels left a lot to be desired I spent the rest of the time meandering round some of the lower fells and valleys, taking photos and admiring the big spaces.
I always love going up to the lakes in the springtime before Easter. There are beautiful primroses studding the banks under hedges and lots of new lambs to watch playing in the fields. Also the seething masses have not yet arrived to swarm all over the popular paths and walks.
It was a tad chilly at night dropping below freezing but was rewarded with some brilliantly sunny days. I think my sleeping bag is now past its prime as I really felt the cold and had to ‘wrap up warm’ before going to bed, so next year a new bag may be in order. I was sleeping in the car, as I hadn’t been able to afford a new tent. My old one had been held together with safety pins and sticky tape so I decided to dump it before leaving Australia. Despite this it was a lovely break and all the better as I hadn’t been up there for nearly a year.
