Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club

Walk & Event Reports

Sunday 17th August 2014

A Walk

Walla Crag, Cat Bells

12 Miles Grade 1

Leader: Kathryn Bowstead

Reports by Kathryn Bowstead & Peter Flynn

Photos by Lauren Sarasini

Kathryn's Report

“I volunteered to lead the “A” Walk on 17 August as the scheduled walk had been cancelled.  Joe, John, Sue, Jess, Peter, Lauren, Phil, Roger & I set off from Briar Rigg at 10:00am & we had the first of many heavy showers just two minutes after leaving the cars.  After a brief “convenience” stop in Keswick, we made our way through Springs Wood to Walla Crag (1234 ft) in a mixture of sunshine & showers.  We had a quick stop on the summit to admire the dramatic views along Borrowdale but it was too windy to hang about for long so we made our way along the ridge in one of the heaviest showers I’ve been out in for a long time - at one point it felt like hailstones!  Fortunately it eased off by the time we reached Ashness Bridge so we had a quick lunch stop before the rain started again.  We decided to go down to the lake shore as the conditions were too bad to continue to Surprise View & Ladder Brow as planned, and we took a detour to see Barrow Falls as this was the perfect day to see them at their best.  We came out at Barrow Youth Hostel where Lauren, Peter, Phil & Roger decided to go straight back to Keswick as they were cold & wet but Sue, John, Joe, Jess & I decided to carry on.  Shortly after that the sun came out & it was a glorious afternoon.  We met a party of walkers coming in the other direction and John & Sue were delighted to find that one of them was a lovely lady from Clitheroe who they met in Austria earlier this year so they had a chat & exchanged email addresses – we couldn’t believe the coincidence of us all being there at the same time.  We took a short detour to see Lodore Falls but instead of the thundering torrent we were hoping for, it was a mere trickle.  Biting back our disappointment we carried on across the Duck Boards and considered going up Catbells or along the Terrace Path but we decided that it was too hot, without a breath of wind to keep us cool, so we opted for the shade of the trees along the lake shore instead.  We witnessed a freak “tornado” out on the lake – we were amazed as the gale wind had disappeared by then.  We made it back to Portinscale in plenty of time to enjoy J&C or cheese scones & refreshing cold drinks (and dog treats for Jess) in the recently refurbished dog-friendly café before the final mile back to Keswick.  We were glad we made the decision to carry on when we got back to Carlisle & found the roads almost flooded by the torrential rain that had obviously continued there all afternoon.  I had a lovely day in good company, despite the wet start, & I was delighted to find that my waterproof socks work – it was great to do a walk with dry feet & not to have any wet gear to dry when I got home for a change.”

Kathryn

Peter's Report

When Shakespeare spoke about the “rain that droppeth as the gentle dew from Heaven upon the Earth beneath”,  he showed his profound ignorance of meteorological conditions in the Lake District.  He should have left comments on the weather to Wordsworth and the gang – who presumably on occasions experienced the sort of rain we had today.  It was solid,  heavy,  slanting and utterly sneaky.  The sun would shine beautifully for about 3 minutes,  we would all stop and take off waterproofs and pack them in rucksacks,  and before we got started it was torrential,  soaking everything in sight.  Leaving Walla Crag and walking along the fell side it was not just unpleasant but positively painful.  There were eight of us suffering this downpour,  it eased enough for us to get our sandwiches out at Ashness Bridge,  but was pouring down before we had had half a mouthful.  The discussion there was which was the most rapid but sheltered route back to the cars.  We went down to the Lake shore,  we saw the most amazing waterfalls on the little stream that runs alongside the road,  the sun came out,  it was lovely and warm and there was a divergence of opinion.  Four of the party decided to continue to go round the lake,  the rest of us decided to return along the lake shore (the water was overlapping the shore but we were so wet it didn’t matter) and head back home to a change of clothes,  and – wait for it – a total power cut over the whole of the Carlisle district.  Thanks to Catherine for her bravery in forging the way forwards and keeping us entertained.  The sort of walk that makes joining a nice,  smoky,  darts and snooker club seem a really good idea. 

Peter