Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club

Walk & Event Reports

Sunday 10th August

Combined A/B Walk

Great Asby Scar (to and from Orton)

8 Miles Grade 3

Leader: Gill Thompson

Report & Photos by John McKay

 Heather had done a lot of hard work and research to come up with to-days A walk but because of the forecast, gales and torrential rain, it was decided that it was not appropriate and we would all join the B walk. It was disappointing but her hard work was not in vain, we will do it another day when the weather is better. Thirteen of us set off from just outside Orton. Having taken a bit longer to sort myself out than the rest I set off a few hundred yards behind the others. This turned out to be quite fortuitous as I bumped into Mary, all the way from Delaware USA, who was walking the”Coast to Coast”. A lovely woman, very talkative, she and I had a good old chat and discussed a whole range of things before we caught up with the others. She joined us for a short distance before we branched off in the direction of Great Asby Scar. She told me as we parted that in Delaware history there was famous founder of the state called John McKay and she couldn’t wait to tell her friends that she had met a John McKay, “ you have made my day” she said. The story of my life. There was a steady drizzle coming down but no wind and it was quite warm. We stopped for an early lunch by a tall dry stone wall, as this was the only place which we were likely to find any shelter. A herd of cows, which were a long way off, came across to have a good look at us, curious to observe the eating habits of humans. They were quite intimidating, standing there staring at us only a few yards away. We didn’t hang about for lunch and were soon on our way again. We made our way along a lovely path over Great Asby Scar and came to a crossroads in the path, we were to turn left at this point but to the right, about a quarter of a mile away, was a monument. Phil informed us that this was a monument erected to celebrate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne in 1837 and reigned for 64 years. What a wealth of information, not just an expert in building bridges but an expert in “old queens”. Kathryn decided she would like to visit the monument and set off on her own, the rest set off in the direction of Orton. I sat down and had a cup of coffee and waited for Kathryn’s return. She reached the monument and got back in about twenty minutes and we set off in hot pursuit of the main party. We caught up with them about a mile from Orton and we all arrived back together. After a quick change in the coach we made our way to the coffee shops, where we all enjoyed some lovely cakes and scones. A wonderful walk and a very enjoyable and entertaining day, thanks to everyone came along and a big thank you to Gill for providing such a great walk.

John