Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club
Walk & Event Reports
Sunday 1st June 2014
B Walk
Haystacks
7.7 Miles Grade 2
Leader: Geoff Entwistle
Reports by Heather Perrin & John McKay
Photos by Heather Perrin & John McKay
Heather's Report
A splendid walk; maybe the A side of B but everyone enjoyed this inspiring expedition! From Buttermere Village, we walked along the south side of the lake until we reached the ascent up to Scarth Gap. From now on the terrain would be stony – or more stony – but what wonderful views as we got higher and higher. Our group was large and with a good mix of speeds; well done Geoff for maintaining a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere! We passed the trial run for a wheelchair expedition in aid of the Jessica Hope Foundation
(more details on this website).
Crossing Scarth Gap we had some scrambling to do which we all found fun; playtime on the rocks. Finally achieving the top of Haystacks, there was a cairn at each corner, any of which could have been the summit but we sat down to have our lunch before any summit-bagging. The weather had turned a bit colder and breezier. We passed Innominate Tarn, a regular tongue twister but beautiful in spite of its name. And so we started the long stony descent to Warnscale Bottom and the walk along the lakeshore to reach the cuppas/ice creams/pints waiting for us in Buttermere Village. Finally a happening I’ve never encountered before; a general reluctance to board the bus in the interests of basking in the late afternoon sunshine until, at least fifteen minutes late, a cry of ‘Is anyone going home tonight? was heard. After an hour’s good sleep, we were back in Carlisle. Fantastic walk, thank you Geoff.
Heather
John's Report
For reasons too long and complicated to go into, I ended up driving to Buttermere. I arrived as the rest of the members were getting off the bus outside the pub. I carried on and parked in the National Trust Car Park. Having changed into my boots I was just about to leave when Chris arrived and parked the coach. He was immediately approached by a National Trust official demanding £18 parking charges. Quite a heated argument took place between Chris and the NT man and it went on for quite a while, it was eventually settled at £10. By now I was about half an hour behind everyone so I set off in hot pursuit of the B party. I raced along the side of Buttermere but then I encountered my Nemesis, an incline. Oh how I hate inclines. It occurred to me that Haystacks is quite a long slog. The weather was fantastic, warm and sunny with a light breeze. I was suffering and feeling quite sorry for myself but I was brought down to earth with a bump. I came across Will Blanche and his support team, Will I discovered had been born with Spina Bifada and was unable to walk but that didn’t stop him getting out on the hills. He was in training for the Three Peaks Challenge using a very strange but quite brilliant wheelchair /bicycle known as the Mountain Beast, several of our members came to mind. He told me he was doing the Three Peaks over three days starting with Ben Nevis on the 4th July. It will be quite an achievement, I doubt I could do it in a helicopter. An amazing guy, it was a privilege to meet him and the others. More details on Will’s trip are on the Jessica Hope Page on the website. I carried on with the chase of the B party and eventually spotted them about a quarter of a mile ahead, heading up from Scarth Gap for the summit of Haystacks. I never caught them, by the time I reached Scarth Gap my hip had had enough. I decided to head back down for a short distance, have lunch, then cut across country to where the B party should eventually appear. Sure enough they eventually turned up, Ken appeared striding out in front. I joined the group and we set off along the side of Buttermere. There was a lovely site, an ice cream van. every walk should have one, most of us had an ice cream and I was treated by Lynda to a very nice 99. Along the way back to Buttermere I learned from Lynda the problems of running a B&B and the awkward people who come to stay. By the sound of things, as I would fully expect, Lynda takes no prisoners. I felt quite homesick and very envious when Heather told me that earlier in the week, she had been up Conic Hill on the shores of Loch Lomond. It’s a wonderful spot, one of my favourites. We all ended up in the coffee shops and pubs in Buttermere. A great day enjoyed by everyone and for the first time in a long while the coach might have made money, over forty people. It’s amazing how the sun brings people out, even if they leave there dress sense at home, bare legs suddenly appear which really should stay hidden. Many thanks to Geoff for a lovely walk.
John
