Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club
Walk & Event Reports
B Walk Sunday 4th May 2014
Little Man, Lonscale Fell
6 Miles, grade 2
Leaders: Alison & Judith
Report & Photos by John McKay
Only four of us for the walk today, Judith, Alison, Heather and me. We set off from the Sands in Judith’s car and picked Alison up on the way. We parked at the car park on the north side of Lattrig. As I was balancing on one leg trying to put on my boots I discovered that Judith had brought along the latest thing in walking accessories, a folding chair. She sat there in comfort rather like the queen sitting on her throne, calmly putting on her boots. I half expected a footman to appear from the boot of her car to put them on for her. It was a bit overcast but dry and not too cold though looking up, the tops were shrouded in mist. We set off along the Cumbrian Way then branched off on the ascent of Little Man. Whoever named it Little Man was obviously having a laugh, it’s a long steep winding path and there is nothing little about it. I hate to think how big, Big Man would be. As we gained height we were going into the mist and it became increasingly cold and windy. We had some great views over Keswick and Derwentwater where it seemed to be much clearer. We got to the top of Little Man but didn’t hang about, it was much too cold, we set off immediately for Lonscale Fell. On the way we stopped for lunch and tried to find some shelter from the wind behind a dry stone wall but it was no good, needless to say lunch didn’t last long. We headed off for Lonscale Fell but we didn’t go to the top, there was little point as it was totally shrouded in mist so we started heading down. As we descended it thankfully got a lot warmer and we had some great views again. A lake I could see in the distance, I was assured by one of our party, was Ullswater. Though surprised at this news I took their word for it. I have always been proud of my sense of direction but being told I was looking at Ullswater worried me. Apart from aching muscles and exhaustion at the end of a walk, was this the first signs of old age, dementia and altzimers crossed my mind and worst of all, C walks. I was extremely relieved therefore when I was told that a mistake had been made, it was Thirlmere, my original thought and not Ullswater. Pride in my sense of direction restored and feeling like a condemned man who had been given a free pardon, I felt much better and I had a spring in my step as we made our way along the Cumbrian Way back to the car park. During this stage Heather tried to explain to me what Pilates was all about and Alison assisted her by lying face down in the grass and adopting what is known as the plank position. For no reason in particular the words “ two short ones” came to mind. It was a wonderful demonstration and I was very impressed. We arrived back at the car and Judith again sat on her throne. I was astonished to discover that the people in the car next to us also had a throne to make removing their boots a more comfortable task. The guy was quite comfortable with the position of his chair but when he discovered that I was a passenger in the car and not the driver he decided that reversing out might be a bit tricky for a female driver so decided to move to a safer position. His fears were totally unfounded, Judith was a shining example of girl power and reversed out impeccably. On the way to the coffee shop Heather told us about how she had come to acquire a new car. Heather told this story as only she can, quite brilliant. We had coffee in the Crags Coffee Shop and I discovered that Morven is leaving Carlisle to go and work in London, she has been promoted, well done Morven, we wish you all the best. Sorry to lose you and hope to see you back one day. Thanks to Judith and Alison for leading and thanks to everyone for their company and crack, a great day.
John
