Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club
Walk & Event Reports
A Walk Sunday 4th May 2014
Skiddaw
10 Miles, grade 1s
Leader: David Bulman
Report by Peter Flynn
Photos by Lauren Sarasini, Peter Flynn & Roger Wilkinson
Prospects for climbing the oldest mountain in England, a land mass that had travelled all over the globe, even as far as Antarctica before parking itself in Cumbria, were pretty grim to say the least. The forecast was for rain, some light, some heavier, all day. At the very start of the walk two magpies flew up in front of us and ensured a very lucky break in the weather and although on the actual summit it was bitterly cold and very misty, the only rain we had was a two minute shower almost at the end. Not so lucky for the fox which had either been shot or had eaten the wrong sort of sandwich, and was lying dead behind a wall. No problems parking, and then a good walk to Dash Falls and a very steep and quite lengthy climb directly up to the summit. The views were everything within 10 to 15 feet of us, and it was not a time or place to linger, so we set off down the loose and slippery path to the little tarn and found as much shelter as we could for lunch. Walking along the ridge of Ullock Pike was quite magical. The swirling mist would reveal Keswick, Derwentwater, Bas Lake and all surrounding mountains for a few seconds and then we were back to views of each other and little beyond. Obviously, the lower we went, the more we saw and not only were we out of the mist, but sheltered from the southerly winds as well. There were seven of us plus our 4 legged friend, Sam, on the walk and we were joined by a new member, James from Carlisle, who had a lot of experience of the fells. We heard a good deal from Roger who lives in Ainstable, and who is facing the dreadful prospect of a huge wind turbine overlooking the village and who urged us to help lodge a protest (eden.gov.uk) about a construction that would certainly ruin some of the most stunning views in the Eden Valley. A really great walk, one that incorporated all sorts of different weather patterns and was a real challenge. Thanks very much David for a superb outing.
Peter
