Planning: Earlier this year, Kipper lured PCM Dave, Matthew D, and myself into the pub, where he then seduced us to join walking the Cumbria Way.
Day 1: We drove to Carlisle in the early morning of Friday the 13th, set off to Ulverston by train via Lancaster. It was a smooth travel, and so we could set off our journey at around noon in sunny and mostly cloudy-free conditions. Despite the relatively flat farmland, the many climbs over dry-stone walls added up to a respectable few hundred meters of ascend. Throughout the day, the ground under our feet gradually changed from grass and bog into rock, while a cloud-free Coniston Old Man rose higher above the horizon. We would climb the Old Man the next day, but first we had to find a campsite suitable for three men and a dog to spend the night. This proved to be a challenge, and against our plans we didn't set up camp before dusk, well north of Torver.
Day 2: As forecasted, the second day started with some drizzle and up in the fells we could expect some wind gusts. Our hopes for some dry spells were not delivered on. It was a wet rainy day with wind gusts of 45mph and with fog obscuring any views. We therefore abandoned our plan to climb up Brim Fell and climbed diagonally up the ridge towards Swirl How to have some protection for the wind (at least for a short while..). While wearing failing waterproofs and dragging heavy rucksacks up the hill, we could be caught spitting out sentences such as “I’ve had better walks” and “this is not fun”. These sentences could probably be heard by the fell-runners that were just enjoying a race on Swirl How, as well as by the Marshalls that were exposed to the freezing wind at the summits. They confirmed “yes, we’re **** mental”. This made us feel a little bit better about ourselves. North of the summit, a first view into Langdale finally emerged thanks to the clouds finally clearing up. This gave a moral boost, and we could actually enjoy the one-mile ridgewalk towards the steep decent north towards Wrynose Pass and Blea Tarn, after which we set up camp at the Great Langdale campsite. We set up camp to dry our kit in the half hour of sun we had, and ventured to the Old Dungeon Ghyll. The pub was filled with a rowdy crowd and had the acoustics of a subway station, so we decided to sit outside in the cold. We mainly managed to enjoy our beer and our meal because we knew the worst was yet to come… would our tents survive the diabolical weather that was forecasted for the night?
Day 3: Fortunately, our tents survived and the heavy rain toned down to drizzle in the morning, so we managed to set off at a decent time and continue the Cumbria Way through Stake Pass to Borrowdale. Occasionally, a faint sun appeared to break through the clouds. This was nothing more than a tease however. The pass turned out to be a trap for clouds, and whenever the drizzle appeared to ease, it would thicken and return with a vengeance. All paths had turned into rivers, and by the time we reached the pub in Stonethwaite all our gear was soaking wet. Complained enough now… our pints had never tasted any better! From here we continued north to Rosthaite, where we diverted from the Cumbria Way towards Grange in Borrowdale and camped at Hollows farm.
Day 4: The fourth day was warm and sunny, and so we used the first hours of the day to dry up our kit. Our route north would be a straightforward walk in an area well-trotted by Dave and Matthew, and so for the first time I didn’t back up our walking route on GPS. After about 15 minutes we reached a fork in the road. We were too proud to take advice from a group of ramblers, and so we walked off in the wrong direction and got trapped on private farm land. It would be too embarrassing to walk back, and so we continued a needless adventure towards the east bank of Derwentwater, where we had a pleasant walk to Keswick. After fuelling ourselves up and restocking some supplies we headed up north towards Skiddaw. Along the Cumbria Way we set up camp with an excellent panoramic view over Derwentwater and in dry and wind-still conditions.
Day 5: The excellent camp did set the tone for the next day, when we continued our journey to Caldbeck. This part of the walk went through an area that had been previously unexplored by each of us. We had excellent weather, and upon reaching Skiddaw House we were invited in for some refreshments. From here, we continued the Cumbria Way north east and climbed Coomb Height, passed Lingy Hut for a another tea break, continued north to climb High Pike. From there we could look over our shoulders to see the impressive Lake lands that we had conquered, while ahead of us we could see the flat lands towards Carlisle as well as the contours of the mountains in Scotland, which appeared to invite us for some future trips. Closer to us, down the pike, we could see Calbeck. Although we planned to camp north of it, we learned close to its pub there was a campsite that offered comfort for a price we couldn’t refuse.
Day 6: was hard work. While there wasn’t much ascent to be done, we could feel the mileage having an effect on us. After 5 miles, Kipper decided he’d enough of it. We redistributed some weight between rucksacks, while PCM Dave carried Kipper in various generations of devices that he invented. The PCM Carrier Mark IV (blueprints available on request) can be crafted using nothing more than a load-bearing hip loop, a walking pole, a downjacket, and a rug. We struggled the first 5 miles in a scorching sun to Dalston, where we refueled using some meal deals. We then continued a couple of miles over a straight and dull cyclepath, until we met the a more pleasant last couple of miles along the river to Carlisle. The last stretch through memory lane were filled with 40-year old anecdotes on the Jovial Sailor, the pub that we had been walking towards for 6 days. In the theme of the Cumbria Way, the conditions in the pub were different from expected and demanded us to be flexible and improvise. We changed our final destination to the Joiners Arms.
No animals were harmed. The moment he got back home, Kipper started chasing his neighbour cats.
