Length : 70 miles
Started : 7 July 2013
Finished : 13 October 2014
Companions : ( in full ) Dave Morris, Wendy Guest ; ( in part ) Helen Smith, Serena Armstrong , Steve Briggs ( these first three all completed the trail through doing catch-up walks ) , Pete Hesketh, Elizabeth Currid, Andy Roughley, Anthony Barlow, Jane Harrison, Ross Bishop, Chris Hughes, Steve Taylor, Rachel Glascott, Allie Fitzsimmons, Mark Woodall
Guide : The Cumbria Way - John Trevelyan ( Dalesman )
There are a number of interlocking stories here. One was simply to find another excuse to revisit one of the Group's favourite places to stay, Green View Lodges at Welton ; the Cumbria Way passes within a mile of the entrance Another was that , with my fiftieth birthday approaching rapidly I originally intended to largely retire from LYPWG and this seemed a fitting finale revisiting some scenes of earlier triumphs. And perhaps somewhere at the back of my mind was the thought that it was unfinished business from the Michael Smithson era - I bought the guide in either Ambleside or Windermere back in July 1981 at the end of our great hostelling adventure.
We did the first section from Ulverston to Coniston amid blazing sunshine. Steve B and I had stayed in Ulverston overnight in order to plant a car at Coniston but the numbers on the day meant we still had to do a shuffle at the start. This in turn meant we had to keep up a good pace in order to finish at a reasonable time and that was a tough proposition in those temperatures. On top of that there was nowhere until very close to the end where more liquid could be purchased. Wendy and I had a paddle in Beacon Tarn but that was the only relief to be had until arrival at the Monk Conston campsite where ice lollies were devoured at a very fast rate while news of Andy Murray's triumph came through from the back of the shop. I couldn't eat anything else until hours afterwards.
The next section from Coniston to Great Langdale was done in October 2013. Dave, Pete and I stayed at the independent hostel in Ambleside on the Saturday night. The accommodation was quite basic. I had to roll myself into the lower bunk because there was so little clearance; good preparation for a coffin I'd have thought. Dave and I enjoyed a good curry in Ambleside when the rain wasn't quite bucketing as hard as before. On the morning it was still raining hard and Pete decided to give it a miss although he ferried Dave and I from Great Langdale to Coniston which made another shuffle unnecessary. Apart from a brief spell at the very beginning and end of the walk it rained all day which did dampen the spirits a bit although it made Skelwith Force more spectacular.
The awkward nature of the next section , Great Langdale to Keswick in terms of transport links made it necessary to split it into two walks over a weekend in April this year. I let people sort out their own accommodation in Keswick. Julie found us a place to stay about a mile out of the centre. The weather was even worse than on the previous section but surprisingly we were joined by two new girls at Keswick. I don't think I'd recognise either of them again as we were all huddled up in waterproofs all day. Although scenically lovely both walks were a joyless trudge and as we sat dripping in a Keswick tea shop at the end we hoped for better on the final weekend.
Colin, the proprietor at Green View gave us a generous discount for previous business which meant it worked out at £46 per person for three nights, ridicuously good value. The only downside was that the pub next door was now closed. The rain hammering on the roof when I woke up on Saturday didn't bode well but apart from two brief showers we had perfect autumn weather for our final two stages.
On Saturday we walked from Keswick to Caldbeck using the bus service. It's a long stretch on mainly hard tracks and the toughest bit comes just as your energy levels are starting to flag. I led it too fast to try and ( fruitlessly ) suit one member of the party who had to get back and managed to give myself sore knees and blisters for the following day. Caldbeck to Carlisle is also a long stretch but mostly very easy or should have been; in my case it was a rather painful ordeal that I was relieved to finish. Then it was a quick dip in the hot tub , a celebratory glass of Buck's Fizz then off home with school in the morning for Simon.
Because of the weather and self-inflicted wounds this won't be the most fondly remembered of my trails but it is an excellent route from start to finish
