The Keswick Walk: 2009

Buttermere Village this time. It was fine when ten of us met at the National Trust car park after an "interesting" drive over the steep and narrow road over the Newlands pass.

If only I could stop there, but of course, being the Saturday of the trip it was not fine for long. Long enough for the group photo and to walk down through the woods to the beach at the south end of Crummock Water. A nice view up the lake and one or two photos, but the rain was then with us for the rest of the walk. A gentle stroll back to the road, then up the tumbling Mill Beck to the top of the wood and out onto the open moorside.

Here there was a choice. No-one fancied the climb to a possible view point over the lakes in the poor weather at the time. Some chose the short path directly down to car park, but most chose to continue slightly up and then a gentle descent across above the "Great Wood" to the corner of the lake. John decided to sit in a particularly wet patch of mud, but fortunately he had his full waterproofs on, so a stand-up bath in the nearby lake returned him to being just normally wet. The new concessionary path along the end of Crummock Water took us back to the beach where we started and avoided any need to walk on the road.

It had stopped raining at this point, and most people chose to return to the hotel to dry out, but we drove up Honister Pass to the Cafe at the slate mine. Here we found out where all the open topped cars that we had seen all day had been heading. They had gathered for a hill climb on the mine's dirt road up the mountain. The cafe was warm and full of steaming wet open-top car drivers and reminded me of an alpine hut on a wet lunchtime. Unfortunately the rain had started again by the time we came out and the extra altitude had reduced the temperature producing steaming breath, so photos were soon forgotten.

Richard Scaife