Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club
Walk & Event Reports
Sunday 12th June 2016
A Walk: Newbiggin to Sedbergh - 11 Miles Grade 2
Leader: Peter Flynn
B Walk: Danny Bridge from Sedbergh - 8 Miles Grade 5
Leader: Graham Bell
Reports by John McKay & Peter Flynn
Photos by Lauren Sarasini, John McKay & Peter Flynn
Sunday 12th June 2016
B Walk
This was a first for me and I suspect for most of the others. A grade 5 walk, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on the programme before. It was a grade 5, a few small gradients and a few stiles but not enough to make it a grade 4. There was a rather strange stile on the route (see photo) sitting all on its own with no fence to be seen and no sign a fence ever existed, I was a bit surprised Graham didn’t make us go over it. If ever you needed proof that you don’t need hills to have a good walk then this walk had it all. Beautiful countryside and lovely riverside and woodland paths, it was an absolutely delightful walk. It was warm and close but it did stay dry throughout the walk and we arrived back in Sedbergh just in time as the heavens opened and we had torrential rain for most of the way back to Carlisle. As usual we put the world to rights, the disgraceful awards in the queen’s birthday honours list were discussed, Ant and Dec OBE, Sir Rod Stewart, it’s enough to make you a republican. We also had a wonderful rendition of Danny Boy from several of the members as we approached Danny Bridge, so wonderful that the formation a club choir was suggested. All in all a great day and let’s hope we have some more grade 5 walks. Many thanks to Graham for coming up with this one.
John
Sunday 12th June 2016
A Walk
The batch of hills seen by vast numbers of motorists over the years as they drive northwards on the M6 or travel in the comfort of the Scotland bound trains, usually provoke sentiments such as “eeeh aren’t they nice Doris”, “yes love, when will we reach aunty Enid’s?” Despite being known by sight very few people ever venture onto the tops and up the valleys and they miss a real treat. Not the dramatic excitement, sharp ridges and the crowds of the Lake District or the Scottish mountains, but gentle rolling hills, with long, lonely valleys, where to see anyone else is an occasion in itself. Today’s walk was just such an outing. The day was warm – very warm at times - and seven of us headed from a tiny crossroads on the Tebay – Newbiggin road, via the Calf, the highest point, to the beautiful little town of Sedbergh. We went uphill and down dale, crossed small streams, climbed very steep grassy slopes, walked for several miles along a valley, gradually rising till we reached the ridge. When we reached the Calf, we could see Morecambe Bay in the far distance, the Lake District mountains and right round to the fells of Lancashire and Yorkshire. On the summit we came across that amazingly rare species – a genuine lepidopterist (go on, look it up, for the lazy ones the answer is at the end) complete with necessary equipment. The rain started when we were on the summit – it was sufficiently warm for it to be quite pleasant, and it only lasted 5 minutes or so. Then down to Sedbergh, the lovely tea shops and back home in pouring rain – till we reached Carlisle and it was bone dry. (Lepidoperist is a butterfly and moth collector.)
Peter