Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club

Walk & Event Reports

Sunday 1st May 2016

A Walk

Martindale

9 Miles Grade 1

Leader: Paul Cheffings

Report & Photos by Peter Flynn

If your personal tastes in leisure pursuits take in gale force winds,  driving rain that penetrated even the most classy of rain proof clothing, bits of slushy snow that can cause you to fall flat, a steep ascent on slippery rock and mist so thick that it can literally cause you to wander round in circles,  then today you missed a treat.  We had all of the above – in buckets full (or should it be bucket fulls?) in what we were all assured was a beautiful part of the Lake District.  Parking was easy (quelle surprise!) – ours were the only cars there when Paul, Malcolm,  Lauren and myself parked outside the new church at Martindale and set off through the hamlet.  We climbed the steep path up to Howstead Brow –  this is where we found the rocks were slippery – and once on the ridge set off battling against the wind till we reached the cairn at the top of Beda Head.  There was no view,  except the expanse of boggy fellside surrounding us – and we carried on for another 15 to 20 minutes and the wind changed direction totally.  Until we found ourselves approaching the cairn on Beda Head once again!  After that,  we headed towards Angle Tarn Crags and to our astonishment,  came across a group of about a dozen hardy walkers.  It explained a great deal when they told us they were the Barrow Ramblers.  Apparently they book and pay for coach places in advance,  but if they had a dozen on such a day,  how many would they have on a good one.  In the end,  instead of the full horseshoe of Martindale,  and even the originally planned half horseshoe,  coming down the Nab,  we simply took a path a few hundred yards short of Angle Tarn Crags and headed back down to the valley to an early finish.  It was a tough walk,  but we all enjoyed the challenge,  and it was great to see Paul back after his cruise – details of which dribbled out as we meandered on the tops.  Lauren summed up the day when she said “just imagine being Millican Dalton and wandering home after this lot to a cave!”   Thanks Paul – believe it or not,  we really did enjoy it.

Peter