Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club
Walk & Event Reports
Sunday 24th April 2016
A Walk
St Sunday Crag
9 Miles Grade 1
Leader: Ron Kirkley
Report by Peter Flynn
Photos by Ron Kirkley - Lauren Sarasini
Peter Flynn
When the day starts with a snowstorm such as is rarely seen outside of the Christmas card spectrum, and the walk promises to be steep and hard, the temptation to simply go for the paper and then turn back is very strong. However, mainly so as not to waste the flask and sandwiches and the time spent lovingly preparing them, we met up with Ron, Alan and a new addition to the list of certifiable inmates on day release, John from Dalston. A huge welcome to the club, John, and I hope that you will be able to join us from time to time.
We headed down the M6 and on to Patterdale, and after the first couple of hundred yards, it was steep. Very steep, and unrelenting. The forecast was for it to gradually improve during the day, from 11 o’clock onwards, and while that was somewhat over optimistic, in fact it did improve, and from time to time the mist cleared and we had a series of lovely views up Ullswater, with clouds hanging in the adjacent valleys. Ron was careful with the route, consulting his map regularly while we headed for Birks and then St Sunday Crag, and eventually gave us a choice between a steep climb to the summit or a gradual sloping path that would lead to the summit ridge about half a mile further on, with the prospect of a walk back along the ridge. This was an inspired and much more pleasant choice and we eventually reached the ridge, and then a lovely path onto what clearly had to be the highest point. It was cold, but the exertions made us warm, and we carried on over the top mostly, once again, in mist, and had lunch in a slightly more protected spot. The route down seemed even steeper than the route up (it actually was steeper because we went down directly) and every step had to be chosen with care. Not a walk for the faint-hearted but thoroughly enjoyable and thanks Ron for some excellent leadership once again.
Peter
