Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club

Walk & Event Reports

Sunday 10th January 2016

B Walk

Bassenthwaite - Binsey

8 Miles Grade 3

Leader: Malcolm Iredale

Report & Photos By John McKay

Nine at the Sands this morning and Chris Tyson was meeting us at Bassenthwaite, so ten set off from the village green on a grey dull morning but at least it was dry. We made our way up through Robin Hood Woods but I didn’t feel at all like a merry man, more like a poor Little John. I was feeling quite unwell, having been ill for the past few weeks I don’t think I have quite recovered. I decided to turn back as I think I would just have held the others back. I said farewell and headed back to Bassenthwaite. Unfortunately not being with the others I have no idea what happened on the walk or who or what was discussed. I sat in my car and had a cup of coffee and began to feel a bit better, despite a slight burning sensation in my ears. I consulted the map and decided to go on a little walk on my own. I have never been up Binsey before so I thought I would take a short direct route, if I took it nice and slow I would be ok and who knows I might bump into the others coming up the other way. I drove a few miles up the road and set off along the path to Binsey. It was still dry and despite being overcast visibility was quite good. As I slowly made my way up it got quite windy and near the top it got really strong and almost blew you off your feet. As I neared the top I was greeted by the rest of the group on their way down. I let them carry on, as I was so near the top I was determined to go to the trig point. I reached the trig point but didn’t hang about, it was far too windy. I made my way back down and came across the main group sheltering from the wind and having lunch and I sat down and joined them. We all set off together downhill  and came across a strange bit of ground, water was bubbling up and it was just like walking on a waterbed, If you’ve never been in a waterbed you should try it sometime, strange experience. We headed downhill and during this point Heather told me about a youth hostel she stayed in over Christmas, an old Norman castle complete with resident ghosts and a “nublet”. I’m not sure if that’s the correct spelling but apparently it’s a sunken prison, a hole in the ground where prisoners were just thrown down, if they were lucky they died from the fall, if they were unlucky they were just left there to starve to death. A few candidates came to mind for such a place. Walking can be very educational at times, it’s one of the things I love about it. We arrived down from Binsey onto the main road and I headed for my car while the main group headed off for the last few miles back to Bassenthwaite. After a short shopping expedition to Keswick I met up with them again at the Craggs Coffee House where we all enjoyed tea, coffee, scones and a selection of cakes. A lovely day, many thanks to Malcolm, making his debut as a walk leader, for a great walk.

John