The first of my ‘walks for the wobbly’ did not disappoint, and helped me set a benchmark for future walks. But if I’m to be a good walking companion, I need to make a few tweaks for my next outing.
In These boots are made for walkin’ I expressed my ambition to get out and up on the fells near where I live. But I wasn’t sure where to begin. There are two extremes. There are the head-banging Wainwright baggers who tick off every Lakeland peak above 1,000 feet, sometimes at great speed. And there are people who love the scenery but need their paths to be flat and accessible for wheelchairs and buggies. Countrywide, the Miles without Stiles movement is linking the people in this group with beautiful and accessible routes.
I want to strike a happy medium of challenge without too much technical difficulty. Hills that make my heart pump, rocky paths that challenge my balance. Streams, stiles, gates – bring ’em on. But first I need to benchmark my ability, and find out how far and how far how high I can go. If all goes well, I can plan routes higher and/or further.
Out of area
So yesterday we headed west to Loweswater, one of the smaller lakes of the Lake District. it was good to be able to drive ‘out of area’ for the first time since lockdown.
We chose a walk from Vivienne Crow’s book Lake District Low Level and Lake Walks (Cicerone 2014). Thirty walks are billed as ‘graded routes from 7 to 17 kilometres with no technical difficulties’.
This one, #17, is called the Loweswater Corpse Road. In her introduction Vivienne says:
“There is a gentle climb near the beginning, but after that you’re on a wide easy-to-follow track high above the Lake. The return route is via quiet lanes and a pleasant woodland path beside the lake.”
The track is called the Corpse Rd because in the old days there was no burial ground in Loweswater, and horses carried coffins along this bridleway out to the nearest village.
I don’t plan to give you detailed directions on every wobbly walk I do – I’ll refer you to the experts’ guidebooks. But I will show you how each walk ticks the boxes for me.
Ticking the boxes
Distance: 5.45 miles. Perfect. I got back to the car with a few miles still in my legs. And no stiffness the next day!
Terrain: Good under foot. Wide paths with no steep drops. No ‘empty miles’ of tarmac just to join up a circle.
Obstacles: Bridges and stiles all in good order. All gates opened and closed easily. High ladder stiles all had gates next to them. Please don’t make my mistake – climb the stile if the gate option means getting ankle deep in mud!
Directions: Excellent. Just enough features (like ‘gnarled trees) to reinforce that we were in the right place.
Car park: Maggie’s Bridge (Grid Ref NY 134 210) is small (10–11 cars), we were lucky that someone was leaving. We will set off from home earlier next time, while visitors are still woofing down their full English breakfasts.
Climb: 849 feet, comfortable up and down. Home stretch is flat.
Wainwrights bagged from below: Blake Fell, Burnbank Fell, Fellbarrow, Gavel, Grassmoor, Hen Comb, Low Fell, Mellbreak, Grasmoor, Whiteside, Whiteless Pike.
Time: 3:27 including picnic and photo stops and kit tweaks. Twelve minutes longer than the guidebook estimate.
Tweaks
If I’m to make a good walking companion, I don’t need to keep you waiting as long as Robin had to yesterday.
Things I got right included:
- Drinking from my Camelbak water bag (they are called ‘bladders’ in some circles, but drinking from my bladder doesn’t sound right!
- Elastic waisted trousers – no zips and buttons to worry about at pitstops
- Getting Robin to tie my bootlaces so they stay tied
Things I could improve to save time:
- A neck strap for my camera
- Fingerless gloves
- A map case with the instructions photocopied and enlarged
- My other poles, with handles I don’t have to remove to take a picture.
What next?
What do you suggest I do next? If you’ve a favourite walk in the Lake District, North Pennines or Howgills, and you think it would work for me, please let me know. And if you’d like to come too, that’s a bonus!
Listen >
Unlike other ParkyTracks posts, the wobbly walks don’t come with a gratuitous earworm. The birdsong and the sounds of running water are enough. Sometimes our walks are disturbed by the sound of loud agricultural machinery or builders doing up a holiday cottage – this one was relatively peaceful.
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