May is Busy


Beautiful view Crew and a view Navigation time Towards the next climb Where are we? Wonderful Water
High Street Stroll. May 16th from Ambleside. Leader Alf Short.

Not so much a ‘stroll’ as a strenuous 31ml high level scenic tour from Ambleside over the mountains of the central and eastern Lake District, with over 7000ft of ascent. A terrific day out for seven intrepid souls, with weather alternating between warm and decidedly ‘parky’, depending on the variable wind, cloud cover and height. One brief squall, but an otherwise dry day with near perfect walking conditions.

On the outward journey we visited the Garburn and Nan Bield Passes, Harter Fell, Nabs Moor and Mosedale, before returning to Ambleside via the Old Corpse Road (used in bygone days to transport corpses by horseback from Mardale to Shap for burial), Hawswater, Kidsty Pike, High Street and the Kirkstone Pass. A journey of great panorama and (too easily taken for granted) spectacular scenery. The only disappointment of a very enjoyable day was the absence of the ice cream van we were banking on at Mardale Head. A good warm up for the ‘100’.



Bluebells in Borsdane? May 18th. 5 easy miles, Start 7pm, finish 9pm.

When I chose the title for this walk there was a question mark over whether we would see Bluebells in full bloom as flowering time can vary. In the event the hard winter worked in my favour and Borsdane Wood was seen in full glory with a profusion of sweet smelling bluebells and a contrast of strong wild garlic.

52 people and 12 (?) dogs gathered for this walk. The first part was an easy stroll along country tracks through four local farms. The fields were green, many of them had horses in enjoying the evening sunshine; trees were in full bud and hiding some of the view seen in winter. It was a lovely evening and on crossing an old railway line we could see over to Winter Hill and Rivington Pike.

We had a short break for cake and sweets and then walked back through Borsdane Wood. Although we lost the sun due to tree cover, the smell was glorious and the drifts of bluebells were indeed a sight to see. The dogs at the front had a wonderful time chasing each other up and down the banking and occasionally in the stream. After leaving the wood we walked through a couple of fields to rejoin the original track and so back to the cars. A lovely evening stroll. Thanks to all who came.

Hilary Scott.
Along the track Bluebell time By a Farm Entering Borsdane In the Wood Leaving Borsdane