Lake District

Day 1 - Blencathra 

Written by Harry Curtis

After a long and tiring journey on Friday evening and a short and restless sleep on the floor of the village hall, we woke at half 7 ready for a full day in England’s finest national park. The day started with breakfast, consisting of copious amounts of tea and toast, as well as my delicious porridge that mysteriously wasn’t particularly popular. We were soon donning our waterproofs and lacing our boots, ready to take on Blencathra.

Ethan marched us up the hill, and we enjoyed the view across St Johns in the Vale and Dale Bottom, looking for Causeway Foot, the site of many previous Wayfarers adventures. It wasn’t long however until we were shrouded in mist and fog, and the views were limited to a few metres in front of you. It was a steep climb, but with good company and plentiful snacks we made it up there in no time.

There wasn’t much to see on top and the powerful gusts were threatening to blow us into the abyss (and that was before the bean chilli!) so we kept moving in search of a suitable lunch spot. The fog and wind made for difficult navigation, and Harry T explained the merits of navigation beads and informed us that they are different to the variety used in chess. After looking at Sharp Edge, we were confident we made the right decision in not planning the route over it so started our descent down a safer, but still challenging, scree slope. After lunch, we split into two groups, with one heading back for priority use of the showers and the other heading on a long schlep across the moors. I was leading the shorter group so I have no idea what happened on the other route but they all came back alive so it must have been fine.

Our ‘short’ route quickly descended the hills, so we took refuge in the White Horse in Scales for pints, hot chocolates and cheesy chips. From here the route appeared to be a short three kilometre stroll along the valley into Threlkeld – however it could never be that simple! What followed was a treacherous traverse of the side of Blencathra with more than a little bit of mild peril. We found ourselves slipping down scree, jumping rivers and scrambling up short but challenging crags, which all proved quite tough after a long walk and a session sampling the local golden ale. Thankfully we were soon back at the hall for much tea and many biscuits, and the kitchen team could set about peeling potatoes.

After a valiant effort by the chefs (not helped by Ethan deeming cumin non-essential for chilli and leaving it at the Guild!), dinner was served, and we enjoyed a traditional Wayfarers meal of something saucy served with potatoes. The after-dinner entertainment was provided by committee members and their quiz rounds, which was convincingly won by team ‘Elliott's Gone’. Following this, some of us headed out to the pub to see the evening off over a little too much local ale and hearty debate.  

Another great day in the Lakes with the Wayfarers, and with much more to look forward to on Sunday...

Day 2 - Coniston and Cake

Written by Matthew Armour

Sunday began at 7am sharp with the toast line forming within minutes. Teller held down the fort on toast production as the mother porridge was revitalised for day 2. Whilst Kieran failed to fry 5 eggs, the mildly warmed porridge was dolloped out to a few enthusiastic takers – although reception amongst the hungover cohort was less positive. With breakfast tackled attention was turned to cleaning. Dishes were washed, floors were mopped, buses were packed and the porridge was laid to rest. 

With Harry T still busy on the thrown, the Peter-mobile set off for Coniston leaving some slightly bewildered Wayfarers waiting patiently in the car park. With Peter deciding to spare 4 cyclists and grant them life, we successfully reached Coniston after a leisurely paced journey – probably a blessing for the slightly worse for wear Gear sec. A split was then decided – with some deciding a wet, bleak and foggy haul up Old Man of Coniston was what was needed to ruin their Sunday – and the other group taking a Teller-led trudge along the ‘lake’ in search of a flapjack. After some mild trespassing through Raymond Priestly, the pootle group ended up a little soggy but happy in Undercrag café and a nearby pub. After demolishing a scone with butter, cream and jam Mr Curtis was contacted by the brave group on the mountain who had decided to forgo their summit attempt in light of the soul-destroying rain conditions. Leaving their cosy comforts the groups reconvened at Bluebird Café where we were met by Mother and Father Curtis. 

With the day waning, and a Wombats concert to attend, Kieran was whisked off to the O2 Academy in business class, whilst the minibuses deployed a smoke screen to make a speedy getaway. After successfully tracking down the illusive Pritchatts Park, the masses were deposited around Selly Oak before finishing off the weekend in popadom cracking, naan bread dipping and tandoori tearing style.

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend, and big thanks to Peter and Harry T for their driving – and thanks for putting up with my coughing!