Saturday 13th & 20th September 2008
As has been mentioned, my holiday in Scotland last September was plagued by bad weather. It was wet, overcast and there was so much low cloud I didn’t have a view from the top of any of the mountains I climbed. In fact as I look back over the past year it seems like there has been a lot of wet weather during my walks with few that had good weather. After the poor summer I had hoped for an Indian summer in Scotland but it never happened. The poor weather during the summer quickly turned into a wet and miserable autumn. The drive up to Scotland was through increasingly wet weather, especially once I was in Scotland. Before I got there, however, I stopped off in the Lake District for a walk just as I had done the year before. This year, though, was rather different as I had my parents in the car with me. When they expressed an interest in visiting Scotland I suggested they go the same week as me and we share petrol costs. This meant I would not be able to do a strenuous walk as I would otherwise have done as my parents are not experienced walkers, especially my Mother. I decided that I would take them up Loughrigg Fell, a relatively easy hill (only 1100 feet high) that had, in fact, been the first hill in the Lake District that I’d gone up. Loughrigg Fell has some stunning views and I was planning on showing off some of these sights to my parents who had never been to the Lake District before.
My plans however were scuppered by two things: firstly the weather, which, although it wasn’t raining at that point, it was poor with very low cloud, and secondly, and more importantly, the traffic. Between Windermere and Ambleside we came across a long traffic jam that seemed very slow moving. With the prospect of being stuck in this for hours I turned the car around and headed over the Kirkstone Pass. The cloud was so low we were soon enveloped as I drove higher than we would ever have walked if we’d gone up Loughrigg Fell. At 1489 feet the pass is the highest road in the Lake District but I didn’t stop there as I drove down into Patterdale and around Ullswater. I had decided that the best place to take my parents for a walk in the Lake District would be where I’d walked while coming back from Scotland last year: Aira Force. After parking in the National Trust car park we walked along the path beside the river slowly climbing up the hillside until we reached the spectacular waterfall of Aira Force. There was considerably more water passing over the waterfall into the narrow ravine than I saw last year, proof that the summer had been very wet.
Continuing up the river I was determined to reach High Force (that is actually my Father standing in the way of the picture), another waterfall further upstream that I hadn’t seen last year. With a lot of encouragement I managed to get my Mother along the wet and muddy paths to the wider and more expansive, higher waterfall. Awed by the sight, I took loads of photos while my parents waited apprehensively on the opposite bank, not wanting to copy my daring crossing of the river. With my goal satisfied we returned to the car park, taking a path that crossed the lower slopes of Gowbarrow Fell; the moorland was a delightful contrast to the woodland paths beside the river, though markedly muddier, much to my Mother’s consternation. The weather during our short walk was surprisingly clear as the clouds began to lift soon after we started walking. I guess in view of how the weather later developed on this holiday, we were fortunate as the weather soon deteriorated again once we set off again towards Scotland.
Continuing up the river I was determined to reach High Force (that is actually my Father standing in the way of the picture), another waterfall further upstream that I hadn’t seen last year. With a lot of encouragement I managed to get my Mother along the wet and muddy paths to the wider and more expansive, higher waterfall. Awed by the sight, I took loads of photos while my parents waited apprehensively on the opposite bank, not wanting to copy my daring crossing of the river. With my goal satisfied we returned to the car park, taking a path that crossed the lower slopes of Gowbarrow Fell; the moorland was a delightful contrast to the woodland paths beside the river, though markedly muddier, much to my Mother’s consternation. The weather during our short walk was surprisingly clear as the clouds began to lift soon after we started walking. I guess in view of how the weather later developed on this holiday, we were fortunate as the weather soon deteriorated again once we set off again towards Scotland. On setting off I discovered that I had been a little careless while backing into the parking spot at Aira Force. I must have hit my exhaust on the high curb as there was now a loud noise coming from underneath the car particularly during acceleration. With no opportunity to fix it I had to drive all the way to Fort William from the Lake District with a broken exhaust. I must apologise to everyone in Scotland who was subjected to the terrible noise from my car. I wasn’t able to get it fixed until Tuesday morning by which time I’m sure most of Scotland knew I was there. At the end of the week, with the car fixed, it was time to come back home and once again the Lake District beckoned. When we left Fort William the weather was as poor as ever but as we approached England a sight beheld us that we hadn’t seen all week: the sun. After a week of grey overcast, often wet, skies, once we were back in England the weather was superb with clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Unfortunately we couldn’t take advantage of the weather as my ankle was in no fit state for walking (and my parents were defying all common-sense by saying they didn’t want to go for a walk into the hills). Instead we went to Ashness Bridge, a particularly attractive beauty spot that coincidently had been on a painting in the Bed & Breakfast that my parents had stayed at.
It was really frustrating for me to be in the Lake District in such perfect weather and yet not go for a walk. While we were there, my father asked me whether I preferred walking in the Lake District or Scotland, and the truth is that the Lake District wins every time. I like walking in Scotland, I have done some absolutely fabulous walks there over the years, but in the long run they don’t have the attraction of the Lake District. Despite having been to the Lake District many times over the years I still find myself going back time and time again. It is a place that one can love being in as it’s refreshing, relaxing and enjoyable while Scotland is often difficult, challenging and tough. I really enjoy going to Scotland, but I love going to the Lake District.
It was really frustrating for me to be in the Lake District in such perfect weather and yet not go for a walk. While we were there, my father asked me whether I preferred walking in the Lake District or Scotland, and the truth is that the Lake District wins every time. I like walking in Scotland, I have done some absolutely fabulous walks there over the years, but in the long run they don’t have the attraction of the Lake District. Despite having been to the Lake District many times over the years I still find myself going back time and time again. It is a place that one can love being in as it’s refreshing, relaxing and enjoyable while Scotland is often difficult, challenging and tough. I really enjoy going to Scotland, but I love going to the Lake District.
No comments:
Post a Comment