The Lovely Lake District

I spent this past weekend on an amazing trip to the Lake District in Cumbria with the Fell Club. Though we left an hour late because one of the mini-buses was missing (how does one lose a bus?!) and then had to travel over six hours (thankfully with a fish and chips break!), we arrived at the hut just after midnight. We had the hut all to ourselves, and though it was freezing cold, it was quite nice with its kitchen, large eating area, a sitting soon with a tiny fire places, and 5-6 bedrooms with bunks upstairs. We were all exhausted and crashed straightaway that first night and were greeted early the next morning with a cup of tea.


After some porridge and lunch packing, the four walks, grouped by intensity, were announced by the trip leaders and we set off for the fells--a.k.a. mountains. As soon as I stepped out o the hut I was amazed by the mountains that just sprung out o the ground as it had been far too dark to see anything the night before. It was definitely different here from flat Norwich and the other parts parts of England I have seen. The hike I opted for started in Ambleside and made a 17K (~11 mi) trek around a horseshoe, so we ascended and then basically walked along the ridge changing elevation just slightly when we went up and over the various peaks. It was amazing! The views were beautiful and we couldn't have asked for better weather as it was sunny and dry. It was cold in the morning and there was a frost, which made everything really pretty, but as the day went on and we started hiking, it was grew quite warm. Since we were following the horseshoes, it was neat because we could see across the gap where we were going and later, where we had been. Being able to see so far and so clearly the whole walk, rather than being enclosed by trees, was something that you would never get in New England. The whole walk just seemed so British! Instead of the bison and bears I grew accustomed to in Yellowstone, the wildlife here consisted of sheep. They were everywhere! Unfortunately their hot pink spray painted wool, used to identify them, took away from the otherwise perfectly pastoral setting. Along the trail, we followed miles of old stone wall used to keep in the sheep. It was amazing how far they all ran and how well they have remained intact. I can't even imagine building all of that!


After about 6-7 hours on the trail, we arrived back in the quaint town and found a pub to wait in for the other group before heading back to the hut to make and devour a delicious dinner. Following dinner, ridiculous games ensued like musical chairs, twisted versions of twister, a game where you link arms and try to get other people to knock over the bucket in the center, and other madness. Finally, after several varieties of cake to celebrate a fellow fell member's birthday (they are all about their cakes here--cakes are seldom chocolate or vanilla, but rather they are banana, sticky date, fruit, walnut, etc) and story time, we all went to sleep in order to get some rest before heading out again. In the morning, we all felt the muscle sores and blisters, but were excited to get out one last time. This time the group I went with did a walk in another part of the Lake District called Buttermere. It wasn't as long as Saturday's walk (maybe only 8-9K) but parts of it were quite steep. Aside from a rough start, where we got slightly lost, both in the mini-bus on our way and in the fields meandering alongside the sheep once we started walking, it turned out to be another great hike. We past a waterfall, the tallest in the area, and walked in a valley along a river before ascending Red Pike where we had lunch and marvelled at the view of the other mountains and the little town we had started in so far below.


There is so much more I could say to describe the trip and the pictures I have don't do it full justice, but overall it was just a great weekend. I'm so glad I was able to see another part of England, especially one as pretty as the Lake District!