Lake District May 23 – 26 (Bank Holiday)
Dalegarth Campsite, Buttermere
Organiser: Claire
Attendees: Claire, Alan, Maggie, Keyna, Bruce, Pam, Martin, and John
The advance party of Alan, Claire and Maggie arrived by lunchtime on Friday to find the best camping spot. It started off idyllic…but being at the bottom of a number of terraces and the few nights of torrential rain that were to follow, that point of view changed by the end of the weekend, as it turned into a mini Glastonbury. After setting up camp, the threesome set off up the steep hillside behind the site to bag the first Wainwright of the weekend – Robinson. As the clouds cleared on the downward stretch, the views over the lake were rather nice. Pam, Martin and John were in residence when we returned, luckily for them on a higher terrace. Bruce and Keyna arrived bright and early Saturday morning having set off from Newbury at some ungodly hour, and we all set off to complete the High Stile ridge, also adding on Starling Dodd and Great Borne to make a mammoth walk, taking in 5 Wainwrights. Needless to say Maggie took a short cut and was found later in a Buttermere pub with Martin and John. The obligatory BBQ and fire followed before the rain got too much. Sunday was a glorious morning, and we set off to do a round of 6 Wainwrights from Crummock Water, including Whiteside, Hopegill Head and Grasmoor, with great views all the way as the cloud drifted in and out. There was even a sunbathing opportunity on top of Rannerdale Knotts. However, once again the rain crept in during the evening, and by the morning, we had a mud fest round our tents, which took some very careful packing up of tents and equipment. On Monday we did a shorter walk from the Newlands Pass up onto Knott Rigg and Ard Crags, with young John delighting us with his Thomas the Tank Engine impersonation which got him running up his first 2 Wainwrights!
