Dockray: High Force and Watermillock Common

by Miss Penny Black

As my blister isn’t getting any better or worse, I thought I’d take it easy today and break the day into two small walks, one on either side of the village.

In the morning I climbed halfway up Gowbarrow Fell and would’ve gone higher but I wasn’t keen on trying to climb a drystone wall.

I walked up to that tiny dark clump in the middle then down again. I really should’ve checked the map properly to see if there was a way to the top.

Then I walked down the valley to the first few sections of High Force and was then told by some people that the main section was closed due to a fallen tree.

It was another stunningly beautiful day, so I had a sandwich and cider in the sun. The sandwich was so good I order a packed lunch for my walk onward to Troutbeck tomorrow. Curried chicken – I’ve never eaten a sandwich quite this brightly coloured!

The photo doesn’t really do it justice, I feel like it was almost glow-in-the-dark yellow.

After lunch I rested my feet for a bit and had a phone call with Luke and his parents. Lea and Pete have just arrived in Lille, so they are much closer to my time zone. They are travelling around with friends of theirs and then meeting Luke and I halfway through May when we come back to the Lake District.

Next was a walk up the hill behind the pub. It looked like a Goldilocks level for me – not too steep, not too gravelly, not too busy! In fact, I didn’t see a single person between leaving the pub and getting back.

First I headed for the nearest small hill and made it to the top quite easily. The ground was mostly sphagnum moss and lumps of dry grass.

I hadn’t taken any water so I didn’t want to go too far, but I decided to head up to the next rise, then the next rise, until I realised I was up very high!

High enough to see Helvellyn in the distance. Helvellyn isn’t the highest fell, but it’s where Striding Edge is. Mum had to walk it when she was a kid because grandpa was a mountain climber and thought it was totally fine for a small child. I’ll find a photo from the internet to show you what it’s like.

Anyhow, it was exciting to see it from a distance. But then I saw something even more exciting, a fighter jet! I saw one on my last trip, whooshing down over Coniston. This time I saw one almost skim Ullswater, it was much lower than where I was standing. It was going too fast for me to get my camera out but here’s a photo with the level it was flying.

Am I too excited about this? It seemed very thrilling at the time but maybe it was just really loud.

Anyhow, I thought it was cool, then I did manage to get a photo of a much larger airforce plane going overhead.

Also fairly low but not quite as impressive.

The whole while I was climbing the wind was getting stronger and stronger. Despite the sun it was quite cold.

But I just kept going up and up. The tufts of grass made good footholds and not carrying a bag made it all easier. In the end I made it to the top of the disappointingly-named Common Fell. Literally the worst name of all the fells. There’s fells named Dollywagon Pike, Stang, Swineside Knot, High Spy and Crinkle Crags. I manage to have my best day yet on Common Fell. Oh well. Maybe the reason no one else was there was the unassuming name?

One day I will lose a shoe. But not today!

Maybe it was because half the surface of the fell was ankle deep bog. At one point I started singing that Annie Lennox song ‘Walking On Broken Glass’ but I changed the words to ‘walking on spagnum moss’ and thought… maybe I’ve spent too much time on my own today.

The moss was a lot better than loose shale though, and I don’t mind wet feet. The softness under foot was probably quite good for my joints and I didn’t feel very tired when I got back to the hotel.

I washed my hair then went out to sit in the sun in the beer garden. Earlier in the morning I’d had a chat to a lady from Montreal and her partner and then they (and their son) asked me if I’d like to join their table in the beer garden as I was sitting alone.

Well, you know me. I sat with them outside for an hour or so then we all went in for dinner and sat together. We talked about our journeys – the man’s father had died (at 103!) of Covid and they were taking his ashes from Scotland to Dorset, where he had wanted them buried. They had stopped in Cumbria for two nights on the way and had visited Wordsworth’s cottage this morning. A perfect time of year for celebrating the life of the man who single handedly made daffodils synonymous with the Lake District.

The man had been an artist and they showed me photographs they had taken of many of his artworks. They were all very beautiful and many were of the English countryside.

We also talked about books. Their son’s favourite genre was science fiction so we swapped authors and talked about our favourites.

All in all another delightful day spent doing things I love!

I finally got a photo of people I’ve met!

18Apr2023

Patterdale to Dockray: A Misty Morning, Daffodils and More Dogs

by Miss Penny Black

Staying at the YHA meant an unlimited English breakfast and I was making the most of it after all my exertions. I had booked the following two nights at the Royal Hotel in Dockray, a village so small that no one in Patterdale (only 5 miles distant) had heard of it.

After packing my bag and using the wifi to post my last blog entry, I set off. I immediately realised my blister was going to make the day very unpleasant if I didn’t do something about it. I hobbled to the general store in Glenridding and bought some medical tape (kind of papery in texture) and wrapped my little toe. This seemed to mostly stop the stabbing pain and the blood seeping through my newly-cleaned socks.

The fells were shrouded in mist and the distant reaches of the lake were ghostly, which made for some lovely photos and a nice cool walk.

I had a chat to a couple who asked where I was from and told me that they’d read in the news that Melbourne had just been declared Australia’s largest city. Only a few minutes later Daniel, (with whom I’ll be doing the Camino) messaged me with a news article saying the same. How funny to only really communicate twice in the morning and both about the same piece of news from the other side of the world.

I also had quite a long chat with a lady I’d met the previous day. She had been walking in the opposite direction on the far side of the lake with her dog and husband, who had a heart condition and was looking a bit pale.

When I met her today it was just her and the dog, her husband had hurt his knee on the previous day’s walk. She was clearly an extremely active and energetic person and her husband was not, which must make holidays in places like this very difficult. She had thought to come alone but then he had insisted on coming and now was injured. We both shook our heads at his folly and talked about travel.

She had wanted to go to South America this year but the trip had been cancelled at the last minute due to unrest in one of the places that was on the itinerary. I gave her the blog address and said if she ever made it to Australia to look me up – so if you’re reading this, hello! I realised we didn’t swap names so please leave a comment if you did end up here and I’ll give you my proper details!

Most of the west side of the Ullswater Way that I saw looked a lot like this.

I stopped for lunch at the Aira Force cafe, which was lovely but crowded and swarming with screaming children. It came as a bit of a shock because I’ve hardly seen any children so far and the day had been so quiet leading up to this point. After having a delicious croque monsieur, I walked around the cafe to the toilet block only to find a car park with over 100 cars. This is where all those people came from!

Delicious, but putting cheese on top of a sandwich does make it hard to hold.

The Lake District is a bit like this. Miles of quiet countryside and then pockets of tourists all jam-packed together. I guess anyone with mobility issues, children or limited time is just going to go to the main attractions. Aira Force is the biggest (highest? Widest? I don’t know) waterfall in the Lake District (in England? Great Britain?). There were so many people I couldn’t be bothered (hence why I know nothing about it) so I walked to Dockray via the narrow road rather than up along the waterfall trail. if the weather is nice I’ll maybe go back tomorrow.

The road was really narrow and I didn’t like how fast the cars were whizzing by, so I took a boggy detour through a field and up a hill. It probably took twice as long but the views were better and it felt safer, if damper.

Despite being a relatively short day’s walking it took me ages due to all the dawdling and chatting along the water. I got to the Royal Hotel at Dockray at about 3pm, glad to be off my feet and happy to finally find a pub with a half decent cider on tap (Aspall’s). Cider isn’t as popular in the north as in the south, unfortunately, and many pubs will only have Strongbow on tap and nothing in bottles. Aspall’s isn’t really traditional but it’s nice enough and the taste reminds me of so many summer days sitting outside pubs and enjoying the sun.

The pub seemed nice but there were no stools at the bar (always disappointing) so I grabbed a book from the shelf in the hallway and sat down to read and drink and rest. the book was very good, a bit like Bill Bryson’s style and very funny.

Dinner was pie and vegetables and I ended up chatting to a very nice couple who were sitting near me and had a beautiful two year old collie. Apparently Meena usually takes a long time to become comfortable with new people but she sidled up to me for pats after about half an hour and then stayed next to me for ages, continually blocking everyone’s path to the toilets.

After a couple of glasses of wine I was ready for bed and looking forward to a day without my huge pack!

15Apr2023

Wintercrag Farm

by Miss Penny Black

From Askham I booked two nights at Wintercrag Farm (a name that sounds very Game of Thrones, I think you’ll agree) in Martindale. As far as I can tell, Martindale comprises of four buildings and two of them are farms and two of them are churches. I can’t tell if this means the original locals were extremely pious or hated each other so much they couldn’t worship in the same building. Either way, both churches are now disused.

The house sits just over a little beck with a lovely view down the valley.

The farmers breed dogs, mainly collies, kelpie/collie mixes and terriers. I’ve seen a few of the farm dogs around but the breeding dogs are in a shed so I haven’t seen them as yet. I feel kind of bad about asking, knowing how busy farmers are, but I also really want to see them.

I had to carry all my food with me as there no shops at all within easy walking distance, so I’ve been mainly living on porridge, tomatoes, apples, cheese and flatbread. I did buy myself one treat in Pooley Bridge.

It’s only a small bottle (500ml) probably a bit too much to drink in only two nights but I’m willing to make that sacrifice. The man in the shop said it was perfect for drinking straight and he was right!

The rental accommodation at the farm is the entire upstairs. There are three bedrooms but I’m the only person here so I got to pick my own room.

There is a kitchen and bathroom, which are nice to have to myself. When we renovated our home we got rid of our bathtub, but I’ve had nothing but baths since I got here, they’re so nice after a long day walking.

The only negative thing I have to say about the place is the way the floors creak. There is not a spot on the entire second floor that doesn’t creak like something out of a horror movie. I mentioned it to the owner but she said they don’t notice it. If it was me downstairs I’d go mad within hours.

This morning I had a cup of porridge then set out up the fell at the back of the farm. It was a bit precipitous in places but I made it up to the first hill reasonably easily. Some thoughtful person had put a bench in a nice spot and I paused to enjoy the weather.

I then followed the ridge along a bit, stopping to talk to a man who was walking with his dog. It turned out he was from Askham, which was quite a coincidence, seeing as there wouldn’t be more than 200 people living there and he was the first person I’d spoken to since I left Askham, apart from the people at the farm.

He was very nice but told me he was 85 then proceeded to climb up and out of sight so quickly that I felt quite demoralised. Being almost 50, I don’t mind being overtaken by people under the age of 60, 70 at a stretch, but 85 is just ridiculous. Anyhow, I clambered up over rocks and along narrow paths but eventually decided it was too steep and turned around and went back down.

I quite like a bit of scrambling, but not when there is a steep drop right beside me. Better safe than sorry!

I made it back to the farmhouse for lunch then a nap that was supposed to be an hour long but was more like three. I think yesterday’s hike with my full backpack had been more exhausting than I’d realised and I also felt like I was getting a bit of a cold.

In the afternoon I walked across the road and up the hill a little, watching the farm dogs herd the sheep down from the fells (there’s a video on my instagram if anyone is interested: zenandtheart is my username), then I took a walk down the floor of the valley along the road. I saw some sheep with their lambs in a barn and lots of very picturesque buildings.

For dinner I made my two minute noodles (apparently they are THREE minute noodles in the uk, ick) with a sachet of tuna, cherry tomatoes and chopped up cheddar (gourmet!) and afterwards I finished off the vodka. It’s only 20% so it was like having about 3 glasses of wine but the wine was like the caramel sauce you put on ice cream when you were a kid. After a while it was a bit too sweet but I bravely managed to finish it all.

May I share my trick for having a nice cold drink in an Airbnb with no ice tray? Just fill several glasses with about a centimetre of water, freeze them when you first arrive and voila! Iced beverages. I did chill the vodka too, but I wanted to drink it slowly.

Tomorrow I’m going to walk to Patterdale, which is about eight km/five miles, and hope there’s room in the YHA. If there isn’t maybe I’ll suck it up and actually do some camping!

Luke told me two things today, one is that I make a lot of typos in the blog, which I hope you’ll all write off as jet lag and not me being too lazy to edit, or worse, not knowing how to spell or construct a sentence! Also that at least one person from his work has been reading the blog, so hi to Luke’s workmate! I hope you’re enjoying it, I’m sure it’ll be more interesting once Luke starts contributing too.

Goodnight!

This is Winnie, I have no idea what kind of dog she is but she hugs my leg then closes her eyes and leans on me.

The working dogs are a lot less interested in pats.

15Apr2023

Hiking: Askham to Winter Crag via Pooley Bridge

by Miss Penny Black

I realise those names aren’t going to mean much to most people but it was my first day of real hiking! Very exciting! And all to places I’ve never been before. Last time I mainly stuck to the Cumbria Way, which heads through the middle of the LD, north to south, but this time I’ve started in the far east.

Last time I was here in the Lake District I used waterproof paper maps, but this time I’ve downloaded the OS map app and it’s saved a lot of room in my pack! I had to carry four giant sheets for the entire region, it’s nice to have that space free for other things now.

After a marginally better night of sleep I had French toast and bacon for breakfast (it’s really the best thing for my health to be leaving the Punchbowl, I think I’ve had too much of a good thing) and found an Airbnb property in a valley off Ullswater, the closest and second largest of the lakes in Cumbria.

I set off in beautiful sunshine and headed west through the village. Most villages are in valleys so they are close to water, but this means every hike starts with an uphill climb, so by the time I’d got to the top of the rise I was in short sleeves, despite it being about 5 degrees.

A panorama of fells, snow-capped in the distance, ringed the horizon and I felt my spirits soar.

I took a little deviation from the path to get to the highest point on Heughscar Hill, where I had a wonderful surprise.

Fell ponies! I had no idea if they were the sort of wild animals you could get very close to. Like any sane person, I’m wary of animals that weigh five times as much as me, but they seemed extremely unconcerned by my presence and the track brought me closer.

They had very long manes and were middle-sized, bigger than Icelandic ponies but not huge. There were 14 in total, one grey and the rest dark brown. After a bit of research I learned that wild fell ponies are quite rare and have been in England since before Roman times. Around Ullswater and north of Kendal is the best place to see them.

Fortunately the hail was tiny – smaller than a pea, so I put on my hat and coat and I was fine. It didn’t last long and it was preferable to rain as it just bounced off.

After I got to the top of the hill I started seeing other hikers in the distance, all heading towards High Street, an old Roman road and ridge that runs 20 miles from near Askham to Windermere. Walking it had been my main goal for this trip but now that I’m seeing the tiny little people on top it seems very high.

I walked over the hill and down into Pooley Bridge. The sun came out again and the small town was heaving with day trippers and campers. Ullswater is ringed with campsites and hotels, and there’s a 20 miles circuit walk of the lake.

I stopped in the town and first looked at a church hall craft market, where I definitely wasn’t going to buy anything.

I bought three things. In my defence, they were all very small things.

I asked one of the ladies where to get coffee and she recommended a cafe/bookstore around the corner. I can’t think of a better retail combination!

I had a very nice coffee and a slice of a citrus something-or-other.

I also used the bathroom, which is something I wouldn’t normally mention on the blog, but check out this wallpaper!

The owner of my accommodation for the coming night had recommended talking the lake steamer down the the far end and walking from there, but I had all day (it was only 11am) and it didn’t look far on the map, so I decided to walk.

Once out of Pooley Bridge the crowds subsided to a constant stream rather than an impenetrable scrum, and I saw lots of sodden spaniels, romping retrievers and dripping dachsunds, all enjoying the water.

I looked longingly at the little sailboats out on the water, but apparently they are all privately owned, all the boats for rent were motorised or of the paddling variety.

To be honest, after two lessons this year I’m not sure I’m entirely qualified to take one out, but still…

I took a few breaks along the side of the lake as there didn’t seem to be much rush. The path eventually moved away from the water and up into the hills, where the ubiquitous streams and bogs started to appear. In Australia, if you went out bushwalking, a stream or river would be something you’d come across a couple of times a day, if you were lucky. Here it’s more unusual to not be walking over shallow running water or wading through mud at every gate.

At one point a nice family helped me hoist my bag over a drystone wall and I got my first injury on the pointy slate but it was just a little cut on my leg.

It’s funny how distances on maps can look so short in the morning and turn out to be so very far by mid-afternoon! After several hours I still had several valleys and hills to negotiate, but I finally got to my destination; Wintecrag Farm.

Altogether I did 17km (or, less impressively, a bit over 10 miles) carrying about 10kg and only one blister to show for it. A good first day!

13Apr2023

Books, Buses and Big Hills

by Miss Penny Black

Despite making an effort to stay up later and fight my jet lag with all my heart, I woke up at 4am. With nothing better to do I turned the television on quietly and there was a cooking show where a woman demonstrated how to make risotto in a Bundt tin and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this level of cognitive dissonance sober.

Breakfast wasn’t until 8 but I went down early anyway and the lovely lady in the kitchen was happy to accomodate me with a perfect plate of traditional English breakfast fare, which I think every will agree, is one of the best ways to start the day.

Much better than risotto Bundt. No grilled tomato or black pudding and I’m not apologising.

There were two men at another table having their breakfast just after I finished mine. We got chatting and it turned out they were on their way to Scotland to pick up medical supplies for people in Ukraine. They were retired and had started an organisation in the New Forest to provide aid. A doctor in Scotland had things to donate so they were driving north to collect the stuff then drive to Ukraine to deliver everything. This was the tenth time they had made the trip!

They were both very good humoured about it and clearly loved what they were doing. I suggested golf would be an easier way to get out of the house and they laughed, saying their wives were happy to see them go;-). People are so interesting, no matter who I talk to I learn something surprising!

Although the weather had improved slightly I wasn’t keen on walking too far so I inquired about the possibility of a bus to Penrith, assuming there would be at least a few each day. No, actually there was one… a week! But it went today! No one at the pub knew precisely when it went so I walked up to the shop and asked there. No one at the shop had ever caught the bus but they pointed me to the sign next to the bus shelter and it turned out I had a bit over an hour before the bus left and it would give me two hours in Penrith before doing the return trip. This was all very exciting and I promised to report back upon my return. Time for a few photos of daffodils before it arrived.

I arrived at the bus stop early and was joined by a man and then a woman and we had a good chat about how high property prices are, the scourge of Airbnb rentals and how terrible the weather was. Then a woman (Kay) pulled up in her car as she knew the lady (June) and asked if all of us would like a lift into a Penrith. I was a bit torn because I’d been looking forward to catching this mysterious once-a-week bus, but I also didn’t 100% trust it to turn up so I said yes to the lift.

The bus stop contains some cushions and a box of books. If you leave a donation it goes towards the pool.

It turned out to be quite an interesting ride – June runs the local OUTDOOR pool, however it’s not open for a couple more weeks. When it’s open it’s heated to 29 degrees! I am so sad that I can’t go, I’m definitely putting it on my list of things to do on my next visit.

We were dropped off in Penrith, with many thanks to Kay, and I arranged to meet June at Morrisons at 1:15pm. I had a short list of things I needed, which I managed to buy in the first 15 minutes so then I was free to wander around town.

Penrith has some charming laneways but this photo makes it look kind of derelict.. but it isn’t, I promise!

I had a walk around, bought two op shop books then realised I’d already read one of them so I left it in the bus stop box in Askham before I left. I took a few photos of some buildings around town too.

I had a cup of coffee in a cafe that seemed entirely filled with very noisy elderly people who either all knew each other or just like talking loudly to strangers (right up my alley, obviously) and the vibe was great.

The only other thing I did in town was look at the museum, which was small but had many interesting things. I particularly liked the Roman coins and this quiver and arrows.

I wandered up to Morrisons in time to meet June and then catch the bus back. June was probably in her late fifties but everyone else on the bus was definitely on their second set of teeth. They were talking about a young couple in the village who were very nice and then after a bit someone remarked that the couple in question were in their sixties 😂.

Then one of the ladies said a friend of her had written a book and everyone wanted to know what it was about and she said very loudly ‘Sex!’ and everyone laughed and wanted to know more but she claimed she hadn’t actually read it. By this time June and I, up the back of the bus, were almost crying we were laughing so hard.

When we got off she asked what I thought and I said it was the most entertaining bus ride I’d had in a long time!

When I got back to the Punchbowl it was a bit early to be propping up the bar so I took a walk to the other end of the village. I saw a church yard with some very old tombstones and lots more daffodils.

Further on I walked over the river and then saw Lowther castle in the distance. Jet lag has really been an issue in the afternoons so I turned back after a short walk.

I had mentally prepared myself for a quiet evening as the previous night had been so enjoyable, chatting to so many people had really filled my tank in terms of social interactions, and the chances of having two great evenings in a row seemed unlikely, however it turned out that the second night at the Punchbowl was even better than the first.

I ended up chatting to the bar staff but also meeting a local, David, who is an author. He has one book published but is working on his next book, which is part of a three book deal, which I thought was very impressive!

I wish I’d got a photo together as we got on so well. We talked about poetry, art, music, film, travel – everything! It was so lovely to meet someone so interesting. I gave him the blog address so if you’re reading this, David, leave a message!

Being a bit more of a homebody than myself, he was very concerned at my laissez faire approach to my travels (I had no idea where I was staying the following night) but if you’re reading this I’d like to reassure you things worked out ok although I did nearly kill myself climbing over a very precarious stile!

Whew! Congratulations to anyone who slogged through this enormous post. It was all very fascinating to me but maybe not everyone is interested in the joys of regional bus services and swathes of daffodils😂. Good news, in the next post I actually do some hiking!