Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club
Walk & Event Reports
Sunday 12th March 2017
A Walk
Dollywaggon Pike
6 Miles Grade 1
Leader: Peter Flynn
Report & Photos by Peter Flynn
There’s always one in every new batch. Today we welcomed Leia from Kershope Foot (between Canonbie and Newcastleton) on her first Sunday walk, and the first serious question she asked was “why is it called `Dollywaggon`Pike? The answer that thousands of people had climbed it over the years without needing to know such esoteric facts was not sufficient, so I told her I would make enquiries. It turns out to be from two Norse words, one being “dolgr” which everyone knows is “fiend or giant” and the other “veggin” which means “raised”. So it is a raised fiend or giant and climbing it today made us all realise that it is much more of a fiend than Helvellyn itself. We did a linear walk – one car at Swirls and the other parked up at Dunmail Raise. Lauren, Roger and Bruce were also in the party, and Bruce was desperate to see something – anything – from the summit of any of the hills we traversed, but his hopes were dashed by continuous mist. We climbed Dollywaggon by means of a compass bearing rather than the path which was not immediately visible from the bottom and it was hard work – very steep. From the summit, it was an easy stroll along the main path to Helvellyn traversing the beautifully named “Willie Wife Moor” (no – only one question allowed per walk!). On the summit it was very cold, though we did have the good fortune to find protection from the wind in the summit shelter for lunch. After that, it was a steady descent down the rocky path to Swirls. Despite the lack of views, it was a lovely walk and we all expressed the opinion that Leia would join us again for another A walk.
Peter
