Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club

Walk & Event Reports

Sunday 13th August 2017

A Walk

Sharp Edge - Blencathra

 8 Miles Grade 1scr

Leader: Peter Flynn

Report by Peter Flynn

Photos by Lauren Sarasini & Peter Flynn

Why do middle aged,  otherwise (normally) sensible people take on and enjoy quite serious scrambles on rock faces?  It is baffling,  because of the eight on our walk today (7 by bus and David,  with his two dogs, joined us at Threlkeld) 4 had never done this scramble and 2 had never done any scrambling at all.  One said “it’s not really my scene) and proceeded to rollop up the rocks (new word I have made up – not reached the Oxford Dictionary yet).  The walk today was in the form of a figure 8 – up Hall’s Fell, down to Scales Tarn and up Sharp Edge then down Doddick Fell.  Despite the misgivings,  everyone not only completed the climbs but could not stop talking about them and clearly thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  Re. the original question – in a discussion two or three said it took them back to infancy where they were able to climb around and explore all sorts of new sensations.  My own thought is that it gives a genuine challenge in a fairly anodyne world and the feeling of having faced the challenge and overcome it is exhilarating.  The only problem we had was right at the end when we had finished the walk and Alan saw a sign offering a short cut to the village.  When we ended up in a field with a large brown bull,  gazing at us with a puzzled expression, and no exit to the village or anywhere else,  we decided that we had somehow taken the wrong path.  A little bit of barbed wire and the odd dry stone wall failed to stop us,  however,  and we made it to the village hall (pub for three of the party) for tea and cakes well before the B party flooded it with their demands for refreshment.  A great walk,  thanks to all for coming.

Peter