Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club

Walk & Event Reports

Sunday 27th August 2017

A Walk

Whernside

 9 Miles Grade 1

Leader: Phil Howarth

Report & Photos by Peter Flynn

The adventure started well before we actually put foot to ground in Dent.  How David,  the driver,  managed to negotiate, with a full sized coach, what was little more than a very twisty cycle track – the road between Sedbergh and Dent – was a total mystery. An amazing piece of driving!  Manage it he did and dropped the 10 of us in the A party (along with the C party) at the main car park in the village.  A notice there said that coaches could park for free – presumably none has ever made it through in the past.  Come to think of it,  we did get some odd looks.  The track to Whernside took us steeply out of the village and along a track past a very oddly shaped tree;  Lauren ducked under it,  unaware that it was a magic wishing tree,  and had she ducked under twice more,  she could have had any wish granted.  The track became very boggy and I doubt there were many in the party with dry feet by the end of it.  We were aiming for a point where the track crossed a road,  and until the last hundred yards,  we simply saw no signs of the road.  There were worried expressions all round and maps and GPS devices all came out,  but then – the road.  This was the signal for us to start climbing the final and very lengthy slope to the summit.  Hard work,  but the views from the top – including Ribblehead Viaduct – were simply amazing.  There were tremendous numbers of people approaching the summit from the north – presumably from Pen y Ghent.  One chap was carrying a cricket bat – heaven alone knows where he intended to play.  Then a young boy of about 7 or 8 announced that he could see Pakistan!  We suggested (ie. his family plus Lauren & I) that we must be in Northern India,  and that the mountain he was heading for could well be Everest.  We left the crowds fairly soon and headed across country on a very quiet track to return to Dent.  The river we followed disappeared from time to time but then came back in the shape of deep pools, waterfalls and rapids.  A great walk,  very well planned and led by Phil.  A big welcome to a new member of the group – Gerry – who has reached Carlisle from Donegal via London and a career in the RAF

Peter