There was an air of expectancy as Aycliffe Fell Walkers boarded the coach in Newton Aycliffe last Saturday morning! Their destination was the northern Lake District, especially Threlkeld, Grasmere and the high level Helvellyn Ridge.
The forecast had been extremely encouraging and so walkers were dressed accordingly, bare arms and bare legs being much in evidence. They were destined to enjoy blue skies and warming sunshine for the whole day, several being noticeably suntanned on the homeward coach journey.
Though most paths up from the Thirlmere – Grasmere valley were steep, with exertion during the climb leading to greatly elevated body temperatures, once the ridge had been attained a strong cooling breeze kept everyone comfortable despite the strong sunshine.
Most walkers traversed the whole Helvellyn ridge, not descending until Clough Head had been climbed. They were rewarded with continuous and extensive views of all the surrounding hills, Cross Fell and Wild Boar Fell across the Eden Valley being particularly prominent. There were also distant views of Morecombe Bay and the Irish Sea.
Some walkers chose to stay low and enjoyed a walk beside High Rigg, heading towards Castlerigg and its Stone Circle before heading back to Threlkeld and its hostelries.
A small group stayed local to Threlkeld and enjoyed flat walking along the disused railway line, plus a riverside walk beside the River Glenderamackin, ending with a visit to Scales beneath the mighty (and now for sale!) Blencathra.
The paths into Threlkeld, where our driver had parked to await our arrival, were pleasant but an episode with an “overly-friendly” horse gave some walkers a moment of consternation and led to various quips in the pub afterwards such as “Well, you must have been horsing around!” and “Were you afraid of the horse?” “Neigh, lad!”
If you would like to get high on mountain air you can join this friendly fell walking club simply by contacting our secretary, Alan, on 01325 488225 or by visiting our website afwc.org.uk
