Walking with a legend

David Powell-Thompson & me!

I have to confess that David Powell-Thompson is rather a hero of mine. As a fan of Lake District walking programmes I have seen him play cricket on top of Knott (one of the mountains behind Skiddaw that has rather a flat summit) with the crew filming Stuart Maconie and guide Julia Bradbury across Sharp Edge. David has such an amazing knowledge of the Lake District that any guided walk with him at the helm is going to be worth every step.

This guided walk however had the added bonus of including Mark Gilligan, an award-winning photographer who I met recently when he was writing an article about me and my book. Mark’s role was to give basic photography tips for amateur photographers like me (and I need all the help I can get!)

View to the jaws of Borrowdale (photo taken with help!)

We met at the tiny hamlet of Grange in Borrowdale (which has two lovely cafes) and set off towards Derwent Water. The origins of Grange date back to medieval times when the monks at Furness Abbey built a monastic grange (a manor house that was used for food production). It has a double-arched stone bridge that was built in 1675 that I think is the only double-arched bridge I have come across.

The rapport between David and Mark was clear immediately and it made the whole day light-hearted and entertaining as well as highly informative. Here came the first comparison between one of my “point and shoot” photos of the lake and a photo that with Mark’s advice and taking just a little bit more time, looked so much better. It sounds obvious but it really is all about how you capture the light. 

Before

After - much better colour contrast

Using the same technique

After my first short photography tuition, we headed up behind the Lodore Falls walking beside beautiful cascades and waterfalls that were still frozen in parts and glittering as the sun came through the trees. I started to understand how to use light and dark contrasts on my camera at this point - I still have a  lot to learn (as you can see from the photos) but at least I know the technique.

As we were on a trial run for the guided walks rather than an official one, we decided to cross the river over some stones rather than continue up to the footbridge. It was an interesting few minutes. David hopped across like a mountain goat, I demonstrated that walking poles can actually be useful (thanks for lending me one Mark) and Mark demonstrated that his walking boots were in fact waterproof.

Same view......

....different light/dark contrasts

 Our next stop was Surprise View just above Ashness Bridge. It is a little clearing at the edge of the woods on a crag that looks across Derwent Water to Keswick, Skiddaw, Catbells and all the way down to Bassenthwaite. Another photography lesson followed and I bravely took my camera off its automatic setting for the first time... For me this is real progress. I was given my camera by a friend recently who was upgrading so it is the best camera I have ever had. I know very little about all its features and functions though so understanding even a small amount what it is capable of has made a real difference. The quality of the colour of the sky is so much better – it actually captures the colour and contrast I am seeing with my eyes much better, rather than the sky being too light.

Surprise View

Watendlath Tarn

The hamlet of Watendlath was our next stop and we followed a gentle rocky path. There is a cafe at Watendlath (which may or may not be open, it keeps its own hours) and the most stunning tarn. I chatted a lot to David on the way up the hill out of Watendlath. It was totally by chance David got into the research and filming side of the Lake District, starting with some programmes being made by writer and broadcaster Eric Robson. Every conversation I had with him I learned something new about the Lake District – particularly the literary links. As we made our way into Rosthwaite, David explained that William Wordsworth had once stayed at the Scafell Hotel and had had to share a room with a pedlar owing to a lack of space. Now that was definitely the random fact of the day. After a swift refreshment break at the Scafell Hotel bar, we headed back towards the jaws of Borrowdale along the lower slopes of Castle Crag and the river Derwent.

The weather had turned much colder and there were even a few flurries of snow at this point so it became a walk more about history and insights rather than photography (if it does rain on the walks though they have that catered for so photos can still be taken). I knew about the history of Milican Dalton, a hermit who used to live in a cave on Castle Crag but I had never found the cave. David of course took us straight there (albeit on a more adventurous route that usual) and lo and behold there was a two-storey cave with living quarters below and the bedroom up and to the right. Positively roomy! Inscribed on the wall of the cave by Milican Dalton himself is the phrase:

“Don’t waste words. Jump to conclusions”

A brilliant phrase!

Milican Dalton's cave

It was then just a short walk back to our starting point of Grange. The walk was about six hours but it was done at a relaxed pace to allow time for photography, to talk and for refreshment breaks. I ended the walk with a better level of photography skill based on a few basic tips and a much better knowledge of the area we had been walking in. More importantly however, I had an absolutely grand day out in a wonderful part of the Lake District and in great company. 

I would highly recommend this guided walk with photography tips. David and Mark have dates and locations set for the summer so go onto their "A view, a camera and you" page and book yourself onto one. I am definitely going on more of them so I might see you there.

What inspired me to write it?

“What inspired you to write it”? is one of the questions I have been asked a lot since my book “From High Heels to High Hills” was published at the end of 2012.  So this is why.

It was not just about writing a book for me but about changing my life and I can pin it down to an actual single moment of inspiration.  It was January 2011 (two years ago almost to the day) that I climbed the mountain Yewbarrow in the Lake District for the first time.  The sky was clear blue with barely a wisp of cloud, the air was crisp and in the watery winter sunshine it felt quite warm.  I loved the climb up Yewbarrow as it was an interesting rocky scramble in places amongst some of the most rugged fells in the area.

As I reached the ridge, the view quite simply took my breath away.  In front of me, Scafell Pike and Scafell (England’s highest mountains) loomed with an ominous but beautiful majesty.  Their dark crags and crevices looked down over the soft green and golden valley below, still revelling in autumn colours.  As I looked down, Wastwater (England’s deepest lake) glistened and twinkled in the sunshine as the light captured each ripple as though it was filled with champagne bubbles.

There, at that moment on Yewbarrow amongst the beautiful Lake District fells it felt like I could take on the world.  It was the first time I thought I could be anything I wanted to be – that it was in my gift to chase a dream and control my destiny.  

So I did.  Two years later I have my own company, I am a published author and writer and I lead a conservation project that repairs and maintains the paths of the very mountains I fell in love with (Fix the Fells).  

I am still chasing my dream however. I am expanding my writing career to make it full time both via books and freelance articles.  Please get in touch via my contact me page if I can help you or your organisation.

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Castle Crag

Castle Crag is the lowest of the Wainwright fells standing at only 951 feet and therefore you would think would be an easy stroll.  In my view however, this little fell has character that some of the larger fells can only aspire to.  There are streams, crags, rocky paths, steep stiles, scree-like slate slopes, memorials and a history that is fascinating.  I climbed it first in June 2011 and then several times since (once being in August 2011 with a large family, but that is a story for another day) from the lovely hamlet of Grange in Borrowdale.  Grange is such a pretty hamlet situated just over a double stone bridge on the river Derwent  and has wonderful tea rooms for when you have finished any local climbs (or indeed to provide sustenance in advance!)

Castle Crag

The walk takes you along a path next to one of the tea rooms and towards the River Derwent at the foot of Castle Crag.  There is plenty to hold you up here as the river, especially on a warm day, looks extremely inviting and I confess I have paddled in it on several occasions (I will add at this point that one of those occasions was by accident when I was looking too much at the beautiful surroundings and not where I was putting my feet and consequently slipped off the rocks and into the river – please note that paddling is best done after removing your boots!)  On this day (a dry boot day) the sound of the water rushing over the rocks, catching the sun as though there were a thousand stars just below the surface and the deep green leaves hanging overhead from lazy trees was superb.  Yet another of those “good to be alive” moments.  

There is a clear path up to the right of Castle Crag through a gate and after a short walk you bear left up the slopes of the fell.  This is where it gets steep and rocky amongst the trees and you think you should be on the slopes of one of the much higher fells!  At the top of this steep part you cross a stile and end up in a clearing that opens up views further into Borrowdale.  It is an unexpected little haven.  On each of the occasions I have climbed this fell there have been primary school parties making the same journey.  It is wonderful to watch the reaction of the children when they see this area – the “wows” and “oohs” are plentiful.  When I was that age I think I was more one for phrases such as “are we nearly there yet” and “this is sooo steep” and actually had not improved my comments much when I did an A-Level Geography trip to the Blencathra Centre when I was 17 years old! 

Slate Path

After enjoying the views from the clearing, I started the next part of my ascent and this is where the history of the fell starts to become clear.  Castle Crag has been mined extensively and you can see the scars of this activity at various points on the walk.  At this point on the fell there is what looks like a vast slate rock fall but actually if you look carefully, is a slate path up towards the top of the fell.  At a glance it looks an impossible task but it is well crafted on closer inspection and besides, if parties of school children could do it, so could I!  I did make sure I was looking where I was putting my feet this time that is for sure!

As you emerge from the slate path just below the summit, you are met by a mini Stonehenge.  The story goes that someone for some reason (and no one really knows who or why although there are variations) has arranged pieces of slate in various upright positions surrounded by other pieces of slate – like little slate islands in a sea of green grass.  It is really eerie.  Apparently sometimes they are knocked down yet someone takes the time to rebuild them.  Who and why?  Fascinating and very mysterious!

A climb of a few more feet gets you to the summit where there is a War memorial forming part of the cairn.  The views down into the valley and back towards Keswick and Derwent Water are stunning especially for such a low fell.  You are captured by the majesty and pride of a mountain that is small but feisty and should not be underestimated. 

Summit Rock & Cairn

The first part of the route down on the opposite side of the fell is totally different to the ascent.  It takes you over grassy slopes, through woods and next to streams.  There is less evidence of the scars of mining but there are plenty of quarries, crags and caves to explore.  One of the caves was occupied for many years in the summer by a hermit called Millican Dalton, who died in 1947.  He started occupying the cave at the age of 36 and became a climbing guide.  He has left the words “Don’t waste words.  Jump to conclusions” engraved inside.  

Emerging back at the paddling area, after climbing this fell I was left feeling I had conquered something much grander than I had expected and with so much character that I have been back to it several times.  As I said at the beginning, some of the higher fells can only aspire to have the character and history of Castle Crag and it may be small but it is a cracking fell.

Clancey the beautiful Lurcher on the summit