WW17:
Holme To Arnside
Wednesday
8th December 2010
There are some days that are just too sparklingly good to
waste. Even with us both being full of
cold, the combination of the cloudless skies and the snow covered ground was
too great a lure despite the seriously sub-zero temperatures. In fact, the coldness was part of the
attraction in that it was holding the snow as powder. It was the opportunity to complete the
Westmorland Way in very different and memorable conditions to any we had
experienced in the earlier stages.
Even the drive to Arnside to leave a car there was memorable
for the sparkling scenery.
Arnside
panorama
After
returning by
Sandside and Milnthorpe to Holme in the other vehicle,
the first couple of miles to Beetham might have been a bit of a bore, or at
best non-remarkable. Today, however,
even the most mundane field was transformed into a super-white showground.
Sandside
|
Holme
field, Farleton Knott behind.
|
Having had to make a late start, we were getting hungry and
we were delighted to find a welcoming bench by the side of the stocks in the
middle of the village. Just the place to
have our sandwiches.
Beetham
School
Team
picture by the stocks
|
Heron
Theatre, Beetham
Beetham
Church
|
After Beetham, we
entered the cold woods, went past a derelict house and over to Fairy Steps. Perhaps I should explain that this is a cleft
in a limestone cliff offering a very narrow and steep path down to a lower
level. I have been there many times over the years,
but never with snow on the ground. It
did make negotiating the descent trickier than normal but added to the magic of
the place.
The
derelict house
|
Through
the cold woods
|
Panorama
from Fairy Steps
The
fairy on the steps
|
Back
into the woods
|
After passing through light woodland, we emerged at
Hazelslack Tower and then continued over fields, crossing under the railway
line to follow a very cold, sunless path to the outskirts of Arnside.
Hazleslack
Tower
|
Reception
committee
|
The Wway then climbs through Hagg Wood at the
back of the houses to emerge on the Silverdale Road by the cemetery. The official route heads south along the road
to climb the Arnside Knott from near Arnside Tower.
Margaret was getting tired and the light was starting to go
and perhaps we should have aborted and headed straight down to the village but
the guide book spoke of an alternative, permissive path which I took to be a
short cut to the Knott. With hindsight,
that was probably a mistake. And it
definitely was a mistake to miss the snow concealed path that led to the open area
below the Knott. The consequence was
that I was taking Margaret higher and further away from our objective and,
understandably, she was not a happy bunny.
We retraced our steps and found the side path out to the Red Hills field
just in time to enjoy what remained of the sunset.
Sunset
at Red Hills
Kent
Estuary with viaduct
From there it was straight down to the
village and the Bay View café to get a hot drink and food into us both. I remembered the days forty
years ago when I lived in
Arnside, just around the corner. My
landlady, Renee, worked in that café and would bring home for me something from
the kitchen. She was a lovely lady but
unfortunately we had a sort of clash of personalities. I was always taught that if someone makes you
a meal, it is good manners to finish it.
She was of the school that if someone finishes a meal, then they can't
have had enough. So the inevitable plate
escalation started. Then one day, when
my waist line was already bulging, she brought home for my tea triple ham, egg
and chips. It was time to move into
Kendal and get my slimness back! No such
problem today. Just a nice coffee and
slice of cake which cheered us both up.
The
end of the Wway
The Wwestmorland Wway has been a Wwonderful Wwalk through
very varied countryside, some familiar, much not. Rather than the 7 days
and 95 miles suggested by the guide
book, we had taken 17 days and 134 miles and it had all been wworthwhile.
But it is now time to move on. Our next objective is the Furness Way which
conveniently starts in Arnside (just why is a mystery) and them works its way loosely around the old Furness
boundary before heading off west for
Ravenglass. What this space!
Don,
8th December 2010
Statistics
|
Today
|
Cumulative
|
Distance
in miles:
|
6.9
|
134.4
|
Height
climbed in feet:
|
754
|
16,249
|
E-mail addresses on this web site are protected
by
Spam Trawlers will be further frustrated
by Spam Blocker:
help fight spam e-mail! |
These
pages log the progress of Don and Margaret
along the Westmorland Way.
Click on the photos for an enlargement or related large
picture.
The Westmorland Way
WW00:
Index
WW01:
Appleby to Rutter Falls
WW02:
Rutter Falls to
Gaythorne Hall
WW03:
Gaythorne
Hall to Maulds Meaburn
WW04:
Maulds
Meaburn to Hardendale
WW05:
Hardendale
to Shap Abbey
WW06:
Shap
Abbey to Knipe
WW07:
Knipe to
Askham
WW08:
Askham
to Pooley Bridge
WW09:
Pooley Bridge to
Howtown
WW10:
Howtown to
Patterdale
WW11:
Patterdale to Grasmere
WW12:
Grasmere to
Ambleside
WW13:
Ambleside
to Windermere
WW14:
Windermere to
Underbarrow
WW15:
Underbarrow to
Natland
WW16:
Natland to
Holme
WW17:
Holme
To Arnside
The
Washing Lines
and
other items
as
seen by Margaret:
BOOT
boys
Home
Page
BOOT
boys
Home
Page
|