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BB1918
: Going to the Chapel
Thursday
23rd May 2019
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We
were going to the Chapel though,
unlike the Dixie Cups, not to
get married in the Chapel of
Love.
It
was like the good old days.
No sooner had Terry parked
the car than Mike produced sausages,
still warm, as a kick-starter.
And they worked. Mind
you, the outing had been planned
to begin gently for the benefit
of those recovering from the
sort of ailments to which we
are endangered at our advanced
ages.
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The
parking place was at Hartsop. Our
objective was Angle Tarn and its Pikes,
the easy way round. That meant travelling
clockwise, gently climbing at first then
more steeply as far as Boredale Hause.
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Here
I was keen to find the "Chapel in the
Hause" as marked on the OS map so our
route became somewhat more convoluted than
might otherwise have been the case.
We
did find its remains, the stoned outline
of a small bulding. One website describes
the chapel ruins as being built by St Patrick
in the 5th Century and dedicated to St Martin
of Tours. Another says medieval; yet
another debunks the idea. It certainly
has the outline of a small building and
stands at the col of the pass from Patterdale
to Boredale and also to Martindale (hence
the alleged dedication?) so could well have
been a place to give thanks for achieving
the half way point across the fells.
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Or
for shelter from the storm.
From
there we climbed the first of the Angletarn
Pikes, the one from which you cannot see
the tarn, and then the one from which you
can see the tarn. Both have interesting
rocky summits above an otherwise predominately
grassy terrain.
I
have said it several times before but Angle
Tarn is one of my favourites and its charms
were no less today.
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Having
lunched whilst admiring the view, we walked
the length of the tarn.....
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then over to Brock Crags, another excellent
viewpoint.
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Before
we set off this morning, Tony had lent me
his copy of the latest Jack Reacher novel,
Past Tense. Reacher walks at a supposedly
constant speed of 4 mph so as we passed
the Satura Crags I thought I would try and
see if I could emulate that. Not surprisingly
considering the terrain is undulating and
rocky, plus my legs being a lot shorter,
I didn't.
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We
descended to a Hayeswater somewhat reduced
in height since United Utilities broke the
dam and even more so by the recent dry weather.
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The
hard part of the day was now over. The
path down to the car offered many splendid
views but one sad one: a ewe with a lamb
that was still breathing but otherwise lying
motionless. Mother looked very sad.
We told the farmer when we reached
the farm.
That
was the only negative note to an otherwise
very enjoyable day, rounded off in the traditional
manner at Tony's Chapel of Love, the Brewery
in Staveley.
Don,
Thursday 23rd May 2019
Afternotes:
Grandparenting
duties had prevented Stan joning us today.
But he did venture forth on a major
expedition yesterday, knocking off Lingmell,
Slight Side and Scafell to bring his total
of outstanding Wainwrights on this round
down to the same as mine: 34. Will
we triumph this summer? That is certainly
Stan's intention.
Meanwhile
Ian G, an avid BOOTboys
follower was out near Blencathra and has
sent in some fine pictures.
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