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BB2412
: Miles with Big Smiles
Thursday
4th April 2014
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I
don’t know what The
Proclaimers
would make of it. They
often want to walk five hundred
miles and then five hundred
more but I suspect not at Sizergh
Castle.
No,
the National Trust at Sizergh
has gone metric. Now,
I know I am a bit old in the
tooth but I thought that, other
than in the scientific world,
the standard unit of distance
measurement in the UK was still
the mile.
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Or
is the National Trust in a parallel universe
where we have been taken over by Europe?
Sizergh
has upgraded the paths round the estate
to be wheelchair friendly. Good thinking.
Directions are clearly signposted
and the distances conveniently displayed.
Except that they are shown in kilometres.
When I asked why, I was told that
after careful consideration they felt that
kilometres was the unit most likely to be
understood by visitors as it would be more
accurate. Hmm. Really? Would
The Proclaimers agree? “I would walk
804.672 kilometres” doesn’t quite have the
same ring to it.
So
now the Lake District National Park has
item “33
Sizergh and Holeslack Wood"
in its publication “Miles
without Stiles”
recorded as a 1.9 kilometre circular route!
Is it just me that thinks the world’s gone
daft?
OK
it’s not the greatest problem facing mankind
but it got me thinking as we tackled today’s
outings. I told the boys (Martin and
Stan) and suggested that maybe the LDNP
publication should be renamed "Kilometers
for pedometers". They didn't seem that
interested. It still rankled with
me.
We
parked near the bottom of the Whitbarrow
Scar limestone slab and, after a long chat
with the retired farming couple at Raven’s
Lodge, set off up the slab. Easy peasy.
Many a yard but not very hard! We
didn’t head up through the trees onto the
tops. Instead we carried on round
through Buckhouse Wood, past Beck Head then
up the road to what used to be known as
Witherslack School.
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For
some strange reason the Witherslack Group
has renamed it "Oversands School".
What sands? You can't even see Grange.
If they had had to change it, wouldn't Undercliff
would have been more appropriate? Nice
logo, though.
After
the stables, which look in a worse state
every time we pass, we returned to the woods
and headed north until we reached Bell Rake.
It’s only a modest climb but It is
quite steep and loose underfoot. We
all made it safely up.
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Once
out onto the open fell, watched by curious
cows, we made our way to summit cairn where
we stopped for lunch. Climbed a
thousand feet to reach Lord’s Seat!
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What
a view point!
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Our
return to the car was in two distinct stages.
The first being the normal way south
across Flodder Allotment. The second,
on reaching Farrer’s Allotment, was to the
east then down the steep track looking towards
the Howgills. I reckoned I could just
see our house, or at least a tree in the
garden.
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After
passing through Rawson’s Wood it was a gentle
stroll back to the cars.
We
hadn’t achieved 500 Miles. It hadn’t been
Miles without Stiles but later, in the Hare
and Hounds we could reflect on our banter-full
day as being Miles with Big Smiles.
Don,
Thursday 4th April 2024
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