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B2543 : Xmas Marks the Spot
Thursday
12th December 2025
We’ve been out with expert
mountaineers before. I’m thinking of
Peter, former President of the Scottish Mountaineering Society. And we’ve been out with expert
photographers. I’m thinking of Graham
who used to join us regularly but sadly died some years ago.
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But this is the first time that I recall
being out with someone who ticks both boxes, namely Lathan.
If you are interested in professionally
guided adventures in the Lake District or wanting tuition in Mountain Photography, he is
the man to talk to.
You can discover
more about "Exploring High Places" at his website Mountain Explorer.
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It seemed for a while that the
day would get off to a bad start. Robert
and I both had to drop off ladies at the train station before we could start
our adventure. Then came the news that
their train would be almost an hour delayed.
Fortunately the ladies came to our rescue and arranged to meet
their pals for a
coffee at the station so our day
was rescued. We could meet TV Mike,
Lathan, Keith and his dog, Luna, at the appointed place at the appointed time.
Bearing in mind the shortness
of days, our target was the Whinash range, seven miles north east of
Kendal. Less visited than the nearer
Wansfell range, it is fairly bleak moorland above the Borrowdale Valley (no,
not that Borrowdale, this Borrowdale) with the redeeming feature of the view at
the eastern end.
Our approach was from the west
end, parked near Huck’s Bridge, following the track that leads alongside the
beck. This is an attractive valley,
especially in the late spring when the wild flowers are in bloom.
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On reaching Low Borrowdale, we took the
bridle path that climbs steadily up to Belt Howe where a decision had to be
made. The key question was whether we
had sufficient time to visit Jeffrey’s Mount and the viewpoint. The answer was “Yes we do. That’s why we are here.”
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I found it hard going. There was a strong, bitter wind to fight and
tufty, sometimes boggy, terrain to traverse, the combination of which I found
quite energy sapping.
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The other (younger!)
boys
seemed to cope much better and lovely Luna, the golden retriever, ran around for miles then jumped into boggy puddles for a rest.
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The view from just below
Jeffrey’s Mount over the Lune Valley is a must, the place where you can see
three means of transport heading south,
side by side. Road, rail and river.
Ufortunately the angle of the sun
made them difficult to capture on camera.
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Without visiting it, the range
would hold little charm for me apart from the groups of wild ponies, of which we saw
at least three- one up close and two in the far distance, all seeking some
shelter from the wind.
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On our return along the ridge,
we stopped for lunch at Winterscleugh then trudged north towards the strangely
named Breasthigh Road.
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Keith veered off
to the right. On rejoining us it turned
out that he had wanted to visit the actual summit of Whinash. Although Keith
hardly enthused about it, TV Mikethen
decided that he wanted to go there also so the two of them headed back to
it. Luna had more sense and stayed with
us. On his return, TVM commented that there had been a small Christmas tree at
the summit.
Not exactly X marks the
spot, more like Xmas marks the spot!
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The only other matter of
significance to report is the closure of the bridle path to regain the A6. What you would then do if
on horseback I don’t
know. However, it didn’t say that it was
closed as a footpath so we continued above the beck, perilously close to the
cliff caused by land slip after storms (Desmond?). Safely across, soon we reached the road and
the car.
Next and last stop: the Station
Inn. A spot definitely marked by Xmas!
Don, Wednesday 11th
December 2025
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