BB1125 : The Tale of Tony's Triumph

Wednesday 31st August 2011

Some time ago, as alternative to punishing ourselves on the climbs, we hit upon the idea of circumnavigating each of the lakes.  I remember that we did Thirlmere and also Grasmere & Rydal Water but I don’t recall any others (except that Margaret and I went round Buttermere last week - superb!).

Originally, we had planned to go up Red Screes today but when the forecast threatened to envelop us in cloud, Bryan proposed that we did the round of Haweswater starting from Burnbanks.  So we did!  

Sadly it was a grey day hence a lot of the photos being rather dull.  On the other hand, Burnbanks was a pleasant surprise.  I remember it as being a hamlet of semi derelict prefabricated buildings erected for the workers who created Haweswater.  Now the old buildings have gone, replaced by smart but reasonably modest bungalows, occupied, we were told, by people who actually live there, not weekenders or holiday cottagers.  A big improvement, apart from the problem of badgers digging up the grass banks hunting for grubs!

We headed off down the north side of the lake where there is a very good path, meeting en-route several people who were undertaking the coast to coast walk.

Tony spotted a rock with five small holes- presumably drilled for dynamite.  

Lunch was taken on a knoll about half way along and then we continued to the south end.  

The view across Haweswater

Nearing the Rigg promontory

Looking back down Haweswater

Selside Pike

Tree reflections

As the lake was low (it is, of course, a reservoir and it is, allegedly, summer) we could cross well below the high water mark, noting the old field walls from earlier times before the flooding.  However, the water was not low enough to reveal the old village- unlike it had been in 1984.

Looking back to the head of the lake

No sign of the fairy!

Initially we followed the footpath north on the eastern side of the lake but it became increasingly difficult pushing our way through waist high bracken with uneven stony terrain hidden underfoot

The water company pier

From the water company pier we took the track that led up to the road, emerging just before the Haweswater Hotel and thereafter we trod the tarmac back to the dam at the bottom of the lake.  Finally we found a footpath that crossed through the wood and emerged right by our parking place.

The dam  wall from the south side

Tony then told us the tale of the last battle on English soil against the Jacobite rebels.  I knew it was at Clifton but thought it was over in Yorkshire somewhere, not the Clifton near Penrith.  He wanted to show us the tree beneath which six rebels were buried. What none of us realised was just how far out of way this was.  Nevertheless we found it and duly noted what was recorded before heading home.

So, I hear you asking yourself, in what way was this a triumph for Tony?  

Answer: not at all.  The Triumph was on Tony’s arm.  One of the 35 things he wanted to do before he dies was to have a tattoo.  Most men would opt for the name of their wife (or other suitable lady) to be emblazoned on their body.  Tony, too, now has had a record of the name of the love of his life permanently inscribed on his body and he proudly showed it to us: Triumph Motorcycles.

Next on his list is to have his ears pierced.  Watch this space!

 Don, 31st August 2011

Afternotes:

Roger T, who unfortunately had been unable to join us on the day but knows about these things, subsequently informed us that::

The original prefab houses at Burnbanks were virtually unique as they were built with cast iron panels for the walls.  The only other examples I have seen of this type were ex miners houses and there is an example in the black country museum at Dudley. They must have been an absolute pig to keep warm with metal walls.  

Something I meant to put in the original report was a reference to the legendary Mardale huntsman Joe Bowman and his songs.  Tony promised to do the research for me and was as surprised as I was at what he found.  Click on The Horn of the Hunter to find the reference that he discovered on Google.  It must be an age thing!

Another, more complete, reference with old photos can be found at Mardale Hunt Songs.

STATISTICS:

BOOTboys routes ares now being put online in gpx format which should work with most mapping software. You can follow our route in detail by downloading BB1125.

To see which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing see
Which Wainwright When?

For the latest totals of the mileages and heights see: BB Log.

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Archive

2011 Outings

BB1101 :
Wasnfell Revisited
Tuseday 11th January

BB1102 :
Recuperation Scar!
Thursday 17th February

BB1103 :
A Promenade of Pensioners
Thursday 24th February

BB1104 :
The B Team
Thursday 3rd March

BB1105 :
  A Little Bit Of Wind
Thursday 10th March

BB1106 :
A Linthwaite Round
Thursday 17th March

BB1107 :
Home From The Pulpit
Thursday 24th March

BB1108 :
Taking The Brunt
Thursday 31st March

BB1109 :
Up The Spout
Wednesday 6th April

BB1110 :
Not The Royal Wedding
Friday 29th April

BB1111 :
Kentmere Parts 1 & 2
Thurs 5th, Saturday 7th May

BB1112 :
Five Unknown Tarns
Wednesday 11th May

BB1113 :
Gurnal Dubbs Revisited
Thursday 19th May

BB1114 :
A March Through The Mist
Wednesday 1st June

BB1115 :
Brief Encounter
Wednesday 8th June

BB1116 :
Extraordinary and
Lesser Mortals
Wednesday 15th June

BB1117 :
Farewell David Daw
Wednesday 29th June

BB1118 :
West Side Story
Thursday 7th July

BB1119 :
East Side Story
Wednesday 13th July

 BB1120 :
All The Way From Barrow
Wednesday 20th July

 BB1121 :
Suitable For The Guests!
Thursday 28th July

BB1122 :
Graylings In Flagrante
Wednesday 3rd August

BB1123 :
The First Indecision Outing
Wednesday 24th August

BB1124 :
The Second Indecision Outing
Thursday 25th August

BB1125 :
The Tale of Tony's Triumph
Wednesday 31st August

BB1126 :
The Gunpowder Trail
Wednesday 7th September

BB1127 :
Four Lords a-Leaping
Thursday 15th September

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 Wainwrights

To see which Wainwright
top was visited on which
BB outing see Which Wainwright When?.

To download a log of heights and miles and which Wainwrights
have been done by which BOOTboy in the"modern" era, i.e. since the advent
of BOOTboys
click on BB Log.