|
BB2005
: A Bit of a Dilemma
Wednesday
29th January 2020
At
the risk of boring you (again), I am going
to tell you about some of the dilemmas we
face as BOOTboys.
Weather
of course is one. Do we, dare we,
venture forth when it is likely to be pouring
down or something equally inclement? I
have to confess that, the older we get,
the nambier we have become. That is
"nambier" as in Namby-Pamby and
not to be confused with Nambiyār,
an Indian caste who considered themselves
to be both landlords and priestly in nature.
Unfortunately.
Today
it was likely to rain heavily after 1 p.m.;
Namby-Pamby time.
Click
on the picture for more comic illustrations
by Professor
Potts
Another
is the constraint of others. Today,
for example, one of our number had to be
available for a critical telephone call
at 9:30. In fact it was doubly critical
because last week he missed it when he couldn't
get a signal on the fells. This time
there was to be no setting off before the
call was completed.
That
is our excuse for this being a short walk
from Kendal to Levens, a late start and
early finish with more downhill than uphill.
In
fact we were so worried about the storm
coming in sooner than expected that we had
left cars strategically placed at different
pubs so that we could escape to the nearest
alehouse if necessary.
|
Although
the rain had not arrived when
we set off, it was a cold, nasty
wind that greeted us as we dropped
down through Kendal. We
followed the old canal tow path
for a mile or so to where Dilly
Bridge used to exist. This had
been a road bridge at a difficult
angle across the canal.
It
was called Dilly Bridge because
the man who lived in the grand
house above the canal was the
man who owned the gunpowder
factory to which he would travel
everyday in his barge. His
name: William Dilworth Crewdson.
Dilly,
to his pals.
|
|
The
bridge no longer exists but then, nor does
the canal. Nor Dilly.
We
changed our allegiance from canal to river,
setting off across fields and seas of mud
to find it, passing en-route a small barrow
about which I once knew something but have
now completely forgotten.
.jpg)
Walking
south, we found the spot where something
strange is happening in underground passages.
Water flows from beneath rocks and
into the river. No one knows where
it comes from but it never dries up.
On
the opposite side of the river is a water
course that was used to power a generator
for Prizet, the large house up the hill
which was the first in the area to have
electricity.
.jpg)
At
the Hawes Lane road bridge we swapped banks
and struggled our way through mud, over
and around fallen trees till at last we
emerged into the grounds of the gunpowder
works (not the one to which Dilly went barging
but probably also owned by him). Here are
many traces of the old workings, buildings
and mill races.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Our
aim was to pick up the farm trail that leads
to Low Sizergh. Unfortunately the
exit from the woods wasn't where I remembered
it to be and we had a bit of a dilemma as
to how to escape. A degree of improvisation
was needed before we were able to join the
track that leads to the farm. This
could have been a bale-out point but it
wasn't needed.
.jpg)
On
the other side of the architecturally brutal,
road underpass tunnel (which is a fabulous
echo chamber for septuagenarian children)
lies the Strickland Arms, another bale-out
point with a car awaiting us. We had
lost time. The weather was closing
in. Should we bale out? Only
a minor bit of a dilemma. Onwards
and upwards. After inspecting the
strange old cottage, now used as a workshop,
at the gates of Sizergh Castle we headed
up over the hill.
In
the distance, party hidden by trees, I could
just see our house.
.jpg)
We
passed many ancient anthills and some earth
workings that have some significance about
which I once knew something but have now
completely forgotten.
.jpg)
The
path then dropped down to the top end of
Levens village. The last "escape"
car was parked at the other end of the village
and it was now starting to rain. The
dilemma was whether it was hard enough to
justify stopping to put on waterproofs or
were we hard enough to ignore the rain and
press on down to the car as swiftly as possible.
I chose the latter option with one
exception. This was no dilemma. Not
the car. It was the Hare & Hounds
that was the target.
Inside,
as we had anticipated, was Martin C who
was recuperating from what sounded to have
been a rather nasty double operation. Fortunately
he was in good spirits and hopes to be back
out with us in a few short weeks time.
Choosing
the beer was not a dilemma. Deciding
which topping to have on the burger was.
Deciding what sort of plate on which
to have the burger was something I had predetermined.
Nice as the burgers and chips are,
I don't like my food served on planks or
slates. Give me a good, old, large,
clean plate any day. And they did.
The
final dilemma. To walk back to Kendal
in the pouring rain in order to make the
stats look good or to accept the fact that
today had simply been a pleasant walk in
good company to a welcoming pub for a decent
lunch then back home to a roaring fire and
a peaceful afternoon snooze? Well,
what would your choice have been?
Don,
Wednesday 29th January 2020
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
