Winter Walking 2007
In what is now rapidly becoming a tradition at St Paul's, a group of 6 boys and 5 staff headed off on the last day of term to blow away its cobwebs with a couple of days' walking in the Lake District. By leaving school straight after the morning's business was concluded we were able to make it to the Lakes in time to cook and enjoy a hearty supper.
As the small Youth Hostel we have used in the past is now closed over the winter we found ourselves in the Carlisle Diocesan Youth Centre - a small building with bunks and a kitchen/common room but perfectly adequate for our needs and in the middle of splendid views. A glance out front took in Blencathra and Skiddaw, with the start of the Helvellyn range to the east and the central fells to the west. A perfect clear sky got the cameras clicking on the Friday morning as the sun rose over this magnificent view.
The day got better yet as we climbed Helvellyn where conditions were icy but still amenable to snowballs. Below us the cloud boiled over the fells to the west and filled the valley above Thirlmere in a classic inversion, leaving just the higher tops of Great Gable and Scafell peeping out like coral islands. Saturday was colder and clearer and we opted to stay lower to avoid the ice. A gentle walk along the Cat Bells ridge, west of Derwent Water, gave the most gorgeous views of the lake and its drumlin islands as well as the Newlands Valley. The light on Dale Head and the Coledale fells was especially striking - though not easy to fit onto a camera's CCD chip alas!
On Sunday the weather held again and the boys were allowed to walk by themselves, along the disused railway track into Keswick. A mid-morning departure and some cunning navigation to beat the various tailbacks and accidents got us back into school just after 6pm. Next year we can only hope the weather will be as kind - we shall certainly be back.
The trip was led by Ken Zetie, ably assisted by Tim Morland, Gerry Leversha, David Emery and Chris Fry.
Three thumbnail images of photographs from the trip appear below. Click each to enlarge.
Other St Paul's News stories can be found here