It was a cold autumn Friday evening as we headed north from York after work towards the Lake District for our weekend in the Newlands Valley. After a stop off to buy supplies in Penrith, the club met up in the Swinside Inn – closest pub to the hut. Once everyone had arrived, we made the mile long drive south down the rough track to the hut in convoy, blissfully unaware of the drops down to the river on the right hand side through the darkness as headlights picked out the track ahead and the line of red tail lights snaked its way up the valley.
Arriving at the hut it was bitterly cold and already freezing, but the clear autumn night provided a fantastic display of the stars, helped by the lack of artificial lights in the valley. We soon had the pot-bellied stove stoked up and burning away to warm the hut, and the kettle on the hob. Bunks were claimed and sleeping bags lain out before the serious business of planning the following days' adventures over a cup of tea or beer got underway.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny, and once the sun hit the bottom of the valley the hard frost of the previous night was soon burned off, and my choice of the winter boots the forecast had persuaded me to bring seemed a little optimistic! After a good breakfast a group of us headed back along the track before scrambling up onto the ridge towards Maiden Moor. Donal had a scramble in mind from his guidebook, but this didn't look obvious so we took the easier way up through the heather.
Heading along the ridge we walked over High Spy before dropping down for a spot of lunch near Dalehead Tarn. This was a short stop due to the biting wind which was strong for the whole day. We then headed up the steep climb to Dale Head, and a long Hindscrth Edge with great views back down the valley to Bassenthwaite lake. Most of us bared right to Hindscarth, while those who wanted a slightly longer walk continued towards Robinson. Dropping back down the shoulder into the valley we paused above the mineworkings to watch a shoot going on in the valley below, before heading back to the hut in time for tea and flapjacks.
Simon, Carmen and Graeme had been fell running to get in some mountain marathon training, while Alan had also been for a fell run over towards Sail, managing to finish in the pub!
Once all were back we set to work cooking the now legendary YAC Saturday night meal, which seems to grow in size on every meet. This time we enjoyed an excellent pea soup made by Simon and Debra, followed by Chilli con carne from David, Peter and Louise and then Mike's fruit pies for dessert. Alan's home made cheese and biscuits followed, all washed down with wine or beer. The fire was again roaring and the down jackets of the previous night were instead replaced by t-shirts and a reluctance to sit in the seat closest to the stove unless you fancied an impromptu sauna!
Sunday was again cold and windy but dry. The group dispersed with some heading back early to York, or choosing to browse the outdoor shops of Keswick. After a good fry up, packing up and cleaning the hut, we left Simon, Debra and Jamie to go for a walk from the hut, while the rest of us headed to Braithwaite village to park the cars and head up Grisedale Pike, Alan and Carmen setting an early pace the likes of us non fell-runners couldn't keep up with. The views on the top were excellent, looking north across the Solway Firth to the Galloway hills. We found a sheltered spot out of the wind for another quick lunch, which is unfortunately when David realised he'd left his sandwiches on the side in the kitchen! We dropped down to the saddle then climbed back up to Eel Crag, which was feeling very wintery, coated in a thick white frost and just above the cloudbase. We headed over Sail, then dropped left to descend towards Braithwaite, following the grassy, rolling descent from the top of Barrow back to the village.
A hot chocolate with the 'full works' of cream and marshmallows in the Royal Oak provided a great end to the weekend before hitting the road back to York. It dawned on me on the way home how much I'd enjoyed getting away from all. The hut has gas lighting and cookers, with the coke stove for heating and no electricity. There was no phone signal in the valley and we hadn't touched a tarmac road or been past a settlement at all on Saturday, giving the weekend a real rustic, wilderness feel despite being only 4 miles as the crow flies from Keswick. Just what was needed before beginning December and the busy run up to Christmas!
