Around Ambleside – Lake District Pt 1

Day 2 in the Lake District. Tuesday. After 24 hours in Kendal, I arrived in The Lakes – and the weather was alright! Not amazing, but not raining! The constant 30mph speed limits and my black box could not dampen my spirits as I drove through scenery full of beauty and memories. As I drove up to and through Waterhead, Ambleside, I kept recognising places I’d visited in yesteryears with old Uni friends – and the pangs of nostalgia were lovely.

Our home for the next few nights would be Low Wray National Trust Campsite. The drive took me through Waterhead and around Windermere to the opposite shore. Initially, Brendan and I had booked a space to pitch a tent, but when Joel Gardner, an upcoming musician and all-round diva joined the holiday, he DEMANDED we glamp instead.

Our pod. £60 a night, it came with electricity (an absolute must for three millennials), a picnic bench and clear views of Windermere – the shore a 20 second walk away.

I had arrived early to check in on time, but it wasn’t long before my first fellow camper arrived: Brendan the birthday boy. We had a celebratory beer on the beach.

After Brendan filled his boots with shoreline photography, we decided to head into Ambleside to fill our bags with provisions and alcohol. We also returned with a Joel.

He was very smug as the weather started to turn miserable and wet, and I was thankful for his glamping suggestion!

The initial plan to have a birthday BBQ was rained off (it is the Lake District, after all…) so we jumped in Joel’s car and headed off into the gloomy hills in search of an open mic night that preferably served food. Our destination was The Mortal Man in Troutbeck. It was a proper lovely country inn and the food was divine. Like, really, really good.

Oh my god, my stomach yearns.

However, tonight the open mic had been taken over by a bunch of jamming country musicians. This wasn’t Joel’s thing so we left and headed back to Ambleside.

Here’s another little multilayered trip down memory lane: about 5 years ago I decided to move away from lager and try ale for the first time: it was a Cumberland and I had it at The Hole in T’ Wall in Bowness-on-Windermere. This time, I bought one at The White Lion – a pub I always end up in every time I visit Ambleside.

But alas! No open mic night! We wandered on down the street and ended up at the Churchill Inn and stumbled across a pub quiz. We were absolutely staying for this. It was actually a very good pub quiz that utilised the screens around the bar, however we got a bit confused with the first page and where we were supposed to write the answers. As we were total newcomers and obviously not regulars, you’d think the quiz hostess would be sympathetic when I asked for help? No. She seemed to be as inconsiderate as she was overweight, and spoke to me like I was a fool.

I am nothing if not vengeful and Brendan had a world class idea. INFINITY WAR SPOILERS. Every question we couldn’t answer, we filled in with an offensive one or an Infinity War spoiler. The sheet was filled with them and topped off with our team name: ‘Peter Parker Bites the Dust’. Bear in mind that the day’s date was May 1^st and Infinity War came out on April 26^th.

This is the face of someone whose Infinity War spoiler team name is read out in a packed pub and people start shouting. We smugly left and returned to the pod for an extremely uncomfortable sleep.

The weather on Wednesday was supposed to be miserable. So miserable we had decided to change our day hiking up Scafell Pike to Thursday. That was a mistake. It was a lovely day. It had been a horrible night and my back was sore. I sought treatment in the shape of a bacon and cheese baguette from the campsite reception. T’was a good’n.

The day before it had emerged that Joel had not prepared himself for any sort of hiking. He had come to the Lake District to climb Scafell Pike with no thermals, no waterproof or water resistant clothing, no hiking pole and no walking boots. So this morning, we headed to Ambleside and played Pimp My Joel. I got carried away and bought a new fleece/coat combo and a bandana. We all bought a bandana. The Walking And Talking Society looked the part.

At around 12:30, T.W.A.T.S. set off on a trek from the campsite.

Our first stop was Low Wray Castle, owned by the National Trust. Unfortunately, Joel is not a member like Brendan and me, so we stayed outside, took photos, and walked on in the direction of Ambleside through woods that would provide a good setting to any fantasy film.

The look of an acoustic musician who has just lost his drummer for an upcoming gig. Don’t jump, Joel!

After nearly two hours of wandering, at the junction of the A593 and the B5286, we found the beginning of a path up Loughrigg Fell. A vote of two to one (sorry Joel) meant our walk to Ambleside would take a detour. Joel was pretty miserable at this point of the day, continually voicing his disbelief in our chances of climbing Scafell Pike the following day. But Loughrigg was a chance for him to test out his new gear and about a hundred meters up we found this nice little spot for a rest.

Soon enough we were at the top – too soon in fact, as we learned later that we had been nowhere near the summit. Pros, us. Still, our own summit provided great views of Windermere. It was only a shame that the sun had disappeared.

We had believed it was the summit because the path we were following started to descend. The sun kept teasing us by showing its face every now and then as we arrived once again in Ambleside. A quick pit stop at Boots to pick up some insect repellent and we were heading towards one of the peaks that overlooks the town: Red Screes. A proper hill.

Ain’t about how fast I get there. Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the Struggle.

We left The Struggle (an aptly named road) and joined a track. The trail up Red Screes is one of those annoying, gradual inclines that continually cons you into believing you’re near the top.

But with persistence and stile, we soldiered on. The weather looked like it might be changing its mind again and we could see rain around Scafell to the west. The wind was picking up, the day was getting later and we were getting tired.

At around 500m up we decided to stop. Joel wasn’t exactly enthused that tomorrow’s summit at Scafell Pike was nearly twice as high as our own T.W.A.T.S. summit on Red Screes. Brendan and I were unperturbed. We asked a passing sheep to take a photo of us on Brendan’s camera.

Now it was time to head down as the dark clouds drew closer. I always find walking down a hill is so much worse than hiking up it. Am I alone in this thought?

The rain just seemed to skirt us and as we made it back to The Struggle, we were treated with a rainbow. Pretty.

After eight hours of roaming, hiking and descending, we made it to the warmth of The White Lion. Again, the campsite BBQ would have to wait for another night as we gorged ourselves on nachos, steak, burgers, and a stout called Dave. Our definite plan to walk back to the campsite turned into an absolute not-a-f***ing-chance and we booked a taxi home. A good sleep on an uncomfortable bench was required for the following morning… It would be an early one when T.W.A.T.S. do Scafell Pike…

TBC.

On these days, I logged my adventures on my Instagram Story (Dabanksy – #VidOnTour). The video is available here:

It makes me laugh at least.

Brendan Clayton Photography: https://www.brendanclaytonphotography.com/