Alpine Logistics

What to do for Easter? I had spoken to Manuel countless times about the great places to go climbing and walking in the UK. Sadly Britain’s beautiful mountains, coastlines and countryside are not well known abroad; it was time for a visit. 

Departing from Kent on Good Friday we managed to get past the M25 with no hold-ups, it seemed too good to be true; I had promised Manuel heavy traffic and queues. Sure enough though we had our share on the M6 north of Birmingham. 

It was a long time since I had been back here and I began to feel quite excited when we passed the sign welcoming us to Cumbria. Typical English countryside, taken for granted when you see it every day, rolled away into the distance; green fields, forests, sheep and a moody sky. 

Before leaving we had checked the forecast: the symbol for most days was a cloud with the sun poking out from one side and rain drops falling from the other. “What does that mean?” asked Manuel…I suspected he was about to find out! 

The next day we woke up in our campsite in Borrowdale valley. I zipped the tent back up as fast as I had unzipped it. The ground was covered in snow and there was a strong, cold wind blowing from the north…not Shepards Crag today then! 

We spent the next few days enjoying walks around Keswick. The air was very wintry and the light was magical; beautiful. Manuel was very taken by the lakes, rivers and lush moss-covered forests and dry stone walls. Every day we were accompanied by sun, snow, rain and wind in turn, it was very dramatic.  

We didn’t manage to do any climbing but I was happy that Manuel had finally seen this beautiful part of the world, which we will no doubt return to in warmer conditions to get on the rock!