Carlisle & District Rambling & Fellwalking Club
Fairfield Horseshoe
A Party. Fairfield 11th August 2013
After the Lord Mayor’s Show……….. Not for us today having a genuine Scottish brigand, with tartan trews and a feather, accosting all the passers-by and relieving them of their emergency funds, with a bishop giving them a solemn episcopal benediction as they left, wondering if they had been conned by a bunch of escaped loonies, convicts, whatever. No leisurely stroll with regular tea breaks and an hour, plus poetry reading and communal singing for lunch. Instead it was back to serious walking, with the chosen theme for the day’s conversation being Christmas Cakes – ingredients, origins, longevity and various D.I.Y. uses. A taste of the approach came when several of us were famished, looking forward to a lunch break and made a tentative suggestion for stopping in the lee of a dry stone wall, the walk leader said it would be better on the top of High Crag, and when a late stroller caught up with us he was told that the general consensus was that we should forgo the pleasures of an immediate repast and have it when we reached the top. Reminiscent of “general consensus” notions in North Korea! Strangely enough, it was a great walk. We had several showers, we all decided to do nothing but they became heavier, we stopped and put on cagoules and leggings and it immediately stopped. We walked for a while, became very hot, stopped to take off waterproofs and immediately……you’ve guessed it. The views were superb, Penrith and district was in bright sunshine all day, only the Scafells and occasionally Gable were cloud covered, and we even got some sunshine in the afternoon. Frank entertained us with stories of a murder in the Badger’s Bar – where we went for a drink afterwards – and thanks all round to John Harrison for an excellent walk.
Peter Flynn.
