Sitting on the train back from Ulverston yesterday, having completed the Cumbria Way (north to south, unconventionally), I re-read Jim Watson’s introduction to his Cicerone guide. He ends with the warning ‘Don’t underestimate the Cumbria Way’, and, given our experience over the past few days, I’d say it’s good advice. To be honest, Tim and I decided to do the Cumbria Way, when the sun was blazing in mid-April, on a bit of a whim – a few relaxing days in our favourite National Park to use up some annual leave. I’m more of a Great Mountain Days in the Lake District sort of girl – 6 hours walking but back by the stove with the cat in the evening – than a Three Peaks, Ten Tors challenge walker. (Although when a man came into the office to buy the guidebook just before we went – ‘Got a couple of days off – thought I’d take my tent and do it’ – I did feel rather a wimp for taking the five-day, b&b option.)
The main reason the trip turned from a nostalgic yomp to an endurance event was the atrocious weather – high winds the whole time and driving rain for the three central, tougher, sections – but it made us see the walk in a more serious light. The 16 miles from Caldbeck to Keswick in no visibility with flooded paths, no waymarking (the few waymarks that there are along the route are tiny, see picture), no shelter and no one else in sight was no joke – nor was the walk over Stake Pass to Langdale from Langstrath, wading swollen gills until our boots were awash.
It’s still a fabulous route, and I’d really recommend it – if you think you know the Lake District it’ll show you corners you’ve overlooked and if you don’t it’s a perfect introduction to all the best bits – but a few personal tips:
- pack light (we got it down to 17lbs each – only thing I didn’t use was a pair of shorts for sunny evenings!)
- pack full waterproofs (we did, but our three-season boots had sprung leaks by the end)
- check the Cicerone website for updates to the published guide, and
- choose a dry week!
Tags: 9781852842420, 9781852845018, 9781852845162
