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About Summiteer

~Orrest Head~

5th June 2010

Many, but by no means all, Lakeland fellwalkers are influenced by the work of A.Wainwright. This weekend marks the 80th anniversary of AW's trip to Orrest Head, a visit which helped to inspire the writing of the Pictorial Guides. Peter Burgess decided to organise a trip to the area to mark this date.....

Orrest Head

The Famous Signpost

Scroll down for photos and a description of the day

Dog Walkers

Dog Walkers

In the spirit of Wainwright, I decided that I would travel by public transport to the Lakes on this day and this meant leaving home on foot at 07:30 and heading for Brierfield Railway Station for the 07:58 to Preston. The local dog walkers were out in force.

Brierfield Station

Brierfield Railway Station

Blackburn Station

Blackburn Railway Station

This is taken through the carriage window and shows just about all you need to see of Blackburn, birthplace of AW. I changed at Preston for the service to Windermere. In the event I got a lift from Oxenholme to our meeting point.

Leyland Tiger

Rosie ~ Leyland Tiger Bus

The Online Fellwaling Club met at Plumgarth's Farm Shop, near Kendal - see later. This is the bus that would take us to Windermere, probably not one the AW would have take in 1930.

Walkers

The Troop

We are on our way to Orrest Head, the usual small groups and familiy visitors, already on the top,are in for a shock!

Orrest Head view

Orrest Head Viewpoint

Orrest Head view

Orrest Head view to the North East

I don't think we should complain too much about poor visibility, it's warm and dry and we can see the fells, even if they don't come out too well in the photographs.

Walkers

Fellwalkers

John Paterson (l) describes his photographs from the Hallin Fell walk on the previous day, Dave Brown pays attention whilst admiring John's new boots. Jo Hall (blue headgear) and Ann Hiley listen in.

Peter Burgess

Peter Burgess

Peter gave a brief commerorative talk about Wainwright and his influences on fellwalking. Entirely appropriately, Peter offered 2 minutes silence in respect of the victims of the West Cumbrian tragedy of this week.

Peter Burgess

Into The Woods

We took a circular route away from Orrest Head and Peter sat on a fallen tree, only to disappear. Note the pipe. Another try saw a number of our group sit on the tree:

Tree

On the Tree

View

John, Ann and Jo enjoy the view

We completed a round trip back to Windermere and the bus took us back to Plumgarths. As the bus climbed away from Windermere we collected a fine tailback of frustrated motorists, photos of this will appear in elsewhere as the other web writers produce their reports. I'll pop a link here later when any such reports appear.

Scott's at Plumgarths

Scott's at Plumgarths

Scott's is a relatively new venture within Plumgarth's Farm Complex and they provided a great afternoon tea. Lots of tea, scones, cakes and other tasties. Here we see renowned comestible connoisseurs, Roger and Ann Hiley, discussing the texture of the home-made scones.

Gummer's How

Gummer's How

There was just enough time left for a little extra and a few of us decided to take a look at another fine summit with good views. Again, the haze was spoiling the photographic opportunities.

Gummer's How

Windermere

Windermere

Windermere and Fell Foot

This is the southern end of Windermere, where the river heads for Newby Bridge. Fell Foot is the NT park on the shores of Windermere - on this side of the lake.

Train

Windermere Railway Station

My train back to Oxenholme arrives ready for the turn around. I would change at Oxenholme for Preston and Preston for Brierfield, getting back to the local station at 21:20. Frantic texting to arrange a lift from either of the boys, both of whom have cars at their disposal (which I pay for), proved fruitless. At this late stage, I had a two mile walk uphill to home.

Orrest Head

We left our mark....

That was a little different, very well organised by Peter Burgess and entirely successful. My public transport effort was interesting, but it wouldn't be practical to get to the Lakes using this method every time.

Walkers: Many members of the Online Fellwalking Club

Time taken: 14hrs 20 mins from home-to-home

Route: This report is different to the usual and the above content tells you all you need to know.

Weather and conditions: Warm and Sunny.

Greetings Count: High on Orrest Head, lower on Gummer's How.

Richard's Refreshment Review: I can highly recommend Scott's at Plumgarths. The website here does not show Scott's, but it's there alright. I think they will take last orders around 16:30, which may be a little early for Lakeland leavers.

All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2010 ©

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