Hayeswater

The week's worth of heavy rain had supplied the waterfalls with ample water. At the top of Sulphury Gill some Red Deer watched our slow progress up the stone road to Hayeswater. Mist dropped down the hillsides and by the time we reached the reservoir it was floating just above our heads. We headed up the steep open fell that leads to the north ridge of Gray Crag. On reaching the ridge a light rain started and it was noticeably cooler. Rather than taking his rucksack off, the Under Cabin Boy asked the Cabin Boy to get a pair of gloves out of the top pocket of his rucksack for him. The process that ensued could have formed the basis of a classic Laurel and Hardy comedy sketch. The Cabin Boy dragged the top of the raincover away to access the rucksack. The top pocket itself was so full of odds and sods of clothing, it could have easily filled Gaynor's walking shop. Each individual item was taken out and presented by the Cabin Boy to the Under Cabin Boy, to see if this was the item he wanted. After 5 minutes they eventually hit upon the correct item. The Cabin Boy zipped up the rucksack pocket and refitted the rucksack cover. 'Great,' I thought, we can get going now. 'Can you get me the other glove?' the Under Cabin Boy then asked. Unbelievably, the Cabin Boy had only given him just one glove. And so, the process had to restart again...she removed the rucksack cover, opened the top pocket and presented each item to the Under Cabin Boy, until he had a matching pair of gloves. Ten minutes later, we eventually got on our way again. It does make you wonder.

Gray Crag And Thornthwaite Beacon

The mist cleared as we walked along Gray Crag's broad ridge offering us a bird's eye view down on to Hayeswater. Layers of mist still lingered over towards Helvellyn and the Red Screes. By the time we reached Thornthwaite Beacon the mist was drawing in again. We hunkered down alongside the nearby stone wall and had a break. As we chomped on Tunnocks and sipped our coffee the mist got thicker and I thought these might be good conditions for the Under Cabin Boy to test his navigation skills, on his long road back to Captaincy. I showed him Thornthwaite Beacon on the map and then pointed out The Knott, the next peak on our route. Now as the crow flies, there's about 350 metres drop to the bottom of the valley between Thornthwaite Beacon and The Knott. I was therefore a bit surprised that he decided to set a compass bearing directly between the two. Surely he wasn't going to attempt a direct route across to it, was he? Given that we could only see about a 100 metres I was expecting him to split the navigation into smaller stages. I thought it best not to say anything since sometimes it is better to learn from your mistakes.

The Knott

Although the High Street path wasn't on the bearing he'd set, the Under Cabin Boy decided to opt for it, probably because it was the most obvious one around. I tried to encourage him to look at the map and check off the things that we were passing, such as stone walls, High Street's trig, and the path to Kidsty Pike. Eventually we came alongside the peak of The Knott and I asked the Under Cabin Boy where he thought its summit was. He looked at his compass and pointed over into a far valley near The Nab. I'm pretty sure he would have continued in that direction, probably until a cliff, or darkness stopped him. I explained that the bearing that he'd taken at Thornthwaite Beacon to the Knott, was only relevant from Thornthwaite Beacon, and the direct line between the two. As soon as we drifted off that line, then it became less accurate and useful. There were some good navigational lessons to be had along that from Thornthwaite Beacon to The Knott, but I'm not sure how much the Under Cabin Boy absorbed.

Brock Crags

The mist cleared a little, but the rain became more persistent as we made our way over to Satura Crag. Some Red Deer high up on Rest Dodd, kept a wary eye on us. At the end of Satura Crag, I explained to the Under Cabin Boy how stone walls can be used as good navigational aids when visibility is restricted. To emphasise this, we followed a series of stone walls that led from Satura Crag to the top of Brock Crags. On reaching Brock Crag's summit, I then told the Under Cabin Boy that we'd now follow the stone walls back towards Satura Crag and then pick up another stone wall that would lead us to our descent path into the valley. Having already just shown him how to use stone walls as route finders, I thought that this would be an easy exercise. I even gave him a bearing to hit the first stone wall that we needed to follow. 'Just head between those two small hillocks and the stone wall will be just beyond,' I said. 'Rightyho,' he replied and then started heading off at 90 degrees, to my suggested direction. Puzzled by this bizarre action, I decided to follow him.  His path led us to some crags with a steep drop down into the valley. When the  sheep track we were walking along was even too sheer for the sheep to use, I called a halt to the proceedings. I led them back to Brock Crag and then on the heading that I had originally suggested to the Under Cabin Boy. Following the stone walls we soon arrived at the top of the descent path, down to Hartsop.

Return To Hartsop

The path down into the bottom of the valley followed first a zig and then a zag along the flank of the hill. It was thick mist now, which was a shame, since the path would have given superb views over to Gray Crag and Hartsop Dodd. The path finally ended up at the Filter House, a redundant waterworks building that is now used as a holiday let. From the Filter House, we followed the narrow single track road back towards Hartsop. A few more people were up and about in the village compared to this morning.

It was a decent walk, even though we'd only really got views on the first part of the walk. It was a good day to hone navigational skills though, and through his many mistakes, I hoped that the Under Cabin Boy had learnt some valuable lessons. I look forward to a demonstration of his improved skillset, on our next outing.