Haystacks

The path up to Haystacks is steep in places and requires a bit of easy hands-on scrambling in places. Halfway up we came across a middle aged couple who seemed to be making heavy weather of the route. They were wearing a dark uniform and on first inspection I actually thought they might be members of the Salvation Army. I thought it odd that the Salvation Army would need to declare a presence on the top of Haystacks. When they turned around to us I could see they had bands around their jackets saying they were Animal Search And Rescue. We chatted to them and they said that a young spaniel had been lost on Haystacks the previous day and they were out searching for it. 'I've 7 kilos of drones in my rucksack', the male participant declared. I wondered whether they might be better deployed, rather than in his rucksack. His female partner was rather quiet. She was obviously not use to easy scrambling. They were making such heavy weather of the climbing that I feared they might need rescuing themselves. Near the summit of Haystacks we came across a young couple who turned out to be the owners of the lost dog. They were squeaking a squeaky toy. They said that the dog's name was Apollo and that he had their phone number on a tag on his collar. We said that we'd contact them if we found him. Given the bad overnight weather I doubt whether the dog would have stayed up on Haystacks. I'm sure it would have dropped down into one of the valleys to find shelter. We kept a look out for Apollo, but we didn't see him during the rest of our walk.

Wainwright's Last Stand

Haystacks is Wainwright's last stand. His ashes are spread near the Innominate Tarn. He expressed this wish in the Western Fells version of his book and in his memoirs:
"All I ask for, at the end, is a last long resting place by the side of Innominate Tarn, on Haystacks, where the water gently laps the gravelly shore and the heather blooms and Pillar and Gable keep unfailing watch. A quiet place, a lonely place. I shall go to it, for the last time, and be carried: someone who knew me in life will take me and empty me out of a little box and leave me there alone. And if you, dear reader, should get a bit of grit in your boot as you are crossing Haystacks in the years to come, please treat it with respect. It might be me." 

Fleetwith Pike

I'm not sure Haystacks was as 'quiet' and 'lonely' as Wainwright would liked. In fact it was a veritable motorway of walkers as me made our way across its undulating top. We dropped down to Dubs Hut and then climbed straight back up the other side to a disused quarry. We tried contouring the flank of Fleetwith Pike but the sketchy path was too boggy and so we headed upwards to the drier ridge path. Other attendees at the summit of the hill included a mountain biker flaked out on the ground, and a young couple playing with a child. The summit is an amazing viewing point with an eagle's eye view of Buttermere and Crummock Water. Calse wasn't too happy with my decision to go down Fleetwith's northwest ridge. 'But, I thought you said we were going down the valley!' , she protested between sobs. 'It would require returning back to Dubs Hut on that boggy path', I told her. 'The views are much better on this path', I offered. They were too. There are some steep, deep drops on either side of the ridge, but it never really feels that dangerous. I'd probably avoid it in high winds or ice though. The descent also torments the knees, but the magnificent panorama in front of you more than makes up for it. At Mission Impossible's base we could see the trailer of a huge artic being stacked with equipment. I'd no idea how that could have been driven here along those narrow roads. Just before we reached the bottom of the valley we saw Fanny Mercer's cross. This is a memorial to a woman who died in 1887 who had died near here when out walking.

Return To Buttermere

The day's hard work was now complete and we could relax as we made our way back to Buttermere's village alongside the lake. We picked up the pootlers who were just doing a circuit around the lake. There were a few kayakers testing their skills out on the water. Halfway along the lakeside we came to the Hassness tunnel. It is about 30 metres long and can be navigated without a torch with care. There seems to be some dispute as to the reason it was created. One theory is that somebody called George Benson created it in the 19th century to allow an easy complete circuit of the lake to be made. Another theory is that the landowner had his labourers cut the tunnel in order to give them something to do in the long winter months. Either way, just make sue that you don't bang your head as you walk through it. Further along the path we came across a group of Americans. A young woman in the group  complained rather loudly that, she had come come out for a walk and not a run. I thought that a rather odd statement since we overtook them and we weren't travelling that fast.

Buttermere village was as busy as you would expect on a glorious day like this. I'm glad most of the day was spent in the higher fells. I wondered whether they'd found Apollo yet.