The weather’s warmer, the nights are longer and, unfortunately, my belt’s tighter. I haven’t had my boots on in anger since the last day of the Coast to Coast walk back in September. It’s time to get off my bum.
I’ve leave booked for next week and, between other commitments, should have three or four days free for a walk. I’d fancied the Windermere Way: a 45 mile saunter around the lake. The walk is ideal for a spring jaunt: two short days, into which can be incorporated the drive to and from home on Yorkshire’s east coast, and none too challenging terrain for the year’s first outing.
By combining the car ferry, buses and the lake launches, to get to and/or from the day’s terminal points, a single venue break can be had: no heavy pack, just a day sack. Perfect...
I sorted out a likely looking Bowness B and B on the internet and was about to book when, for some unknown reason, I checked the ferry times. Tucked away in the small print on the Windermere Ferry PDF was a little nugget of information: “20 April to 23 May – Ferry out of service for refit”. Bugger!
Cumbria County Council’s Highways must be congratulated on its timing; no point in stopping the service in the winter months if there’s no-one around be messed about. I don’t suppose my £150.00 of missed local spending will dent the Cumbrian economy too much, but, in these straightened times, every little would have helped.
So, it’s back to the drawing board.
Perhaps a three or four day walk based on Mark Reid’s guidebook, The Inn Way…to the Yorkshire Dales. It looks a good walk but will have the disadvantages of me needing to arrange a lift over to the Dales, having to carry a full pack and also being a shade more energetic than I would have wished for the first outing of the year.
We’ll see.
