Tuesday night is Walk Night at BAE Systems. Col Sear at work organises a walk every week which is usually very well attended not only by the locals, but also the many visiting consultants who get a chance to visit the glorious Lake District.
As the walks start at 6pm and I’m usually still busy working at that time, I don’t manage to get out, but this week’s walk was on my way home, and at a spot that I’ve looked at every morning on my daily commute – a circular of Whitbarrow Scar via Lord’s Seat, just off the A590.
Parking at Mill Side, there were 10 of us that set off up the country lane skirting round Buckhouse Wood.
We soon entered the wood and followed the track, walking parallel with the A590. Distracting Col by taking pictures of interesting trees, we missed the small path that would start to take us up hill.
We backtracked, found the path, and started up hill. The narrow path soon levelled out, and once again, distracting Col with the views over the Kent Estuary, we missed the path that would have taken us up hill towards the summit of Whitbarrow scar. But never mind. Instead we followed the scar round and passed under White Scar, which gave me an excellent opportunity to spy out some routes. It looks a bit loose and I’m not sure if anyone climbs there. The most interesting bit was the amazingly smooth slab we were walking on.
We ended up following the track round and found an alternative path up hill.
The path was very gentle and the views, when we eventually got there, were wonderful. We could see Scafell on one side and Ingleborough on the other, and in the valley Witherslack Hall. This area is the Hervey Nature Reserve which is maintained by the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust. Etched into a stone on the cairn itself is “This reserve commemorates Canon G A K Hervey (1893-1967) founder of the Lake District Naturalists Trust”.
After spending a bit of time taking in the views, and looking for the wildlife, which seemed to notably absent, we realised we needed to pick up the pace in order to make it to the pub before they stopped serving food.
We headed on down, along a stony track, and eventually made it to the valley floor again, passing an interesting rest stop which was open, yet closed. It looked like someone’s open kitchen where you could just help yourself.
But we were in a hurry for dinner. We made it back to the car and sped off a short half mile down the road to the Derby Arms at Witherslack. We were just in time and had an amazing dinner. I’d definitely recommend this pub, excellent food and excellent beer.
wow Vickys lovely! x