Safe Return Doubtful

Will this wind, be so mighty, as to lay low the mountains of the earth?

I had parked at the northwestern head of the Cocker valley, about 3 miles north of Buttermere lake on a windy night, but it was to get much windier. These valleys of the Lake District get gusts on nights like tonight that would be quoted in press reports during media storms, certainly above 60 miles per hour. The van rocks around, which is no problem, though at night it can be hard to sleep during such gusts. Things blow around, usually small objects that do t do much damage, but occasionally larger branches from trees, which can do damage. I had surveyed the site when it was light, but in the gusts, branches can be moved several metres. One struck us during the night, but in the morning I noticed no visible damage.

I have missed 11 storms this winter, and caught just one, so can hardly complain.

It’s certainly appropriate to drag out the old Peter Cook sketch, reprised for the Secret Policeman’s Ball, a fund-raising event in 1979, with an incredible cast. It had originally appeared in a Beyond the Fringe sketch from 1961. As good as all the performers are, even with just one line to deliver, it is Rowan Atkinson and Cook that steal the show. Its here..

I like to rewatch this during the crest of each storm.

But today in the Western Lakes the violence of the weather relented. The storm quietened just after 3:30 am, and the morning dawned as calm as on a summer evening before darkness falls. Roja and I took on a circuit of Buttermere, which was remarkably busy. It’s been a few years since I was here. I regularly brought a group from Lytham here on the weekend before Christmas, working on the principle that most other people would be shopping. There were some great trips. Since then it is noticeable how more affluent tourism has taken a hold. The two old hikers’ pubs are now high-end restaurants with associated bars. Both were packed. There are signs in every parking area for no overnight stays. Machines equipped with cameras that read your number plate charge £5 an hour to park. Every passing place, or slightly wider part of the road has ‘strictly no parking’ signs, at risk of being towed away. Campervans in season, eight months a year, are not a good idea on these roads anyway, and I am sure regardless, many motorhomes weave and stutter their way over the passes.

For lunch we moved on, trying to find a quiet place. We drove over Honister Pass and through the Borrowdale Valley, for much of which similarly makes campervans unwelcome. We did though, manage to find a quiet and secluded spot above the west banks of Derwent Water.

With the weather being so quiet, there were a few walkers out, but not anywhere near as many as in Buttermere. By 4 pm everyone had gone and we were left to enjoy a couple of evening miles alone.