February 2026 – John Cairns
I recently joined Lakeland Canoe Club – several other LMC are also members. My first outing with the club was a paddle in sea kayaks on a very atmospheric, wet Ullswater. After the paddle as I set off to the Loft where I had arranged to meet Tony for a few days walking I picked up a WhatsApp message saying ‘No gas at the Loft, I’m off home’. After a couple of phone calls we worked out that the gas had been turned off in the hut even though Jon had removed the handle to prevent this as the new boiler needs a constant gas supply. So, I arrived to the kettle whistling and a nice chilli warming on the stove – all was good!
Thursday was forecast a wet day, and it lived up to expectations. We opted for a low-level walk from Elterwater and admired Selwith and Colwith waterfalls – a fantastic sight in wet weather. Around lunchtime we walked past a B & B farm which had a self-service café – we took off our dripping coats and ate our lunch in the lovely old shippon along with a cup of tea and some homemade cakes – lovely and needed! We carried onto Cathedral cave and had a bit of a explore although some of the tunnels were impassible unless you were wearing waders.
The water was nearly flowing over the flat part of Slaters Bridge as the photo demonstrates.
The following day was dry and sunny. We set off from High Tibberthwaite car park to Hodge Close where we walked down into the main quarry. We again ended up at Slaters Bridge – what a difference 24 hours makes to the water levels. We passed some impressive quarries on the way back to the car via Blake Rigg
The Loft was very comfortable – made more so with good food, wine and a few wee ‘snifters’.
On Saturday Tony tidied up and left for home as his knee was playing up. I met up with Ian and some other LMC members for a lovely walk from Ambleside to the Kirkstone Inn via Stockghyll . After lunch we climbed up to Red Screes where we admired the lovely snowflakes that looked like little starfish. We descended into better weather and walked down the Scandale pass. We just happened to come across The Golden Rule pub – best pub in Ambleside I am told and that was a great end to a few days in the Lakes.
