Snowbound on Thirlmere
"Snowbound
Let's sleep in today
Wake me up
When the wolves come out to play"
It was Gav's birthday yesterday and he invited us to celebrate it with him on Thirlmere.
I was running a bit late, as ever, and missed the turn off down to the
put in. No problem, I thought, I'll just drive down to the bottom end
of the lake and double back up the minor road on the west side.
Bad move! Apparently there had been a 'Road Closed' sign but someone
had taken it down. The road was single track and thick with snow, apart
from a couple of wavy tyre tracks. But once I was on it there was no
turning back. So long as I kept moving I was all right, but if I had to
stop I'd never getting started again on that ice.
But then a car with a canoe on top appeared, stopped right in front of
me, so I ground to a halt. It was Alex who was busy being towed
out by Gav in his 4x4. Of course I couldn't get moving again
either, so Gav came back and towed me back on to less slippy ground.
Arriving at the car park, it was down a steep slope off the road. I
knew I'd never get back up that hill, so I left my car at the top. More
on this later...
All the guys were waiting - Gav, Alex, Lee, Pauly and Tony - so we got
straight out onto the water. The lake was like glass, reflected the
snow covered hills perfectly in the sunshine.
My boat:
The lake:
Tony joined me as bow paddler and we headed south down the lake.
Alex:
Gav:
Alex:
Lee:
We stopped for lunch at at castle on the east shore (waterworks
building I believe). Various fireboxes, kelly kettles, flasks and
stoves were produced and bacon, eggs and sausages consumed.
Lee:
Tony, Gav, Paul, Alex:
Good job nobody fell out of their boat, as swimming was prohibited.
After luncheon we headed further south, but hit pack ice before we
reached the bottom end of the lake. Gav tried to use his canoe as an
ice breaker but didn't get too far.
We reach the southern polar ice cap:
Gav attempting the ice:
In retreat:
So we adjourned to a nearby beach for a bit of health and safety training.
Bell Owner's Club photo:
What will we do next?
Let's do a team photo:
Then let's see whether Crow has enough safety tools to cut his way out of this:
Then it was time to head back, pausing only for a cuppa and some birthday cake.
The cake:
Heading back to the cars, Tony at the bow:
Back at the car park, the fun started. As predicted, none of the cars
could make it up the slope to the road, except Gav's 4X4. (I'd left
mine at the top.)
So we spent a good hour or so, pushing, pulling and trying to manhandle
the cars up that hill. We tried towing, we tried sand, we tried
breaking the ice with shovels, we tried taking a run at it, all to no
avail.
We were all getting quite knackered and about to set off to find a
farmer with a tractor, when a large Range Rover came by. We flagged it
down and explained our predicament and the driver kindly agreed to
help. He towed all 4 cars up that slope without any problem at all.
Saved!
So it was off to the Traveller's Rest for a well earned pint after that, and then home.
Altogether a great day out. Beautiful conditions and a wee bit
adventure / exercise at the end.
Gordon
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