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The English Lake District

Cumbrian December (UK)

ColinT
2005-04-24 10:24:58

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The imposing bulk of the Skiddaw mountain looms over the Cumbrian market town of Keswick in the northern part of the English Lake District. Skiddaw always looks like an angry mountain when blackened by cloud, but blanketed in white it looks a much happier proposition.

After scaling its snowy peak, I began to make my way down. The blisters on my feet felt like they had blisters and were about to burst and fill the valley below. I was tired, worn out and cold. Climbing an English peak in early December is not the ideal thing to do. The biting wind cut into my face and I turned back to see a black snow sky hanging over the peak. The views below would have been brilliant, if there had been any. Unfortunately, at this time of the year, swirling mist obscures just about anything beyond twenty metres. Eventually I lost sight of the peak and continued my descent accompanied by howling gales. You don't have to be insane to climb Cumbrian mountains in late autumn - but it helps.

I have climbed Skiddaw before, but in summer, and knew that Keswick nestled somewhere below, surrounded by fields dotted with sheep and neatly edged by hedgerows. On this occasion I took comfort from knowing that beyond the fog, the early evening lights of the town would be glistening warmly on narrow streets and in the living rooms or lounges of tiny houses, guesthouses and traditional wood beamed pubs with their rustic charm, hinting at what rural England must have been like in what now is a long lost age. The local pubs and restaurants, however, offer reminders by serving traditional delicacies such as Cumberland Sausage, Tatie Pot, and Rum Butter. Keswick has managed to escape the ugliness and intrusions of the modern age. The friendly attention in the many closely packed shops and the weekly market around the Moot Hall is a welcome change from Britain's towns and cities with their standardised retail parks, burger bars and endless car parks. You have ...