- United Kingdom - Summer 2005 -
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Three years is a long time to go without seeing family, home, and friends... yes, I do still call England home even after living in the USA for eight years.  This visit was spread over three weeks and in that time, we covered 1,631 miles in a shoebox we called a car.  We flew from Chicago to Philadelphia, and then Philadelphia to Glasgow.  Connecting flights are something I will avoid with future air trips combined with small children.  We used US Airways on this trip and I wasn't entirely happy with the poor service offered and the knackered look of the planes themselves.  Hannah certainly adjusted incredibly well to the flights, delays, and the unavoidable jetlag when we arrived in the United Kingdom. 

We spent the majority of our time at my parents' house in Cumbria and many people visited us there.  We certainly appreciated the willingness for old friends to make the trip into the far reaches of Cumbria. It was good to be home and having Hannah along made me appreciate the finer things of my homeland.  I saw buildings, people, and the country in a different light.  As a result, both Hannah and Ellie got to see comers of Cumbria that are infrequently visited by me.  Here are a few highlights of this trip:

• The People.

• The Walks.

• The Caves.

• Other Highlights.

• Flying With Toddlers

• The Great English Barbeque

• A snapshot of the Solway Firth.

The People - Many thanks go out to the many people who opened their doors to us, visited us, or took time off work to go on adventures with us during our visit.  It's good to know that we are cared about by so many people.  In order of appearance, they include: Gran and Granda Rumney, Colin, Beth, and Luke Rumney,  Graeme, Amanda, Kayleigh, and Megan Rumney, Claire Ogilvie, Jane Brockholes and her boys, Simon Cornhill, Uncle David and Aunty Kath, Aunty Jean and Jont, Uncle Eric and Aunty Damage, Kenny, Alex, and Jessica Butler, Beany Lyon, Iain, Emma, Elinor, Cameron, and Joe Holland, Arthur Vause, Pete Kerton, Neil "Slim" McCallum, Degsy Freeman, Rick Parker, Di Arthurs, Phil Waller, and Eric Elliot. ñ

The Walks - Loweswater, Sheffield Pike, and Haystacks.

The presence of Hannah on walks was possibly a blessing in disguise for Ellie as she was not required to punish her body quite as much as the walk logs suggest on previous visits to the UK.  The routes I had planned needed to be kid friendly and give precaution to various aspects including Cumbria's unpredictable weather patterns.

Loweswater - On our first walk we invited my Mam and Dad along.  Keen to keep everyone happy I chose a walk with very little elevation gain, but would also provide the walker with splendid views of the Loweswater and Buttermere Valleys.  The walk I chose after much deliberation essentially follows a route that climbs onto the fell above the northwestern end of the lake.  Once leveling out, the route follows an old bridleway skirting beneath Carling Knott before turning north into the valley.  Once on the valley floor the route traces the southwestern shore of Loweswater.  It is approximately 5 to 6 miles in length and very suitable for children and elderly parents.  Surprisingly, we saw few people even though it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Summer.

Sheffield Pike - Claire Ogilvie, an old friend from my college days in Preston, made the trip down from Edinburgh on August 1st.  We met up in the quaint village of Glenridding at the Traveler's Rest Pub.  After a nice cup of tea (not beer... well it was in the morning still) we found ourselves walking up the Glencoyne Valley past Seldom Seen.  The path up the Glencoyne climbs steadily toward the col between Sheffield Pike and Greenside.  Sheffield Pike, standing at 2,215ft above sea level, would be the highest peak we would climb on the entire trip and this short side trip was worth the effort for the views alone.  As I write this, I realize that I have never walked the Glencoyne Valley and this trip was a partial first for me.  After dropping down the south side of the col we found ourselves a quiet spot to eat a packed lunch.  This was a great place for Hannah to burn off some energy and prove herself worthy of Cumbrian Mountains.  We continued our route south down the steep switchbacks leading to the mine workings above the abandoned Greenside Mine.  The mine workings in this area of the lakes are extensive and one can, if inclined to do so, make the trip through the mountain from the Glencoyne Level all the way to the Lucy Tongue Level next to the mine buildings at the head of the valley.  I'd personally like to do the trip with someone who knows the way!  Back in the valley we had a nice pub supper and said our farewells to Claire.  What a great day in the mountains.

Haystacks - I usually prefer to have my walks created as a loop.  This was one of the few walks I have ever done in the lakes that involved two cars.  It was also unique in the sense that it was also an introduction to mountain walks to one family member and three friends from London.  I pondered long and hard over a route, much like I did with Loweswater, that would hopefully inspire beginners to continue walking in the mountains.  I decided that a traverse of Haystacks from the top of Honister Pass to the car park at Warnscale Bottom would be a challenging, but interesting walk for beginners.  A large group of people including Kenny, Alex, Jessica, Colin, Beth, Luke, Ellie, Hannah, and myself set off up the old quarry track from Honister Pass.  The day's weather was somewhat touchy and I decided to skirt around the base of Brandreth and Grey Knotts before descending toward the Haystacks mass.  Haystacks holds its own in the area even though it is a few feet short of the 2000ft mark and surrounded by 2500ft plus mountains.  Gable, Red Pike, and Grasmoor all tower over their smaller sibling, but anyone who walks on Haystacks must respect its sheer faces.  After lunch at Blackbeck Tarn we made our way over the summit and down the steep section above Scarth Gap Pass.  The one-way route descends more than it climbs which is an interesting aspect of this walk.  Haystacks is a classic in winter or summer... well worth the effort. ñ

The Caves - Aquamole Pot, Corky's Pot, Notts II via Committee Pot, and Swinsto Pot.

Three of the caves I did on this trip were discovered within four years of this 2005 trip.  All three caves were heavily excavated and my thanks go out to all those involved with the excavation of them.  The fourth cave, Swinsto, might as well have been new too... because I could barely remember the cave even though I have been through it many times.

Aquamole Pot - This is defined, at least by the folks I cave with, as the new classic West Kingsdale trip.  I had negotiated (??) a pass with Ellie to go caving midweek with anyone who fancied going underground.  Simon took the bait and we met up outside Inglesport in the early evening to do a fairly simple night trip.  Aquamole Pot was engineered a few years ago as a result of divers reaching their oxygen limits too early in their quest to push the submerged upstream passages under West Kingsdale.  A 40 meter shaft, discovered and scaled by Geoff Yeadon in the early 80s through diving exploits, was known to head towards the surface.  So, after many years, some nice gentlemen decided that it was time to find where the shaft broke the surface.  The entrance is now a spectacular walled shaft that is of perfect dimensions... apparently a lift engineer actually helped in the creation.  The cave itself is primarily vertical and is a cracker of a trip.  The final airy 40 meter pitch is magnificent and a fitting end to the dry cave.

Corky's Pot - God only knows why I had the mad idea to head down this little jolly of a cave.  "Because it's there" doesn't seem to quite fit.  Descent, a magazine published for cavers, provided the inspiration as it showed passages of an okay proportion for my portly little body.  However, it is my opinion that the "models" in these pictures are leprechauns or similar small beings.  The first section of the cave is negotiated backwards as there is no room to turn around at the head of the first drop.  It was interesting doing everything in reverse.  The picture on the right shows Arthur midway through a squeeze 20 ft up in a shaft!!  This particular obstacle is interesting on the descent and even more interesting on the ascent.  Corky's Pot holds you tight right up until the very end where it pops out onto a cavernous 40 meter pitch at the eastern end of Mud Hall.  Now finding ourselves in big cave, Simon and I went on to view the Main Chamber of Gaping Gill while Arthur and Pete began to make their way out of the cave.  My original intent was to go all the way to Farrer Hall, but an easier access and an earlier set off time would be needed for this little adventure.  I'm glad to have bottomed this little beauty and I congratulate those Bradford boys and girls who did a fine job at excavating this trickster of a cave.

Notts II via Committee Pot - For many years Notts II was only accessible to cave divers after a lengthy descent into Notts Pot and then a dive through into the open passage of Notts II.  In 2000, after MANY years of digging, a group of Red Rose cavers were able to force entry down to the streamway via digging.  This was a monumental task for those involved and there must be many construction sites around northern England missing several hundred meters of scaffold.  The excavated Committee Pot has swallowed all of the missing scaffold.  In fact, even though it is several hundred vertical feet to the main stream way, no rope is needed for the entire descent. The main stream way is impressive both up and downstream.  Close to a mile of wide open stream can be followed with an abundance of side passages.  Formations are in abundance including one calcite boss far above the stream which will be left pristine for years to come.  However, the fate of Vlad the Impaler and many other fragile stalactites in the ceiling of the upstream passage may not fair so well with the passage of clumsy feet.  Arthur, Degsy, Slim, Simon, Di, and myself all had fun romping around in a spectacular setting of deep water passages.  On the surface we even missed out on getting shot by irate landowners by the cloaking mists of Leck Fell. ñ

Other Highlights - We also visited other sights around the North of England including:

• Lake District Coast Aquarium - This is a fantastic aquarium close to Allonby.  Most of the fish found here are native to the area.  We especially enjoyed the thousands of baby sea horses!
• Chester Zoo - Hannah, Elinor and Cameron Holland, and I visited here on a very rainy day.  This zoo is so fabulous that even rain couldn't "dampen our enthusiasm".  The hundreds of other people that were there obviously felt the same!
• Blue Planet Aquarium - This aquarium is one of the best that I have seen!  Two of the best things about it are the viewing "wall" which allows you to see hundreds of fish intermingling in a natural habitat.  There is a fish feeding show that is definitely worth waiting for!  The other is the tunnel that allows you to walk under all of these fish in the same tank.  There are several sharks meandering around, and you feel very close to their extremely sharp teeth!
• Waterfalls Walk, Ingleton - This is a fantastic walk for anyone.  There is a bit of climbing involved, but there are stairs most of the way.  Of course, fabulous waterfalls can be found throughout the walk, but also watch for the "money tree" and the two places to get ice-cream on the 4 mile hike. 

Flying With Toddlers -  The anticipation of this endeavor was much, much worse than the actual adventure.  I spent hours reading about how to make the journey and the jet lag issues successful.  I worried endlessly about how our little girl would travel and adjust, but in the end she was wonderful.  The first flight was the most difficult because of the timing.  We left Chicago around 2pm, and naps were all over, so she wasn't the happiest to be strapped in again.  After that, she did great.  We ran around the airport during our layover to wear her out, and at 8pm when we got on the plane she was ready for sleep!  We were grounded for two hours before take off, but she was asleep before we even left the ground.  She slept nearly the whole way across the ocean, and woke up happy.   We had to wait around to get our car in Glasgow, but when we finally got in, she slept the entire time from Glasgow to Allonby, and she was back on schedule.  There was no sign of jet lag...thank goodness!  The return was a day flight, so we didn't have the luxury of a sleeping child the whole way, but she was still wonderful.  She took a two hour nap and for the rest of the time, we read, colored, snacked, took short walks, and played with the numerous toys and puzzles that came out of my magic carry-on bag to pass the hours.  When we arrived back in the States, we had several people compliment her behavior.  Jet lag was a little bit more of an issue on the return, but not bad enough to worry about.  All in all, traveling with a two-year-old was definitely not the stressful disaster I thought it would be!  Maybe we just got lucky this time...we'll try it again in a few years!   ñ

The Great English Barbeque - English barbeques have always fascinated me in many ways for many years.  In the USA, barbeques are refined to a carefully timed ordeal where everything has to be ready all at the same time.  For instance, brats (pronounced brots) need to be ready when the pasta salad is cooked and everything in the meal should be eaten at the same time.  Now in the UK things are very different.  An English barbeque must have at least two grills running at any given moment in time and at least one "back up" grill just in case.  With that said, you must also have every variety of meat possible for your guests.  I've been at English barbeques where chicken, steak, pork, ostrich, and kangaroo have all bee served at the same time.  Bu the fun doesn't end there.  Eating the English barbeque takes place over several hours, a bit like a French wedding, and meat is served with bread until one is positively bursting at the seams!!  I love my culture and proud to call myself an Englishman. ñ

The Solway Firth - This is the view that I (Neil) grew up with for 19 years of my life. ñ

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