Day 1: Ulverston to Coniston (16 miles)

Sunday 16 September 2007

The day dawned dark and chilly with the forecasters predicting heavy and sustained rain throughout the day. Breakfast was a vegetarian affair: good enough, but I can’t recommend vegan sausage.

There was one other couple in the digs. They were from Preston, were walking the Cumbria Way and had booked into the same accommodation at Coniston. I hit the trail early, anxious to put on as many miles as I could before the rain.

The first few miles of the walk are through gentle, pastoral country, before rougher Lakeland terrain was met around Tottlebank. The rain held off until the climb to Beacon Tarn, and then it came with a vengeance: proper rain, lashing, teeming, and horizontal Lake District rain. The water scenically filling the valleys has got to come from somewhere I guess.

I passed the Preston couple sheltering in a sparse wood beside the tarn. They were lunching with a couple from Birmingham. We were all to pass and re-pass for the next couple of days, gradually building an easygoing rapport.

Another of the joys of trail walking is visiting hidden, seldom seen places in popular areas. Beacon Tarn is such a place; quiet and unassuming, with impressive views from the col to the Coniston Fells. Today, though, was not a day to admire the panorama – there wasn’t one: just rain and mist.

The route hugs the shore of Coniston Water for three miles or more, much through attractive native woods. Sad to say, the walk today was a bit of a slog through the gloom.

The condition tested my equipment somewhat. The new boots didn’t cause too many problems: there wasn’t any blistering, but I felt some discomfort to my toes, although I couldn’t figure out the cause. My venerable Leki pole, a companion since a Westmoreland Way walk in 1993, was shot and my ten year old Gortex jacket leaked badly. I’ve had some good service from the jacket and pole, but it’s time for replacements I feel.

It’s expensive this hiking lark.

An evening in the Black Bull with the Preston couple went down well after the day’s privations. I very nearly succumbed to the Bluebird Bitter, which I know from previous experience to be an exceptional beer, but manfully resisted. On this form I’ll be a canonisation candidate after my demise (and have the healthiest liver in the morgue).

The digs were a bit old fashioned, but no worse for that: a friendly welcome, large rooms, comfortable bed, big bath, good food, terrific value.

Accommodation: Waverley, Lake Road, Coniston, Cumbria, LA21 8EW (015394 41127)