A Manifesto for a revitalised UK

Westminster: the heart of the problem

This post was drafted last summer after the resignation of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and as we were witnessing the small caucus of Conservative Party members selecting his successor. I never posted it because my life was put on hold for many months but on rereading it today, I thought it had as much if not more relevance than it had last year.

The last few weeks (August 2022) have merely confirmed all that has been going wrong in the UK since the 2008 banking crisis. Successive regressive governments under Cameron, May, and Johnson have allowed or shown a dependency on a self-serving financial sector, a disregard for public services, a London-centric approach to resource allocation, a dismissal of localism, a perpetual austerity, too much dependency on the United States, a disdain for Europe, and an unrepentant disregard for the widening gap between rich and poor.

Westminster government needs to become more in touch with the realities of the world and the growing inequalities and poverty in the UK. Brexit and COVID-19 have amplified all the other reasons for the decline of the UK outlined above. It has trashed the UK's reputation on the world stage by retreating from collaboration and ceding the soft power that stemmed from Commonwealth connections, our membership and influence in the EU, International Aid, and the respect for trusted institutions like the BBC as well as our scientific and cultural organisations. We are in dire straits and the current Tory leadership elections have simply confirmed that neither of the final two candidates to be PM have the ability to lead us out of the doldrums at any time soon.

Watching or listening to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak is an exercise in despair as they refuse to say much other than to 'tax less' as they seek to fill Boris Johnson's boots and boasts. He will no doubt be enjoying the sunlit uplands of Tuscany, or wherever he can cadge a residence from one of his cabal of donors, whilst penning articles that celebrate his achievements and undermine his successor. No doubt he will break the rules on taking on other jobs so soon after being usurped by his party and he will return to writing pulp fiction for one of the right-wing newspapers

What is needed are not more soundbite policies with no chance of ever being delivered but some clear principles and long-term policies that are not an attempt to safeguard a few red-wall seats. Here is a starter list of what I would welcome and vote for. I doubt that any of them are in the mindset of our next PM, whoever he/she is and the question for the opposition parties is how committed are they to fundamentally modernising the broken machinery of government and democratic deficit that we have allowed to permeate a crumbling Westminster. 

• Rejoin the EU, if they would allow us. Failing that I would certainly expect any government to seek to rejoin the EU Trade Agreement and customs union. Like the majority of the current electorate, I regret the decision and the conflicts that have been caused by leaving the EU. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, Brexit has resulted in a 4% reduction in the UK's GDP, with Covid causing a further 2% reduction. The consequences are the loss of over a million people from the workforce, delays in the production and delivery of products, shortages and inflation of goods, as well as the loss of environmental regulations that cleaned our beaches and improved air quality. 
• Restore the Erasmus and Horizon programmes with other European countries. Travel has been stymied by the loss of the Euro Health Insurance card, as well as documentation overload and complex customs arrangements. The sense of belonging to a wider community of interest (the EU) with a collective set of standards from human rights to environmental, financial and manufactured product regulations never figured in the simplistic arguments foisted on the electorate by the Brexiteers. Despite all the suggestions from politicians that we should accept that we have left and move on, this would merely embed the mess that Brexit has created. It would be an act of political cowardice that glorifies the myths already dismissed by the majority of the electorate as well as most economists and academic studies.
• Establish a written constitution for a Federal UK. The next most important commitment must be consolidating and enhancing the powers of the four nations in the UK and embedding English Regions and Councils with devolved powers. This should involve a large-scale devolution away from Westminster but extend to the most local level of democratic control possible. Some powers should return to the EU to ensure compatibility with our neighbouring countries to ensure the consistency and safeguarding of environmental and fiscal regulations.
• Introduce a proportional voting system that reflects the voting intentions of its citizens. A government that has an 80-seat majority when only 29% of the electorate voted for it is neither democratic nor sustainable. Having no single party in power will lead to more time debating and refining legislation but it would prevent doctrinaire top-of-the-head policies such as deporting refugees to Rwanda or delaying legislation on building standards for tower blocks that resulted in the Grenfell Tower disaster. Collaboration among politicians with different perspectives is a more robust way of securing effective scrutiny. The present models that hive off scrutiny to non-executive bodies or bicameral bodies mean that effective scrutiny can often be ignored by the government or lost in action.
• Following these devolved changes, there should be opportunities (referendums) for the people of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to determine whether they wished to remain part of a more devolved and less centralised United Kingdom that is embedded in a written constitution or become independent countries. It is clear in Scotland at least that Westminster in its present guise has lost most of its credibility. Conversely, the SNP is faced with the Scottish GDP and its spending widening considerably since the last referendum in 2014 owing to the loss of North Sea Oil revenues. The choice should be between a revised and explicit written constitution for the UK and properly specified independence proposals. 
• Legislate to remove the tax havens in UK overseas territories and crown dependencies The three most significant tax havens are the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda with Jersey and the former colony of Hong Kong also in the top ten. Along with Guernsey and the Isle of Man, they account for 29% of corporate tax abuse. They are used by global companies to reduce their taxable profits as well as hedge funds. The EU tax good governance is an international initiative to strengthen fair taxation and global tax transparency to tackle tax fraud, evasion, and avoidance. It was one of the less publicised arguments for Brexit. but there is an essential moral responsibility to significantly reduce tax evasion by global companies, criminal organisations, and extremely wealthy individuals.
• Support the proposals being made by the EU to ensure that tax from global companies is paid in the country where the business is conducted, not the low-tax countries that have manipulated their tax rates to acquire additional tax streams.
• Restrict foreign ownership of UK-based companies. By 2019, 66% of UK-listed shares were owned by foreign investors. The US owns a bigger share of UK companies than the UK whilst  China, India, and Middle Eastern countries are increasingly dominant in the investment and ownership of UK businesses.
• A more progressive taxation system must be introduced. This could be achieved by not uprating the tax thresholds at the higher bands. A supplementary tax could also be paid by companies on all earnings that exceed the minimum wage paid by the company by a factor of 10. In practice, this would be a company tax on anyone earning, approximately £150k per annum. Companies and their boards would have to decide whether these larger remunerations were necessary. Comparison with other nations suggests that the UK pays far higher salaries to top earners than other European countries. It may have attracted senior managers to be based in the UK but this in turn has been instrumental in busting the housing market and made the quest for levelling up another malfeasance.
• Tax rates and benefits for the self-employed should be standardised with Pay As You Earn rates. This has become more important as companies' sub-contract work and flexible working become ever more significant
• International Aid should be reinstated at 0.7% and the UK should focus its Foreign Policy on the use of its soft power through International Aid, a more active role in the UN and its various agencies, the BBC World Service, its charitable organisations, and the use of the English Language.
• Climate Change targets should be enforced along with a comprehensive funding package to insulate the housing stock, encourage community-owned solar farms and onshore wind turbines Investment in tidal power, hydrogen fuel for heavy vehicles, plant and equipment, and for the installation of district heating schemes, air source and ground source heat pumps. 
• Air travel within the UK should be restricted to island flights and longer-distance routes. Commercial flights for distances of less than 250 miles should be eliminated. Taxation on aviation and marine fuel should be introduced and the duty on fuel duty for agricultural and construction vehicles should be phased in to encourage the transfer to alternate carbon-free fuels.
• Legislate for new housing to be net zero with a mechanism to enforce this for both social and private housing
• A cap on private house rents should be established and enforced whilst there would be an encouragement of locally run social housing developments including the repurchase of vacant private rental properties.
• State ownership of railways and water companies should be legislated for in the first year of a new government. The poor performance of these essential functions since complex privatisation and franchising were introduced is deeply damaging to customers and the environment. The regulators have been dilatory in their fight against profiteering and dubious practices.
• Community Care Plans should be produced by all Councils with a commitment by the government to provide additional funding. The NHS should not take responsibility for community care. It would be a low priority in competition with powerful professional groupings within the health sector.
• Regions and Councils should have the power to establish community land banks managed locally for the benefit of communities

I could go on but the most important requirement is that there is a recognition of the need for radical reshaping of our democratic institutions and engagement with citizens. Collaboration between parties is essential, but equally important is the imperative of involvement of the devolved governments, councils, and communities.

So that was Langdale

Little Langdale Cathedral

The 40th year at the Langdale timeshare was a curious mix of sadness, nostalgia, and elation. Arriving  on Saturday evening after a 4 hour hill walk from  Caldbeck, I collected the keycard from reception and let myself into the lodge. No apparent changes to the lodge this year but the heating was on full and some windows had been left open. I trudged upstairs with the bags of food and deposited my bag and rucksack in the downstairs bedroom. Aileen was not around to sort the food and create the sense of home. It was too late for a swim so I made some pasta and watched the first stage of the Tour de France in the Basque country. My namesake won and his twin brother was second, a good omen for the week. 

Gregor phoned and said he had decided to come down from Glasgow on a morning train tomorrow. I had already invited my sister so I would not be able to meet him without changing their plans, so I arranged for him to travel to Oxenholme where she could pick him up. I didn't sleep well, the vacant space in the bed held too many memories of happy family holidays and, in more recent times, the contentment of aging together.

The next morning I went into Ambleside early to purchase the incidental foodstuffs like salt, olive oil, and juice that I had forgotten to bring. I browsed the outdoor shops but they have lost their appeal as prices have spiralled by about 50% and I am conscious of the stuff that is still functionable in drawers and cupboards at home. Ambleside has become incredibly expensive following the Covid years when it became a magnet for all the wealthier people who couldn't travel abroad. I suspect there may be a kickback as they return to more distant  vacations whilst families seek out sunnier climes and less expensive accommodation. This was confirmed as the week progresses and there was evidence of near empty shops and eating places. 

My sister and husband were held up on the M6 and were late to collect Gregor from Oxenholme. We spent a rainy afternoon in the lodge before a walk when the rain relented. Gregor went a long run in the evening whilst we had an evening meal in Ambleside. The next day we went to Oxenholme to collect another guest and visited the Waterside vegetarian  cafe in Kendal, a place that was a regular haunt when the children were young. Whether it led to them all becoming vegetarians in later life, I am not sure, but they always requested a visit. They also have a taste for Indian food that probably stems from weekly visits to Glasgow Indian restaurants when their taste buds were being groomed..

I caught up with some friends who also had been coming to their lodge since 1984. They had 4 children who were ages with ours and together they terrorised the swimming pool for other swimmers. All 4 of them were also here this year with 8 grandchildren. I attended the owners weekly meeting and surprisingly still felt one of the youngest in the room as the questions were largely about activities of a sedentary variety. My question about when was the Lake District going to ban visitors by car got a muted response from my fellow owners but the speaker was quite enthusiastic and talked about proposed parking locations at the entrance to the National Park and the great success of recently improved bus services with lower fares. 

I suspect the commercial interest of the hotels, visitor attractions and airbnb will do everything in their power to prevent this happening. Driving a car in the Lakes has become tortuous as cars that are too large clog the narrow roads and a finding parking spaces in towns and for walks is a game of musical chairs. The very essence of the Lakes is the scenic road and path network that is in harmony with the landscape. The last thing that is required is any attempt to make them into highways. I am sure that an electric car pool such as zipcars could be made to work well in the Lakes by utilising the parking places and eliminating the need for all the cars that stand idle for 90% of the time. It could reduce the number of visitor vehicles by over 50% whilst maintaining the flexibility required by visitors.

Our next four days were spent walking. First, on a cold windy and rain splattered day, a local walk to one of Aileen's favourite places, Little Langdale, where we visited Slater's Bridge and the Cathedral a vast cavern that had been created by the slate quarries. We continued to Skelwith Bridge for a late lunch at Chesters, Aileen's favourite lunch spot. We then had three days on the fells despite the showery and windy weather. We climbed the Whinlatter fells on Wednesday. the Fairfield horseshoe with my walking partner, Mark on Thursday, and on Friday the Lorton fells and Rannerdale Knotts, the final hills in Gregor's completion of the 214 Wainwright hills. We celebrated with some Wainwright beer in Wainwright's hotel in Langdale before a meal at Fellinis in Ambleside. The next morning we left just after 9am, Gregor and Emily returning direct to Glasgow whilst I dropped the other guest at Penrith station for her train to London and picked up some provisions from Booths.

As a week it had worked better than I expected despite some pretty poor weather. Gregor and other family had been to Langdale to keep me company on the first year without Aileen. We had more scope for hill walking but that was no compensation for missing the other activities that Aileen enjoyed like visits to houses and gardens, gentler walks and good food. 

We had bought the Timeshare in 1984 when Gregor was just 2 months old, it was an instinctive decision after several holidays in cottages that were in good locations but usually lacked household comforts. Langdale in contrast was very modern, well specified with top of the range furniture and equipment and an excellent leisure centre. We were mesmerised during the first five years by the luxury and the joy of the young family. It was then a godsend as mortgages increased to 15% and it was the only holiday we could afford as the Thatcher years took their toll. It was chance to spend time with my parents and brother and sister who would come for a day during the week. It continued to be idyllic for a few years with the children soaking up the attractions and exercise until we had teenagers eager to travel. Aileen felt it restricted the opportunity to take holidays in Europe with the children before we became empty nesters. 

There were then some less memorable years as we had the place to ourselves. Since her retirement in 2010 Aileen grew fonder of Langdale and always looked forward to the week as a relaxing filler. It did not prevent other holidays, to France in June or longer holidays in the autumn. Langdale was a familiar place that holds many memories of watching a family grow and fledge. This familiarity has also been instilled in the children and in almost every year since 2008 we have  been joined by one or more of the children. Whether I will keep it is another matter, sometimes things have served their purpose and become an encumbrance. As I watched other older owners at the lodge owners meeting attempting to recalibrate the estate to respond to their less active demands I thought that I would not want to visit if I was unable to enjoy the freedom of the fells and the walks in Lakeland. Memories have to be created not just remembered.

Quarry above the Cathedral

Little Langdale and the Cathedral entrance

Wainwright Finish

Rannerdale Knotts

Friday, 7 July 2023

Walk 1

Ascent:         441 metre

Distance:      7.5 metres

Time:            1 hour 43 minutes

Low Fell                   415m       46mins      

Fellbarrow                415m     1hr 11mins  1hr 43mins

Rannerdale Knotts    354m        29mins     48 mins  

Wainwright identified 214 fells in the Lake District that have become known as the Wainwrights and the nearest thing that England has to compete with Scotland's Munros, Corbetts, and Grahams although they are generally easier to climb with good or well-worn paths that are never that far from the road network. Nevertheless, the Wainwrights are a good if idiosyncratic challenge. Gregor completed them today during our annual week in Langdale. He had started at the age of three by walking up Helm Crag and embarrassing a reluctant school party whose teacher reprimanded his charges by saying that if that small boy could do it so could they.

Today was our easiest walk of the week We did not start until 2pm and tackled the two fells: Low Fell and Fellbarrow which are accessed via the remote and beautiful Lorton Vale from Thackthwaite. The tracks are over grassy slopes. After the last couple of days, when the wind and cool weather had been autumnal, we were subject to strong southerly winds from the Sahara. We found a parking place just shy of Thackthwaite and took a path from the hamlet through a wood to some open fields that were alive with birds including some wheatears. 

It was the easiest walk of the week with no need for rucksacks or anything other than a mobile phone for the map (OS Maps online) and photos. The RAF were getting in some low-flying practice over Crummock Water and Buttermere. It was a leisurely stroll with good views from both hills with the Cumbrian coast, the Isle of Man, and Dumfries and Galloway visible. We made good time and drove the 6 miles to Buttermere and parked at the National Trust car park. We crossed the road and hacked our way on a path through the giant bracken. The grassy path climbs steeply at first and then follows the ridge to Rannerdale Knotts. Gregor was moving with the same determination as the three-year-old going up Helm Crag. 

I guess he had no option for the first hundred or so fells, they were part of the families' annual ritual of hill walks when staying at Langdale. But for the last few years, he has been more focused and the Lakeland fells are a bit of a treat compared to the long hard days on remote Scottish Munros. It was about 5pm and although we had thought about taking some bubbly, we decided to return to Langdale and go to Wainwright's pub and have a pint of Wainwrights Ale. We sat outside in the best weather of the week admiring the perfect evening light on Red Bank and Silver Howe, both cradling fond memories of many happy days in the Lakes over the past 60 years. As always at this pub, I reflected on whether this is where my life began. The Langdale Hotel as it was then was the place my parents had their honeymoon just over 9 months before I was born.

Path to Low Fell

Heading to Low Fell & Crummock Water

Grisedale and Grasmoor from Low Fell

Fellbarrow

Buttermere and Crummock Water from Rannerdale Knotts

Wainwright Hotel

View from Wainwrights Hotel, Langdale

 

Fairfield Horseshoe

Keep Walking - Keith & Mark

Thursday, 6 July 2023

Ascent:       1132 metres

Distance:     21 kilometres

Time:           4 hours 30 minutes

Nab Scar        442m

Heron Pike     611m

Grear Rigg      766m

Fairfield           873m

Hart Crag         822m     

Dove Crag        793m

High Pike          657m

Low Pike          505m

I usually meet up with Mark who was my regular walking companion during my fourth round of Munros during our week in the Lakes. He moved to Ambleside 8 years ago after retiring and has lost none of his obsession with hill walking, having now completed 20 rounds of the Wainwrights. He finally completed a Munro round this year by climbing the two hills that required some rock climbing. the Inaccessible Pinnacle and Am Baister on Skye. An experienced mountaineer from his Kendal walking club had more or less forced him to face the challenge. Mark has climbed over 3500 Munros, which for most people would equate to about 12 rounds of Munros which would put him in the top ten of Munroists in the all-time list. 

With people visiting or arriving in Langdale on different days at the start of the week and then focusing on some of Gregor's remaining Wainwright hills, it was Thursday before we managed to arrange an outing. I suggested the Fairfield Horseshoe as it could be done from Ambleside and it would be good for the guests to tackle this classic Lake District fell walk. I had probably walked the horseshoe a dozen times but not since 2010. I recalled that Aileen and I had walked it on a fine day in 1997 when our three children missed the Langdale week for the first time when they were on a school trip to Canada. 

We started from Mark's house at 10:45am having been told it was one of the few places to park in the town.  We walked through Ambleside before beginning the climb from the narrow roads leading north from the square that was the bus station, past the Unicorn, my father's regular pub when he was a keen cyclist in the pre-war years. We passed the old Charlotte Mason College which was the girl's PE teacher training college, a source of talent in the days when we were young and camping, hostelling, or staying at a friend's flat in the Lakes. The college is now absorbed into the University of Cumbria. We walked to Nook End Farm and then through Rydal Park along the track to Rydal Hall. Surprisingly we had never visited here during our many years of holidaying in the Lakes. 

Mark and I were in deep conversation and the others shot off up the steep ascent of Nab Scar, they continued apace but Amy waited for us on Heron Pike. Thereafter we had a relaxed chance to catch up as we fell into a comfortable pace around the horseshoe. When we reached Fairfield Emily and Gregor had already battered on. We stopped for some food near the cairn where several other parties were also taking a break. There was a strong cold wind for mid-summer that prompted us to move on. The descent along the long ridge to Hart Crag, Dove Crag, High Pike, and Low Pike was mainly over grassy paths with some rocky sections and fairly minimal ascents to each hill. Wainwright was never one to require measurement to make it into his tabulation of peaks, it was more about where he could do a sketch. The rain had held off and visibility was good.

We dropped into Ambleside to meet Gregor and Emily who had had coffee and some chips at a local cafe. Emily had managed to achieve a Strava crown on her charge-up Nab Scar to add to the one on the ascent of Scafell Pike a couple of years ago. We had added 8 Wainwrights for those collecting them, Gregor had already done these hills a couple of times. In Mark's case, it was his 120th visit to what is his local walk. We walked back through the town to collect the car and bade our farewells. We were already thinking ahead to the next day when Gregor would complete the Wainwrights.

Heading up Nab Scar from Rydal Hall

On Dove Crag

Looking back to Fairfield

 

Whinlatter Fells

On Whinlatter

Wednesday, 5 July 2023

Ascent:       375 metres

Distance:    8 kilometres

Time:          2 hours 7 minutes

Whinlatter           517m     37mins

Broom Fell          507m     1hr  23mins

Graystones          450m      1hr  46mins 

The weather was not kind and the forecast for the day was lots of showers. Gregor had three Wainwrights to climb from the Whinlatter Pass. He then had Whiteside to climb, a relentless exercise in purgatory when I climbed it on a winter's day in the 1970s from Lorton Vale. Unlike most Lakeland fells that I have repeated many times, I have never revisited Whiteside and there was no intention today from Lorton Vale. I will save it for a longer walk along with Grisedale Pike and Hopesgill Head and avoid the masochistic ascent from Lorton.

In the circumstances, we decided to go in the morning and get it over with. We parked at the Whinlatter visitor centre, which is the main mountain bike attraction in the Lakes with many cycle trails. Although Grgeor would have happily charged off on his own, we decided this wouldn't take long so we walked together. We found a good track through the forestry plantations and then a path by a fence took us up to the ridge. We walked the length of Whinlatter taking in both tops. Wainwright had assigned the lesser one as the summit in that contrary way that he had, although to be fair he had questioned the Ordnance Survey on whether they had got their survey right. 

We descended steeply from the summit to a fence enclosing a forested area. Rather than finessing our way around it we went through it. A good adventure added ten minutes as we battled through the undergrowth and felled trees. We crossed a stream and found a narrow path by the side of a fence that took us to the top of Broom Fell. It had not been the easiest route to join up the two hills. Amy and Gregor were talking to a couple we had met yesterday in Little Langdale, we hollered after them "See you tomorrow" as they set off for Lord's Seat. We headed the other way for Graystones. We lost height and then gained some on good grassy paths to the undistinguished summit. 

Gregor decided to run down and then run 4 kilometres up the pass to collect the car so we could drive round to Whiteside. We had a more leisurely descent although it was jarringly steep all the way down. Surprisingly, the predicted rain hadn't appeared and it was quite warm as we waited for Gregor to to arrive with the car.

We drove round to Lorton Vale and stopped to let Gregor out at Brackenthwaite from where a path on the map looked to give direct ascent. It was brutal and Gregor spent more time than usual negotiating the scree and heather on a 30° slope. He was not at all happy. Meanwhile, I drove to Buttermere for a coffee and a short walk to Buttermere Lake, remembering the time we camped here in a field of cattle in 1986. Gregor texted when he was on his way down and we met him at a car park at Lanthwaite that would have provided a far easier route to the summit. Next time. Gregor now had just three hills to finish the Wainwrights, all less than four miles of Lanthwaite. We could have done them there and then but Emily was coming up later so we drove back over Newlands Hause. Tomorrow, I had arranged to walk the Fairfield horseshoe with Mark. We would be back at Buttermere on Friday.

Don't do this! Descending Whinlatter, 

Broom Fell

Ascent to Graystones

Buttermere and Fleetwith Pike

Descending Whiteside to Lanthwaite -  Gregor

 

Carrock Fell

Carrock Fell summit

Saturday, 1 July 2023

Ascent:       920 metres

Distance:    19 kilometres

Time:          4 hours 16 minutes

High Pike              658m             46mins

Hare Stones          627m

Great Lingy Hill   616m 

Knott                     710m        1hr  48mins

Miton Hill             607m

Round Knott         603m

Carrock Fell          662m         2hrs 56mins

The contrast couldn't have been greater. A week ago it was 32°C as I walked in some rough Corsican mountains in dry mountain air. Today it was 10°C, blowing a gale with frequent showers as I battered my way around some Lakeland hills at the Back o' Skiddaw. It was the start of the annual week in the Lakes, this was the 40th year the family have had the lodge in Langdale and the first year without Aileen. We usually began with a pub lunch, some shopping in Keswick and then a swim on arrival. Today I was on my own, others would arrive in the next couple of days so I decided to tackle High Pike, Knott and Carrock Fell, an unusual combination but I had missed Knott on an expedition earlier this year.

I parked at Nether Row, a few kilometres south of Caldbeck, a wind top was needed as I began the easy ascent along a track that shuffled its way up to High Pike. The gradient allowed a decent pace although the strong wind made it harder than normal. I was about a third of the way up when the rain began, sleet at times, after all, it is mid-summer. The tops of the hills were buried in low clouds and the shelter near the summit only appeared within 100 metres of reaching it. I joined a couple for some respite from the weather and to organise lifts for people coming tomorrow. I had intended to go out to the distant hill called Knott but had second thoughts as visibility was poor and it involved heading directly into the wind. Sense did not prevail as I considered the consequence of not doing it today, it is in the middle of nowhere and all nearby hills were already in the bag.

Surprisingly, I managed to find a rhythm and took a more direct route over Great Lingy Hill and a couple of other unnamed hills, crossing a couple of steep valleys before the final slog up the eastern flank of Knott, not a route I would recommend. The summit of Knott is an anti-climax, a scattering of stones on a fairly flat plateau. It was redeemed by views of Skiddaw and Blencathra, both bearing their grey-green profiles in a moody light. I wasted no time at the summit and took the well-used path to the east with the wind behind me. I had to climb most of the way back to High Pike before taking a sheep path out to the distant Carrock Fell. With the wind still behind me, it was easy going and the sun had made a welcome incursion. 

Carrock Fell is a geologist's dream and inundated with former mining activities. It has a splendid summit cairn that seemed to be the epicentre of the high winds, it was difficult to stand at the summit and I had to hunker down below the cairn hoping that it was well constructed. The obvious return was to High Pike and then to follow the ascent route back to Nether Row but it was into the face of a gale. After a few hundred metres I found myself on a path that curved and descend towards to the north and decided to follow this down to the Carrock Beck. It was easygoing until the deep boggy grasses as I approached the beck. On the other side there was a 3-kilometre walk back to the car. It might have been quicker to return via High Pike but given the choice I usually take the route less followed. 

It was after 4pm when I reached the car and began the long drive via the picturesque villages of Hesket Newmarket, Mosedale and Mungrisdale to reach the A66. Nevertheless, it was quicker than going via Bassenthwaite and Keswick. We normally arrived at the lodge at 4pm, today it was almost 6pm when I collected the key. As I unpacked I realised that despite my best efforts I had forgotten to bring key foods like milk, flour and salt. I made some pasta and the Laophraig helped me relax after what had been a difficult day both physically and emotionally..

The track to High Pike from Nether Row

High Pike summit

Knott from Great Lingy Hill

Skiddaw from Knott

Blencathra from Knott

High Pike and Carrock Fell from Knott

Carrock Fell from the descent of Knott