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BB1307
:
The Pinnacle Of Human Spiritual Achievement
Thursday
7th February 2013
John
and Mike are cheeky chappies to describe their walk
yesterday as by The
A Team. It was
only conflicting diaries that forced a split outing.
Even today we were constrained by the need for
a late start (Roger), an early finish (Martin) and a
lift (Tony and / or me), so this was to be just a local
walk. Nonetheless, despite the fact that collectively
we have lived here for some 200 years, we still managed
to find previously undiscovered paths and features.
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We
might not have climbed so earthly high but
we did get close to The Pinnacle Of Human
Spiritual Achievement.
A
different kind of path, perhaps?
Starting
from Cracalt, we headed down towards the
old canal.
On
the way I found a puddle with a really unusual
ice marking.
In
order to photograph it, I tried to remove
a leaf from its surface with my foot.
Only
it wasn't a leaf and the picture was somewhat
ruined!
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Not
quite what it was!
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Along
the canal bank we walked to Sedgwick, noting on the
way the huge modern bungalow called Passing Winds. Hope
the residents of Sedgwick Hall are not unduly affected.
Passing
Winds, left, and Sedgwick Hall, right
At
the end of the village we turned left, up the hill to
the seat that enjoys a panoramic view over to the Lakeland
hills.
Over
Kendal to Kentmere Fells
Down
and across the railway- no steamers
today, just a head-on collision. Seemingly!
Brace
yourself, Myrtle!
No
maize maze either but that is hardly surprising at this
time of year.
We
dropped down into Stainton, close by a farm known as
Dreamland which, according to Wiccapaedia,
is a lovely land that exists only in the imagination.
I
had always thought Stainton a lovely village but there
we made three discoveries of dereliction.
First,
before crossing St Sunday's beck was a derelict barn
with several old items therein, the most interesting
being a small boat named "WITHOUT A PADDLE TURN
RIGHT UP THE CREEK".
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Tony
spots an opportunity
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....
without a paddle
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On
the other side of the beck is an old roadside cottage
that has been partly destroyed by fire.
The
fire ruined cottage
It
had been lived in by an unusual man who could regularly
be seen pushing his bicycle into Kendal, laden with
mysteriously filled plastic bags and then later reversing
his journey with more mysteriously filled plastic bags.
The house had been reputed to be full to the gunnels
with of all sorts of items. Outside were the half
buried remains of several old books.
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The
kitchen
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The
library
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Further
along is the STATION CHAPEL URC, which is in slightly
better condition, but only just. By the north-east
wall are a few old tombstones.
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Yet
another opportunity?
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Room
with a view or room with a tomb?
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It
seems odd that such nice small hamlet should have three
abandoned buildings. Clearly my vision of Stainton
was Dreamland but the waking reality ain't quite there.
Tony's
body clock was malfunctioning. It was a whole
two minutes early in demanding his noon lunch stop.
Naturally we punished him, making him wait until
we had tried to see something of Summerlands. First
we had a wander round the road of modern(ish) houses,
which we understood to have been built for distressed
seamen.
There
was a plaque outside two of them confirming, for those
two at least, these were financed by the citizens of
the Isle of Man to ".....provide
harbours of rest and peace for seamen no longer able
to go to sea....".
Whether they remain so is another matter. I was
going to clarify by explaining I meant the "they"
to refer to the buildings not the seamen but maybe both
are relevant?
There
was no way through to the Hall so we then visited the
small trading estate that appears to have been built
around the old stable block, or at least its clock.
A view of the Hall was possible but not access
thereto.
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Restaurant
and garage
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Summerlands
Hall stable tower
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Summerlands
Hall from the trading estate
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Whineray
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Summerlands
Hall was built in 1846 for the then Mayor
of Kendal who, according to the BBC Your
Paintings website might have been either
Cornelious
Nicholson,
Mayor of Kendal (1845–1846) and author of
"The Annals of Kendal" or Samuel
Whineray,
Mayor of Kendal (1845–1846 & 1848–1849).
A
picture of each hangs in Kendal Town Hall
where it ought be possible to unravel these
seemingly contradictory attributions.
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Nicholson
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Later
the Hall became a convalescent home for
merchant seamen but was converted into private
hands in the 1970s.
It
was on the market in 2008, the sale particulars
still being on the internet:
See
Summerlands
Hall
for fuller details.
What
the brochure failed to explain is that,
to the believers, Summerland is the Pinnacle of Human Spiritual Achievement which
means that it is the highest level, or sphere, of the afterlife we can hope to enter.
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Summerlands
Hall
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We
could punish Tony no more for fear of him being taken
into the after life, so we had lunch in a delightful
(not really) little corner at the back of a disused
industrial unit.
More
afterlife (or not) was relevant to our next target-
the Crow
Hill Quaker Burial Ground,
of which the others were unaware. Even Tony!
This
is set back a field or two to the east of Summerlands
and is a small,walled piece of land, seemingly with
only two grave stones and neither of these of typical
plain and simple Quaker style. But Quakers didn't
always use headstones, preferring to avoid vain monuments.
Thereafter,
we wandered over Crow Hill to see a small tarn, round
to Birkrigg to see a larger one over which Tony's club
had once contemplated obtaining fishing rights, then
over minor roads and fields
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Crow
Hill tarn
The
Punch Bowl
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Birkrigg
Tarn
We
had contemplated returning over Helm but
time was pressing and the Punch Bowl was
calling.
One
quick pint
then back
down the lanes to home.
Maybe
the outing did not quite live up to it billing
of The Pinnacle of Human Spiritual Achievement
but home was definitely a welcome harbour
of rest and peace.
Or,
in more familiar terminology, it was time
for a snooze!
Don,
7th February 2013
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| STATISTICS:
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BB1307
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| Date:
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Thursday
7th February 2013
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| Distance
in miles:
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8.6
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| Height
climbed in feet:
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805
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| Wainwrights:
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| Other
Features:
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Stainton,
Summerlands, Quaker Burial Ground
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| Comitibus:
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Don,
Martin, Roger T, Tony,
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To
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