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BB2529
: Red Screes in the Morning
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Wednesday
30th July 2025
Red
Screes in the morning. That
was the plan.
It
set me thinking. Doesn't that
phrase remind me of a song?
Of
course it did. Red Sails
in the Sunset. A 1935
classic inspired by the red
sails of the yacht Kitty of
Coleraine as seen off the cost
of Northern Ireland.
Click
on Bing's face to hear him croon
the story.
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So,
back to the report, here is my first verse,
as imagined sung by Margaret:
Red
Screes in the morning
Wandering free
Oh
bring back my BOOTboy
Home safely to
me
One
BOOTboy
not wandering free was Stan; a shame
as it was another training exercise for
his big day.
Target
number 1 was Red Screes from Ambleside.
It is an unrelenting climb of 2,200
feet but the worst part is the first mile
on the road appropriately named The Struggle.
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The
weather was fluctuating between over-cast
and partially sunny plus, for a short while,
light rain. Fortunately this cleared.
On
the way we met a man and his dog who were
retrieving route markers after a recent
fell race. They had supposedly already
been retrieved by at least two others but
he was sweeping up. He had a terrible memory
for the names of hills, we just hoped he
remembered where he was supposed to be going.
Off they trotted.
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As
we reached the Red Screes summit, whom should
we see but the man and dog once more. He
explained that he had been down the 1,000
feet to the now closed Kirkstone Inn and
back up the hairy path again. We didn't
understand why!
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Despite
the mist, Red Screes offered a great view
over Middle Dodd to Brotherswater and on
to Place Fell with glimpses of Ullswater.
The
descent to the Scandale Pass hawse was much
better than on previous visits. The interminable
boggy patches were mostly dry despite last
night’s heavy rain.
At
the bottom we had a decision to make. Should
we call it a day? After all, we had
already climbed well over 2,000 feet ,or
should we press on to High Beckstones which
would add another 1,000 feet by the time
we had finished. We pressed on; we
are in training after all. En-route
we found a red flag. Had man with
dog been there yet or had he missed it?
We saw him twice more but at a distance
so couldn’t ask him. whether he knew about
the flag or even if he knew the name of
the hill.
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After
a coffee break at the High Beckstones cairn,
we climbed up to the path used for the Fairfield
horseshoe but our destination was downwards,
over High Pike then Low Pike and eventually
back to Ambleside.
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Time
was running out on our car park ticket so
Bryan and I hared off down the track in
order to thwart any blue meanies (as they
are known in Edinburgh). We got there
just in time and waited in case we urgently
needed to put more money in the extortionate
machine. We waited and waited for
the others. Eventually Robert and
Martin sauntered up, totally relaxed. “Weren’t
you worried?” we asked. “Not at all,” was
the reply. “We paid by phone."
AAAAGGGGHHHH!
Still it had been a great day out
and soon I was singing again.
Real
ale in the sunset
At
the Eagle and C
Meanwhile
my loved one
Waits
quietly for me.
Don,
Wednesday 30th July 2025
PS
If Bing doesn't do it for you, turn
the volume up and try this very different
version sung by four young guys in a cavern
in 1962. Just click on their picture
on the right.
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