A Walk Across Cumbria Day 1 Silecroft

Monday 10 August.

The first day. The objective was just to get established some way up the Southern slopes of Black Combe and, originally, the plan had been to get the train to Millom and walk the eight miles or so to the hill, put up the tent and pick my toes for the next ten hours.
But No! Once on the train out of Carlisle, I discovered (from the guard’s announcement) that the train stopped on request at various places, one of which was a little station called “Silecroft” Now Silecroft had been the planned original starting point for this walk, mainly because it has a beach and the first “real” hill in the Lake District if you’re looking at it from the South. And, as this was a South-North walk up the high bits of the Lakes, Silecroft would be a much better start.
So I informed the patient train guard (about four times, just to be sure) that I would get off the train at Silecroft, which I did, and, thereby cut my first day’s walking down to a paltry (not poultry, which is chickens), two miles. Yes folks, that’s a full two of your Queen’s miles. I fully expected this to be achievable, which it was. There was quite a bit of uphill, though, just to make it a bit energetic.
My first camping spot, on a broad grassy platform with a fab view of the sea and the Isle of Man, was much too windy. So I plodded uphill and found a less windy one with a good water supply about 150feet down the hill.
And so, in drizzle and a hurtling gale, I got into the sleeping bag, had dinner (more of which somewhere later, possibly…) and drifted off to have yet another tussle with Kylie’s bra strap.
At some point, I became aware that the tent had lit up in a bright and orange kind of way and it occurred to me that a sunset might be going on outside.
And it was.
Apologies to the lady runner who appeared suddenly out of the mist to find a barefoot and half-clad eejit ooo-ing at the sun having a final pink sizzle into the Irish sea.
The rest of the night passed flappily and with the occasional hiss of light drizzle.
Day 1 2 Miles and 1200 feet of uphill (including visits to a spring for water)

Perhaps not the most energetic start.

Silecroft has a beach, a campsite, a pub and a railway station, though, so it’s a good place to start a walk such as this.

I should have started at Millom but didn’t (Quick note by the way to those who use the word “of” in this context – as in “I should of started at Millom” Look guys, use the verb. Its “I should have, You should have, He should have, We should have, You should have, they should have.” You should of made a note have this by now. Don’t do it again, has you it?