Damp Camp at High Cup Nick

Me and Dawn and LTD got an invite to join Geoff and Chrissie and their pups Pebbles and Islay for a night out at High Cup Nick.

So, after a humungous and delicious all-day breakfast at the Post Office Cafe in Dufton, we (me , Dawn and LTD, remember?) hung around till the Crowther party turned up from their camper-van site somewhere over there ------>

It soon became clear, just after we’d met Carol the Pennine Way runner’s Mum and Dad waiting in the lane, that it was going to be A Wet One. The sort of fine and driving Pennine drizzle that gets you really really wet met us on a freshening breeze as the cloud base lowered and lowered…

We soon had the tents up on a green bit just a bit left of the actual High Cup Nick nick, where, withing a couple of hundred yards or so, a fine spring of fresh water bubbles up.

Lucky occupied his usual spot on a piece of karrimat, covered in an anorak and snuggled wetly under my berghaus down gilet. He moved not an inch during the night, apart from a forced exit intended to escort me back to the spring for more water. It was dark and foggy and wet and I very quickly formed the opinion that this search for extra water in the murky clag was foolish and that it would be unlikely that I’d ever see my tent again. So I gave up, allowed LTD back to his cosy pit and consoled myself with a small but adequate supply of rum and radio 4.

In the morning, conditions were just the same, so we went back to the Post Office cafe for egg rolls, breakfast rolls and cups of hot caffeine.

Later, we repaired to the camper van for more caffeine and flapjack.

Not many miles (about 8 in total for me and LTD and Dawn) – and the claggy driving clag prevented much in the way of socialising but an oddly satisfying night out. I quite like this kind of weather if I tell the truth, specially when tucked up inside a cosy and dry tent with a small but adequate supply…. and it was nice to see Geoff and Chrissie and the dogs again.

Thanks to the Travelling Crowthers for the invite.