NUFWS returned to the Lake District for its 2nd day trip of the year, this time setting off from the village of Glenridding. A serene morning outside the arches soon morphed into a quite rainy and windy day in the West, although forecasted, was nonetheless not desirable. A long route under the guise of Wilcox set off to tackle the Wainwright Helvellyn via Swirral edge – after a pacy trudge up to Red Tarn we enjoyed a rare summit bothy lunch to dodge the wind.

Below: Long Walk having lunch in a Bothy

Afterwards it transpired that a hostile wind was not a fan of us going onto Helvellyn, so instead trailed up to Catstye Cam (890m) and enjoyed the (lack of a) view. A quick descent down to the valley warmed the group and brought us out of sight of the unforgiving wind. At the quarry split off a few of us decided to pop up onto Sheffield Pike (675m) where an impressive view back down on Glenridding was enjoyed along with a brief uniting with our old friend the wind whilst the rest of the group scurried off to enjoy the warmth of the pub. A quick descent down the rake was underwhelming but much appreciated by cold and tired legs.

Below: Short/ Medium Group.

A medium route led by Warne cut up to Birks (622m) and another by Markos went one further onto St Sunday Crag (841m) with similarly sodden experiences.

Below: Long Walk on Summit of Birkhouse Fell.

A quick retreat back to Newcastle left a lot to be desired, nevertheless a successful day out (other than for James, whos house was sacrificed to achieve the worthy pursuit of drying all the societies kit). Thanks to everyone who braved the weather to make it worth running the trip it is much appreciated and hope to see some of you again on a nicer day in the future.
-Laurence
President