The Final Summit ??? 7th March 2010

Yes this could be our last and final summit so why not join us

Our walk will start at the foot of Blencathra. Make sure you have filled in a membership form and have registered for this walk by emailing us (if you do not have email you can phone us!) Follow the instructions on the panel on the right.Please also check the kit list to make sure you bring everything you need.

There will be a pick up point at the Pastoral Centre, Balmoral Road, Lancaster, LA1 3BT
you need to be there for 8.30am!!!

If you would like to join us for the walk but do not have transport please let us know in good time and we will do our best to help.


Perhaps you would like to think about how we can mark this momentous occasion? Let us know what you would like to do and we will see what we can do.

Next Meet 7th February 2010

Our next walk will be helm crag (lion and the lamb)
Start at Grasmere

Make sure you have filled in a membership form and have registered for this walk by emailing us (if you do not have email you can phone us!) Follow the instructions on the panel on the right.Please also check the kit list to make sure you bring everything you need.

There will be a pick up point at the Pastoral Centre, Balmoral Road, Lancaster, LA1 3BT
you need to be there for 8.30am!!!

If you would like to join us for the walk but do not have transport please let us know in good time and we will do our best to help.

Meet at Our Lady of the Wayside RC Church, Keswick Road, Grasmere, LA22 9RL (Car park behind the church)@10.30am Finished by 5pm

12th Meet January 2010

It was the beginning of a New Year and time to walk off all the excess mince pies on our first summit walk of 2010. Our departure point was from Castlerigg Manor, Keswick. We hit sub-zero temperatures of up to -9 on the journey up but the beautiful sight of the snowy mountains kept us excited for our day together. Mass for the Feast of the Epiphany was celebrated in the Castlerigg Chapel before we left and we enjoyed scrambled eggs on toast afterwards which set us up for our journey. It was icy under foot and very very cold. We were lucky as it wasn’t too windy and there was no rain. Ideal weather for winter sports! Today, I was mindful of everyone’s safety with the snow and ice but I knew that we had 2 excellent mountain leaders, Fr Phil and Joe, and that we would look after each other. Walkers today were; Fr Philip Conner, Ruth & Joe White, Alice & Nora Moriarty, Ralph Garcia, Marie Pearson and Lizzie Cavanagh. We set off down Manor Brow for Springs Wood making our way towards Walla Crag. We met some other walkers who told us that the waterfall near Ashness Gill was frozen over and so we made the decision to cut our walk short for safety reasons, as it could have been very dangerous under foot. Derwent Water was almost completely frozen over and we took the opportunity to sit down, have a picnic and enjoy the breath-taking views. As we headed up higher to Bleaberry Fell, it got colder. The hills were completely covered in snow and we found an ideal place to do some sledging! Everyone had a turn with some hilarious attempts. We managed to build up some speed on our bivvy bags, which made excellent sledges and we didn’t really bother with the cold as we were too busy enjoying ourselves. As we started to walk back to Castlerigg, following the route that we had come by, the setting sun changed the horizon once again and we were given another spectacular view to mark the end of our walk. Although this walk wasn’t the most difficult we had undertaken, it was tough on the thighs because of the snow. It was a fantastic day and I know that everyone enjoyed it.
The Scream of the Day Award goes to Miss Alice Moriarty see the Video above and follow this link for great photos

11th Meet 6th December 2009

It seems so long ago since the Summit Group last met and I had missed our monthly walks and Mass. Today, everything was back to normal and we started the first walk of the new season in the Langdale Valley. We met at the Cathedral car park and then made our way to Staveley, just outside Kendal, calling at Wilf’s café for our usual light refreshments pit-stop.
The drive up to our starting point emphasised the problems caused by the recent flooding in Cumbria. Fields were covered in water, waterfalls were flowing on to the roads and rivers were swollen. Many of the banks had been breached and the water was rising up to the level of the road. The level of the water in the lakes had risen dramatically causing problems for drivers. With this in mind, we decided that we wouldn’t be too adventurous on this first walk and that the safety of the group would come first. We arrived at the Achille Ratti Climbing club and Mass was held in the tiny chapel before we set out.
Today’s walkers were Fr Philip Conner, Ruth and Joe White, Nora Moriarty, Ralph Garcia and Lizzie Cavanagh. The weather was rather cold, overcast in some places but with some blue skies scattered around and it looked like that there was more rain to come. We set off towards Stickle Tarn heading up past Stickle Ghyll towards the waterfall. We are normally used to seeing little waterfalls coming down the hills but I think that we were all quite surprised at the amount of water today. If we looked to the top of the summits we could see snow and at one point it actually hailed so you can tell how cold it was. We were in good spirits and we paused for a lunch break on the way up. I felt that this was the ideal moment to make everyone wear party hats. It would be my 18th birthday in 2 days so I’d brought some cup cakes for the pre-birthday celebration with my Summit friends. Fr Phil looked great in his pirate hat! After lunch we headed towards Stickle Tarn. I remembered that this time last year the tarn was completely frozen over and the hills were covered in snow. Today we only had to contend with heavy rain. We encountered a couple of passing walkers so I enlisted their help and we posed for our usual group photo complete with party hats. What must they have thought?
We began our descent around 2.30pm passing Harrison Stickle, Thorn Crag and Dungeon Ghyll Falls, Passing Pike Howe we arrived safely back at the Achille Ratti around 4pm.
It’s nice to be back in the Lakes again. I’m praying for some snow on the next Summit!

12th July

Last meet of the season!!

Our walk will be in the Trough of Bowland

Meet at the Pastoral Centre, Balmoral Road, Lancaster, LA1 3BT
you need to be there for 8.30am!!!

If you would like to join us for the walk but do not have transport please let us know in good time and we will do our best to help.

9th Meet 7th June 2009

Route: Longsleddale
We made our usual rendezvous on the Cathedral car park, Lancaster at 8.30am. The weather was slightly overcast but at least it was dry and we prayed that it would stay fine for the duration of our walk. We headed northward on the M6 via our usual pit-stop at Wilf’s Café, where we enjoyed milkshakes, cups of tea and cakes. The walkers for our ninth meeting were: Fr Phil Conner, Ruth & Joe White, Nora Moriarty, Ralph Garcia, Louise Cullen, Lizzie Cavanagh and Diego Garcia.
Our route started at Sadgill (ref. 484057) and we made our way up towards Wray Crag. The weather was very mixed throughout the day with the clouds becoming rather dark and wet at one point and it was extremely cold. Mass was celebrated around 1.30pm before a long awaited lunch.
We then continued to Kentmere Pike (466078) with a height of 730m. Visibility was good in parts but soon disappeared when the dark clouds appeared. We then set off making our way through Gatesgarth Pass, Buckbarrow and back to the cars at Sadgill. We played the “reed game” on our way down and Ralph was the winner! This summit walk was another excellent opportunity to enjoy the wonders of the Lake District. It wasn’t as physically demanding as the other walks we had but I feel that Joe is saving us for a greater and more demanding challenge on Summit 10 in July. It was, however, another brilliant day with friends and another opportunity to exercise and build up stamina.

Click here for Photographs

8th Meet 3rd May 2009

MORECAMBE BAY WALK
Arnside Promenade (Grid ref. SD 456787) to
Kents Bank Station (Grid ref. 397757)
Total Distance 6.3 miles (approx)
This walk was in complete contrast to our usual ventures. Normally, we head for the mountains and peaks of the Lake District but today we were remaining on a flat surface raising funds for our pilgrimage to Lourdes. Having said that, we were all well aware that this adventure wasn’t going to be an easy “walk in the park”.
The day began with a Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Arnside. It was Vocations Sunday and so one of our group, John Moriarty who is training to be a priest, gave us a little talk about his faith journey. Fr Phil talked to us about our new bishop, Michael Campbell, as the new shepherd for the diocese and we reflected on how we would need to rely on our shepherd for the day, Cedric Robinson, to lead us to safety across the treacherous Bay.
After Mass we gathered on the Promenade at Arnside. The next day would be Fr Phil’s birthday and so we bought him a birthday card and cake and sang happy birthday in front of local passers by as we waited for our guide.
We walked to the end of the Promenade and headed across the bay towards Heysham Power Station. The skies were blue but there was a strong wind that maintained the chill factor but fortunately there was no rain. Although we were walking across flat sands the ripples made by the tides made it tough going under foot. At various points we came across mud-flats which looked like mini Grand Canyons. We zig-zagged our way across the sands and even waded across the River Kent with the water reaching over our knees.
We had to spread out as a group otherwise, had we stayed close together, we would have caused the sands to soften and become thinner turning it to quicksand and so we made sure that we remained far apart. Cedric gathered the group at various points by blowing his whistle to bring us together and negotiate mud flats.
After 3 hours we had Kent’s Bank station in our sights and we were greeted by a small herd of sheep grazing on the salty grasses. We were covered in mud with aching thighs but we carried a real sense of physical achievement in having successfully crossed the bay.

Click for Photographs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOqgxat0_1c