Glenridding 2017

A good trip, all told, which is remarkable given how terribly the Friday evening went. One driver had to cycle past Babraham to pick up a minibus and then manoeuvre it round the cavers to pick up kit; another picked up their car only at the last moment, and only thanks to a last-minute call with the trip leader and a taxi; and even then one sign-up had no seat thanks to a mistake with the trip list. The journey up was then plagued by bad traffic on all routes, and by a late-night search for the keys (in a location unclear from the description, and different from the previous such location the last time we'd booked the Bury Jubilee Hostel), with the last car arriving at around 2a.m.

Thankfully, the bunkhouse was well worth it. Frequent rain and low cloud on the Saturday meant its warmth and spaciousness were much appreciated in the evening, especially by the attendees of the postponed-from-Ennerdale scrambling course, who after a cold spell on the rocks had practised ropework on the leeward side of the hut. Walks had mostly headed to the South-East side of Ullswater and were fairly short, with all but one featuring a stop-off in the pub. Cooking groups were varied and successful, with a traditional meal from North-West China being particularly impressive, and post-dinner singing was not only extremely enjoyable (as club members have come to expect), but also tuneful (as we've not). A solo acapella Bohemian Rhapsody was stunning, and we were at risk of running out of songs before running out of the will to sing.

Sunday dawned to reveal low winds, bright sunshine, and clear skies. The scramblers headed off to Grisedale, Paul C went for a run, and the rest of the party, having saved Helvellyn in hope of such conditions, headed up it from the bunkhouse via Swirl Edge and Striding Edge. On such a day it was easy to see why the mountain's the most popular in England, with views from the top to the Western Fells, the Yorkshire Dales, and Scotland. The different groups split at the top, with two going North for continued views of the border and another heading South along the massif's ridgeline, stopping while I took a dip in Grisedale tarn, and then wandering along the lovely Grisedale back to the bunkhouse. Michael F, having put in sterling service as Safety on his last trip for a while, had organised the cleaning of the bunkhouse by my return, and the journey back to Cambridge was smooth.

Trip list: * Matt A * Michael F * Kanwarnain S * Paul C * Sol M * Andrea R * Danny V * Miriam G * Johanna F * Ping L * Chin H * Eleanor B * Sam C * Binbin W * Jinggao S * Yuqing W * Yihan X * Vivian W * Elizabeth D * Jing M * Yipeng K * Yaron B * Bill C * Gerry T * Lauren B * Caitlin F * Mads J * Antonia C