Ennerdale, 4-6 Feb 2022

On Friday evening, I joined James’ car (aka Walshie) to depart Cambridge for Ennerdale, a beautiful lake situated within the Lake District. After being very carsick and picking up Mario as his car broke down, everyone finally arrived at the bunkhouse at around 11pm. We were greeted by the bunkhouse owner who told us numerous stories, the most memorable ones being the amount of gin he brews and how three hedgehogs claimed free real estate within the bunkhouse. Despite everyone’s desire to immediately occupy a bed and sleep, we were all defeated by the cuteness of Shadow, the friendliest cat that you will ever meet.

On Saturday morning, we were all woken up by Shadow, who was seeking attention from everyone. Following breakfast, we all ventured out into the “lovely UK weather". As usual, routes vary. I was in the group that attempted to summit Haystacks (Wainwright’s favourite hill) whilst others walked around Ennerdale Lake. Unfortunately, my group had to turn back at Scarth Gap after a few of us got blown over by 70 mph+ gusts and several rain covers being blown off. We then got a well-deserved snack at a lovely pub in Ennerdale Bridge before returning to the bunkhouse. The day was summed up by singing the classic Cow song next to the fireplace with Shadow.

On Sunday, the weather was significantly better. Some of us summited Red Pike, whilst my group got a 360-degree view at Bowness Knot near Ennerdale Lake. Following a difficult goodbye to Shadow, we all met up at Keswick for a lovely lunch at the pub.

The journey back was interesting as well. I was again in Walshie’s car and the roads were covered in snow. We had an exciting detour back onto unlit country roads due to Isabelle’s Google maps and enjoyed the endless loop of Taylor Swift as requested by Grace. We finally arrived back in Cambridge, all tired and looking forward to the next weekend trip.

Trip List: Nick N, James W, Elliot B, Ashray G, Thomas S, Georgia S, Joshua R Mario D, Alessandre A, Kieran R, Tommy R, Nikhil G, Grace S, Oona C, Isabelle G, Ralph B, Rajalakshmi N, Katerina Y, Liheng y, Gideon W, Patrycja K, Rainer Y, Zoe D, Adam D, Natasha M, Classia T, Lily F, Thomas G