Kirby Lonsdale, June 11th

During COVID when the world shut down, Nic rekindled old friendships from his days at A level. Through the years Nic has kept in contact with each of these men individually, but they have not gathered in one spot since the early 80s. Our visit this time instigated a big get-together. Nic and I thought it was going to be couples weekend, but it ended up being a bit of a stag weekend + one hen. I was a little apprehensive about this, but it has been really lovely. 

Vince, Nic, and I drove up to Kirby Longsdale (in the Lake District) from Manchester on Saturday morning. We met Ian and Mark at Rob's house (Robert, not Robin, Nic's brother). Just fifteen minutes down the road are three of the great peaks of England.  We decided to climb Ingleborough.

This brute of a mountain can be seen here in all of its glory. Please note the lump. The lump is the mountain. Although lumpy in this picture, it was a decent hike.

We had cute company as we hiked. There were sheep all along the path. They are adorable.

I tried to capture the countryside. 

Along the path, there was a sinkhole. I have never seen a sinkhole. Apparently, these occur in limestone rock. 

The paths up mountains in England are laid with stones in order to keep people on the path and to avoid the destruction of the mountain. England is muddy and wet so it is easy to see how thousands of people tromping through mud would really impact the land. These stones make hiking, or 'walking' up the mountain quite pleasant.

These are they Yorkshire Dales - not moors. I am not sure why. I have been promised to see Yorkshire Moors, so stay tuned.

Rob was not feeling up to the hike, so here are the four who opted for the climb: Ian, Vince, Nic, and Mark from left to right.

I love these little puffy white flowers.

Although only a lump of a mountain, it was quite steep. I tried to capture the stairs that led up the mountain. It was a four-mile hike, but at least 1.5 miles were a solid stair climb. It felt like a good workout.

I took a selfie about 3/4 of the way to the top.

At the top it was VERY windy. So windy it was blowing me over. The guys had a lot of fun letting the wind take them at the tippy top of the lump.

And then Nic and I grabbed a photo. I cannot impress upon you HOW windy it was. 

After the hike, we headed over to a pub with Rob joining us. It was great fun listening to these guys catch up. Rob cooked us a lovely dinner and hosted us swimmingly.

Vince, Rob, Nic, Ian, Mark

After a dessert of scones and jam, I took an early evening. I was tuckered out. We have been soaking up all England has to offer.