Robert and Helen, and their children Jordan and Katie came on a 2-week Group Intensive Course at the Centre during the Easter holidays 2007.
During the course, Robert decided he wanted to give something back to the centre who have quite honestly changed our lives. What to do, well that was easy. Robert loves the Lake District and walking, so Robert decided to drag (did I say drag? of course not!) to take us up 'Coniston Old Man'.
Wednesday 1st August 2007 -
We started our walk right from the door of our holiday cottage in Coniston village. Robert and his daughter Katie along with Jordan and myself packed our sandwiches and drinks, put on our walking boots and rucksacks and started out on our walk. Luckily the sun was shining as we set off and walked through the village. We took the Walna Scar Route which took us round the southern flanks of our intended summit point. From Walna Scar road we took a right turn which took us to Goat's Water which is a tranquil tarn, set in a natural amphitheatre beneath the precipitous cliffs and tumbling screes of Dow Cragg. This area is a haven for rock climbers. It is here we decided to take a well deserved lunch break and to re charge our tired legs from the steep ascent. We then headed on to the summit of 'The Old Man Of Coniston'. Nearing the summit it was quite shaley under foot and we had to take care. Getting to the top was a great achievement for all of us, especially Jordan and Katie as they had pushed on without any complaints. We had a well earned rest at the summit which is 803 metres above sea level. The views were breathtaking as you can see from our photographs. Our descent started gingerly as again it was shaley and walking down hill was a little scary under foot, as this was a steeper, more direct route back to Coniston village. We walked a total of 11 kilometres which took us 7 hours to complete. We got back to our holiday cottage and had a long soak in a hot bath. Our faces were glowing and we were very proud of Jordan and Katie for completing the walk with such determination.
Thanks to support from our families and friends we raised £300 to help the Centre!
