The July club trip was at Wast Water in the Wasdale valley of the Lake District. Wast Water is the deepest lake in the lake district, with steep Scree slopes on one side. As it is quite exposed the weather can change quite suddenly so trips on here don’t always go to plan.
On the Saturday we found that a fell run was happening which hampered our access to the lake and that the wind was slightly higher than expected. The small group attempted a paddle after accessing the lake via a small river running past the campsite ‘Lingmell Beck’; which was an interesting experience as only a few sections were deep enough to paddle.
However, we found that the wind was too strong for our liking to paddle a long distance and therefore decided to head back to the shore, where some of the group decided to work on their rescues instead. They also got to see some alpacas enjoying the water as well!
After an evening in the pub, we decided to try again on the Sunday as the weather looked better. Those that stayed to paddle on Sunday were pleased that they did as it was a glorious day and we managed a full circle on the lake. Many others were out enjoying the calm waters, which was a massive change from the Saturday.
There was some more amusement after the pub on the Saturday evening as a few members tried to find inventive ways of dealing with the midges that had decided to descend on the campsite as we sat around the fire.
Hopefully we will have more members ready to paddle this lake with its impressive environment next summer!
