Adventures in
The Lake District

By Bashir Uddin

Copyright 2012 Bashir Uddin
Smashwords Edition




The Lake District
The Lake District is an area of unique beauty, with the spectacular grandeur of its mountains and the sylvan-beauty of its lakes set in lovely dales.
The majestic scenery of the Lake District holds a special place in many hearts. Its magical combination of fellside and water, the splashes of the deep blue lakes against the soaring mountains have inspired poets, painters and novelists for many generations.
Eskdale, the wedge of country bounded on the east by the Conniston Fells and on the northwest by Ennerdale, contains some of the best, and at the same time, least known mountains and valleys of the Lake District.
Against this marvellous background is set the Outward Bound Eskdale Centre, also known as the Outward Bound Mountain School.
The Centre, based in an impressive mansion, the former home of Lord Rea, boasts many facilities including a library, sauna, a private tarn (small mountain lake), modern accommodation, extensive grounds containing various adventurous activities and easy access to the surrounding mountains, lakes and crags.    
"The World is green and beautiful and God has appointed you His stewards over it."
Saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be up on him)

The Diary
Monday 26th July 1993
We all met at the College at 7.30am. Well, almost all of us. Some we met on the way to the Underground Station!
We arrived at Euston Station at about 8.10am. Our train was due to leave at 8.50am. So we spent the time wandering around the station.
The train set off on time. Although we had reservations, our seats were scattered throughout the carriage. The journey was dull. We arrived at Lancaster, about 15 minutes late, where we had to change onto another train. But the connecting train was not due in for another 45 minutes. So we went to the town centre where we had lunch and some people did last minute shopping!
The connecting train was about 20 minutes late! We arrived at Ravenglass just after 4.00pm. From there we took a narrow gauge railway train (a mini train) to Eskdale Green. As there was no one there to meet us, we assumed we had missed the welcoming party and made our way towards the Outward Bound Centre, which was a few minutes’ walk from the station.
At the Centre we were met by Bruce Poll, our tutor for the next 12 days, and were shown to some very nice accommodation; we were in Garden Block 3. After a few minutes’ rest and a wash, we said our afternoon prayers.
We were then given a tour of the Centre, and given some tasks to do which were devised to help us find our way around the Centre. At 6.15pm we had dinner - soup, fish, baked spuds and apple pie.
After dinner we had a few forms to fill in and to bank valuables. Then, at 7.15pm, we went over to Platt Hall, where most big meetings are held, for a talk given by Bob Barton, the Principal of the Centre. Afterwards Bruce accompanied us back to our dormitory and we discussed our hopes and fears, with regard to the course. We then went through the plan for the next two weeks. As all of us, except one person, had been on Outward Bound courses before, we were familiar with most of the planned activities. One activity we were not familiar with was the Run and Dip. This involved running around the tarn (a small mountain lake) and then jumping in for a swim, early in the morning! After some discussion we decided to do the Run and Dip five times - every morning we would be at the Centre!
After evening prayers, we sat around in our common room and talked for a while, and then made phone calls home. At about 11pm everyone went to bed.   
Tuesday 27th July
The early morning prayer is at 3.30am in the summer, so every day the group would rise to pray together, then sleep again afterwards. On this rather cold and wet morning Usamah, the course organiser, seemed to take cruel delight in waking everyone up from as early as 6am. Not a very pleasant start to the day! At 6.30am Bruce lead us in a run down to the jetty, for the run & dip. This involved running around the tarn, and then jumping in! The reason why we decided to do it at 6.30am was because of the Islamic rule that we should not bathe in mixed company. So Bruce arranged for us to do the Run and Dip at a time when no other group would be doing it — early in the morning while the other groups would still be asleep.
The water was cold and murky. A quick swim round from one side of the jetty to the other was all that was required. It was cold, but not very cold, and mercifully short. Most went back for a manly second dip (though no one volunteered another circuit of the tarn!). One member of the group had a little difficulty in the water.
To start off with, there were mixed feelings about the run & dip, but at the end most of us seemed to have enjoyed it. After showers, we went for breakfast at 8.15am. This was a buffet of cereals, toasts and traditional hot breakfast food we ate heartily!
At 9.15am we went to Stores to collect additional equipment, such as boots, Waterproofs, warm clothing, etc. All the other equipment such as sleeping bags, cups, etc. was in the Cage, a small room for each group where equipment is kept. Immediately after that we went to the library to meet Dave (Course Director) for a further briefing about the course.
We then went out into the grounds to do the low ropes course. It proved to be more difficult than it looked; the task was much harder than any previous low ropes course we had done. The risk of falling was quite high. So, for every person going along the ropes, two people had to ‘spot’ - walk beside the person doing the activity and catch him if he falls. A very tough challenge which needed determination as well as a good sense of balance!
Lunch time, at 1pm, comprised of crisps, sandwiches, cakes, veg rolls, fruit and orange squash.
Dynamic activities followed lunch. It was a real test of teamwork skills. The first activity was Charlotte’s Web (rather like a spiders web). The idea was to get the whole team through the net, which had holes of various shapes and sizes, from one side to the other without touching the net, in ten minutes. We were allowed some time for planning. We decided to send the smaller and lighter members of the group through the holes that were smaller and higher up, and the bigger people (we had a few) through the holes that were lower down and more easily accessible. Indeed, we hardly touched a string and just completed the exercise on time.
The next short activity was to get the team over a 7ft high log beam. Firstly, everyone was allowed to shout and get their ideas across. This took us 3 minutes and 34 seconds to finish. Secondly, no one was allowed to talk, this time it took us 1min. 45secs. Thirdly, with minimum talking we finished in 1min. 8secs. We were quite pleased with the third attempt and wanted to do it again, but we didn't have time.
We then went rock-climbing. A 5-minute walk took us to a site nearby, Diamond Rock, where three climbs were set up, each with differing complications. This was a fairly familiar activity. and seemed to be not too difficult. We were divided into three teams; each person attempted the climbs twice. The second time around we had to climb blindfolded (instructed by other members of the team, of course). This was another activity which stressed good communication, putting trust in other people and confidence. Everyone enjoyed this.
After dinner and prayers we made preparations for Icelandic night; in which the whole group got to sleep in a very big tent. At 9pm we met outside Mission Control, the building where all keys are kept, and went up to Diamond Rock and set up the tent. This was easy and we had it up just after it got dark. Everyone packed in, rather like sardines in a tin! Bruce just packed himself into a sleeping bag and lay under a tree!
We said our evening prayers in the tent. We had to do this sitting down because we could not stand up. There was no problem with this, as we are allowed to pray sitting down when standing is a problem.
Wednesday 28th July
We said our early morning prayer in the tent at 3.30am, again sitting down, and went back to sleep. At 6.30 am we packed up and set off for breakfast at the Centre.
After breakfast we unpacked and washed and a 9am we went to Platt Hall, to hear the day’s news and weather, presented by members of another group - the groups were taking it in turn. At 9.30am our group met outside the Mission Control building with some gear. This was to be valley day! The emergency rucksack, containing first aid’ and other equipment that may be required in an emergency, was left behind so it had to be collected.
At 10.10am off we went walking to Bridal Way bridge. Bruce asked us to navigate our way to the bridge. He was surprised when he found out that we did not know how to navigate, none of us being very proficient at reading maps! Having got there in 1hour 20mins. we met up with Pete, another tutor, and were divided into two groups. Harnesses and ropes were provided and the idea was to get both groups across the stream that was diving them, by building a tyrolean. Then we were asked to divide the equipment and go to opposite sides. When both groups were facing each other across the stream, we realised that giving all the ropes to one group and the harnesses to the other was not a very good ideal After laboriously getting some of the ropes across, by tying an end of a length of rope into a ball and trying to throw it across, and succeeding after a few attempts, the rest was fairly straightforward. The task was eventually completed and looked very impressive after that.
By 2.15pm we had finished and headed down stream and had lunch at a nice spot beside the stream.
Then, after a long walk to Stanley Ghyll, we were lowered down a very scenic gorge, about 100f t deep. Bruce lowered us down one by one. The journey was a little scary for some, bumping and sliding down the side of the gorge. Although the scenery was superb as we walked down from the gorge to the minibus, some members of the group thought that the walk down was perhaps a bit dangerous - the narrow path we were following was very wet and slippery. We arrived back for dinner at 5.30pm: vegetable pie, mash, broccoli, turnip, spotted dick.
After dinner and prayer Bruce came armed with expedition maps. Then he showed us how to put up tents. We packed all stuff needed for the expedition into our rucksacks. The food was shared and divided - another great team effort well done! After a quick check from Bruce, and prayers, everyone jumped into bed and dozed without further talk.
Thursday 29th July
Wake up call at 6.00am and then the usual run & dip at 6.30am followed by breakfast at 7.40am. After breakfast the group had to carry out its maintenance duty. This involved the cleaning of Platt Hall, where the morning assembly takes place. The group decided to share out the responsibility by assigning 3 different people to do the cleaning each morning. After Morning Meeting we packed for our first expedition and met outside Mission Control. 
We travelled by minibus to Wasdale Head near Wastwater lake, one of the deepest lakes in England. It took us a while to get started — none of us were any good at map reading! Eventually, with a little help from Bruce, we set off along Lingmell Beck (a stream), towards Sty Head.
Having walked a few minutes from our drop off site, the weather became wetter and colder. By now the clouds had come down so low that it was quite impossible to see below us. From Sty Head we turned south along the Corridor Route towards Piers Gill, where we stopped briefly for lunch. It was when had stopped moving that we realised how cold it really was. By now icicles started forming on the tips of our noses!
After lunch we started our final ascent up Scafell Pike, there was no turning back now. Bruce did not fail to make this clear to us by saying that anyone who wanted to turn back was welcome to do so, but he was going up and would not be responsible if anyone felt like walking off the top of a cliff because they couldn’t see where they were going! 
As we neared the summit, because of the clouds and low visibility, several false alarms were raised by some members of the group who thought they could see the top, but as we got near to the ‘top’ we saw that there was more climbing to do. Eventually, after five long painstaking hours of climbing we finally reached the summit of the highest peak in England — 977m. By this time we were completely drenched. Even so everyone was quite jubilant at reaching the top. The hardest part of the journey was over, or so we thought! 
After a brief pause and much needed rest (and taking holiday snaps) we set off towards Mickeldore and then veered off west-north-west, where we were given a few tips on how to use a compass and map by Bruce (much appreciated by many). Then we set off for Hollow Stones which was to be our camp site. The steep descent towards Hollow Stones seemed to be dangerous, especially if you slipped, and was surprisingly very tiring. 
At 5.30pm we reached the camp site, although it didn’t look much like a camp site to us. It looked more like a putting-green in the middle of nowhere! We were still in cloud cover, not surprising since we were camping half way down the mountain. Choosing a site to put up our tents was made very difficult by the liberal scattering of sheep droppings! When the tents were up we cooked and ate dinner. Most of our food was dehydrated, so some things we had to soak in water and others we had to cook with lots of water, which we got from a stream a bit lower down. Then We prayed in our tents. 
When we came out again, the clouds lifted briefly to reveal a pleasant view, with Sellafield bubbling away in the distance! The rain came and went. Many had wet sleeping bags, because the polythene inserts had holes in them! But we made it through the night. 
Friday 30th July
We got up at 7.00am and had what can vaguely be called a breakfast - most people had dried apple, porridge (extra dry), nuts, tinned spaghetti and coffee/tea. 
It had stopped raining and the clouds receded just above our heads. We started packing up our tents, except one person in the group who decided to dismantle the path marker or cairn (basically a pile of stones) and build an out-house! Bruce wasn’t too happy, and had to rebuild it again. 
Most of us were ready to leave by 8.30am, but some were still having their breakfast. We eventually set off, having established a route back to the centre which took us half an hour to plan! Yesterday’s improvised map reading lesson seemed to have had some effect. We started off towards Ling Mill Gill, but veered south west of the path following the 350m contour line. However, we managed to pick up the path again heading south to Burnmoor Tarn, where we stopped to take a rest and have a bite to eat. After a quick lesson on finding bearings, we took the path east of Boat How to the Cairns. As we did not have a path to follow for the rest of the journey we used the compass bearing to walk almost 2Km to Siney Tarn. Bruce seemed quite pleased because we reached the tarn spot on. 
We stopped beside the tarn for lunch, at 12.55pm, then carried on along a path to the Outward Bound Centre, passing Diamond Rock on the way. We arrived at the Centre at 2.30pm and ‘de-gunged’ the equipment and ourselves (wash, clean, etc.). 
The afternoon finished ended with prayers followed by a pleasant dinner featuring mushroom soup, fish and chips and fruit salad. At 7.00pm the whole group reviewed the expedition with Bruce, followed by a demonstration of mountain first aid.   
After evening prayers at around 10.30pm, it was time to enjoy the comfort of a bed. It seemed like something of a luxury, at the end of such a day. It made us reflect on some of the things in life that we take for granted.
Saturday 31st July 
It was Bruce’s day off, so Pete took us for the Run and Dip and Dave (the Course Director) covered for the rest of the day.
After the Morning Meeting, Dave came back to our dormitory with us. He told us that we would be tackling an orienteering course in the morning. Although most of us had done orienteering at other Outward Bound centres, this was by far the hardest we had come across. The site was quite big — the furthest post was 1.5km away from the Centre!
As we were going to do this in pairs, we deliberately chose to partner with people we usually do not. We were paired off, and each pair was given a map and a record sheet. On the map were indicated 20 posts, each post had a stapler and each stapler had a different pattern on it. We were given 50 minutes and had to find as many posts as we could and staple our record sheets. The penalty for exceeding the time limit was 5 points per minute. 
After plenty of planning time, or almost none in some cases, we set off to find the posts. About one and a half hours later, everyone was back in the dormitory. Only a few people had managed to stick to their plan — most people gave up on the plan or didn’t have a very good plan to start off with. Curiously, the ones who spent the least time planning seemed to do best! 
After lunch (sandwiches and fruit) and prayers, Dave returned at 1.30pm for the afternoon session, armed with 13 Outward Bound organisers (at last! - we were supposed to get them when we had first arrived). These contained some sheets of paper for us to keep daily diaries, some plain paper for notes and a nice picture of the tarn with the mansion in the background. 
The next activity was raft building. After Dave gave us a brief idea of what we would be doing, we were split into two groups, one group situated in the dormitory and the other group in the library. Each group had 50 minutes to design a raft, bearing in mind that we only had the following material: 6 barrels, l0 long poles, 4 short poles, unlimited rope. 
Everyone felt quite confident as we had all done something similar before. When the 50 minutes was up, we all gathered in the dormitory again. Now each group had 25 minutes to explain their design to the other group, because we were to build each other’s raft! Clear communication and trust were very important at this stage! 
At 3.15pm we went down to the tarn to begin construction of the rafts. We were given 40 minutes but it took us slightly longer to complete the construction. When they were finally ready, we swapped over so that each group would be sailing the raft it had designed but not built!   
One group designed a very stable but slow raft, while the other group designed a more aerodynamic one, which was faster but less stable. 
Armed with paddles, both rafts were launched into the tarn. The aim now was to paddle across and hit a bell, hanging from a tree on the other side of the tarn, and paddle back - without sinking! Both groups managed to complete the exercise without getting wet. 
We then had to take the rafts apart, and put all the building material back in its place. Then we went to Stores to get our equipment and prepared for Solo. 
Dinner was at 5.15pm, and we had vegetable soup, various vegetable pies, cabbage and peas, rounded off with sponge pudding and custard. 
After prayer we did more packing. The only things we could take were two large sheets of plastic, an extra set of clothes, sleeping and cooking equipment, some food, water, a pen/pencil and some paper - no watches, books, etc. 
Solo, as the name suggests, is an activity where each person is alone in the near- wilderness for about 20 hours with only very basic supplies. The main aim of this activity is to give each individual the opportunity to be completely alone and the chance to think about, among others, various aspects of the course and what effect, if any, this course has had on them. It is also an opportunity to explore the inner self without any sort of distraction. 
We set off at about 7.30pm and walked along the upper path towards the Quarry, Dave finding little nooks and crannies or patches of grass besides broken down walls or under trees, and putting one member of the team there; then on towards, and past, Siney Tarn to Blea Tarn where he dropped off the last person, by which time the sun had set. Everybody carried a whistle and each person was within whistle range of at least 2 or 3 other people. , 
Everyone built bivouacs with the two sheets of plastic. Prayers were said individually and almost everyone got into their sleeping bags and went to sleep, or at least tried to! 
Sunday 1st August
The sun was out and it was a dry and pleasant day with a light westerly wind. We got up at various times. Some got up just after dawn while others nearer midday - without watches nobody knew exactly what time it was. A couple of people woke up to find some slugs had taken a liking to the insides of their boots! One person found out too late, after he had put his foot inside! 
For most people breakfast was a small tin of baked beans, a hardboiled egg and tea. After washing up, some people sat down and started writing about various things, while others started exploring their surroundings (and frightening the daylights out of some poor unsuspecting sheep). A few people encountered tourists, out for walks and even a volunteer warden who was out looking for some sheep, and any lost people!   
This sort of thing went on until mid-afternoon, by which time most people had begun, or in some cases finished, packing up. At about 3pm Bruce went, running, from people to people starting with the ones nearest to the Centre, to tell them it was time to go back. Some people were so unaware of the time _that they had not had their lunch yet! 
By 5.20pm everyone was back at the Centre. A quick wash, or shower for those who had arrived earlier, and change of clothes, then off to the canteen at 5.30pm. Dinner was spring vegetable soup, veggie-lentilly-cheesy stuff, sprouts, roast spuds, carrots and trifle. 
After dinner everyone went back to the Garden Block for showers, for those who didn’t have time earlier, and prayers. Bruce arrived at about 7pm for a review of the Solo. Almost everyone admitted that when they first heard of the Solo they were not too keen on going, but once out there almost everyone enjoyed it and wanted to do it again. 
We cleaned all the equipment and returned it to the Cage and Stores, and then went over to the zip-wire for the last activity of the day. After climbing up to the platform, which was about 30f t up a tree, Bruce put a harness around the person who then put his hands through the hand loops and stepped off the platform. For the first few seconds there is no tension on the wire and you are basically falling straight down. But then you start zooming across to the other end of the wire, tied halfway up another tall tree about a hundred feet away, and back again. By this time the people waiting on the ground catch you and get you down. 
There were a couple of people who had not done this sort of thing before, so they were allowed to go first. The rest had to do it with blindfolds on! Later on most people agreed that it was not nearly as much fun with the blindfold on. 
We got back to the dormitory just before 10pm, said our prayers and went to bed. 
Monday 2nd August 
By now the morning Run and Dip had become a routine and, in some cases, even welcome activity. This morning it was our group’s tum to read out the news and weather. So straight after breakfast, a few members of the group went into the office where the radio was kept to catch the 8am news bulletin (the radio was permanently tuned to Radio 4). 
At Morning Meeting, the four members of the group who had volunteered, read out the news, weather and the following thought for the day: “The little but sufficient is better than the abundant and alluring.” (a saying of Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him]) 
The morning session had been put aside for canoeing on Wastwater lake, but the weather was too rough for that, so we went abseiling. 
We met Bruce and Pete with all the necessary equipment and packed lunches. After a pleasant 45 minute drive through some very scenic countryside, we arrived at Hodge Close Quarry, a long-disused slate quarry. We were to abseil half way down the quarry – the bottom was underwater – to land on a platform 150ft below, protruding from a cave. Bruce and Pete started setting up the ropes while we pit on our safety harnesses.
Pete went down first, partly to give us a demonstration, but mostly because he had another job down there. After that we started going down one by one. The worst part of the abseil was the first few steps going over the edge backwards. This is the moment when the mind starts to exaggerate the distance to the bottom and you start to wonder if you are going to be one of the very few people in the history of Outward Bound to have some sort of accident!
After a short spot of walking down the wall of the quarry with your body stretched out horizontally, the wall suddenly started going inwards so you were left hanging in the air. This may sound strange but it was actually quite fun, and easy! The view from the bottom was very beautiful.
While we were coming down, Pete was busy setting up three rock climbs for us. One was fairly easy, one a bit difficult and the last only one person managed to complete! This time we had to wear special climbing shoes. These shoes were supposed to be several sizes smaller than your normal shoes so as to ensure an excruciatingly tight fit – ideal for climbing. Pete, who normally wears size 8, was wearing a pair of size 4 shoes!
After a brief pause for lunch - sandwiches and fruit – Pete and Bruce showed us some of their amazing climbing skills. Members of the group stood back in amazement as these two men clung onto little cracks in the rock face with their fingertips!
To round off the day, Pete put on a show of prowess by successfully attempting the under-rail traverse (climbing upside down, horizontally, under the platform without getting wet). A few of the group also attempted this, some with more success than others.
We arrived back at the Centre at 6.13pm, and after a mad dash to clean up, went to the canteen for dinner at 6.15pm! Today we had soup, vegetable dumplings, mixed vegetables, mash potatoes and rhubarb crumble – very nice!
After prayers at 7.15pm, Bruce arrived. Tonight was ‘options’ night. We were supposed to choose one activity from two or three, but we had one choice: the High Ropes.
The High Ropes course consisted of 6 obstacles 25ft above the ground:
The High Beam - a round wooden beam about 5m long and very slippery.
Postman’s Walk - two parallel ropes about 1.5m apart, one vertically above the other.
Leap of faith - two 15cm wide planks of wood with a gap of about 1m in between.
Diagonal Ropes - three lengths of rope tied to two trees and crossing in the middle.
Parallel Crawl - two lengths of rope tied parallel with a gap of about a metre in between, in the same horizontal plane.
The Swing - a length of rope tied to a high branch of a tree, with a small piece of wood at the bottom. The idea is to sit on the piece of wood and jump off the branch. 
The aim was to get across all the obstacles without holding onto the safety harness, or falling off! It all sounds very easy, but when you are up there, the 25ft seems more like 250ft! All members of the group managed to get across without falling off, even the ones with an aversion to heights and the first-timer.
At about 10pm we were all back in the dormitory with Bruce, planning tomorrow’s expedition. We were split into two teams, each with an elected leader. As one member of the group could not go on the expedition because of his knee injury (from before Outward Bound) one team had 6 people while the other had 5 (Usamah decided to stay behind to keep the injured guy company). 
Evening prayers followed at about 11pm. Then everyone rushed straight to bed for some much needed rest.
Tuesday 3rd August 
This morning we had our last Run and Dip (hurray!). Bruce was overheard saying that no other 12-day group had done five run and dips! Some people even expressed slight regret at the thought of not having to get up early in the morning, run around that tam and then jump into the freezing cold water! But most of us were relieved. 
After breakfast and the Morning Meeting, we had two hours to divide all the food and equipment and then pack for the expedition. 
We had lunch (boring sandwiches and fruit!) at 11.30am. Afterwards we met at the van with all our equipment, and set off, slightly late (some people were still trying to squeeze extra supplies into their rucksacks), at about 12.25pm, saying goodbye to the two who were staying behind. 
We were dropped off after a short drive from the Centre. Bruce showed us on the map where we were supposed to be going. We worked out a route and set off. 
The walking was not too bad at first. But the activities of the past week and the lack of rest soon began to take their toll. After only a few hours walking people started to slow down and wanted more and more rest. But Bruce kept us going at a steady rate. Although the climb was less steep, it still seemed much more difficult than climbing Scafell Pike. One member of the group was complaining about a bad shoulder.   
Map reading was not very difficult, we could see various land marks that were indicated on the map, even though the weather, as usual, was terrible — wet and windy. After what seemed like days, when some people were talking of giving up and turning back, Bruce, who doesn’t seem to get tired, informed us that we were almost at our first camp site. This was just what we needed. Everyone began to make a greater effort and the pace soon picked up. 
We reached the camp site quite late in the afternoon, about 5.3Opm- most people didn’t care what time it was, they just wanted supper and sleep! 
We camped near Sprinkling Tarn, a very cold and windy place. The tents were put up with some difficulty - the wind was very strong. Eventually everyone had their tent up. The wind still concerned some people who were worried that their tents would get blown away! 
After a very welcome supper, even though it was dehydrated food, everyone said their prayers, in pairs, in their tents, and then went to sleep. Or at least tried to - some were still worried about the wind and their tents. The wind and rain kept up all night. 
Wednesday 4th August 
The bad weather persisted. But most people were up quite early in the morning, after some shouting from tent to tent. Most were cooking breakfast by 7.30am. 
After breakfast, we started packing up our tents, a very laborious and somewhat depressing task, especially as it was still raining. When we had finally finished, some quicker than others, We started walking straight towards Great Gable. 
The person who was complaining about his shoulder had to stop and distribute some of the equipment from his rucksack to other members of his team. His shoulder was hurting quite a lot. So When we reached the Mountain Rescue post at Sty Head, we had to decide what to do next; either carry on going up, in which case we would have distribute the rest of stuff in his rucksack between all of us; or go down to Wasdale Head, and call the Centre to send someone to come and pick him up. We decided to go down.
Most people were quite relieved at this decision because it meant that we would be going down, after walking up all morning. By this time the weather had cleared up and it had stopped raining. So on the way down, some people took out their cameras and took a few pictures. 
When we reached Wasdale Head, Bruce went off to call the Centre, while the rest of us took the opportunity to sit down and have a bite to eat. 
As soon as Bruce got back, we said goodbye to the injured guy and started going again. Our earlier relief at coming down soon turned to dismay as we found out that the new route which Bruce wanted us to follow, along Black Sail Pass, involved more climbing than on the original route! 
Halfway up along Black Sail Pass, Bruce took us off the path we were following and showed us a short cut. Some people were so pleased with this that they decided to take another short cut, straight up, and headed straight towards a crag! Bruce was not very happy! So the people who had started going up came back down again and followed Bruce. We stopped for lunch for about 15 minutes, on a fairly flat piece of land. The view from this spot was breath taking! We could see down into the valleys on either side of the Pillar, the mountain we were climbing. 
After lunch we carried on climbing up and reached the summit of the Pillar at about 2.30pm. There we stopped briefly, to look around, and then continued the climb up the Pillar. We reached the summit at about 2.30pm. The weather was quite nice for a change, it was bright and clear. We could see Scafell Pike and the other mountains in that area. We could even see the Irish Sea. 
We spent about 10 minutes at the summit and then started walking down, past Windy Gap towards Scoat Tarn where we were to camp for the night. 
At about 4pm we reached the camp site. Bruce showed us a good place to put up our tents and then ran off over the hills! He never seems to get tired! So we were left on our own. Just after we had put up our tents, it started to rain. We said our prayers and then cooked and ate supper in the tents. A few minutes after the evening prayers everyone was asleep. 
Thursday 5th August
The bad weather persisted all night. The strong wind and heavy rain ensured that everyone stayed in their tents in the morning. We all got up at 5.00am for morning prayers. We prepared and ate breakfast while waiting for the rain to stop. 
At about 7.50am we decided that we would brave the weather and get out and pack up. So we put on our Waterproofs and got out. 
By 8.30am everything was packed and the camp site cleared. We divided into our two teams and set off along the routes marked out for us by Bruce. 
Our journeys were made more difficult by the clouds which had come down overnight, with visibility down to just a couple of metres. So we had to rely heavily on our map reading skills. The routes were not particularly difficult. If the weather had been better they would have been easy. 
Both teams managed to get to the entrance to Mitredale Forest, the meeting place we had agreed upon before setting off, within minutes of each other. From there, we walked back to the Centre together. As soon as we were in sight of the Centre, most people started cheering and running towards it. 
It was nice to be back. But as we were about to go into our dormitory, the fire alarm went off l Some people from the group upstairs had left the bathroom door open when they were having showers. The smoke detectors are very sensitive! 
We got cleaned up, cleaned our equipment and put everything back into the Cage. We also returned all the clothing and other equipment we were given. Bruce checked all the equipment in the Cage, to make sure it was all there; it was. In fact, we ended up with a profit - one extra fork! 
Once everything was cleared away, the Centre Shop was open so we bought souvenirs, etc. Then it was back to our common room where we had a review of the expedition. 
The last supper (!) was a pleasant surprise. We were taken, together with the other 12-day group, to the tutors’ dining room. The tables were laid out with candles and napkins, etc. It looked very nice. Dave, Bruce and Yvette, the other group’s tutor, served us. The food was brilliant (fruit salad, vegetables, cauliflower cheese, fish, strawberry cream sponge, coffee and mints). 
Afterwards, Dave gave a short talk about the importance of remembering the things we have learned during the course, about ourselves, and others. 
When we came out we took some group photos. 
Bruce came to our review room at about 8.00pm. It was time for the course review. We outlined various things we had learnt about ourselves, as individuals and also as a group. Bruce then gave us a piece of paper which listed various parts of a car. We were told to arrange ourselves on the floor and decide which person should be which part of the car! 
Then we arranged all the chairs in a sort of circle, with one in the middle. This was the ‘hot seat’. Each person sat on the hot seat for about one-and-a-half minutes, and everyone else made comments about that person, how they had improved, bad habits, virtues, areas for improvement, etc. Bruce was first and Usamah was last. This was actually quite a useful little activity. It gave us a chance to sort of look at ourselves from other people’s points of view, to identify some of our weak points and strong points. 
Finally, the last activity was the presentation of certificates. Each person was given somebody else’s certificate, and then that person had to give the certificate to the correct person and say why they deserved it. 
After Bruce left, at about 10.30pm, we said our evening prayers and then finished packing. We had an informal meeting at 11.30pm where we discussed various things about our time at the Centre,  and then we went to bed.
Friday 6th August 
Last morning at Outward Bound Eskdale.
We said our early morning prayers at 3.30am and then went back to sleep. Got up again at around 6.45am and finished any packing. Then we cleaned and tidied our rooms and the common room. 
Breakfast was at 7.40am, after which we had free time until 8.30am when we said goodbye to Bruce and got in the mini bus which brought us to Ravenglass station. We had almost an hour until our train arrived so we wandered around, visited the souvenir shop and the newsagent. 
Our train arrived at 9.37am. We had to change at Dalton and then at Lancaster. At about 2.30pm we arrived back at Euston. We all missed the Lake District already! Some people wanted to go straight back. 
Review 
Almost every member of the group has been on other Outward Bound courses. But everyone agreed that 12 days at OB Eskdale was a unique experience. This course was by far the best course the members of the ICYC have been on. 
It gave us a chance to develop ourselves further by identifying our weak points and consciously working on improving them. We started this process even before we got on the train to Eskdale. During the months preceding our trip, we had several meetings in Which we discussed the aims of this course and identified what we hoped to achieve by participating. Most of us drew up personal lists of our aims. 
By the end of the course it was fairly obvious that most of us had managed to achieve at least some of our objectives. But the most important changes, the changes within ourselves, can only be known to each individual. Having said that, it is obvious that Outward Bound, as always, has had a profound effect on each and every one of us. 
We hope that someday we have the opportunity to participate and benefit from such an experience again. But even more, we hope to be able to organise similar courses for others, and let them take part in the Outward Bound experience.     

Quotes from Participants

“The train journey to Ravenglass was long and boring. But the mini train was exciting!”
“They [welcoming party] should have waited for us”
“The accommodation was better than I expected.”
“I had fears of living up to expectations.”
“Run and Dip was great!”
“I didn’t like the Run and Dip.”
“I didn’t like it, but I did it for the sake of the group.”
“It [rock-climb] was actually easier with the blindfold - you couldn’t look down!”
“Our fear was blinded by the blindfold.”
“Thirteen people in a tent a bit like sardines squeezed in a tin.”
“Praying in the tent in our sleeping bags at 3.30am was quite fun.”
“Dividing the food was another good team effort!”
“Navigation was so bad because most people kept their mittens on and had their maps in their pockets and were just following the person in front.”
“You look up and there’s a sheep looking down at you; you look down and there’s a slug at your feet.”
“Reaching the summit of Scafell Pike was the high point of the course for me.”
“It was brilliant, even though we couldn’t see anything because of the clouds.”
“The climb down was harder than the climb up.”
“The camp site wasn’t very good. We had to walk a long way to get drinking water from a stream.”
“The lake [where we were supposed to get our water from] had sheep droppings in it, among other things!”
“I thought our map reading improved quite a lot by the second day.”
“On the map the orienteering course looked quite small, but when we were running around it seemed a lot bigger.”
“Someone suggested we rig the raft so that when the other group put it in the water it would break up. I’m glad we didn’t do that!”
“We started off following the other group’s plan, but we did some, er…improvisation!”
“I felt great when we launched it and it didn’t sick or fall apart.”
“Most people in my group were hopeless at paddling as a team.”
“I think people with interesting minds managed to do something with their time, but people didn’t have interesting minds were all bored.”
“When we were talking about it [Solo] before we set off, it sounded quite daunting. But when I was out there it wasn’t that bad. It was actually quite fun and I enjoyed myself.”
“It’s really quite something, being out in the open country all alone. It made me think about things I’d never really cared much about before, things like the beauty of Creation.”
“I’ve never in my entire life been alone for that long.”
“Nice, thoughtful Thought For The Day, I thought.”
“Hanging from the rope in mid-air, over a hundred feet up, I felt really, really small.”
“I had to share a pair of climbing shoes with two other people – there was only one pair of that size!”
“Bruce was amazing! A real spiderman!”
“I was really worried about the wind and my tent! The ground was wet and soft and I thought the tent pegs might get pulled out and the tent would fly off! I was really relieved it didn’t.”
“There were some bad parts, especially going back up again after dropping off [the injured person] at Wasdale Head.”
“The view from Black Sail Pass was amazing! You could see down both sides of the mountain. It was beautiful.”
“Going up the Pillar was quite hard. There were moment when I wanted to give up and go back down again.”
“When I saw Bruce run off, I thought he would keep an eye on us from a distance.”
“It felt good to be on our own without a tutor. It was the first time we were alone together as a group. We got ourselves organised quite quick.”
“The weather was awful. I could barely see anything beyond a couple of feet.”
“At first I was a bit worried about getting lost. But I think I underestimated our abilities – we did get back!”
“I am proud I did it. Although I was tired, I felt as if I could do a week-long expedition.”
“At first I thought pretending to be parts of a car was stupid. But it wasn’t. It was quite useful.”
“The ‘Hot seat’ idea was brilliant! But I didn’t think so at the time.”
“I started to miss the Lake District as soon as we got on the train.”
“You could tell you were in London with your eyes closed – you could smell it!”
“I’m very glad I had the opportunity to take part in something like this. It was a unique and wonderful experience.”
“Not only was it fun, it helped me discover a lot about myself, things I had never thought about before.”
“It’s really changed my outlook on life. For the better!”


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