METHS

MULANJE EXPATRIATES THREEPEAKS SOCIETY

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Wensleydale, Yorkshire. September 1998

Old Methophiles never die, they just reset their altimeters. And in this spirit three of their number set out in September 1998 for a little mountain rehabilitation after an assortment of illnesses and accidents had laid them low.

Mad Axeman, Lord of the Big Ruo and Air Malawi's Last Hope, with their long-suffering spouses, descended on Wensleydale to prove that Age Shall Not Wither, well not much.

Leaving the Fountain Hotel, Hawes for the first day on the hills, the initial 900ft of ascent was accomplished in fine style in some five minutes. Alas, at this stage the cars were parked and reality set in. The party, supported by an assortment of crutches, walking sticks and wives, set out for five miles of near-level walking on the old Roman road over Wether Fell (2,015ft). With visibility at zero, the prospect of Roman legions marching out of the mist seemed quite credible. No such excitement for us that day however, the only other walkers being Yorkshiremen, to whom it was a fine day for walking.

Offers of assistance from Judy's rescue wagon at the rendezvous were swept aside and the party strode on, sticks and crutches clattering, downhill now, past the old folks home, resisting the blandishments of the staff to accept their special rates for cripples and on headlong into Bainbridge, their destination for the day.

Not content with the first day's challenging five-and-a-half miles, the second day found them in idyllic Swaledale, upstream of Muker, where no road, rail, power line, caravan or other sign of the hand of modern man intruded. A gentle amble upstream took the party to Kisdon Foss and a short scramble was rewarded by waterfalls which would not have been out of place on Mulanje. Axeman's attempt at the local dialect, dredged from ancestral memory and tried on two unsuspecting lasses passing by, brought a response that bore little relation to his polite enquiry. LBR, meanwhile, had a more meaningful dialogue with a sheep which took too keen an interest in his lunchtime sandwiches. His cheery 'Pass the mint sauce, Larry' being met with a thoughtful 'Baaaaa'. The return walk completed the day's modest four miles and left the party refreshed and a convivial evening in the Fountain Hotel brought the meet to its conclusion. Dave "Lord of the Big Ruo" Harrison

National Park Website: www.yorkshiredales.org.uk