MEET REPORTS The Bowderstone, October 2018 Five years is a long time, but it doesn’t seem like that. I don’t think many of us thought we would be back for a meet at the Bowderstone Hut, so when the opportunity arose earlier this year, it was hard to resist. The second weekend of October was memorable for many reasons. Here are just a few. How long does it take to get to Borrowdale? Picking up Lucian and Lewis in rush hour traffic, then Jeff from Shotley Bridge was perhaps not brilliant planning. Going via Stanhope and Alston was madness, particularly as Alston’s main street was shut for resurfacing. A detour via the lanes was expertly negotiated and still the rain came down. Borrowdale already flooded, we drove to The Scafell, full of excitement and anticipation. The hut has been modernised into a ‘bothy’ by The Calvert Trust. They have done a good job – new toilets and shower room, new bunks, two wood burning stoves and a functional kitchen. I’m sure they thought that the kitchen would now be dry. It wasn’t! White painted walls, no pictures, white doors gave it a clinical impression. Jeff even used the word, “prison”. Still, we were back and the stories and banter flowed. And still it rained.
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