Evergreen

58 EVERGREEN Autumn
Above: The River Mite on the turntable at
Dalegarth Station. Below: Enjoy a walk to
the Woolpack Inn in the village of Boot.
from Wasdale and the other two
were walking from cars. Perhaps
people just buy Walks from Ratty as a
souvenir.
The tarn is a delightful spot; it was
warm and cloudy during my visit
but there was a breeze, so the twin
August miseries of midges and rain
were held at bay. Well, almost; on the
descent, as
I saw my
train for the
return toot
towards
Dalegarth,
a light
drizzle
began.
Twenty
minutes
before the
train was
due to leave
Dalegarth,
people were
already stoutly
claiming seats
for the journey,
including
some for
mysteriously
invisible
companions.
I eventually
found a space
in one of the
open carriages, seated on solid wood,
the wind whistling past me and rain
battering my back and the back of
my head. It was a true introduction
to third-class rail travel in the
1840s. It’s not often you get more
rain-battered on the train journey
after the walk than you did on the
walk itself! Having said all that, it’s
marvellous what you see when your
train has 360-degree “windows”,
and how it helps to make clear the
geographical context of your journey.
Ratty is a key to unlocking the
fells, but it’s also a joy in itself and
a means of getting somewhere.
Wainwright’s Walks from Ratty
celebrates these aspects of the little
line perfectly. Fittingly, almost
the only places you can pick up
Wainwright’s pamphlet are the
station shops at Dalegarth and
Ravenglass. Plan your next trip
soon, and get hold of Walks from Ratty
before you get on the train.
DAVID McVEY