A welcome return to the well equipped Bury Hut. As most people know it is located l000ft up a valley on one of the main routes to Helvellyn accessed via a steep concrete track. Apparently, during last winter’s heavy snow some groups staying here had quite an epic just getting up to its front doors. Who knows what SHOT will encounter this year?
Ignoring the detritus of the extensive lead mining that once occurred in this valley our base is supremely sited for all manner of routes up and around the Helvellyn Range above our heads to the west - and with a starting point at l000ft it is just a short huff and a puff away. Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon, Catstyy Cam, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Fairfield, St. Sunday Crag and of course Helvellyn itself are all well known to mums and dads, and in a short time the Shotlets as well. Striding Edge will surely test the nerves of any parent. More pedestrian and touristy options abound lower down in Patterdale and Ullswater where purses and wallets can be quickly lightened. There will be a restricted boat service on the lake. East of Ullswater the High Street Range also offer any number of routes, both long and short, but of a less rocky and mountainous nature. All in all, an excellent place for a weekend stay.
The Bury Hut is very well equipped and very spacious. Apart from the usual facilities the sleeping accommodation consists of 28 beds in 3 large bedrooms (1 x6, I x 1 0 and 1 x I 2) and an additional 2 beds found behind the curtains downstairs. Currently there are four families coming, so the best plan would be to squeeze all the little, noisy, screaming buggers, oops I mean cherished offspring, into one room. This leaves plenty of air space for the champion snorers to practice their art.
Getting to the hut is quite straight forward once you have found the correct exit route through Glenridding village which is situated on the A592, best approached from near Junc 40 on the M6 at Penrith. Coming in from the north to the village you should notice the rather grand Ullswater Hotel on the L set back from the road. Opposite is a village green and a public car park. Up ahead, just beyond the bridge, you will see a hotel/Ratchers Tavern on the left and some shops on the roght. Do not cross the bridge, but turn right, go past the car park and turn immediately left through what appears to be council houses. It should be signposted to Helvellyn Youth Hostel (currently up for sale) and/or Greenside Mines. NB If you miss this turn you will end up on the main road, so try again. Continue for about I .5 miles uphill, passing the Travellers Rest Pub on the right, then a sharp right hand bend with a terrace of miners cottages on the R. Greenside Road now becomes a track of two concrete strips. You approach Helvellyn Youth Hostel on the left, go through a gate and find the Bury Hut as the next building also on the left. On the OS Lake District North-East Outdoor Leisure Map, find the red triangle for the youth hostel and bingo...
People of a certain vintage will recall the halcyon days of the YHA when it had almost 300 hostels providing a fairly extensive coverage of England and Wales. There were even 3 or 4 in Suffolk! Many of these were simple, rural affairs, quite often in strategic locations a short bike ride or longish walk apart. Now it appears that every couple of years they embark on a sell-off to invest in their core real estate to provide a firm foundation for the future. Nothing to do with Barclays Bank wanting some of their original £35 million loan repaid of course! So what happens when they have no property to sell off?
Cynwyd was one such hostel. It was a converted woollen mill next to a small stream in a quiet slightly off-beat village. Until at least 2006 that is. Then the YHA put it on the market. Fortunately it was bought by the Northamptonshire Scouts (the YHA having already earmarked the two Northants Hostels for sale). It thus remains a simple youth hostel perfect for our mid-summer trip. There are 30 beds (lx11 1, 2x6, 1x5. and a 1x2 room already bagged by Young Isaac Venables- little does he know that Blackburn Rovers will be relegated this year). It has all the usual amenities. If numbers supercede expectations then it may be possible also to also resolve their small cottage. Cynwyd has two pubs, the Prince of Wales and the Blue Lion but it is not known if they do decent beer or food. The Dudley Arms, 3 miles away in Llandrillo, comes highly recommended for food, as does the re-opened Berwyn Arms in Glyndyfrdwy (well known by Mashy, Percy and Zoe). Corwen is nearer, but despite its collection of pubs none of them are particularly known for the quality of their beer or food.
The Berwyn Mountains form the backcloth to the area rising up to almost 3000ft at Cadair Berwyn. Various routes can be devised for this target. As the crow flies, the spectacular Pistyll Rhaeadr waterfall is just a short distance away, but with 4 wheels it is a minor epic. Numerous, less demanding routes can be found in the area. For the steam buffs, the Llangollen Railway may have completed its extension to Corwen by now (a must place visit for devotees of Ifor Williams Trailers of course) - if not then go to Carrog.
Driving to Cynwyd is easy as it lies on the B4401 (going to Llandrillo) less than 2 miles south west of Corwen which is on the A5. As you enter the village you may be aware of a minor cross road in the centre. Then just before the bridge immediately afterwards bear left for l00m to the mill. If you cross this bridge by mistake turn left immediately and another turn left immediately over a second minor bridge will bring you to the mill and its stream side location. The GR is 057409.
Christmas Trip December 2012
TBA