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This
page archives News items that predate Natland.info
i.e.
items that appeared on the old Natland web site before
June 2006
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Table
Tennis: another succesful year
Natland & Oxenholme Table Tennis Club held its
AGM on Monday 24th April 2006.
The
club has continued to be successful with a steady membership
and a thriving junior section. After last year's
success in the Kendal and District Table Tennis League,
the performance of teams this year was disappointing,
but this was largely due to key players being unavailable
because of injuries, which had a knock on effect to
all teams. The success this year came in the KDTTL
Tournaments with 9 Natland representatives winning events
and a further 7 finishing as runners up. This
year three teams were entered into the National Junior
League and all performed well in their respective division.
This
year saw Charles Usher stand down as Chairman
of the club he created over 30 years ago. He was
however immediately voted in to the newly created Vice
President role. The members presented him with
presents to say thank you for his involvement and help
over the years. David Ratcliffe now takes
over from him in the role of Chairman. Claire
Hebdige remains the Club Secretary with Lynden
Carter staying as the Club Treasurer.
Mothers
Union Speakers
The
Natland and Oxenholme branch had two good guest
speakers recently.
Jonathan
Brook who works at work at Manna House in Kendal
spoke of the worthwhile task of caring for the homeless
people in and around the town.
Marion
Mashiter, now curate at St Oswald's Church in Burneside
spoke about how she was called to ordination into the
priesthood, and her hard but rewarding work to get there.
The branch also held a successful bring-and-buy sale
for its funds.
In
May, at an open meeting, the guest speaker will be Clive
Walkley who will entertain the group with his music.
Wartime Flying Boats at Windermere
Two Natland
residents were involved in producing these Sunderland aircraft. A history of the
factory and these flying boats can be found at www.windermeresunderlands.org Click on this address and go
to ' Postscript' on the site for a tribute to the wartime work of Jim Frearson
who lived in Natland and died in 2004aged 96.
Canal Restoration
The Council were represented at a meeting of the Steering Group
responsible for advancing the project. Excellent presentations by those in
charge of the project.
Points that may
be of interest included:
The Funding
required for the construction works relating to Phase 1 (i.e. Kendal Canal Head
to Natland Road) has not been finalised. The termination of the Canal at Natland
Road is not yet comfirmed; it could be terminated earlier or taken further,
dependent on the amount of the Phase 1 grant.
At the present time work is being undertaken to establish the final
route, to overcome engineering problems and establish ownership of the land
involved. It is anticipated that in approximately twelve months time a
submission will be made to the planning authorities. The following twelve months
would be taken up with finalising engineering, land acquisition, and discussions
with all interested parties including private capital developers. Construction
could possibly commence in the winter of 2007/8 and take two years. Preliminary
planning work would also start on Phase 2. An interesting subsidiary point was the possibility of restoring an old
watermill on the Kent near Natland to assist in water abstraction.
For
the latest information on the Canal Restoration project
see http://www.thenorthernreaches.co.uk
"To
the Mountain Top" by Larry Walters
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Congratulations
to Natland resident Larry Walters on the
publication of his book.
Larry is a retired chartered engineer. Born with cerebral palsy into a
working class family in the 1930's his future seemed very bleak. Many saw him as
not only being severely physically handicapped but also beyond education.
Larry's book is moving story of triumph over severe disability. Married
with one daughter and two grand daughters, he combined his family life with a
professional career and also found time for a range of other challenging
activities.
A splendid read describing how one man met the
challenge of severe disability.
To the Mountain Top
is available from all
good booksellers at £13.
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Farewell Wellingtonia!
Alas - the Wellingtonia which has graced our Green for many years has
disappeared - is no more, gone, kaput. On Monday the 8th August 2005 it was
taken down but only after much consultation and consideration by the Parish
Council.
The age of the tree seems uncertain but probably about 120 years or so.
Perhaps someone will count the rings! It has been said that it was planted to
commemorate an occasion coupled with Edward V11 - any information anybody?
The photographs record its
sad demise.
Natlanders accept the Wainwright
Challenge
The Wainwright
Challenge celebrates the 50 th Anniversary of the publication of The Eastern
fells, the first of Alfred Wainwright's famous Pictorial Guides to the
Lakeland Fells. The challenge was to have a member of the Wainwright
Society on each of his 270 fells between 14th and 21st May 2005. Amongst
members accepting the challenge were six intrepid fell walkers from Natland :
| Margaret and
Gerald Cummins climbed High Raise;
Ann Parnham climbed Silver How;
Jackie Davidson climbed Boat How;
Colleen Harrison climbed Blea Rigg .
Having drawn the
short straw, Jeff Harrison allegedly climbed the four tops of Potter Fell - see
description below: |
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Open Access from May 28th 2005
Maps showing areas of access may be derived from website www.openaccess.gov.uk . Just
identify the area ( Potter Fell ) and "Zoom in" on the
map. Most of the
Wainwright route will become open access but it will take time to install stiles
and gates.
POTTER FELL: THE CHALLENGE WITHIN THE
WAINWRIGHT CHALLENGE!
by Jeff Harrison
Having opted to take on the challenge of Potter Fell, I confess a
heretical reference to Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells (Over 120 Classic
Walks to all Fell Tops), - purely for car parking
purposes you will understand. To my horror I read:
Unfortunately Potter Fell and its three tops,
including that of Ulgraves , have had to be excluded from this walk because
of access problems.
Wow! So is that why, after each main fell had been allocated to members,
Potter Fell was still available?
At 8
a.m. on the glorious morning of Saturday May 14th, after parking the
car at Wainwright's prescribed spot, I set off determined to follow his route
over the four tops of Potter Fell, as given in The Outlying Fells of Lakeland,
"written primarily for old age pensioners and others who can no longer climb
high fells but can still, within reason, potter about on the short and easy
slopes and summits of the foothills." What a shock was in store! Before
reaching Side House, six loose barking dogs intimidated me. Having successfully
escaped them, my first Spring cuckoo heralded impending troubles. These began at
the T-junction with the Staveley to Potter Tarn path. Here a Mr. Angry notice
indicated, in three scrawled messages, "No right of way ahead." Immediately I
looked at my WWWWW (What Would Wainwright Wish Wristband), recalled the main
commandment of the Society - "Follow Wainwright " - and pressed on fearlessly,
turning right at the sheep pen, mounting the first nameless summit and
proceeding through the heather to Brunt Knott Trig-point. What a magnificent
panorama, with the Scafells prominent!
Leaving the summit little did I think that here is an old-aged pensioner
embarking on a major assault course. The first inkling came before crossing the
Staveley to Longsleddale path. The obstacle is an uncharted barbed wire fence.
There seemed no option but to climb over it exercising extreme care. Reaching
the junction of the walls it was evident that the stile had been removed, that
someone did not wish anyone access, and that the wall and its defences had to be
surmounted in order to reach the second nameless top. An appropriate name for
this top might be Colditz , since it is even more heavily fortified on the
Ulgraves ' side. Here a high stone wall topped with barbed wire runs inches in
front of 7-feet high stakes connected by very strong wire netting topped with
four separate lines of barbed wire. This severe obstacle prompted much
investigation before being conquered using gloves, rucksack and a combination of
can-can and limbo dancing skills. However then the walker is imprisoned, facing
the same obstructions again in reverse order. Perhaps not all have escaped, as
the scattering of sun bleached bones and skulls suggest. But now, experienced
and relishing the challenge thrown down by the spoilsports, the barrier was
confidently mastered, as was the final one before the summit of Ulgraves . Here
again the view was magnificent, looking along beautiful Longsleddale and over to
the Howgills . Descending to the glistening tarns on the lower reaches of the
fell, brought delightful Gurnal Dubs into view, the only barrier being yet
another awkward barbed wire fence! Once over the fence a prominent welcome
notice is sighted, addressing two soldiers, Private Land and Private Fishing.
Shortly beyond this a public path leads to Potter Tarn, to Hundhowe and so back
to the car.
A great morning on an enchanting fell, all the more satisfying for the
challenge thrown down by those who constructed the obstacles. Yes A.W.! Potter
Fell certainly has plentiful charms , despite being a no-man's
wasteland - even distantly I did not see anyone else. However your advice
about choosing a good- looker companion is currently inappropriate.
This is a serious undertaking - the moorland route, pathless through heather and
bracken, is definitely not for girl friends, wives, children, pets, pensioners,
potterers , walkers subject to sudden maladies , or any others
unprepared for an assault course!
Incidentally just how does The Outlying Fells, written for "
us doddery oldies", now stand in relation to the
Trade Descriptions Act?
"Forgive me my trespass"
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