Indian's Head Walk, February 2021

Here I am on a walk up to Indian's Head (a set of rocks called Wimberry Crag but known locally as Indian's Head.) I had a Boost chocolate bar and thought I'd eat it when I was on the top of the head. The rocks are easily visible but reaching them entails a long walk up to a high reservoir and then a further walk along the cliff edge. I'd done this walk the week in snowy weather but it was bitterly cold and the wind so powerful my face was rendered numb. I got talking to a couple on the tops but was so cold I couldn't form the words properly.

On Sunday the weather was clement and the wind just a whisper. I set off listening to an audio book, a thriller about a man accused of murdering his sister for a hefty inheritance. I was out for a few hours and noticed I had to re-tie the laces on my right boot four times. The laces on the left boot were untouched. This happens so often on long walks that I'm beginning to wonder if I walk in a certain manner.

I walked up and up and up a valley path, listening to the audio book which gradually pulled in the listener. I got so involved it was a bit of a nuisance saying hello to people I passed. Over four hours I passed five masks which had been discarded/lost. I passed a few couples with young children and it was good to see them getting their kids into rambling. I passed the exact spot where a man called David Lytton committed suicide and his death remains a mystery. He moved to Pakistan but one day returned to the UK and travelled up north by train and made his way here. With £130 in cash in his pocket he drank poison . Was he making his way up to Indian Head and just gave up? To know more please go here: http://johnhalley.uk/Death%20-%20David%20Lytton.htm

Eventually I reached the reservoir at the top. It was much flatter than the previous week when wild wind was whipping up waves. Last week had been so cold that I could only walk with one eye open and contact lense in my eye had started to freeze and harden (and an old wound was starting to throb with pain.) I told myself I wasn't enjoying the walk and headed back to the car. However this Sunday the conditions were ideal and I walked about 25 minutes along the top of the valley to stand on the top of Indian Head. I passed five grouse and about six couples - one man was in shorts and sandals and two women were in full make-up. One boy saw me saluting and I heard him asking his dad why I was doing it. I took some photos of my mum for company as I knew I'd be walking near a cliff edge. One careless slip and I'd have been tumbling over the top but I always feel safe when I've got my mum with me. I saw a boy weeing in a plastic bottle (not sure why.)

I stood on the back of Indian Head and the wind was so weak someone was able to fly a drone around. I ate the Boost bar (it was jolly good), showed my mum the view, did a salute and then took a meandering path back down to the car.