R*n 547: Hesket Newmarket

Antiseptic and I arrived back at the campsite after setting tomorrow's r*n, with fingers crossed that the forecast of overnight thunder storms was wrong as we didn't fancy an early start tomorrow re-marking the trail.  All assembled at the allotted time, including very welcome visitors Slasher and Huggy from Cockermouth H3, who only live just around the corner.  But what?  No hares!!  Not to worry: we are traditionally very relaxed about the on on time on the Friday r*ns of our away weekends and after all, the hares had promised us a very short trail straight to the Old Crown.  Sure enough ten minutes later the hares arrived looking a little worse for wear and urged an immediate start so as not to be late for pub grub.  This didn't figure at all of course as we only expected to be on trail for maybe half an hour.  Anyway, whatever.

Near disaster occurred almost immediately as the FRBs Dormouse and Slasher picked up the out trail for the Saturday r*n.  Dormouse was not keen to give it up, claiming that any flour must be on, but eventually he was persuaded to on-back.  So off with the pack, on up in a Westerly direction.  And on up, on up, on up and still on up.  A few miles up later, which included an elevated viewpoint and an irate farmer demanding that we: "Get out of that field!", we still seemed to be drifting further and further from aforementioned pub.

Still we needn't have worried because as usual, our favourite hares eventually brought us on inn to the Crown where excellent beer and food lurked with our names on it.  The bonus ball tonight was a live music accompaniment from some folk who turned up for a pub music festival just because there was one here on the same weekend last year and just made their own entertainment undeterred.  A great start to the weekend.

Great campsite, except that one toilet and wash basin in one room is a bit spartan.  However, the wash room is very comfortable with its arm chair, rugs and curios scattered around.