To stay or to go? Intentionally goin

[C_Claycomb]

I have a week booked off work next week. I was thinking about going up to the Lake District to camp, use my new 2-man tipi and climb some mountains. Travel up on Sunday, back on Friday. Been looking at the weather and it is looking pretty grim. Lots of rain, rain almost every day during the day, winds of 15-20mph. All in contrast to weather down south.

I have plenty of projects for my home workshop; build work bench, repair cnc router, many knives to progress, four dovetail boxes to start, and a pile of wood to run through the saw for bows and handles.

Drive 5 hours, 250 miles, to camp in the wind and rain, climb mountains from which there is no view, or stay home and enjoy sun and dry weather playing in the garden/shed? Wondering what folk here would choose.

At this point I can cancel taking the week off, but cannot reschedule until a month later. Always booking 4-5 weeks in future.

 

[Broch]

I’d stay and get on with things. Maybe do one or two nights further south if the weather is better.

Life is challenging enough without turning your time off into a battle.

 

[Buckshot]

Me too.
I have a project huge list I'm trying to wade my way through as well!

 

[Deleted member 56522]

I wouldn't trust the weather forecast more than a couple of days in advance, three at a push. If you are prepared to be flexible and look at Wales, Cornwall, Yorkshire, the Borders and all of Scotland, you will find good weather.

 

[Van-Wild]

Go. The work you leave behind will still be there when you return!

If you're not physically up to it, then of course stay home. As Broch says, no need to turn it into a potentially dangerous expedition!

On the other hand, there is beauty in the storm, and a test of yourself in adverse conditions reinforces your skill set.

I'd go whatever the weather. The outdoors calls louder to me than being in a brick tent.....

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

 

[Toddy]

I'd stay, but I'd have kit packed so I could slope off for a couple of overnighters nearer home if there's a break in the wet and windy.

Bad weather's fine to battle when you're in the notion for it; when you're not and you're thinking about all that you could have done, sometimes it's not worth the effort. I hate coming home with a car load of wet kit to clean and dry, etc.,

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Your profile says Bedfordshire- why not hit up cornwall or South Wales instead? On my local rivers the dry fly fishing is on big time, maybe you could even get a week camping near to some chalkstreams *cough* mayfly *cough*

 

[oldtimer]

I've spent enough rainsoaked nights outdoors over the years to understand your dilemma and sympathise.

Since I've been retired, work no longer interferes with plans: it's the damned medical appointments that are the constraint. As Oscar might have said, "What a pity retirement is wasted on the old."

 

[saxonaxe]

There will come a time when for various reasons you cannot walk, camp or escape to places like the Fells and Lakes. A dozen reasons, personal or otherwise, illness, disability or pure impracticality will confine you to staying at home whether you like it or not.
I would go. The area will be devoid of people, they will have made excuses and stayed at home. Stay off the high tops but enjoy walking the lower areas and between the rain clouds you may see Rainbows.

 

[grizzlyj]

Fewer people and the streams and waterfalls will be going nuts
I lived on the north edge of Liverpool for a few years and the Lakes or Snowdonia were both about 80 miles. The sky could look as bad as the forecast said but I don't remember going and not having fun. I moved from there to Suffolk and still went MTBing in the Lakes every third weekend without fail and again never didn't get out. That might have ending up meaning valley not peak but they are a much missed period of my past Rain in the Lakes specifically usually didn't affect either the going with (from memory) mainly rock and gravel based paths, or the inside of the Apple Pie Shop in Ambleside.
I do like a bit of weather though

 

[C_Claycomb]

Your profile says Bedfordshire- why not hit up cornwall or South Wales instead? On my local rivers the dry fly fishing is on big time, maybe you could even get a week camping near to some chalkstreams *cough* mayfly *cough*

Haha...but you know with fishing, the locals ALWAYS say "oh, you should have been here last week!"

 

[TeeDee]

There will come a time when for various reasons you cannot walk, camp or escape to places like the Fells and Lakes. A dozen reasons, personal or otherwise, illness, disability or pure impracticality will confine you to staying at home whether you like it or not.
I would go. The area will be devoid of people, they will have made excuses and stayed at home. Stay off the high tops but enjoy walking the lower areas and between the rain clouds you may see Rainbows.

Echo this.

Craft and project time is for the long dark winter.

Spring and Summer is for the glorious outdoors in what ever way she chooses to embrace you.

 

[Robson Valley]

Go. Saxonaxe got it right. All I can do these days is to watch you hike off into the mist. The "home-work" will still be there when you get back.

My sole second thought is the price of petrol these days. That's a very long drive.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Haha...but you know with fishing, the locals ALWAYS say "oh, you should have been here last week!"

Too true. But this could be the red letter week!

I would echo what others have said. Get out there... do it... and enjoy that it's a bit quieter than normal

 

[Great egret]

I just came back from 10 days Sweden, -4 celcius, still some snow on the ground. Did not want to miss it

 

[Laurentius]

Depends on my state of health, I have been a martyr to arthritis of late.

 

[Allison McKenzie]

Hey Chris, the weather at ashridge looks bonza next week

 

[gra_farmer]

I would Go.

I have two young children, I never get to go anywhere (not even the toilet). The ideal of camping for a long weekend, even in the rain sounds like bliss

 

[Dave Budd]

Personally if the weather is more likely to be grim than not (even if not as bad as forecast) i would stay at home and do the fun things that i never get around to. Even though i agree the winter is 'the time for crafts', it seldom works like that because the days are short, dark, cold, wet and the motivational juices are low as a result.

Of course, i'm also a lazy hermit so the idea of driving 250 miles for potential wet and miserable (or even sunny and peopley) is a no brainer!

 

[C_Claycomb]

Thank you to everyone for sharing thoughts and advice. i have spent half today swinging between choices and finally decided on a compromise of sorts; aiming to go, but to return on Thursday, early, so I have a long weekend for home based stuff.

I fully agree with Dave‘s observation that cold, wet, and short days impact what gets done in winter. My workbench build is a case in point. The timber has been stacked in my dining room for six or seven years, each summer I have put it off for winter, and each winter I remember why I didn’t do it the last year, that there is no room in my shed and it’s 75% an outdoor job! Any job that makes dust is best done in spring or autumn when I can have the door open, and not be too hot or cold.

Regarding flexibility to go to other parts of the country, I suppose you could say that I am very inflexible, but it would be more accurate to say that I have a proven record of being rubbish at making up plans on the fly. When I travel with other people it’s not a problem, even if they are not great planners. The best bits of my solo travels have been when I have a definite goal, I know where I am going. The most disappointing have been when the goal was achieved too easily or early, or I planned on making up the day as I went.

I picked the Lake District because I know the two camp sites I will use and know some routes and the General geography. Not so much need for planning, which I have had no time for these last few weeks. I also like the crags more that moors.

Hopefully it will be quieter than usual. Last time I was up there was May 2019, also the week after the Bank Holiday week, and it was pretty empty, although the weather was all sun. That is, until Friday evening, when I returned to the little, basic, camp that had been wonderfully quiet on Monday and found it crammed with BBQs and families. It was so unappealing to me that at 9pm I set out and drove all the way home rather than shoehorn myself in between camper vans!