John Barrow was born in Ulverston in 1764 to a family of modest means and educated at the local grammar school. By the beginning of the 19th century after varied career and extensive travels – Greenland, China and South Africa – he was appointed to the Admiralty in 1804 as Second Secretary. It was a position he held for 40 years (apart from a brief spell 1806-07) and established the convention that senior civil servants could serve governments of all political persuasions in a non-partisan way. (A convention that seems to be eroding in recent years).
Arctic and later Antarctic exploration meant exposure to extreme conditions of freezing temperatures and driving winds. On our way up to the top of Caw we had experienced a short spell of discomfort caused by the wind chill of a north easterly. It wasn’t pleasant. It made me think about explorers like Franklin, Perry, Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton and the men who went with them to the most inhospitable regions of the Earth enduring cold not just for hours but weeks on end. Modern convenient life does not do extreme discomfort – press button central heating is the name of the game. Ironically that demand for instant energy has created Global Warming which has now made the North West Passage entirely feasible as the Arctic Polar icecap has shrunk.
Fact File:
Time: 3 - 4 hours
Map: OS OL 6 The English Lakes South western area.
Map by kind permission of Johnston Press
In half a mile take a footpath on the right through a wooden gate leading into the woods.
When this reaches a forestry track go left and keep on it with the River Lickle down on your left at the bottom of the steep sided valley.
Gently climbing the views become more impressive as you break clear of the trees on the long straight track. After a mile the way passes through a gate and drops to Natty Bridge - a footbridge across the rocky ravine of Yewry Sike.
On the far side keep ahead to join the bridleway which followed the right bank of the River Lickle from Stephenson Ground. At this point looming above you to the right is White Pike
a shapely peak that is an extension of Walna Scar. In fact the bridleway you have joined
eventually links up with the Walna Scar Road the track connecting Coniston with Dunnerdale. You will not be going as far. As you reach the top of the col bear left on an indistinct path (which was even less distinct in snow!) to start the traverse to Caw. First you encounter Pikes
which may seem to be promisingly like Caw unless you have consulted your map. Given that Caw itself is not exactly a Lakeland giant (1695ft) the ridge it occupies certainly gives an impression of being as rocky and challenging as its near neighbours in the Coniston Range. From the summit of Green Pikes the descent and then re-ascent to Caw will seem surprising - at least it did to me. Picking up a path of sorts to the north of the Pikes cross a broad col
to thread a way up a spur leading to the summit of Caw which is unmistakeable in that it is adorned with a trig point. It goes without saying that the views are stupendous. On the Irish Sea coast Sellafield is an obvious landmark, as is Barrow's Monument above Ulverston to the southwest.