Meet Report: 25-27 September 2025.

Those arriving on Friday afternoon found Martyn already hard at work strimming the grass and weeds around the car park.  Simon was equally industrious replacing the wooden panels at the base of the entrance porch which had certainly seen better days.

Peter and Carol B headed out for a walk before beginning their work on the barn, while Martyn finding strimming extremely thirsty work wandered down to the Three Shires for refreshment. Alister and Iona produced a light evening meal much appreciated by all.

Up bright and early on Saturday, everyone was ready to get stuck in.  Creative John J worked on wooden steps to go down to the new storeroom, making them looking truly fit for purpose before tackling plaster repairs to the bathroom wall. 

Meanwhile, electrical expert Alister fitted new guttering at the front of the storeroom and later replaced the old strip light in the bathroom with an LED one.  Electronic engineer John D was not dealing with electrons quantum tunneling in semiconductors but sort of tunnelling behind the drying room digging out a French drain and installed a soakaway with the assistance of Iona and Yasmin – that’s backbreaking work through stony ground in a constricted trench.    Carefully working at height, Peter, Carol B, and Alister fitted battens to the barn ceiling in preparation for large plywood panels to be installed later in the year.  Carol W took on probably the least glamourous task and deep cleaned the toilets and shower room, including bleaching the shower curtain.  Patient John W stained all the wooden shiplap boarding in the window recesses of the sitting room and the kitchen – the latter being especially awkward to reach.  Behind John, Martyn, Iona, and Yasmin carried out a thorough clean of the rest of the kitchen.

Time ran out before they could insulate the drying room so that job that was left for next year.

Alister and Iona again produced an evening meal eaten before a good fire for a cosy night of wine, shared stories, tales of past adventures, and plans for more to come.

Thanks to everyone involved in keeping our Lake District cottage looking good, safe and in even better condition.  That includes members who use the cottage and invariably leave it in a better condition that they found it.  Special thanks to Alister who masterminds all this work as Hut Warden.

Attending: Carol Baker,  Peter Baker, Robert Crowther,  John Dobson,  John Jenkin,  Simon Raine,  Yasmin Raine,  Alister Renton, Iona Renton,  Martyn Trasler,  Carol Whalley,  John Whalley.