The plan was to catch the 10.25 from Ravenglass but we were too late so decided to have an early lunch in the super cafe and catch the 11.25. The food was good with hearty portions and reasonably priced.
We only just made the 11.25 train and got the last two seats available in a semi open carriage. We had hoped to get an open carriage but they filled up too quickly for us.
The weather was much better than the forecast and we had a wonderful trip to Dalegarth where we planned to see what there was there. We saw a sign to some falls which seemed interesting but we found out it was about an hours walk, mostly uphill. Knowing our luck it would be uphill on the way back too so we took the lazy option and sat on the platform with coffee and soaked up the sun.
Thanks to Pam for the pictures.
We left Ravenglass and decided to take a scenic route home over Hardknott & Wrynose passes and then things went slightly awry. For those of you who don't know these passes, they are probably the two most challenging roads in the country, very narrow with steep climbs and descents and many hairpin bends.
Along the way on one of the bends there was a thump from the rear right wheel and soon after the car began to show signs that something was wrong. There was nowhere safe to stop so we had to keep on going at a reduced speed until we could find somewhere.
We eventually stopped and a quick look revealed a flat tyre. This was a surprise as the tyre pressure warning hadn't activated. The MG3 doesn't come with a spare wheel, just a container of tyre sealant and a pump. This didn't work. It may work with a small hole but not one the size of a 50p piece. We were stumped.
From there it all went belly up. The time line was something like this. Times are approximate.
17.15 I rang the RAC
17.40 I got back to the car
20.00 Pam decided to climb up the fellside to try to get a phone signal
2100 Pam returned having failed to get a signal. She was soaking wet having stumbled into a bog.
21.30 We got a lift from some fell runners to take us out of the valley.
21.45 On the way down the Ambleside end of Wrynose pass we met two recovery vehicles, one of which was for us.
22.15 Our car loaded onto the recovery truck.
23.30 We arrived at a depot in Penrith. We were supposed to be going home but the drivers refused to take us saying that there would be a taxi waiting for us at Penrith.
23.45 No taxi so many phone calls to establish what was going on.
00.45 Taxi eventually arrived but there was some confusion as to whether or not it was authorised by the RAC. If it wasn't we would be stuck with the bill.
01.00 We were told not to take the taxi as another recovery truck was coming for us at two o clock.
01.30 I'd had enough. We were both tired & hungry. I told the taxi and the recovery guys who'd brought us to go home. We would take a chance on this new recovery truck actually turning up. New ETA for the recovery truck two thirty.
02.30 The recovery truck turned up. At last somebody doing what they said they were going to do.
0350. Arrived home. Only ten and a half hours after our call to the RAC.
That is the condensed version. There was a lot more going on in between those times. Our last meal had been around 11.oo and we'd only had a banana each since then. Hungry doesn't describe how we felt.
Let's just say we weren't impressed with the service we got.