Ice-breaking!

Fishing for a lost mattock!

One of the things we do is look after the four islands on Derwentwater.  Three of them are open to the public all year round and the fourth is rented by private tenants  – the house and island are open to the public five days a year (check out www.nationaltrust.org.uk/events  for details.) 

As you know, we had a particularly cold winter and our tenants contacted me on Christmas Eve because they were unable to get to the mainland by boat due to the build up of ice.  Last winter four of us from the Mountain Rescue Team went across with the ice rescue kit and helped them to get off the island.  This Christmas we had a particularly busy time with rescues and the guys were spent.  So I checked the tenants had enough provisions and suggested they hunkered down.  They decided themselves that the ice was thick enough to walk on (having said that, they were wearing dry suits and buoyancy aids!).  Cumbria Fire and Rescue and the mountain rescue teams had several joint ice-rescue practices during the Christmas period.  We were all really worried with people walking on the ice.  On the 3rd of January somebody went through the ice but thankfully managed to get out.  So I decided with the tenants on the 4^th that we would break them out on the 5^th.  The tenant and I, and Joe from the National Trust footpath team, spent most of the day breaking a channel through the ice with axes, mattocks and various tools.

Ice on Derwentwater

Living on an island must be fantastic but it does have its drawbacks.