Who Pays the Ferry Man?

Well it`s like this, the blog title is a story related to us by the master of story telling Ranger Supervisor Paul. More of this later.

It started as the normal Thursday volunteer day for David, Christine, Phil, Jim and Theo. The task was to put the NT boats back onto Crummock Water, Loweswater and Buttermere lakes. It should have been a straight forward task but as with some things today was not going to go smoothly!

The theme of this post is best described as a story of sorts. It started well with us getting one boat onto Buttermere but the lake level was so low we could not get it off the trailer without seeming to drive the length of the lake in the Trust Land Rover!

Ranger Dan and volunteer Jim at the ready to row the boat off the trailer if we could get it in deep enough!

Volunteer Christine watches over them quietly laughing to herself!











Not working lets go a little deeper. No that`s not working either.

So, it was down to the good old fashioned time honoured method, we man handled the boat off the trailer into the water.

Just in case the health and safety people are watching we did have life jackets as seen in the next photo.








Life jackets on Dan rows the boat across to Hassness where we had to put in a new mooring for it.

Ranger Dan still dressed for safety knocks in one of the four new mooring posts. This was the second mell used on the day the first one`s shaft split on the very same post.












 Once we had the new mell the posts split and we had to get some more!

Volunteer Christine drew the short straw.

Now how the title of the blog arrived.

It was whilst we were waiting for the new posts to arrive Ranger Paul was left guarding the boat to ensure no one rowed off in it. During this time the title of the blog was arrived at.

Paul explained that whilst we were away two elderly walkers came by and quizzed him, "Don`t you respond to a wave then?" A quizzical Paul responded in line with his training, "I am sorry I don`t understand!" The question was repeated by the walkers who then went on to explain they had seen him from the other side of the lake and thought he was the ferryman who could row them across the lake!

You can understand how from a distance they could have thought he looked like a ferryman. 

The next problem was knocking in the deeper of the posts. The water was too deep to stand in and get any good swing at the posts so the only way was to stand in the boat to do so - yes about as daft as it sounds.

Don`t worry it was not as bad as it looks and Dan did not put the post through the bottom of the boat as the picture might show!

The task was eventually completed on what must be one of the funniest days we have had as National Trust volunteers.

A great day out volunteering in such a special place.

Very relaxing. Why not come out with us and have a go?