Ask a Plodder!

Anybody who likes fell walking and the views, read on.
If you enjoy nature and the wildlife that the Lake District has to offer, read on.
Any Ramblers reading this, look away now!

Plodders
I have always been a ‘Plodder,’ a person who likes to stop and look at wildflowers. I like to amble along, sampling the fresh edible leaves, petals and berries of our plants and trees along the way.

How nice to pause and listen to a songbird as it sings from near or far, or hear the buzzing of insects busy with their daily tasks. To sit and listen to the wind blowing through the grass or the hypnotic sound of a bubbling stream as the ice-cold water flows over its rocks and boulders.

Plodders are usually seen on their own, they are people who enjoy walks and can always tell other people about the many interesting things that they have seen or heard. A Plodder doesn’t have to boast about the fells he/she has walked upon, instead they have a more informative voice, a voice that deserves to be heard.

Ramblers
Ramblers on the other hand are a completely different species, they run around the fells like headless Chickens, usually in loud conversation. They talk about such things as recent holidays, new lawn-mowers or the latest gossip from the Golf Club!

They boast about all the ‘Wainwright’s’ they have 'bagged' and often wear red socks, bobble hats and have matching poles in their hands. I doubt any of them can even read a map or use a compass; follow the leader is all they seem to do. Ramblers are often found in large groups and usually give their presence away by constant chatting, bright designer clothes and those bobble hats.

These 'bobble hatters' don't see or hear very much at all, apart from each other of course. In fact they may as well walk about wearing blindfolds and poke cotton wool into their cloth ears.

They don’t even enjoy the views; Ramblers don't have the time for veiws and just want to get up and down the fells in the shortest time possible.
Despite all this they certainly have plenty to say, even if it is just boasting about all those ‘Wainwright’s’ they have done.

Wainwright
Wainwright was a Plodder; I dare say he would have felt very insulted if anyone called him a Rambler. The great man plodded around the fells in his own time and in his own company, he saw many wonderful things and certainly had plenty to write about.

So why these people want to be so boring is beyond me, they follow in the footsteps of a man who would always avoid Ramblers while he was walking on the fells, i imagine he would have looked down on them on many an occasion with a chuckle or two from behind his pipe up there on a fellside!

So if you are walking on the fells and you want to know how to read a map, or if you want to know about the things all around you, just ask a Plodder, as Plodders always know best.