Are You The Farmer?

I'm on the move again, and for my next goal I decided to visit Crow Crag in Cumbria. Known in real life as Sleddale Hall, this is the farmhouse location from the film Withnail and I, where two acquaintances, Withnail and Marwood, go on holiday by mistake.

Anyone who's a fan of Withnail and I will instantly spot that the title of my blog is a quote from the film, as is the title of this post. If you haven't seen Withnail and I, I really recommend checking it out. I think it's one of the greatest British films ever and one of the funniest films too. 

The drive from York to Sleddale Hall took a little over three hours. There's a small, free carpark at the bottom corner of Wet Sleddale Reservoir. You can see the house from the carpark, over there at the end of the reservoir and up the hill a bit. It doesn't look like it from here, but the hill up to Sleddale Hall is a pretty steep climb and made me feel out of shape.

The walk around the reservoir was easy and well marked. I had my hiking boots on, although some websites suggested wellington boots would be better, since the ground can get very boggy. My luck held, and three days of very little rain meant the terrain was firm underfoot. I made haste, as the sky was beginning to bruise.

I arrived at 'Crow Crag' and was surprised to find I was the only person there. I was also surprised to find the building in good repair. All the windows and doors are new, with new frames. Various websites and discussion boards had suggested the buildings were now derelict and rundown, but it seems like it's in the advanced stages of restoration.

I did find some examples of graffiti, quoting lines from Withnail and I.

So with the place to myself, I sat on the farmhouse's front step and ate some fruit, then wandered around taking photos. I also used my phone to watch the YouTube 'are you the farmer?' clip, which you can see here: https://youtu.be/bRTpwyNGT6w

I made my way back to the carpark and my van. It's a three mile round trip from the car park to Sleddale Hall and back.

I put my feet up, had some dinner and relaxed with my book.

Later, it got surprisingly chilly, so I got into bed and used half of my laptop's battery to watch Nomadland. It won six Academy Awards this year, including best actress for Frances McDormand. Good film. I really enjoyed it. https://youtu.be/6sxCFZ8_d84

This morning, I shook off the chills and made some breakfast to eat at the side of the reservoir.

After finishing this post, I'll relax some more and plan my next move. Today I hope to make it to Dumfries and Galloway, which will be my first day in actual Scotland. My next update will depend on when I can get Wifi and charge this laptop.

Take care and thanks for reading. 

Brian