Posted by Andy Clayton on August 15, 2000 at 18:05:50 from rooster.ordsvy.gov.uk:
There have been a few comments about Lake district roads of late, so I thought I would stick my three pen'orth in. While on honeymoon in the lakes back in the 70's, I went over the hardknott pass and can vouch for it being the most hair raising driving I have ever undertaken! with 1:3 hairpin bends and few passing places it is a nerve wracking experiance. I remember ascending the pass without too much problem, but on the way down the western slope I remember seeing a car about two hairpins below me coming up. I applyed the brakes intending to stop on one of the bends, as that was where the road was wide enough to swing out or pass another vehicle. Unfortunatly as I braked, the car was on grit, probably put there to provide winter grip, and the thing carried on, slithering towards what seemed to me at the time a sheer drop! It ground to a halt a couple of feet short! When I got down to flat ground I had to pull over and recover, I was shaking too much to drive. When recounting the experience to a local later that day, I was told it was a great local entertainment to see unwise visitors attempting to cross the pass with caravans! The mind boggles.
As I lived in Devon at the time I was quite used to racing along the green tunnels at reckless speed, confident in the quick reactions of youth to slam the anchors on if anything appeared, but these roads never fazed me. In the Lakes the technique the locals seemed to adopt was to drive around at great speed in very low gear, it gave them greater control if sudden evasions were needed. I felt safer with soft hedges at the sides rather than stone walls.
I have also had a run in with a broads bridge. While going up the Bure once, in a hire boat. I passed under the Wroxham bridge with little difficulty. The next morning as I approached the bridge from the other direction I realised that the river was racing me towards the bridge faster than I would have liked, to keep a boat steerable you have to be moving faster than the water! As I reached the critical final alignment, some other **** nosed into the bridge from the other side forcing me to take evasive action and I found myself broadside on to the brige feeling very embarrassed and getting hassle from my wife! I made it at the second attempt, but would ask any boaties to give way to boats with little steerage way on!