From St Sunday Crag

We caught the first train out of Liverpool, and with a couple of changes reached Penrith in time for the 9.30 bus to patter dale. There we walked over St Sunday Crag, up Fairfield and down to Ambleside for a rather lovely pint. Then a bus to Windermere.
So far, so good.
But we hadn't factored in Northern Rail. The train from Windermere was cancelled. As were the first 3 trains from Wigan to Liverpool (and for all we knew, probably all subsequent ones as well). So we were advised to head off to Manchester Victoria, which was a scene to behold. All the platforms were full of trains going nowhere, which meant that through trains couldn't get in.