Diversity with a difference
Divya, Varinder and I joined the Walker's Club members to visit Cumbria - the Lake District area this weekend for a fun filled trip to one of the most beautiful parts of the country.
Cumbria is a county in the North West of England, boasting some of the most beautiful scenery in the United Kingdom. It contains the Lake District National Park and is also home to England's longest lake, Windermere (17 kilometres in length). The region was popularized in the early 19th Century by the 'Lake Poets' (Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey).
The trip was organized by the Walker's club as part of training for the upcoming 5 peak challenge. We joined in partly because of the interest in walking but more because of the opportunity to see the often praised scenic beauty of Lake district. Though it was not the best of times to visit Lake District, the weather forecast was giving us much reason to cheer. So we packed our bags and started on our trip in the school's mini-bus on Friday afternoon. We were twelve of us and what an interesting bunch it was - 3 of us - the MBA students, Oleg (MSc Logistics), Partha (PhD student- School of management) and his wife Sanyukta, Charles and Lee (MSc students - School of Engineering), Hannah and Charlie (PhD students - School of industrial and manufacturing sciences), Robert (MSc student - School of industrial and manufacturing sciences) and Martin (Post doctoral researcher - School of Engineering). Robert is one of the challengers in the 5 peak challenge where he will have to scale five different peaks in the UK within 72 hours.
Lee was the organizer and his forces background came to the fore when he drove the minibus to reach Ambleside in less than 4 hours. A slight drizzle welcomed us as we walked into the backpackers hostel to settle in. Over a cup of steaming tea, Lee briefed us like a typical commander leading a troupe - the map on the table, 12 heads surrounding the table, peering over the map and tracing the finger of Lee on the walk they intended to do. The area was calling us and soon enough we all went out for a quiet walk into the town - window shopping, buying fish and chips and settled inside a pub for a couple of drinks. Unfortunately for few of us, we did not have the proper walking gear and were advised not to take the difficult walk that Lee and team were planning for. So we took alternate directions about possible walks.
Next morning post breakfast at 8, it was time to move. So while the troupe of Lee and five others went on their plan of the 12 mile walk, we chose to take up a low-level walk and soon enough were hit the road. With the map in hand, we navigated our way to a bevy of places - Wordworth's house, Grasmere lake. Our journey took us through metalled roads, grass paths and rough terrain. True to its reputation, we found Lake district to be a fabulous place of pristine beauty. We savoured the mesmerizing view all through our walk and realized that natural beauty can never be captured in camera.
We were back in the rooms by evening time and little did we realize then that we had walked almost 7 miles. But there was not a trace of tiredness. It was time to cook dinner for our group. Varinder had volunteered to play the role of chief chef to cook chicken and rice for all and we had carried all the ingredients with us from Cranfield. As always, the aroma of the curry and rice had soon filled up the kitchen and we could see twinkling eyes of other guests in the hostel eyeing our curry dish. Lee and team had also arrived back. The dinner was truly a feast.
Next morning, while a few of us decided to stay back at the hostel to recover from their tiredness, we chose to go down to Windermere and Bowness bay. After a walk around the city centre, we settled in at the bay dock where cruises on the lake start. Instead of taking a cruise, we loved the idea of just sitting next to the lake watching the ducks and swans move in close, eager to be fed. With those white swans around you and wind blowing in your face, it was as if the clock had stopped ticking. There couldn't have been a better way to rejuvenate your energies for upcoming term 3.
The best part of the trip was the opportunity to meet so many students from other schools in the Cranfield University. Whether it was a long chat about MBA students in general, or about proving that all MBA students are not the same or even sharing the learning's from Personal and Communication skills (PCS) - one could find a topic of discussion so easily. It also gave me a much wanted opportunity to understand a little bit about the other courses in the university and appreciate the diversity on campus. The diversity of not just the kind of people, but also about how rich Cranfield university is in terms of the courses and also of the astounding reputation is has in other fields such as aviation, etc.
So my message to all readers - if you arrive at Cranfield, ensure that you break any self imposed barriers and cross over to meet people from other schools - only then you will understand the meaning of diversity with a difference.
Cumbria is a county in the North West of England, boasting some of the most beautiful scenery in the United Kingdom. It contains the Lake District National Park and is also home to England's longest lake, Windermere (17 kilometres in length). The region was popularized in the early 19th Century by the 'Lake Poets' (Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey).
The trip was organized by the Walker's club as part of training for the upcoming 5 peak challenge. We joined in partly because of the interest in walking but more because of the opportunity to see the often praised scenic beauty of Lake district. Though it was not the best of times to visit Lake District, the weather forecast was giving us much reason to cheer. So we packed our bags and started on our trip in the school's mini-bus on Friday afternoon. We were twelve of us and what an interesting bunch it was - 3 of us - the MBA students, Oleg (MSc Logistics), Partha (PhD student- School of management) and his wife Sanyukta, Charles and Lee (MSc students - School of Engineering), Hannah and Charlie (PhD students - School of industrial and manufacturing sciences), Robert (MSc student - School of industrial and manufacturing sciences) and Martin (Post doctoral researcher - School of Engineering). Robert is one of the challengers in the 5 peak challenge where he will have to scale five different peaks in the UK within 72 hours.
Lee was the organizer and his forces background came to the fore when he drove the minibus to reach Ambleside in less than 4 hours. A slight drizzle welcomed us as we walked into the backpackers hostel to settle in. Over a cup of steaming tea, Lee briefed us like a typical commander leading a troupe - the map on the table, 12 heads surrounding the table, peering over the map and tracing the finger of Lee on the walk they intended to do. The area was calling us and soon enough we all went out for a quiet walk into the town - window shopping, buying fish and chips and settled inside a pub for a couple of drinks. Unfortunately for few of us, we did not have the proper walking gear and were advised not to take the difficult walk that Lee and team were planning for. So we took alternate directions about possible walks.
Next morning post breakfast at 8, it was time to move. So while the troupe of Lee and five others went on their plan of the 12 mile walk, we chose to take up a low-level walk and soon enough were hit the road. With the map in hand, we navigated our way to a bevy of places - Wordworth's house, Grasmere lake. Our journey took us through metalled roads, grass paths and rough terrain. True to its reputation, we found Lake district to be a fabulous place of pristine beauty. We savoured the mesmerizing view all through our walk and realized that natural beauty can never be captured in camera.
We were back in the rooms by evening time and little did we realize then that we had walked almost 7 miles. But there was not a trace of tiredness. It was time to cook dinner for our group. Varinder had volunteered to play the role of chief chef to cook chicken and rice for all and we had carried all the ingredients with us from Cranfield. As always, the aroma of the curry and rice had soon filled up the kitchen and we could see twinkling eyes of other guests in the hostel eyeing our curry dish. Lee and team had also arrived back. The dinner was truly a feast.
Next morning, while a few of us decided to stay back at the hostel to recover from their tiredness, we chose to go down to Windermere and Bowness bay. After a walk around the city centre, we settled in at the bay dock where cruises on the lake start. Instead of taking a cruise, we loved the idea of just sitting next to the lake watching the ducks and swans move in close, eager to be fed. With those white swans around you and wind blowing in your face, it was as if the clock had stopped ticking. There couldn't have been a better way to rejuvenate your energies for upcoming term 3.
The best part of the trip was the opportunity to meet so many students from other schools in the Cranfield University. Whether it was a long chat about MBA students in general, or about proving that all MBA students are not the same or even sharing the learning's from Personal and Communication skills (PCS) - one could find a topic of discussion so easily. It also gave me a much wanted opportunity to understand a little bit about the other courses in the university and appreciate the diversity on campus. The diversity of not just the kind of people, but also about how rich Cranfield university is in terms of the courses and also of the astounding reputation is has in other fields such as aviation, etc.
So my message to all readers - if you arrive at Cranfield, ensure that you break any self imposed barriers and cross over to meet people from other schools - only then you will understand the meaning of diversity with a difference.
posted by Sandeep Gupta at
2:40 pm
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