Maria (Toni), and her friend Gudrun Strobel, were German ‘au pairs’ from Memmingham who had been working in Lancashire. They had come to Keswick for a walking holiday. On April 9th 1963 they set off to walk over Catbells, and then on to Dalehead and Robinson. On Dalehead they became disorientated in mist. Through a break in the cloud they saw a road beneath them and tried to descend to it. Sadly their route led them down ever steepening ground. They had become separated when Gudrun heard Toni cry out as she slipped. She landed and was killed at the base of Yew Crag. Gudrun also slipped and fell, but survived and managed to raise the alarm after she had slid and crawled down the steep fellside to the road. A simple cross now marks the place where Toni died. She was just twenty three years old.
I do not know what became of Gudrun; or who placed the cross here. I hope to get to Keswick Museum one day to see if there is any more information in their archives. Please take a moment to reflect for this young lady, born into World War 2; and who died in this remote and beautiful location.
The cross is not easy to see even from just a few yards away. It is bolted to the rock. I struggled to get an accurate GPS reading due to the proximity of the crag. The co-ordinates are an average of four readings I took, but hopefully they will lead you to the location. The cache is tucked under the top end of a boulder adjacent to the cross. There is no path to the cross. Looking up from the road there is a spur of grass to the left of a solitary tree. This leads to a short stretch of scree, followed by a sickle shaped area of grass abutting up to the crag. The cross is located by this area of grass.
Please, you have invested a good hour of your life to reach this spot; now spend a bit longer and let's have none of those one line logs ! As ever with me the cache is a tat free zone. Just a small box with log book and pencil.