Tuesday 31 March 2009

If at first you don't succeed...

Last Monday I was nearly blown off my feet north of Helvellyn. This Monday (30 March) the weather forecast was much better so I decided to try and finish the round. Starting once again from Glenridding (where incidentally the car park charge for all day is £6.00) I set off up the Greenside Road with my companion for the day, fellow Rotarian Philip Bailey, a man with mountain rescue experience - which might come in handy.


After a long trek up to Sticks Pass in fine weather (where we saw the first Wheatear of the year – spring must be here), we turned left for the top of Raise (2889') and ran straight into mist. And wind. And cold. But we were soon at the top and on our way to White Side (2832), which was followed by the long ascent up to Helvellyn Lower Man and Helvellyn itself. At 3118', Helvellyn is the highest top so far and the first of four Lake District mountains over 3000'. There's always someone else at the top of this mountain and on this bitterly cold and windy day there was a family of four in trainers. Mmm.

Briefly retracing our steps we started the descent of Swirral Edge, made a bit more tricky by the presence of some old snow, but thankfully no ice. This is a really steep section and it was a bit hairy in places, but before long we reached the col for the windy ascent of Catsty Cam (2917'), followed by a pleasant descent (out of cloud now) to Birkhouse Moor (2350') with lovely views across Red Tarn to Striding Edge on the way.

Before long (but not soon enough to benefit from reduced car parking rates) we were back at the car in Glenridding, after a high-level day with another 5 tops in the bag, making 74 in all so far - one-third now completed – 140 to go.

Wednesday 25 March 2009

Blown off Course?

Day 13 – Wednesday 25 March. The weather forecast promised gales, and after Monday’s experience I didn’t think it a good idea to tackle the planned extended Kentmere Horseshoe – especially as I’d felt pretty worn out the night before. So when we got up and saw the trees being blown about, we decided to err on the side of caution. I have to have the weekend off for a longstanding social break, and I’d planned to restart next Tuesday. So if I were to take today off and restart next Monday, then no time would be lost.

I hadn’t planned on Mike though. “What about doing Lingmoor Fell? That way it shortens the last day and if anyone wants to join you, then they won’t have to walk the full 14 miles.” Great Mike, OK, we’ll do that. “We could do Pike o’Blisco as well, that would shorten the Head of Langdale route” I agreed to Lingmoor Fell but vetoed Pike o’Blisco. I need that day off!

So off we set to the Blea Tarn road where we parked the car and set off by Side Pike, and were on the summit of Lingmoor Fell (1530’) in 45 minutes (I felt a lot better this morning!). A lot of heather had been burnt recently and the overnight rain seemed to bring out the acrid smell which caught the back of your throat. It certainly was windy, but we avoided the showers and the air was crystal clear, with great views of the Coniston Fells, the Crinkles, Bowfell and the Langdales.



On the return we were blown down the steep slope from Side Pike so fast our legs could hardly keep up! Back at the car we found it surrounded by Mountain Goat minibuses whose Japanese tourists were taking photos at a fantastic rate of knots, without at any time straying more than 10 yards from the safety of the minibus. Further down towards the Dungeon Ghyll, in the midst of all this impressive scenery, a man was busy taking photos… of his black BMW.

And so, adding only one top to the overall tally, it’s off home to have a long weekend’s rest.

PS. On arrival at home there’s a letter from Darwen Probus saying how much they are looking forward to me giving them a talk. On Thursday 26 March. I can’t remember them asking me to talk to them, and it’s not in my diary. One of us must have had an diary malfunction, but as I’m home, I might as well go! They’d better all stay awake!


PPS. 26/3/09. Definitely my diary malfunction, as the speakers' convenor for Darwen Probus knew that I donate the speaker's fee to The Christie Hospital, so he must have spoken to me at some stage. What a big club, about 60 members all of whom seemed to enjoy the talk. Better not criticise the 'old' men of Probus if I can't even remember an appointment...!

Where Eagles Dare

Day 12 – Tuesday 24 March – Rejoined by Mike we set off from Stonethwaite in Borrowdale on a bright, calm morning with the sun just managing to shine, though not for long! Stonethwaite is a really attractive hamlet a bit like Watendlath, but with a proper Lake District pub. The Langstrath Country Inn. The sign of a good pub is that when you walk past at 10 am all you can hear is the hoover, so this must be a good pub. Mike has visited it of course – in fact almost every hotel and B&B we go past he says “Margaret and I stayed there at such & such a time..” and I’ve suggested that it would have been a lot easier if we’d had a sponsored stay at every Lake District pub instead of climbing all these Wainwrights – it would have been a lot easier and Mike would have had a headstart of around 213!

Eagle Crag, even though only about 1650’, is described as perhaps the steepest and most strenuous climb of all the Wainwrights, and that’s no exaggeration. The whole face is exceptionlly steep and covered in crags, and it takes a lot of effort, plus a certain amount of navigation, to pick one’s way to the top. We started on the Langstrath side, away from Wainwright’s starting point, and eventually (about ¾ way up) met up with a well-trodden path to the top. Time for a brew and a sandwich to restore energy levels.


Sergeant’s Crag (1873’) is nearby and easily reached. It has a great view of Pike o’Stickle just sticking up above the distant horizon. Then it was a trek across to Greenup Edge and on to the long and gently rising fell that leads to Ullscarf (2370’). This featureless trudge wasn’t improved by the arrival of light snow, followed by more persistent rain. Having arrived at the highest point of the day, we thought the rest would be fairly easy. Ha!

From Ullscarf we followed the ridge down (mainly) over the little lumps of High Saddle and Low Saddle, and then hit bog with a vengeance. Route finding was tricky, and even when we could see where we wanted to get to, picking a route was another matter. Eventually we arrived at the jewel-like Dock Tarn, skirted it and made our way up to Great Crag (1500’), then set off for the final fell of the day, Grange Fell (1363’). By now it was beginning to pee down, although thankfully visibility was OK.



We crossed the Watendlath bridleway and found the top of the fell easily enough. All that was left was to descend to Grange in Borrowdale. We skirted Royal How, a well-quarried little fell, and then headed downhill on a good footpath. After losing a lot of height, this path suddenly arrived at the top of a huge crag, perhaps 800’ above the road. The path looked perilous and the rocks were slippery. Time to ask some Health & Safety questions: 1: Would you like to retrace your steps, climbing all that way back up again to the last path junction (No thank you). 2: Would you like to find the very fast and short way down the crag and end up dead at the bottom? (Definitely no thank you very much).

So, grumbling, miserable, wet through, we set off back. The correct path was found by turning off Royal How in what appeared to be the wrong direction for 50 yards: this led to a very steep stone-pitched path through trees, which was wet through and as slippery as ice in places, so plenty of care was still required. But eventually we reached the car looking like two drowned rats and headed back to Bowness for the night.

68 Wainwrights done – over 30% - and 146 to go. And every single top done in Wainwright's Central Fells (Book Three). But tomorrow looks like gales again…

Those Equinoctal Gales!

Day 11 – Monday 23 March. Sure enough, the weather didn’t last. As I set off for Glenridding for a solo day, it was cold, wet and windy, and there was no improvement by the time I got there. The intention was to start with Glenridding Dodd (1425') and then do a circuit over Swirral Edge and Catsty Cam.

Leaving Glenridding along the Greenside Road I passed a group of youngsters emerging from a minibus from Essex Boys’ Club. They intended to go up to Red Tarn, but I noticed most of them were girls. Presumably the boys were all back in Essex doing ballet or embroidery. (Oops – not very PC! Any objections can be sent with a donation please).

It’s a short steep climb to Glenridding Dodd, then a return to the col and a further trek up to Sheffield Pike (2232'), stung by a heavy hail shower. I’d been in the lee of the wind most of the time, but at the top I could hardly stand up (I hadn’t been drinking, it was the high wind). I nearly called it a day there and then, but thought “I’ll just try one more” and set off for Hart Side (2481') via Nick Head. Once on the exposed fell top, above around 2400’, the wind was so fierce I could hardly stand, and it was made worse by gusting, so that just as I got myself stabilised an even bigger gust would come along and blow me backwards six or ten feet before I could get a grip again.

In between all this, I did notice a good view to the North (it was now very clear) of our first two fells, Great Mell and Little Mell. But now it was decision time. To do the intended route meant coming down Swirral Edge to Catsty Cam. Admittedly not as dangerous as Striding Edge but even so, by the time I got there the wind would have made me a lot more tired, and being blown off Swirral Edge would have probably terminated the project by terminating me. So I decided to call it a day and retraced my steps back to Nick Head and from there to Glenridding. I later found out that there was still enough lying snow left on Swirral Edge to be a danger in itself, so in hindsight this was a good decision.

Back at the car I looked at the map, saw that Arnison Crag (1424'), above Patterdale, was pretty accessible and might be the annoying last straw on the Helvellyn/ St Sunday Crag walk later on, so decided to walk up behind the Patterdale Hotel and ‘knock it off’. It’s quite a steep climb but took just an hour. From the summit, the views of Ullswater and Place Fell are superb, but if anything the wind was even stronger.

Disappointing, but at least I got something out of the day, and the return to Catsty Cam should be made easier by a simple walk up to Sticks Pass to pick up the remainder of the walk.

Sunday 22 March 2009

Bogs, Forests and Castles

Day 10 - Saturday 21 March – started at 8.30 in Watendlath, the picturesque little hamlet at the end of the long cul-de-sac which goes over Ashness Bridge in Borrowdale. An easy climb took us to the flat, featureless summit of High Tove (1665’), from where it was a boggy splash across wet peat and moss, enlivened by the sighting of a herd of deer, to the rock tor which is the top of Armboth Fell (1570’).

From here we could see the top of our next objective, Raven Crag (1520’), surrounded by Forestry Commission Sitka Spruce, but we had no idea how difficult it was going to be to get there. The problem started at a big ladder stile over the forestry deer fence. It looked inviting so over we went, only to find that the path went from bad to worse to worse still, overgrown by spruce trees. We tried to work our way through dense scrub to where there should have been a track, but it was impenetrable, so we had to retreat. Eventually we came across the track – right next to a walkers’ gate from the adjoining open land. If we hadn’t crossed over the first stile it would have been an easy walk. As it was we had pine needles down our backs and were generally not best pleased!


Raven Crag itself was then easy to attain, after a short stiff climb, and gave tremendous views over Thirlmere, towering as it does at the top of a sheer rock cliff. Appropriately, two Ravens flew over as we arrived. We retraced our steps to the gate and then slogged up the slope to High Seat (1995’), followed by another boggy trudge for a mile to the top of Bleaberry Fell (1932’). Here we met a couple from Carlisle and got talking about our project to do all 214 Wainwrights to raise money for the Rosemere Cancer Foundation. It turned out that the lady was diagnosed with Breast Cancer seven years ago and is currently doing fine. It just shows (again) what a small world this is, and how easy it is to find something in common with someone you’ve never met before.

I thought Walla Crag (1234’), above Keswick, was going to be the last top of the day, but Mike suggested doing Castle Crag (Grange-in-Borrowdale) to shorten one of the forthcoming walks. But he also wanted to get back to watch the rugby! I knew he’d done Castle Crag only two months earlier so sent him off home to watch the rugby whilst I did it on my own. It’s a little gem, the lowest of the Wainwrights and the only one under 1000’ (it’s about 985’), with an odd approach of steep paths over slate quarry waste, and a small flat top with trees and a War Memorial, complete with plaque and poppy wreath.


I arrived home at 7.00 after four good days, with a total of 59 tops completed (155 to go!). Over a quarter of them done. But the weather can’t last – better get some warm dry clothes ready for next week!

Would it be the Lion, the Lamb… and the Chicken?

Day 9 - Friday, 20 March. For the first time this week I’ve got some company – Val has found time in her busy schedule for a day’s walk, and Mike is back as well. So as not to have too strenuous a day we decided on a round from Grasmere consisting of Steel Fell, Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag, aka The Lion And The Lamb.





In cool, cloudy conditions we were soon on top of Steel Fell (1811’) but unable to see much. Then it’s an easy path to Calf Crag (1762’) where the weather began to clear. When this happens it always seems to happen quickly, and within a few minutes we were bathed in sunshine, looking down on RAF jet fighters doing their training runs. They may be disturbing the peace but they’re always spectacular.


It being Friday, there were plenty of walkers about, taking advantage of the glorious weather. The ridge walk to Gibson Knott (1379’) gave us chance to have a look across at Tarn Crag, which we did the previous Sunday, and at Steel Fell which we were unable to see much of a couple of hours earlier.



Then it was on to the final top, Helm Crag (1299’): viewed from the road this has a striking top – a 25’ high rock outcrop - often called ‘The Howitzer’ - which Wainwright describes as “brought underfoot only by precarious manoeuvres of the body”. I’ve been up Helm Crag before but I’ve never climbed to the very top: this time was different, however, as I’m honour-bound so to do. I can inform readers that the rock-climbing involved to reach the pinnacle is not all that difficult. Getting back down again is a very different matter, and had me worried a couple of times! That's me at the top. The other fella is not connected with any mountain rescue organisation.

Back at the car before 3 o’clock Mike had the bright idea of climbing Seat Sandal to make the big Grisedale circuit a bit easier. I looked at it and decided that it could wait – I was ready for a relatively easy day, so I have to confess that after a shower and a change we enjoyed a couple of pints in the Hole i'th Wall in Bowness before dinner and an early night!

Thursday 19 March 2009

Day 8 – 19 March and the Heat Wave continues in Martindale

I knew I had to be back home this evening for a quiz (stop press – we beat Blackpool by a handsome margin!) so I left my Bowness lodgings at 0730. Even so it took nearly an hour to drive to Martindale. The first top (Steel Knotts, 1414’) was a bit windy and cool, but adorned by a sharp spike of rock at the summit. From there it was all the way down again to St Martin’s Church and then up Beda Fell (1664’). When I told Val about this she said it was an unfortunate name – she must have thought it was called Paedophile…


A long walk along the ridge followed, accompanied by Ravens much of the way, to Angletarn Pikes (1857’), which are easily seen from yesterday’s start point of Hartsop even though it’s half an hour’s drive away. A quick circuit of Angle Tarn to Brock Crags (1842’) was followed by a promenade along the most delightful path above Patterdale, as far as Boardale Hause, from where the track rose again to Place Fell (2154’). There were lots of people around now, including a school party and A group of soldiers with Army Benevolent Fund T-shirts. Nearly all of them had i-pods sticking in their ears, and I’m not talking about the school party.




Once back at the car after traversing the Place Fell Ridge, I left the rucksack behind and walked briskly up and down Hallin Fell (1271’) in a 30-minute dash, rewarded by outstanding views of Ullswater. When I got back to the car a couple came walking by with two dogs and a green parrot on a perch. I kid you not.





Sorry this is a bit rushed, but I don’t get a day off tomorrow or Saturday, so I’m posting this when I should be in bed. But by my reckoning that’s 48 tops done and tomorrow I should break the 30,000’ barrier which means more than one Mount Everest. Mustn’t forget the sun-cream.

Day 7 - Sunburn? In March?

Wednesday 18th started at Hartsop with a steep climb up to Hartsop Dodd (2018’) followed by Caudale Moor (the summit at 2502’ is known as Stoney Cove Pike). It was a beautiful sunny morning but as I dropped down to the Kirkstone Pass Inn the world was enveloped in cloud and mist and it seemed a bone-chillingly cold place. I’d forgotten my Camelbak (a system that provides water on tap via a ‘hose’ from my rucksack, so I went into the pub for a top-up and a can of Red Bull for later.




From the other side of the road a pitched path strikes almost vertically up the face of Red Screes, rising 850’ in hardly any horizontal distance to the summit at 2541’. It was hard work but near the top I popped out of the cloud into bright blue skies again, which were to stay with me for the rest of the day.









From the summit it was down to Middle Dodd (2106’) and then back to the ridge at the Scandale Pass, then to Little Hart Crag (2091’) and down the next ridge to High Hartsop Dodd (1702’) where the cairn consisted of three stones! That was a drop of nearly 400’ and I had to tramp all the way back up again before attempting to go ‘across country’ beneath the imposing rock face of Dove Crag. This was really hard work – no path, and lots of crags, forcing about turns and unwelcome descents. I passed a tiny pond full of frogs and, being ready for a rest, waited motionless for five minutes so I could take a photo of them,

Eventually I reached the ruined shelter on the Dove Crag track and struck across to reach the Hartsop above How ridge, gaining another 800’ in the process, then enjoying a nice sunny yomp down the ridge, over Hartsop How, the last top of the day at 1870’.

The descent to Cow Bridge was really steep at times but eventually I got back to the car. People in Hartsop village were sitting out on their patios – in March! Surely Margaret must be pulling some strings big-time with whoever is controlling the weather!

A big day – 13 miles and over 5,000’ of ascent, and another long day tomorrow...

Tuesday 17 March 2009

Alone again, naturally…

After a week of walking with company, Monday was the first solo day, perhaps of many! Despite the good forecast, clouds were low over the hills as I started from Troutbeck at 9.00 and trudged up the Garburn Road, a steep track consisting mainly of boulders. The first two hills, Sour Howes and Sallows, are rarely visited and so the footpaths were indistinct, which doesn’t help when you’re up in the clouds with poor visibility. I strayed off-piste at one point before the first top, encountered a wall which I thought might be a problem, only to find I was a mere 20 yds from a stile. The large summit area of Sour Howes itself (1568’) is like a big minefield, but what appeared to be the highest ‘lump’ was also adorned with a tiny cairn which confirmed that I really was at the highest point.

It was a straightforward trek to Sallows (1691’), at the top of which is a tiny tumulus-like mound, so there was no doubt that I was in the right place there. This was the highest point of the day and it was only 10.30. But progress was to be slowed by the fact that much of the rest of the day was pathless, across rough ground, although by now the clouds were beginning to lift off the fell-tops.



At 1191’, Troutbeck Tongue is the lowest fell in AW’s book of Far Eastern Fells (Book 2) but what it lacks in height it makes up for in steepness of ascent. 500’ of seemingly near-vertical, lung-bursting effort, but at least it’s soon over and the view to Windermere is worth it. Then back down to the unfriendly-looking Troutbeck Park Farm (no visitors thank you) and up to Low Kingate, an old cart track that presumably pre-dates the Kirkstone Pass road, running parallel to it at a distance of only 100 yds or so.


After joining the modern road, the route to Wansfell (1597’) is a long dreary trudge. The top itself isn’t that exciting but it is followed by a very pleasant mile-long switchback of a ridge leading to Wansfell Pike, often mistakenly thought of as the highest point on the fell, and enjoying great views of Windermere and Ambleside. From here it was an easy trek down to Nanny Lane and Troutbeck to end another day.

Monday 16 March 2009

A Perfect 10!


On Sunday 15 March Mike and I were joined by John and Catherine Taylor for an assault on the Langdale Pikes and their subsidiaries – 10 tops in all, starting with Silver How (1292’) above Grasmere, where a fell race was about to take place, judging from the freshly-planted green flags. The weather was perfect – high cloud ,not much wind, not too warm.


It’s a long trek along the ridge to Blea Rigg (1776’), a shy top which doesn’t tower over any neighbours and so it can be a bit difficult to be sure when you’ve got there, but AW’s guide helps sort it out. The weather had encouraged plenty of Sunday walkers to take to the fells, which were beginning to get crowded!


After a lunch stop (John & Catherine like to have plenty of re-fuelling stops) we pressed on to the summit of Pavey Ark (2288’), perched on the edge of a 500’ crag above Stickle Tarn – not a place to be if you suffer from acrophobia. After a slow start we were now ticking off tops at a lively pace – Harrison Stickle, at 2403’ the highest of the Langdale Pikes, but not the highest point of the day, then Loft Crag (2270’) and then the impressive Holland’s Pie pudding shape of Pike o’Stickle (2323’). It was getting towards 3 o’clock and we still had plenty to do.


Off to the rather unimpressive Thunacar Knott (2351’) wondering why AW bothered to include it in his guides, and then finally the highest point of the day (though not necessarily the high point…), High Raise (2500’).
At last we were heading back towards Grasmere, taking in Sergeant Man (2414’), which left Tarn Crag (1801’) as the final top of the day. AW describes the route from Sergeant Man to Tarn Crag as “an interesting test in route-finding” – a good description. We were in danger of heading too far north and going down the wrong side of Far Easedale, but John kept us in order and we were soon on our last top and then scurrying down the fell side towards Easedale Tarn.

It’s a long trek down Sourmilk Gill (very scenic though) and beyond to get back to Grasmere – but finally we were back at the car saying our goodbyes. It was a long day at 14 miles+, but an excellent one, and after a good meal I didn’t need any rocking to get to sleep. That’s 31 down and I daren’t think how many still to go. Just keep putting one foot down after the other.

Now this takes the biscuit!

Ella Spencer, aged 9, saw the photo of ‘Auntie Margaret’ in the Clitheroe Advertiser and decided she would like to sponsor the walk, and instead of simply asking her mum and dad for some money, rolled up her sleeves and baked some cakes (and flapjacks, and ice buns, and a tea loaf...) She got her 6-year old brother Luke to do some baking too, then persuaded her dad Barry to help produce some fliers and posted them around her neighbourhood. On Saturday she held her fund-raising cake stall at the end of her drive and raised a staggering £146 which will go to the Rosemere Cancer Foundation. Ella and Luke, you’re a couple of stars - thank you so much and congratulations on your hard work and ingenuity! Thanks to mum Tracey and dad Barry for helping out too. P.S. Some flapjack was sent special delivery and I tried it in the Langdales on Sunday – it was delicious!


Ella, Luke and a satisfied customer

Friday 13 March 2009

Friday the Thirteenth…?

Well, after three days’ walking, yesterday was a day off and an opportunity to assess how things had gone. On paper, all was according to plan, but more importantly my cold was a nuisance, not only giving me a tight chest but also making legs feel like lead. So with a poor weather forecast for Saturday and a good one for Sunday, it seemed better to do one day only today and swap the next rest day for a walking day – avoid the rain and hopefully help recovery from the cold. And perhaps it would make sense to bring forward some of the ‘easier’ walks and postpone the harder ones.

So today saw us setting off from home at 8.00 to climb five tops in the St John’s Vale area – on the itinerary as Day 12. Well, I said the schedule would be subject to change!

As we were getting our boots on at the appropriately named LEGburthwaite, another car parked up with four gentlemen on board, about to tackle Raise and White Side – peaks south of our intended route. It turns out they were friends of Allan Boardman – Allan and his wife Sandra are kindly providing me with accommodation later by putting me up at their home – which just shows what a small world it is!

It’s a steep climb up to the top of Sticks Pass and then easier to the summit of Stybarrow Dodd (2770’). Wainwright reckons it’s 2½ miles and 2300’ of ascent, which we managed in about 1h 20m, feeling good, so perhaps the cold has been more or less conquered. The cloud, which at first seemed as though it might stay high, now came down so once again we were up in the mist and light rainy stuff. The wind was getting up too, so on went the waterproofs and out came the compass for the otherwise easy walk to Watson’s Dodd (2584’).

Next came an easy climb to the highest point of the day – Great Dodd (2807’), where the wind was strong enough to give you face-ache and the rather grand stone shelter was a bit deceptive, being about 100 yds from the highest point. A two mile walk to Clough Head (2381’) is fairly featureless apart from the rocky tor of Calfhow Pike about half-way. There was nothing else to see as the cloud /mist / fog got thicker.

Clough Head has dangerously steep

craggy slopes to the west, which was the direction we wanted to go: there is an ultra-safe descent on gentle grass NE, but it adds the best part of another mile, so it was a matter of taking a bearing from the misty summit and pacing the distance to find the safe path down the route directe. No problem. As we dropped out of the wind, we had a bite of lunch and during this ten minute break the clouds blew away to give us a great view down to our next objective – High Rigg (1163’).

This is a knobbly ridge between the main A591 Ambleside – Keswick road and the B5322, which we climbed from behind the Diocesan Youth Centre by St John’s in the Vale church. Absolutely lovely, but the ridge route back to Legburthwaite meanders and undulates so much that it must have added a mile and at least another 500’ of climbing over and above the map estimate, and took the best part of an hour and a half to traverse. Spotted the first frogspawn of the year up there, and a couple of Buzzards enjoyed circling on the air currents.

So Friday 13th passed without a hitch. With tomorrow off, the next outing (possibly Grasmere to the Langdales) will be on… the Ides of March.



Skiddaw from High Rigg

Thursday 12 March 2009

Day 3 – Back to normality in Swindale

Four Far Eastern Fells were on the menu today, in remote Swindale. Ian Hardy and Gerry Bindless had arranged to meet us in Shap before the interesting drive along narrow roads up to Swindale Head. With a few patches of blue in the sky we wondered whether our luck with the weather would hold, but the strong wind suggested otherwise, and after the stiff climb up the Old Corpse Road on to the fell top, the skies got greyer and greyer, and the clouds got lower and lower. Things weren’t too bad at the very windy top of Selside Pike (2142’) but by the time we arrived at the summit of Branstree (2333’) we were in the zone where you can’t tell the difference between rain and cloud, the wind was blowing and, with no views at all, the only thoughts were to keeing going and getting it over with!

From Branstree almost the whole of the rest of the walk was over wet marshy ground and peat hags. A long drop meant an equally long climb to the top of Tarn Crag (2176’) followed by a gently fall and rise back up to Grey Crag (2093’) where visibility was almost zero and both cameras decided they’d had enough. Not that there was anything to see!


It was a long long walk back to Swindale Head, on a compass bearing at first, then through a sea of long brown grass that must be so low in nutritional value that even the sheep don’t bother eating it. Where Mosedale Beck meets Little Mosedale the land, though quite elevated, is flat and seems to go on for ages, and although the quoted mileage for the day was only eleven, it felt much longer. With the boggy going we agreed it had been a harder day than expected. So now a day off, recharge the batteries, check the weather forecast (not sure why..) before resuming on Friday.

Day 2 – Lucky Horseshoe

After a night’s rest in Bowness is was a 9 am start for the Fairfield Horseshoe, clockwise from Rydal. Unbelievably, the sun was shining and most of the sky was blue, with the high tops covered in snow like the icing on a cake. Margaret must have been pulling a few strings with the powers-that-be up there. Not knowing whether it would be icy or not, the crampons were packed in the rucksack - just in case. A stiff climb soon got us to the top of Nab Scar (1450’), with its precipitous view down to Rydal Water, and then we carried on along the ridge to Heron Pike (2003’). Most walkers on the Fairfield Horseshoe would then keep going to Great Rigg, but we made a detour west off the ridge, losing precious height, to take in Stone Arthur (1652’), a tiny pimple on the subsidiary ridge above Grasmere.

Then it was a long slog back up to Great Rigg (2513’), where we rose above the snowline and then continued to the top of Fairfield, at 2863’ the highest top of the day. By now it was getting busy, with lots of people enjoying the fine weather. This was the fifth time I’ve been to the summit of Fairfield but only the first where I’ve been able to see further than about 20 yards. The views were superb, across the Lake District fells to Scafell and High Street,and even as far as Cross Fell, highest point on the Pennines (where I was driven back by Arctic conditions whilst walking the Pennine Way 11 months ago). You could just see the white ‘golf ball’ on the adjacent Great Dun Fell.

The snow was clean, fresh and soft, so the crampons stayed in the rucksack as we traversed Hart Crag (2698’) and Dove Crag (2603’) before dropping down below the snowline again to High Pike (2155’) and the final top of the day, Low Pike (1657’).

The rest of the descent seemed to take for ever, even with the prospect of the obligatory pint in the Golden Rule, but eventually we found ourselves enjoying one of Robinson’s best in front of the fire, wondering whether we had caught the sun. We had. A cracking day, but would the good weather last?

Wednesday 11 March 2009

The Walk Starts



Monday morning dawned bright and showery. We (me, Mike, Val, Frank Brown and Alison Spencer) drove up to Brownrigg Farm at the base of Great Mell Fell (1760') (thought you'd like a photo - it's not that great but if you like pudding-shaped hills it's OK) and as soon as we got out of the car to put boots on, it poured down, so we were wet through before we started. After a steep trudge up through woodland we arrived at our first peak of 214 - described by some as extraordinarily ordinary, the round summit of Great Mell Fell. But it has a bit of dead tree and a cairn to add a tiny bit of interest.

After an intricate route past Brownrigg that seemed to take forever (excitement provided by two deer) we got to the second top, Little Mell Fell (1657') - marginally more interesting than its Great predecessor (because the trigpoint is set in a miniature moat) - and then set off for the day's third and final top, Gowbarrow Fell, (1579') overlooking Ullswater. We got caught in a shower and it was pretty boggy going underfoot. A herd of sheep decided we were there to feed them and followed us for a quarter of a mile before getting fed up, but not fed. A pleasant descent past Aira Falls took us back to the second car which we had parked by Ullswater, and it kindly poured down again just as we were taking our boots off.
We stayed overnight in Bowness but - apologies - the internet cafe on our site was down as all the screens had been taken away. So no blog update until now - Wednesday, 7pm. And I haven't had a shower yet, so I'm posting this, then it's a shower, steak (I hope) and a glass of wine. I'll write up the blog for days 2 & 3 on my day off tomorrow, if you don't mind. If you do mind, and in fact if anyone objects to any part of this blog, please feel free to post your complaint. The only thing is, it will not be considered unless you make a donation on the justgiving site. Thank you.

Friday 6 March 2009

Fame at Last...


Well, Vivien Meath, editor of the Clitheroe Advertiser, promised to put an article in the paper, but I didn't expect the whole front page! So the walk couldn't get any better local publicity than that. The great thing is that now everyone in the town must know about it and that should be a big boost to fund-raising, which now stands at almost £1,000 before we've even started. People have been dropping money into the office and through my front door, and more have signed up to the Blog.


Meanwhile training has consisted mainly of Lemsip: the 'fluey cold has gone, and I'm just left with a cough, which hopefully will subside over the weekend. For the first walk on Monday there is now a small party consisting of me, Val, Mike, and two good friends of Margaret, Alison Spencer and Frank Brown. It should be a nice easy start, but what will the weather do?

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Training on hold... man 'flu strikes

What good timing! Started with a cold last Sunday and by yesterday I was confined to bed, alternately hot and cold, sweating and shivering. Woke up at 4 am soaked to the skin. I had the 'flu about 25 years ago and have to laugh whenever someone says they've got 'flu but are still on their feet. When I had it I lost three days of my life, spending the entire experience in bed wondering if I was going to die. So I haven't got the 'flu, but as colds go, on a scale of 1 - 10 this is a 10. Or perhaps it is 'flu - a 1 on the same scale! No option but to give in to it and hope that I'm fully recovered by next Monday.

Incidentally, I watched some daytime TV yesterday from my bed. It confirmed my theory that it's designed by the government for prisoners, who are forced to watch it as part of their punishment.

Sunday 1 March 2009

Of Mice and Men

That's the Robbie Burns version, not Steinbeck. On the other hand, Steinbeck took his title from Burns... but you know what I mean. Planned to go out today and climb Whernside and Ingleborough: instead, woke up with a head cold and a stiff back after too much gardening yesterday. So it's an 'at-home' day instead. Still, there's plenty of preparation to do, so it's not wasted time. Sponsorship money has started to come in on the Justgiving site, with people being generous as usual, so that's encouraging. OK, back to the Lemsip...