tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post7858500052837934309..comments2024-03-28T13:06:29.793+00:00Comments on conradwalks: Mellbreak and Blake Fell (two Marilyns)Sir Hughhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17908756392825206914noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-53879016503274896542014-05-24T21:00:00.263+01:002014-05-24T21:00:00.263+01:00If I referenced Cobbett it was accidental and once...If I referenced Cobbett it was accidental and once removed. I'd never heard of him until today.mike Mhttp://www.mykwerks.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-77731625666477896232014-05-23T10:00:29.455+01:002014-05-23T10:00:29.455+01:00RR - Oh dear! I think I'd better claim dyslexi...RR - Oh dear! I think I'd better claim dyslexia. I now recognise that name as well known in our heritage even though I knew little about him.Sir Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17908756392825206914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-43467950725973412592014-05-22T11:10:37.835+01:002014-05-22T11:10:37.835+01:00Cobbett not Corbett.Cobbett not Corbett.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-62861775862076138392014-05-22T09:59:51.227+01:002014-05-22T09:59:51.227+01:00RR -Reading that comment in isolation may lead one...RR -Reading that comment in isolation may lead one to the conclusions you define but my blog and my record on the whole belie that entirely. I see no reason why one should not be, at the same time, a peak bagger and an appreciator of the incredible diversification, and as you say, ever changing sights, sounds and aromas of nature.<br /><br />Mike M did not refer to Corbett by name - he was mentioned in the quote I lifted from Wikipedia in my reply to Mike M. I can imagine Father having reservations about Corbett's anti-hunting stance.<br /><br />Coincidentally another Corbett created his eponymous list of 221 mountains in Scotland between 2500ft and 3000ft back in the Twenties. A quick look at William C in Wikipedia motivates me to investigate further - looks like an interesting character.Sir Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17908756392825206914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-74840810092937921502014-05-22T07:58:02.762+01:002014-05-22T07:58:02.762+01:00"... still have plenty to do."
A distre..."... still have plenty to do."<br /><br />A distressing allusion as if they're all written out ahead in a diary, measured in firkins and pennyweights. Grist for a mindset that concludes: that's another done, instead of, perhaps, that's another enjoyed. Isn't the real test for a love of the countryside the ability to extract enjoyment from a route that is notionally repeated but is actually nothing of the sort: depending as it does on the weather, seasonal differences in what one sees, the state of one's digestion, the equivocal experience of meeting or not meeting people, and - most important but hardest to organise - a modified sense of exploration which has more to do with self than with the landscape.<br /><br />Once upon a time "having things to do" used to result in peak-bagging. This was generally regarded as a term of contempt but, as usual, it was necessary to go behind the scenes. Peak-bagging was what those who could do did, those who couldn't (ie, me and others) were forced to turn their minds to some form of abuse.<br /><br />Ruskin's greasy pole brought up to date. <br /><br />MikeM is referring to Cobbett's Rural Rides, a book which presented father with a serious politico-intellectual problem: "Wrote well about the country if one ignored the political stuff." I see Cobbett is referred to as a polemicist; think of this as a contemporary Tory euphemism for those who worried about the conditions of the rural poor. Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-22908860177100219972014-05-20T07:26:56.159+01:002014-05-20T07:26:56.159+01:00Afoot - Although I live on the edge of The Lakes, ...Afoot - Although I live on the edge of The Lakes, and have never lived more than an hour or so drive away I have still only climbed about half of The Wainwrights - I have never consciously set myself to complete them, being more interested in rock climbing, and latterly completing The Munros and long distance backpacking, I reckon it is not a bad thing to still have plenty to go at on an occasional basis, although these hills are more tame than your Scottish ones. I have been ambitious to tick off the Lake District Marilyns and now only have four left to do. Mellbreak is definitely near the top of my Lakes list now.<br /><br />-------------<br /><br />Mike M - I had a look at Wikipedia and came up with the explanation you quote, but as a secondary theory something which I much more applaud:<br /><br />"...however, modern linguistic research suggests that the term was probably invented in 1807 by English polemicist William Cobbett, referring to one occasion on which he had supposedly used a kipper to divert hounds from chasing a hare..."<br /><br />Hound trails are a commendable alternative to dressing up in silly clothes and chasing wildlife across the countryside with a pack of dogs.<br />Sir Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17908756392825206914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-32227725471845548492014-05-19T12:52:18.544+01:002014-05-19T12:52:18.544+01:00That looks like serious climbing...good photos. I ...That looks like serious climbing...good photos. I recently looked up "red herring" to find its origins. Some lexies say the phrase derives from a practice of dragging the strongly scented fish across a primary scent trail, to confuse the dogs. I didn't gather whether this act of treachery was within the rules or known to all the dog owners. As money and pride are involved it's easy to imagine an owner teaching his own dog an aversion to fish, then slinking about on the eve of a race, dragging the fish.mike Mhttp://www.mykwerks.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1365582190126322848.post-51710948531680373812014-05-19T10:49:46.579+01:002014-05-19T10:49:46.579+01:00When I moved back to Scotland (from Essex) my boss...When I moved back to Scotland (from Essex) my boss at the new company was a Cumbrian whose favourite hill was Mellbreak. About 18 months later he left to return to his beloved fells and asked me to join him at his new organisation. I didn't but often walked in the Lakes with him enjoying a wonderful day on Mellbreak in June 1979, although I can't remember our line of ascent being such a long time ago.<br /><br />I have little doubt that had I moved to the Lakes all those years ago I would never have left.afootinthehillshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06670636358354420373noreply@blogger.com