Thursday, 28 April 2016
Bardon Hill and six Marilyns near Hereford
Tuesday 26th April
Bardon Hill SK 480 132
Wednesday 27th April
Garway Hill SO 436 250
Aconbury Hill SO 505 330
Seeger Hill SO 613 390
Thursday 28th April
Worcstershire Beacon SO 768 452
May Hill. SO 695 212
Ruardean Hill SO 635 169
Just for the record.
Set off from home 9:00 am to drive to Bardon Hill. Hailstorm on top. Biting cold wind. Drove to Mick and Gayle's where I had been invited for lunch. Thanks a lot M and G. Non stop conversation as usual, and time passed all too quickly.
Drove to stay with my brother (RR who comments here), and sister-in-law V.
Climbed three Ms Wednesday with RR. Garway Hill, proper little mountain, great views. Aconbury Hill ok but we were taken over by a guy walking his dog who seemed desperate for company and
wouldn't stop talking, and insisted on guiding us to the summit and another viewpoint, and then trying to dictate to us on our return route.
Seeger Hill we had both climbed before many years ago on a country walk when I was staying with RR and V years ago. The hill was nondescript. The trig point had to be accessed by a tresspass off the track.
Today I have been on my own. 9:10 am saw me off up Worcestershire Beacon. Bright sunshine, but freezing cold. Perhaps as good an all round view as from anywhere in England.
May Hill was a fifteen minute ascent from a minor road. The summit has a fine plantation of mature pine trees and views down to the Severn estuary, a worthwhile top.
I now have only four English Ms left : Cheriton Hill, Folkestone, Wendover Hill, Kinder Scout, and Mickle Fell. Plans are in hand for the first two of those and the other two are no great problem.
Thanks to RR and V for super hospitality as always.
Sunday, 24 April 2016
Walna Scar (Outlying Fells)
Saturday 23rd April 2016
Walna Scar - SD 257 963
Several years ago I would run from the start of Walna Scar Road at the end of the steep Tarmac from Coniston, going up Walna Scar Road, over Brown Pike and Dow Crag and then over The Old Man of Coniston and back down to the start. The only record I have is for 7th February 1993 - 1 hour 34 minutes. My diary says bad weather caused cancellation of a climbing trip with my late friend Pete, so I drove there with Barney, my springer spaniel, and ran round in foul weather until I turned to ascend Dow Crag from Walna Scar Road, and I came out above the clouds into glorious sunshine with the best views and cloud inversion I can ever remember - peaks poking out all over. From the diary: "I rang Pete to gloat when I got back home".
This Outlying campaign is nearing its end. After today only the Bannisdale Horseshoe remains. I phoned BC to see if he wanted to do Bannisdale today - he has already done all the others, and I only had this Walna Scar remaining. BC quite rightly preferred that we should only do the last round together after we had BOTH finished all the others, thus providing a fitting conclusion to what has been a wonderful undertaking based on a mutual understanding of walking lesser singletons on our own, for logistical reasons and in the interests of completing the list in an acceptable timescale, and cherry-picking the best rounds for superb joint days.
Walna Scar (as a named summit) is only a few hundred yards off the summit of Walna Scar Road, turning left instead of right where I latterly turned to go over Dow Crag. I have climbed on Dow Crag, but never walked up past Goat's Water and up to the col between The Old Man and Dow Crag, so today I decided to make a day of it and do that.
Although the sky was cloudless and sunny there was a bitterly cold wind. I spent a long time looking up at A Buttress on Dow where I followed my friend Pete (mentioned above) leading Eliminate A, one of the best climbs I ever did. Today was all nostalgia.
After Dow Crag I descended and could see Walna Scar across Walna Scar Road - only a five minute ascent from there. There are two other peaks a short way beyond and I included those in my round.
In the old days parking through the gate from the Tarmac was always limited with no more room realistically for more than half a dozen cars. Today I found a two tier car park, and even at 9:30 am it was half full. When I returned shortly after 2:00 pm it was crammed - I counted roughly and there were well over fifty cars. Every week in the Westmorland Gazette there is yet another (or maybe several) more schemes to "attract more visitors to The Lake District." How the heck are they going to be accommodated?
More gloating - after superb sunshine spots of rain fell on the windscreen as I drove off back home.
Walna Scar - SD 257 963
Several years ago I would run from the start of Walna Scar Road at the end of the steep Tarmac from Coniston, going up Walna Scar Road, over Brown Pike and Dow Crag and then over The Old Man of Coniston and back down to the start. The only record I have is for 7th February 1993 - 1 hour 34 minutes. My diary says bad weather caused cancellation of a climbing trip with my late friend Pete, so I drove there with Barney, my springer spaniel, and ran round in foul weather until I turned to ascend Dow Crag from Walna Scar Road, and I came out above the clouds into glorious sunshine with the best views and cloud inversion I can ever remember - peaks poking out all over. From the diary: "I rang Pete to gloat when I got back home".
This Outlying campaign is nearing its end. After today only the Bannisdale Horseshoe remains. I phoned BC to see if he wanted to do Bannisdale today - he has already done all the others, and I only had this Walna Scar remaining. BC quite rightly preferred that we should only do the last round together after we had BOTH finished all the others, thus providing a fitting conclusion to what has been a wonderful undertaking based on a mutual understanding of walking lesser singletons on our own, for logistical reasons and in the interests of completing the list in an acceptable timescale, and cherry-picking the best rounds for superb joint days.
Walna Scar (as a named summit) is only a few hundred yards off the summit of Walna Scar Road, turning left instead of right where I latterly turned to go over Dow Crag. I have climbed on Dow Crag, but never walked up past Goat's Water and up to the col between The Old Man and Dow Crag, so today I decided to make a day of it and do that.
Although the sky was cloudless and sunny there was a bitterly cold wind. I spent a long time looking up at A Buttress on Dow where I followed my friend Pete (mentioned above) leading Eliminate A, one of the best climbs I ever did. Today was all nostalgia.
After Dow Crag I descended and could see Walna Scar across Walna Scar Road - only a five minute ascent from there. There are two other peaks a short way beyond and I included those in my round.
In the old days parking through the gate from the Tarmac was always limited with no more room realistically for more than half a dozen cars. Today I found a two tier car park, and even at 9:30 am it was half full. When I returned shortly after 2:00 pm it was crammed - I counted roughly and there were well over fifty cars. Every week in the Westmorland Gazette there is yet another (or maybe several) more schemes to "attract more visitors to The Lake District." How the heck are they going to be accommodated?
More gloating - after superb sunshine spots of rain fell on the windscreen as I drove off back home.
CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
 |
| Walna Scar Road car park at 9:30 am. When I returned just after 2:00 pm it was crammed, and you can only see half of it here! |
 |
| Dow Crag - A Buttress is second from left - Goat's Water nestles below |
 |
| A Buttress - red dots = Eliminate A |
 |
| Walna Scar Road - Walna Scar and White Pike and White Maiden beyond. Although the road looks benign from here it is unsurfaced and a chaotic jumble of loose stones - I once went over the handlebars on my mountain bike descending down the steep bit further down to the left from here - more nostalgia |
 |
| Harter Fell, upper Dunnerdale, and the distant Scafells from White Pike |
 |
Thursday, 21 April 2016
Howes and Seat Robert (Outlying Fells, chapters combined)
Wednesday 20th April
Langhowe Pike NY 528 134
Nab Moor NY 503 111
Howes NY 502 151
High Wether Howe NY 515 109
Fewling Stones NY 513 117
Seat Robert NY 526 114
Great Ladstones NY 532 123
Within the last ten days my tumble dryer packed in, my tv. remote packed in, and now, my camera got dirt on the sensor creating a blob on the images.
The Panasonic Lumix TZ40 is almost 2 years old to the day bought from from Wilkinson Cameras in Kendal - cost £225. I went back to Wilkinsons, but they made no offer of recompense whatsoever.
So be it. So what do you do?
I ended up buying the TZ60 (which is already obsolete) and now only costs £190 and additionally of value to me: now 30 x optical zoom, an optical viewfinder, and updated image stabilisation. I could have saved buying on-line but there is the danger of unsupported foreign imports, and at least I can go back to Wilkinsons for advice. The photos here were taken with the new camera and so far I am well pleased. The larger zoom is much more practical with the increased stability, more so at 30x than the TZ40 was at 20 x.
The obvious place to start our walk was Truss Gap Farm down Swindale, but we knew there is a huge project afoot by United Utilities taming the river and installing a fish ladder and parking is almost impossible, so we decided on the location shown on the map. That was a good job. Out of Shap we took the turning to Keld, but there was a road closure notice for those going on to Rosgill, Swindale, and Haweswater.
In previous posts I have praised Dunnerdale, but I think Swindale is my all time favourite Lake District location. There is no vehicular access beyond Truss Gap Farm, and there is a unique atmosphere of calm in this steep sided valley supporting a rich mixture of crags and trees. Walking was easy and sheer delight in glorious cloudless sunshine as far as the end of the valley. The climb up to Nab Moor and then Howes was strenuous to say the least and from there onwards the rest of this long round was mainly across tussocky, pathless, boggy terrain. There is a track shown on the map, but it is often water-logged and indistinct, and it is frequently more practical to take alternative routes. This was fell walking for the connoisseur. We had a welcome lunch-munch on the side of a steep magic stream descending from Howes and there was great temptation to stay longer and soak up the sun.
Later, on reaching Seat Robert, our next to last summit, I sat down at the large cairn and I noticed BC followed suit without comment. We both finished off our flask drinks. That is the only time on all these walks we have done together that we have taken a second proper rest.
Shadows were lengthening as we went for Great Ladstones and picked up the last part of the track back to the car, mainly on cropped turf, providing the best walking of the day and a pleasant finish to our biggest walk so far, and for me, I think the most enjoyable and rewarding.
Langhowe Pike NY 528 134
Nab Moor NY 503 111
Howes NY 502 151
High Wether Howe NY 515 109
Fewling Stones NY 513 117
Seat Robert NY 526 114
Great Ladstones NY 532 123
Within the last ten days my tumble dryer packed in, my tv. remote packed in, and now, my camera got dirt on the sensor creating a blob on the images.
The Panasonic Lumix TZ40 is almost 2 years old to the day bought from from Wilkinson Cameras in Kendal - cost £225. I went back to Wilkinsons, but they made no offer of recompense whatsoever.
So be it. So what do you do?
I ended up buying the TZ60 (which is already obsolete) and now only costs £190 and additionally of value to me: now 30 x optical zoom, an optical viewfinder, and updated image stabilisation. I could have saved buying on-line but there is the danger of unsupported foreign imports, and at least I can go back to Wilkinsons for advice. The photos here were taken with the new camera and so far I am well pleased. The larger zoom is much more practical with the increased stability, more so at 30x than the TZ40 was at 20 x.
The obvious place to start our walk was Truss Gap Farm down Swindale, but we knew there is a huge project afoot by United Utilities taming the river and installing a fish ladder and parking is almost impossible, so we decided on the location shown on the map. That was a good job. Out of Shap we took the turning to Keld, but there was a road closure notice for those going on to Rosgill, Swindale, and Haweswater.
In previous posts I have praised Dunnerdale, but I think Swindale is my all time favourite Lake District location. There is no vehicular access beyond Truss Gap Farm, and there is a unique atmosphere of calm in this steep sided valley supporting a rich mixture of crags and trees. Walking was easy and sheer delight in glorious cloudless sunshine as far as the end of the valley. The climb up to Nab Moor and then Howes was strenuous to say the least and from there onwards the rest of this long round was mainly across tussocky, pathless, boggy terrain. There is a track shown on the map, but it is often water-logged and indistinct, and it is frequently more practical to take alternative routes. This was fell walking for the connoisseur. We had a welcome lunch-munch on the side of a steep magic stream descending from Howes and there was great temptation to stay longer and soak up the sun.
Later, on reaching Seat Robert, our next to last summit, I sat down at the large cairn and I noticed BC followed suit without comment. We both finished off our flask drinks. That is the only time on all these walks we have done together that we have taken a second proper rest.
Shadows were lengthening as we went for Great Ladstones and picked up the last part of the track back to the car, mainly on cropped turf, providing the best walking of the day and a pleasant finish to our biggest walk so far, and for me, I think the most enjoyable and rewarding.
CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
 |
| Langhowe Pike - looking down into tempting Swindale |
 |
| Descending into Swindale |
 |
| United Utilities at Truss Gap constructing river re-direction and fish ladders. I hope they are going to do a job on landscaping when they've done... |
 |
| ...and it doesn't look as though much thought has gone into this ugly bridge which has replaced the perfectly adequate and integrated footbridge that has been removed. |
 |
| Zoom to the main climbing face on Gowther Crag - BC has climbed there but not me. Unfortunately it was in shadow at this time in the morning. |
 |
| Where the river comes into Swindale from on high. In wet conditions there are some of the best, but little known waterfalls in Lakeland up there. |
 |
| More of Gowther Crag |
 |
| Back down Swindale from well up towards Nab Moor |
 |
| Mosedale Cottage - well off our route to the south. It is used as a bothy - visited by me on my Broads to the Lakes walk which ended an hour or so after my visit when I fell descending Nan Bield Pass and cut a vein in my leg - happy memories? |
 |
| Fewling Stones (I think - all a bit confusing with seven summits) - only three more to go |
 |
| Rest number 2 - Seat Robert |
 |
| Lengthening shadows at Grreat Ladstones |
 |
| We walked clockwise starting at the yellow road, top right |
Boat How, Hesk Fell and The Pike (Outlying Fells)
Tuesday 19th April
Boat How - NY 177 034
Hesk Fell - SD 176 946
The Pike - SD 186 934
It was perhaps as far back as 1960 that Gimmer (commenter herewith, and lifelong friend right back to schooldays) and I, found ourselves on the southern slopes from Scafell Pike summit. Gimmer, or was it me, took a photo on 35mm. film of the sun glinting on Burnmoor tarn through the mist far below?
I have no recollection whatsoever of the rest of that day, but that photo has bewitched me ever-since, and given me a dilemma. On one hand I wanted to visit Burnmoor which I had not done previously, and on the other I was reluctant because it may spoil the magic of that photo image in my mind.
Well, today my mind was made up for me because Boat How overlooks Burnmoor Tarn and looks up at those southern slopes of Scafell Pike.
The contrast in weather couldn't have been greater - blue skies and sunshine as I trudged up from Boot across squelchy ground eventually seeing the aptly named Boat How ahead with its unlikely placement looking like a turned out blancmange at the end of the valley. The view of Burnmoor Tarn was reserved until reaching the summit, which although quite dramatic could not hope to compete with my previous sighting from on high over fifty years ago. A long way off a helicopter toiled and reverberated, back and forth, up to the path from Brackenclose to Lingmell, presumably assisting with footpath restoration.
I had arrived by the Birker Fell road from Dunnerdale and drove back over to ascend Hesk Fell and what Wainwright describes as its "dependancy", The Pike. The Birker Fell road is perhaps the most spectacular in the Lake District and it still provides a touch of excitement, which can hardly be said for Hesk Fell, a dull rounded summit - Wainwright: "A good view of the Scafell group is the only reward for its ascent". The Pike is better with a good view up and down Dunnerdale from its steep side rising above that best of Lakeland valleys.
Boat How - NY 177 034
Hesk Fell - SD 176 946
The Pike - SD 186 934
It was perhaps as far back as 1960 that Gimmer (commenter herewith, and lifelong friend right back to schooldays) and I, found ourselves on the southern slopes from Scafell Pike summit. Gimmer, or was it me, took a photo on 35mm. film of the sun glinting on Burnmoor tarn through the mist far below?
I have no recollection whatsoever of the rest of that day, but that photo has bewitched me ever-since, and given me a dilemma. On one hand I wanted to visit Burnmoor which I had not done previously, and on the other I was reluctant because it may spoil the magic of that photo image in my mind.
Well, today my mind was made up for me because Boat How overlooks Burnmoor Tarn and looks up at those southern slopes of Scafell Pike.
The contrast in weather couldn't have been greater - blue skies and sunshine as I trudged up from Boot across squelchy ground eventually seeing the aptly named Boat How ahead with its unlikely placement looking like a turned out blancmange at the end of the valley. The view of Burnmoor Tarn was reserved until reaching the summit, which although quite dramatic could not hope to compete with my previous sighting from on high over fifty years ago. A long way off a helicopter toiled and reverberated, back and forth, up to the path from Brackenclose to Lingmell, presumably assisting with footpath restoration.
I had arrived by the Birker Fell road from Dunnerdale and drove back over to ascend Hesk Fell and what Wainwright describes as its "dependancy", The Pike. The Birker Fell road is perhaps the most spectacular in the Lake District and it still provides a touch of excitement, which can hardly be said for Hesk Fell, a dull rounded summit - Wainwright: "A good view of the Scafell group is the only reward for its ascent". The Pike is better with a good view up and down Dunnerdale from its steep side rising above that best of Lakeland valleys.
 |
| On the way to Boat How out of Boot |
 |
| Hard going. Could you really call that a path? |
 |
| Boat How |
 |
| Burnmoor Tarn and Scafell Pike |
 |
| Looking back to Hesk Fell from The Pike |
 |
| The Pike summit |
Monday, 18 April 2016
Ponsonby Fell, Cold Fell and Irton Pike (Outlying Fells)
Saturday 16th April
Ponsonby Fell NY 081 070
Cold Fell NY 058 092
Irton Pike NY 120 015
I am now playing catchup with these posts. There is more to come from yesterday (Sunday), and the plan is for two more successive Outlying Fells days tomorrow and Wednesday.
I reckon the drive up to these north eastern edges of the Lake District is more strenuous than the walking.
I did have a bit of confusion about Cold Fell having mistakenly ticked it off the list because I climbed another fell of the same name last year out in the wilds to the east of Carlisle that was a Marilyn, CLICK IF YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THAT ONE
Ponsonby was ascended up a track from the west leading to a ruined farm named Farmery (with a capital) on the map. My dictionary defines that word as "the buildings of a farm", but I have never heard it used before, especially as a proper name. Views were interesting and extensive including Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant and the clearest sighting of the Isle of Man I can recall. Unfortunately my camera has got some dirt on the sensor, so many of my photos now have a blobby mark, but more of that in a forthcoming post, but suffice to say that from tomorrow onwards that will no longer be a problem.
A short drive took me to the start for Cold Fell.
Cold Fell gets the thumbs down from me, and even Wainwright has a dig after excusing his omission of directions, "...if with the aid of the map only, you cannot find the top of Cold Fell, then take some good advice from an old man, and pack it in". Twas fifteen minutes up from the road with a featureless plateau - the only redeeming feature being the sunshine, blue sky and rolling white clouds - a perfect day.
Irton Pike is obviously more popular then the two aforementioned, less visited fells; it has a car park for about eight cars, I was just able to squeeze on. I saw nobody on the very steep but eroded and well frequented path, so where all the car owners were is a mystery. This is a proper little mountain with a peaky summit, and a tempting view of part of Wastwater - I was up and down in about forty minutes accompanied by a minor hailstorm on the descent.
Ponsonby Fell NY 081 070
Cold Fell NY 058 092
Irton Pike NY 120 015
I am now playing catchup with these posts. There is more to come from yesterday (Sunday), and the plan is for two more successive Outlying Fells days tomorrow and Wednesday.
I reckon the drive up to these north eastern edges of the Lake District is more strenuous than the walking.
I did have a bit of confusion about Cold Fell having mistakenly ticked it off the list because I climbed another fell of the same name last year out in the wilds to the east of Carlisle that was a Marilyn, CLICK IF YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THAT ONE
Ponsonby was ascended up a track from the west leading to a ruined farm named Farmery (with a capital) on the map. My dictionary defines that word as "the buildings of a farm", but I have never heard it used before, especially as a proper name. Views were interesting and extensive including Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant and the clearest sighting of the Isle of Man I can recall. Unfortunately my camera has got some dirt on the sensor, so many of my photos now have a blobby mark, but more of that in a forthcoming post, but suffice to say that from tomorrow onwards that will no longer be a problem.
A short drive took me to the start for Cold Fell.
Cold Fell gets the thumbs down from me, and even Wainwright has a dig after excusing his omission of directions, "...if with the aid of the map only, you cannot find the top of Cold Fell, then take some good advice from an old man, and pack it in". Twas fifteen minutes up from the road with a featureless plateau - the only redeeming feature being the sunshine, blue sky and rolling white clouds - a perfect day.
Irton Pike is obviously more popular then the two aforementioned, less visited fells; it has a car park for about eight cars, I was just able to squeeze on. I saw nobody on the very steep but eroded and well frequented path, so where all the car owners were is a mystery. This is a proper little mountain with a peaky summit, and a tempting view of part of Wastwater - I was up and down in about forty minutes accompanied by a minor hailstorm on the descent.
 |
| The start of the track up to Ponsonby Fell |
 |
| Ponsonby Fell - Farmery is at the left end of the wood |
 |
| Sellafield and part of the IOM at right skyline. I had good close up, but fleeting sighting of wheatears flitting on and of this wall as I took the photo. |
 |
| Strange bomb like object embedded in grass near summit of Ponsonby just below a prominent boulder NY 08044 07126 There was no way I was going to attempt to unearth it - not sure if I should report it to somebody, but others must have seen it before. |
 |
| Above mentioned item in context |
 |
| Isle of Man - click to enlarge |
 |
| The distant Scafells from Ponsonby summit |
 |
| Cold Fell "cairn" which summarises what I thought about this hill |
 |
| The tempting view of Wastwater from Irton Pike summit - you just want to look round the corner beyond Yewbarrow |
Tuesday, 12 April 2016
INSPIRATION
I have long been an eclectic reader but there is a genre of non-fiction that has inspired me. I am talking usually about authors who have organised small projects themselves, largely unsupported and travelled alone, or with another companion who are telling their story as it happened with all the ups and downs, often with humour, and above all giving the reader a powerful feeling for being there on the journey. These tales do not give the impression of being published primarily to earn money, but more from a genuine desire just to tell the story.
---------------------------------------
1895 - Sailing Alone Around the World Joshua Slocombe
The first person to sail solo round the world in a boat he allegedly built, more or less himself. Socombe is not shy, giving us many examples of his prowess, but his achievement as an unsponsored lone adventurer has given him a significant and deserving place in history, and for we readers, an all time classic read.
--------------------------------------
1952 -Mountains of the Midnight Sun Showell Styles
Styles at 44 organises an amateur mountaineering cum exploration expedition to North Lyngen, an unexplored peninsula north of the Arctic Circle in Norway. Styles and his three younger companions have a series of pure amateurish adventures. This is a salutary example of how such things can be achieved without elaborate and expensive organisation.
-------------------------------------
2005 - Race Against time Ellen Macarthur
Ellen achieves the fastest solo sail around the world (71 days). The book is in coffee-table format with the benefit of superb photography and modern production, but its value comes from the fact that most of the text is taken from Ellen's own emails and video diaries produced on the spot with total frankness and vivid description which can only come from the spontaneity of conveying events, thoughts and feelings as they happen. The voyage alone, never mind the race (against time) would have been one of the greatest ever human achievements, but remember this was also a race and despite enormous difficulties Ellen never stopped racing.
--------------------------------------
2004 - Feet in the clouds Richard Askwith
An account of a year in the life of a competitor in a sport many people haven't even heard of - fell running. The book gained the Best New Writer award for 2005 from British Sports Publishing. Even if you think you would have no interest in the subject I guarantee you will just keep reading to the end.
------------------------------------
1980 - The Big Walks Ken Wilson and Richard Gilbert
Another coffee-table book and marginally included here, not particularly for any literary merit. I discovered it a few years after its publication and as an already reasonably serious fell walker it gave me further inspiration for longer walks and in particular my longest walk ever - Across Lakeland -Shap to Ravenglass - 42 miles. That took me over 17 hours. At Ravenglass I met a guy called Roger Putnam in his garden and he told me that his pal Tom Price had contributed that walk to The Big Walks book and they often wondered if it could be done in a day !
--------------------------------------
1978 - Hamish's Mountain Walk Hamish Brown
Discovered when I was halfway through completing the Munros. Hamish was the first person to complete all 289 Munros (mountains in Scotland over 3000ft) in a single three month non-stop backpacking walk. Hamish is, or was, a schoolmaster at a private school in Scotland where he introduced many pupils to mountains and the outdoor life. He is an accomplished writer and this account is a classic, and also a useful reference for Munro baggers.
--------------------------------------
1913 - 15,000 Miles in a Ketch R.R. Du Baty
My greatest ever find in a secondhand bookshop. This gem is the account of two French brothers in their early twenties who set sail with a crew of four from Boulogne in 1907 to the Kerguellen Isles in the Indian Ocean. To cover their costs they spent eighteen months on the islands killing seals for their oil which they stored in barrels. One may feel put off at the idea of killing seals, but it is well handled by Batty, and it was not a blood lust, but the source of their finances, because they sailed on to Australia and sold the oil and the boat to cover the cost of getting back home. Baty was encouraged by an English journalist to write the book and he did so, surprisingly, in English language, and even more surprisingly with an evocative and descriptive style.
---------------------------------------
1996 - Clear Waters Rising Nicholas Crane
He walked from the north-west tip of Spain to Istanbul non-stop over seventeen months and 10,000kms. Again this was a personal story with no sponsorship or grand organisation, and the quality of the writing shines through.
---------------------------------------
1999 - Two Degrees West Nicholas Crane
A project after my own heart. We don't have to follow long distance routes that others have devised, and here Crane opted to walk the two degree longitude line running from north to south through England allowing himself only a kilometre each side of the line. The account is full of anecdotes and ingenious means of keeping within the parameters, and there is also much humour. A good example
of making things happen.
---------------------------------------
1987 (published 1994) Walking the Watershed Dave Hewitt
I reviewed this book on a post here CLICK which gave rise to a lot of discussion comparing it with Peter Wright's book covering a similar project in a different style. Here is a copy of my review of Dave's book which largely sums up the essence of the books I am writing about here.
Walking the Watershed - David Hewitt (ISBN - 0 9522680 1 9)
Read Dave Hewitt’s book and you will absorb the whole atmosphere.
This is an honest and comprehensive journal of Dave’s 80 day, 850 mile walk of the Scottish watershed, which included over 100,000 metres of ascent and 45 Munros. The walk was done in 1987.
Writing a daily account without endless repetition is not easy, but my interest never wavered due to an identifiable and pleasing style, with avoidance of clichés, and frequent use of original and often amusing simile and metaphor.
Dave fearlessly records his low points, and the doubts he had from time to time as well as giving us uplifting word pictures of the best of Scotland’s landscape.
It is interesting to learn that a long trip like this takes on a different dimension which only becomes apparent after a couple of weeks or so, as you begin to see it as a way of life, with a relevant adjustment to the mental approach.
Dave describes the rambling thoughts and motivations and uncertainties drifting through the mind as he plods along, and much of this will, I am sure, be familiar to fellow backpackers.
Although walked in 1987 the book was not published until 1994, and I do wonder about the amount of detail. Either Dave kept an unusually comprehensive journal, or he has a phenomenal memory.
If you have climbed a good number of Munros, or completed the lot, you will have the added attraction of visiting familiar venues and comparing notes, and sparking off many memories, but its best attribute is in conveying palpably what it is like, in all respects, to trek through wild landscape for an extended period with the sometimes pressure of achieving a goal you have set for yourself.
------------------------------------------------------------
1958 - A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush Eric Newby
Just one of the best travel books ever. Don't be fooled by the modest, self deprecating style. What they did was remarkable.
--------------------------------------------------
2003 - Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland Marjorie Blamey, Richard Fitter and Alastair Fitter
Included here because this was a labour of love and dedication in the same spirit as many of the above authors. Marjorie, at the age of 86 finished re-painting the entire British flora to a standard that puts photography to shame. Richard Fitter wrote the clear and helpful text at the age of 96, and his son Alastair produced location maps that made identification easier in a subject that is difficult in that respect. A classic for the non academic enthusiast and a great team effort.
-------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
1895 - Sailing Alone Around the World Joshua Slocombe
The first person to sail solo round the world in a boat he allegedly built, more or less himself. Socombe is not shy, giving us many examples of his prowess, but his achievement as an unsponsored lone adventurer has given him a significant and deserving place in history, and for we readers, an all time classic read.
--------------------------------------
1952 -Mountains of the Midnight Sun Showell Styles
Styles at 44 organises an amateur mountaineering cum exploration expedition to North Lyngen, an unexplored peninsula north of the Arctic Circle in Norway. Styles and his three younger companions have a series of pure amateurish adventures. This is a salutary example of how such things can be achieved without elaborate and expensive organisation.
-------------------------------------
2005 - Race Against time Ellen Macarthur
Ellen achieves the fastest solo sail around the world (71 days). The book is in coffee-table format with the benefit of superb photography and modern production, but its value comes from the fact that most of the text is taken from Ellen's own emails and video diaries produced on the spot with total frankness and vivid description which can only come from the spontaneity of conveying events, thoughts and feelings as they happen. The voyage alone, never mind the race (against time) would have been one of the greatest ever human achievements, but remember this was also a race and despite enormous difficulties Ellen never stopped racing.
--------------------------------------
2004 - Feet in the clouds Richard Askwith
An account of a year in the life of a competitor in a sport many people haven't even heard of - fell running. The book gained the Best New Writer award for 2005 from British Sports Publishing. Even if you think you would have no interest in the subject I guarantee you will just keep reading to the end.
------------------------------------
1980 - The Big Walks Ken Wilson and Richard Gilbert
Another coffee-table book and marginally included here, not particularly for any literary merit. I discovered it a few years after its publication and as an already reasonably serious fell walker it gave me further inspiration for longer walks and in particular my longest walk ever - Across Lakeland -Shap to Ravenglass - 42 miles. That took me over 17 hours. At Ravenglass I met a guy called Roger Putnam in his garden and he told me that his pal Tom Price had contributed that walk to The Big Walks book and they often wondered if it could be done in a day !
--------------------------------------
1978 - Hamish's Mountain Walk Hamish Brown
Discovered when I was halfway through completing the Munros. Hamish was the first person to complete all 289 Munros (mountains in Scotland over 3000ft) in a single three month non-stop backpacking walk. Hamish is, or was, a schoolmaster at a private school in Scotland where he introduced many pupils to mountains and the outdoor life. He is an accomplished writer and this account is a classic, and also a useful reference for Munro baggers.
--------------------------------------
1913 - 15,000 Miles in a Ketch R.R. Du Baty
My greatest ever find in a secondhand bookshop. This gem is the account of two French brothers in their early twenties who set sail with a crew of four from Boulogne in 1907 to the Kerguellen Isles in the Indian Ocean. To cover their costs they spent eighteen months on the islands killing seals for their oil which they stored in barrels. One may feel put off at the idea of killing seals, but it is well handled by Batty, and it was not a blood lust, but the source of their finances, because they sailed on to Australia and sold the oil and the boat to cover the cost of getting back home. Baty was encouraged by an English journalist to write the book and he did so, surprisingly, in English language, and even more surprisingly with an evocative and descriptive style.
---------------------------------------
1996 - Clear Waters Rising Nicholas Crane
He walked from the north-west tip of Spain to Istanbul non-stop over seventeen months and 10,000kms. Again this was a personal story with no sponsorship or grand organisation, and the quality of the writing shines through.
---------------------------------------
1999 - Two Degrees West Nicholas Crane
A project after my own heart. We don't have to follow long distance routes that others have devised, and here Crane opted to walk the two degree longitude line running from north to south through England allowing himself only a kilometre each side of the line. The account is full of anecdotes and ingenious means of keeping within the parameters, and there is also much humour. A good example
of making things happen.
---------------------------------------
1987 (published 1994) Walking the Watershed Dave Hewitt
I reviewed this book on a post here CLICK which gave rise to a lot of discussion comparing it with Peter Wright's book covering a similar project in a different style. Here is a copy of my review of Dave's book which largely sums up the essence of the books I am writing about here.
Walking the Watershed - David Hewitt (ISBN - 0 9522680 1 9)
What is it really like, to experience a serious long distance backpack?
------------------------------------------------------------
1958 - A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush Eric Newby
Just one of the best travel books ever. Don't be fooled by the modest, self deprecating style. What they did was remarkable.
--------------------------------------------------
2003 - Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland Marjorie Blamey, Richard Fitter and Alastair Fitter
Included here because this was a labour of love and dedication in the same spirit as many of the above authors. Marjorie, at the age of 86 finished re-painting the entire British flora to a standard that puts photography to shame. Richard Fitter wrote the clear and helpful text at the age of 96, and his son Alastair produced location maps that made identification easier in a subject that is difficult in that respect. A classic for the non academic enthusiast and a great team effort.
-------------------------------------------------
Monday, 11 April 2016
Wet Sleddale horseshoe plus Wasdale Pike (Outlying Fells)
Sunday 10th April
Wasdale Pike NY 536 084
Sleddale Pike NY 535 094
Great Saddle Crag NY 526 086
Ulthwaite Rigg NY 511 996
Another fine day with BC. I had been here before years ago when I was often fell running on my own. All the way on this walk I was finding it difficult to believe that I had run round this circuit in 2 hours 18 minutes, almost exactly as on the map below, but excluding the short excursion to Wasdale Pike which we included for strategic reasons related to Wainwright's chapter that includes that summit. Our walk took over 6 hours.
Further research reveals that I did the run again ten days later with the benefit of route knowledge reducing the time to 1 hour 56 minutes.
My questioning was prompted by the roughness of the terrain, until gaining the bridleway well over halfway round, high up on the the northern side of this horseshoe.
On our walk it was excessively wet, although I did keep my feet dry throughout, and my account from July 1996 records good weather - I reckon it was probably a lot drier on that occasion.
I have no doubt BC will be posting his account at HIS BLOG so I will finish this with a copy of the diary (completely un-edited) that I was keeping back in 1996.
Sunday 7th. July 1996 "The Wet Sleddale Horseshoe"
A Wainwright - The Outlying Fells of Lakeland.
I have used Wainwright's Outlying Fells as a source for a number of runs, and these include Whitbarrow, and Swindale as mentioned in this diary. Just before I resumed the diary again I also did the Devoke Water run described in the book.
Wainwright says a bit tongue in cheek that he compiled the book for the geriatrics who were no longer able to handle big days on the main Lakeland Fells, and it is laced throughout with humorous comment based on this theme. Whatever Wainwright says this is an excellent volume bringing to ones attention many minor fells and valleys that are easily overlooked, but have unspoilt and uncrowded attractions.
This was the first time I have ever been into Wet Sleddale - I set off about 10:30 am from Preston and it took about 52 minutes to arrive at the small car park at the end of the Wet Sleddale reservoir. Weather was good again with sunshine breaking out and improving throughout the run.
The difficulty with all new runs of this nature is navigation. One has the inconvenience of having to carry a map, and it has to be kept handy for ease of reference, and stopping and starting all the time to do this tends to destroy the rhythm of ones running, and certainly adds a lot to the time taken. With the Wainwright runs I have photo-copied the sketch maps in his book and Selotaped them into a transparent plastic folder, and I have also tried this with photo-copies of the relevant parts of OS maps so that you do not have the inconvenience of unfolding a huge and largely irrelevant map, and finding your place on it. Both these methods are a compromise because you are left with a black and white map instead of the glorious Technicolor of the OS maps, where streams and woods and other features can be instantly identified - also the Wainwright maps are not really sufficiently accurate for good compass bearings to be taken. Having had a moan about this I must say it is all outweighed by the sense of adventure and exploration in finding new areas and routes.
I can hear the baying critics now on the assumption that once I have done a route I no longer think it necessary to take a map ! Well sometimes I do and sometimes I don't - it depends on the weather and the nature of the terrain, but at least it can be stowed away, and only needs to be consulted in emergency.
This run has a very pleasant and gentle start alongside the reservoir on a level path for half a mile or so until you peel off to the left opposite an old barn, and head straight up a steep hillside to come out on a heather Grouse moor and a line of shooting butts heading South, leading to a large corrugated iron, and rather ugly building called the Lunch House.
Half a mile upstream from the Lunch house the route goes off to the right and heads for a large cube shaped chunk of pink granite on the skyline - this is called Gray Bull and marked on the 25,000 OS map. Wainwright advises anyone over the age of 75 to regard it as unclimable - being well within the age range I felt no guilt whatsoever in clambering onto its top with the aid of tight handfuls of the bilberry thatch on its top. Any activity like this makes Barney the Springer very anxious because he cannot follow, and he stays at the bottom yelping and making a right old fuss. I descended by a vertical crack on the other side, and I was promptly attacked by the dog who by now was soaked in muddy water from his habitual wallowing in anything remotely wet, and I ended up with a fair splattering of muddy paw marks - the only defence in this situation is to set off again quickly which I did now heading for the cairn of Sleddale Pike visible to the West. All this and across to Great Saddle Crag was over fairly tough and boggy heather clad moor eventually giving way to rough grass, and all virtually pathless.
From Great Saddle Crag I contoured round the basin and headed off towards the head of Wet Sleddale via Ulthwaite Rigg and eventually picking up the old bridleway path that runs high up back down the other side of the valley. This is a delightful path which only looses height gradually maintaining good views and very pleasant going compared with the ankle twisting heather on the other side. Eventually this path veers to the south and drops down fairly steeply to Thorney Bank Farm, and just after this there is a footbridge back over the outlet stream of the Wet Sleddale reservoir. At this point I induced Barney into the stream to wash off all the mud prior to getting back in my car - later on in the day it was apparent that the water must have been very peaty because all his white bits were stained with a delicate peaty brown tinge.
The finish from here was a was a rather dreary mile of tarmac, the last half of which rises quite steeply back up to the car park, in a somewhat unwelcoming manner at this late stage of a slightly longer than average run for me.
The total distance is about 9 miles - my time was 2 hours and 18 minutes. I rated this as a quality run and would like to do it again without the navigation constraints, and see if this proves my theory about loss of time through navigation - watch this space.
27th July 1996 (edited)
The run was fairly uneventful, except that I did seem to find more hairline paths which were helpful, and this time I got onto the Mosedale bridleway much further to the West which is the correct route, so I probably covered a little more distance. The only people I saw on the whole run was a middle aged couple at the point where I joined the bridleway - this is a quiet valley, but I would have expected to see more people than that on a pleasant mid summer Saturday afternoon, but we are in the middle of the Olympics on TV so I suppose that may explain it a little.
Time taken compared with the 2 hrs. 18 min. for the first time was 1 hr. 56 min., and I felt well pleased with this.
 |
| Wet Sleddale reservoir - start of walk. Sleddale Hall on hillside above water lefthand end |
 |
| Zoom to Tata concrete works at Shap with Cross Fell and Knock Fell in background |
 |
| Line of grouse butts leading to Wasdale Pike |
 |
| The Luncheon Hut - I guess the Hoo-Hah brigade sit inside and the beaters outside? |
 |
| Looking east to the Pennines |
 |
| Gray Bull - Wainwright says "anybody over age 75 should regard it as unclimable. " I took his advice, BC, who qualifies, summited |
 |
| BC searches for the "cairn" on Ulthwaite Rigg |
 |
| Sleddale Hall overlooking Wet Sleddale reservoir. Interesting history including its use in the film Withnail and I (1986) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AFTERTHOUGHT
 |
| SEE MY REPLY TO BC''S COMMENT. I HAVE ADDED THIS PHOTO AFTER PUTTING UP THIS POST. WHAT A WHIMP NOT GETTING UP GRAY BULL, but the photo is very deceptive - the rock seemed a lot larger than that when I was trying to scale it. |