Friday 25th February 2022
Crookrise Crag - SD 987 559 - 415m.
Well here it is. The completed spreadsheet with all 76 ticked off:
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| Probably too small to read even with "click-to-enlarge" but shown just to indicate how I have managed this project |
As promised I rendezvoused with BC at the car park in Embsay so we could both indulge in some nostalgia visiting this final trig on OS Sheet 103, "Blackburn and Burnley." Crookrise Crag is a superb example of Yorkshire gritstone for climbing - I had only been there once before back in the 60s but BC had climbed there much more frequently.
We had a fabulous blue sky day so welcome after recent storms and foul weather. A footpath lead straight from the free car park in Embsay up to the church and then onto tracks to ascend Embsay Crag, our first objective. That crag dominates the village of Embsay and it was a stiff climb up to the summit. From there we had to descend and loose all our height before embarking on the more direct approach to Crookrise, but we had purposely devised our route to give us a decent five snd a half mile walk, and including Embsay crag was certainly worth the effort. That is a proper little mountain and our descent followed a lively, enchanting stream and ravine, the stream coming down with a fair force and sparkling in the bright sunshine - all good stuff.
As we progressed up the track to Crookrise we had views across to Deer Gallows Crag (SD 999 555) which is only depicted vaguely on the OS 1:25 but when seen it is a dramatic feature, the crag being split into two halves with substantial climbing options on all sides. BC reminisced with previously unheard anecdotes about his many visits to this area, and in particular a massive day when they climbed on all the other surrounding outcrops including Crookrise and Deer Gallows. I was pleased that BC had come along to re-live all that.
From the trig we tried to descend so we could walk back along the bottom of the climbing crags but we failed to find any path or reasonable way down and spent some time up and down on steeply wooded slopes strewn with boulders and heather. Eventually we went back onto the top and then further on, along our return route we found a stile and path that lead down to one of the major climbing buttresses. I think BC was regretting not having brought his climbing gear as we had a good look at this immaculate rock and then climbed back out then descend returning to Embsay around the western side of Embsay Reservoir.
This had been a splendid day out and a worthy finale to this trig point campaign. Having said that I am looking forward to driving north rather than south for more day walks on the edges of the Yorkshire Dales.
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| Embsay crag, a proper little mountain - it dominates the village of Embsay |
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| Embsay church |
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| View from Embsay Crag summit. Our return route was round the far edge of the reservoir |
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| From Embsay Crag. Our trig is atop the centre skyline. We had to descend and then climb back out. A cross country route on pathless moorland was discussed and discarded |
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| Enchanting lively stream and ravine on our descent |
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| Looking back at our descent from Embsay Crag |
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| Trying to find a way back down to the crags proper |
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| Zoom to Deer Gallows, over half a mile away |
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| Down at one of the proper climbing buttresses |
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| BC regrets not bringing his climbing gear |
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| I'm working on the meaning of the additional (V.C.) I have a source but awaiting a reply* |
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| 1800 ft. of ascent ! |
VC stands for "Voluntary Controlled"
There are two types of C of E (often abbreviated by LEAs to CE) school: Voluntary Aided (VA), and Voluntary Controlled (VC).
VA schools are those where the bare majority (often 7 out of 12) governors are appointed by the C of E (parish and diocese working together), whereas VC schools are those where the C of E has about a quarter of the governors. As the governors appoint staff and decide the style of daily worship, they directly affect the character of the school. It is an oddity that the term "Controlled" turns out to be deceptive as the church does not control a VC school, whereas it does a VA school. For the privilege of being a VA school, the church has to pay directly for 10% of maintenance costs (building and repairs) of the building.
All this was set out in the 1944 Education Act, but with many amendments (including many subsequent Education Acts) since then.
Obviously my answer cannot be very accurate since I have been out of it all for nearly eight years, but what I have stated above is still applicable.
All good wishes,
Tony
An excellent day. Sorry to lead you astray in the woods, but glad all ambitions were realised eventually.
ReplyDeleteJust sat down to write my version, and I am amazed at how much my wording mirrors yours.
Well done you two, the next project no doubt looms ahead....
ReplyDeleteBC - That foray into the wilds gave the day more character and satisfaction gained from persistence.
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Phreerunner - Nothing jointly planned for the moment although I have a couple of objectives further north for myself.
Well done Conrad. And a great trig point to end on.
ReplyDeleteRuth - At least there were no cows!
ReplyDeleteStrange. In 1936 you'd have thought they were making other types of vehicle.
ReplyDeleteRR - As far as I understand this is an industrial tractor. The kit comes with a long trailer which is still W.I.P. The trailer also has two or three large cable reels that it is carrying so I reckon the tractor could have been making some industrial contribution to the re-arming campaign.
ReplyDeleteWell done Conrad.
ReplyDeleteafoot - thanks.
ReplyDeleteIs Crookrise the untitled pic immediately above the pic that looks like a modern rendering of the final photo of a tiger shoot in India? A smirking sahib, often wearing a pith helmet, his feet resting on the dead tiger's head, no doubt saying to himself "Ain't I a clever boy then?"
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about hunting trig points is that they don't end up stuffed on a wooden plaque. Are they ever the subject of graffiti?
The crag (in the aforesaid pic) seems to be the only likely candidate for my first and last visit to Crookrise. Then, my impression was: more trees. But it must have been more than sixty years ago and trees could have come and gone since then
RR - Crookrise consists of a series of buttresses that extend for perhaps quarter of a mile atop a steeply wooded and rocky hillside. The faces rise to about 30ft and there are also large miscellaneous boulders scattered amongst big enough for aficionados of "bouldering" to enjoy themselves. Bouldering has become very popular since I stopped climbing and it is not something that would have strongly appealed to me if I had continued climbing. The photo after the trig one shows the nature of the trees and rough ground, and generally access to the rocks can be arduous.
ReplyDeleteRR - I can't recall seeing graffiti on a trig. I had never thought about that but now having done so I reckon that is remarkable.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think I have ever seen graffiti on a trig pillar, either. If any, it would have been one of those in industrial Lancs.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on a project well executed, and what a fine day you had for the finale. I look forward to seeing what comes next.
ReplyDeleteGayle - After all that travelling south I am hoping to start going north again. I do have a modest idea in mind to give focus to some day walks in that direction.
ReplyDeleteA slightly late comment...
ReplyDeleteI wrote a post featuring Totridge Fell in July 2019 and you commented
"You’ve set me off with an idea: doing all the trigs on OS Sheet 102 – Preston and Blackpool – it includes a large part of the Bowland hills. I Haven’t had a proper look yet – must finish my Sheet 91 first"
So somehow you switched to Sheet 103, did you start on 102 or was it too low-lying?
BC - They are all plotted on the paper map and listed on a spreadsheet. There is an overlap from Sheet 103 which includes Totridge and a couple of others. There are also some that I know I have done but have no record. Apart from the overlaps I would want to start over and do them all regardless of historical visits, but for the moment I have had enough of trigs but may come back to this project later.
ReplyDeleteMy comment was just for the record.
ReplyDeleteBC - I meant to add that the research was sone some time ago before I switched to Sheet 103. I can't remember what my reasoning was at the time. I've just been over the Knott. Lots of trees down on the lower eastern side but ok on the top and down the southern side.
ReplyDelete