Pillmoor Hill SE 179 942 229m.
Whit Fell SE 086 945 411m.
Prospect Hill. SE 227 967 97m.
This will be the least ambitious outing in this campaign. I am mopping up these three to leave only the hopefully more inspiring seven which will provide a single longer walk (for the sake of it) for each one.
The third listed above was intended as the first. Trigpointing UK told me that permission was given from the adjacent house on a friendly basis. I drove the three hundred yards up the private road. There was nobody about, it was only 9:30 am and I baulked at knocking on the door and decided to call back after visiting the other two.
Pillmoor Hilll was accessed via a field gate from the main road and a plod up pasture lead to a copse surrounded by barbed wire fencing and the trig enticingly visible but untouchable about fifteen feet inside. I carried on south following the fencing until I was able to climb over some wooden fencing without barbed wire and then walk back up the other side. I did not get over the barbed wire into the copse and the trig but I was able to touch it with my walking pole and for me honour was satisfied.
I knew beforehand that Whit Fell was located on a huge military training ground with firing ranges. My son was impressed and had welcomed the idea of my subversive approach dodging bullets and unexploded ordnance. I was also carried along with that romantic vision. Red flags were flying at intervals closer than those country flags at the Olympics. Warning notices in red were explicit and I couldn't see the excuse of having forgotten my reading glasses impressing some hardened army sergeant/instructor. and then to hit you where it really hurts the threat of £500 fines. My bid for hero status was extinguished. I settled for a zoom photo of Whit Fell.
Back home, and with the help of Photoshop making my zoom photo even more zoomy I found that you could just see the trig on the summit. Even though it was like coming fourth in the Olympics I gained some satisfaction for at least capturing this trig one way or another.
Back then to Pospect Hill from this morning. Still nobody about. The farmer's wife further down the lane told me the house residents and field owners were out at work, not back till 6:00pm. I was able to enter the field by an easy gate knowing I was unobserved and bag this trig which, rarely on this map, stood in the middle of an elevated filed with views all around. I see on the map High Cowstand Bridge, and Low Cowstand Farm close to each other. I resume the cows at the former worship at a de-luxe consecrated and decorative milking parlour whilst those at the latter in a stripped out nonconformist barn.
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| Pillmoor Hill |
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| Whit Fell (out of bounds) - see also below... |
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...Whit Fell. At least one can SEE the trig in this zoom just sticking up on the horizon centre |
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| Ignore blue line - trigs are the green triangles |
You are on a purple patch at the moment, better continue whilst this weather holds.
ReplyDeleteI will let get away with touching a trig point with your poles but as for taking a picture from a great distance? If only I had completed the Munros in that fashion.
You have an extra challenge to contact the range and book a firing free day.
BC aka - "Taskmaster."
ReplyDeleteOh dear!
I did search the Internet to see if there was any published way of getting permission or ascertaining firing dates and times but to no avail. Must try harder. I will set it as a final challenge when the others are done.
Not that I would ever encourage anyone to trespass on a military firing range, but Boxing Day would seem like a pretty good bet for someone who was of a mind to do that sort of thing. When we did Mickle Fell, I established that there was no firing between Christmas and New Year, and I would suspect the same holds true for most, if not all, ranges. (disclaimer: definitely not encouragement or a recommendation ;-))
ReplyDeleteGayle - There is also some suggestion that Sundays may be ok. I think if it was quiet and no red flags flying I will have a go sometime. The route on that well made track looks easy for a quick up and down.
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