36 Whitbarrow walk - new discoveries

Yesterday I had a decent walk for the first time in two months.

The venue was Whitbarrow, a craggy limestone plateau fifteen minutes drive from home. This has been a favourite destination for over twenty years; I often drove from Preston to run this six-mile circuit. Yesterday a shorter five-mile route took a leisurely two and three quarter hours.

My companions were my modest digital camera, and Jill’s dog Jake.

I had some idea of taking pictures to capture the nature of this special environment because previously as a runner I enjoyed the exhilaration of moving quickly through the terrain, although I emphasise this does not preclude appreciation of the surroundings. Today I dawdled looking for photographic opportunities. Consequently I found a delightful new path leading from the summit back down through the woods. At the cluster of cottages called Beckside a “café” had appeared in an old barn where tea making equipment was laid out and a couple of fridges housed various drinks and cream cakes. A notice invites self service (and self washing up) and payment to be posted at a nearby cottage. A visiting-book revealed more glowing comments than I would have thought possible in consideration of the few people usually met on this round.

Leaving Beckside I discovered another attractive new path leading back nearly to my starting point cutting out a section of tarmac lane which although virtually traffic free is a nuisance with a dog.

This quality walk is now improved with the discovery of two new footpaths and a café. I can’t remember getting so much pleasure from a modest local walk for a long time.

I have given up trying to position these photos as a bad job.

The pic of the castle like building in the trees is the special school where Jill will be teaching from next January.

35 The Languedoc Plan: update from my post: 18th September

Leeds/Bradford fly to Carcassonne. A bus accesses the GR7 heading northeast into The Languedoc. After 307km the GR7 reaches Esperou. Return is possible by the GR71 running north of and parallel to the GR7. My brother is renting a gîte at St Jean de la Blaquière 230km from my start, so a visit could be combined. I anticipate five or six weeks without the pressure of attaining a specific target.

I have downloaded the French IGN map at 1:25000 from Memory Map, and challenge anybody to do this solely from instructions on the website. The first two procedures are mentioned nowhere: download the free V5 software (European version), and download the free European Road Atlas. I needed telephone assistance. From hereon it is not difficult,

For my LEJOG walk I printed A4 sheets from Memory Map OS 1:50000, covering approximately 11km by 6km each advantageously giving slight enlargement of the original (the software automatically enlarges to fill A4 if your delineated area is less).

The French maps at 1:25000 would need too many sheets, but Memory Map just announced the launch of Adventurer 2800, which scrolls the map with your moving position on screen, and my newly purchased IGN maps are downloadable. Costing £250 Adventurer 2800 compares favourably with similar devices. It would save plenty on printer ink and time.

Vodaphone have announced imminent availability of the iPhone. This would enable daily blogging.

There is a lot of food for thought here.

My leg relapsed recently and I’m back on antibiotics, but not inhibited. I am walking Jake the dog daily. Both knees are, and always will be, suspect so there are still question marks.

34 Could you handle loneliness? (Ed Wardle)

A recent television programme – “Alone in the Wild” portrayed film cameraman Ed Wardle who had a boyhood dream: could he survive alone in wilderness for ninety days? He was flown to a lake in Canada and left with a rifle and limited food supplies.

After fifty days Ed pressed the emergency button and was rescued, his main problems being lack of food, loneliness and fear of bears. This guy is no wimp having filmed on the summit of Everest twice, visited the North Pole and chalked up an impressive list of mountaineering achievements. Unfortunately Ed has no particular skills in survival and may therefore have been somewhat naive.

Channel 4 was criticised for making this programme. Ed filmed and recorded himself in a progressively deteriorating mental and physical state making agonising viewing. I have no problem with the concept of this production – it is laudable to always have, and pursue a next ambition, but Ed was not allowed to shoot game due to national park regulations – he did bag the odd porcupine and caught some fish. Shooting an Elk could have ameliorated the hunger problem, but not the loneliness and fear of bears.

Having lived alone for ten years and done most of my walking solo, I have said I find no problem with my own company, but I pondered seriously at this stark production and wondered how I might have fared in Ed’s situation. Ed seemed to suffer acutely from lack of human contact and it demonstrated how different we all are (but are we)? If you want to find out go and give it a try.

The American blogs I read came at it from a different angle. They criticised the suitability of Ed’s rifle, and offered many conflicting opinions on what firearms he should have carried.

33 Munros and computers

I downloaded an application onto my iPodtouch called Hill Lists which cost 59p. listing: The Munros, Munro Tops, Murdos, Corbetts, Corbett Tops, Grahams, Donalds, Marilyns, Deweys, Hewitts, Nuttalls, Wainwrights, and Wainwrights Outlying Fells. If you want detailed information and definitions go to www.biber.fsnet.co.uk/downloads.html suffice to say there are over five thousand British hills listed. There is a facility to tick ones  done and thereby produce your list of ones remaining. There are other features too.


After downloading this application I accepted a free update, and then the system crashed. Delving into Apple App Store info. I found you could email the compiler direct.  On Sunday 20th Sept. I emailed with little hope of progress, but received a reply within twenty minutes from Graham Haley. After exchange of information with Graham over a couple of days he told me the problem was solved. He had filed an update with Apple and asked them to expedite approval and publication.

Today (Tuesday 23rd Sept.) I received email from Graham (sent at 6:44 am) saying that Apple have published the update. I downloaded the update and all works well.

What a refreshing service in the world of computer software.

During the correspondence I established that Graham has done 148 Munros out of 283– it should be noted that the total was 284 until two weeks ago when the following announcement was made:

Sgurr nan Ceannaichean has been reclassified as a Corbett following surveys carried out by John Barnard and Graham Jackson for The Munro Society. The news was announced at a press conference on 11 September. Rab Anderson of the SMC was present and confirmed that Munro's Tables were changed with immediate effect.

Who are these nerds? A pity it wasn’t one added which would have given me an excuse for another visit to Scotland (not that I need an excuse).

32 A memorable day from my Land's End John o' Groats walk.

I have just read the latest post from Gayle and Mick http://gayleybird.blogspot.com/ They are planning the Kent to Cape Wrath diagonal for next year. There is mention of a trying day, and an extract from their journal on their LEJOG walk which brought a wry smile to my face because I encountered similar problems at the same place. This prompted me to post this extract from my journal.

Day 68

Sunday 22nd June (2008)
Inverlael to Knockdamph Bothy
10.5 miles

What a day!

There had been terrific winds and rain in the night and The Terra Nova did its business again; no complaints.

The rain stopped briefly as I packed up but started again. The route went on forestry road for a while, but then I spent ages looking for a path branching off up a very steep hillside. Much new forestry road work had been done here and the profile of the road altered, and I suppose the start of my track had been obliterated. In the end I took a compass bearing from a known GPS reading and went straight up the hillside which consisted of felled forest, bracken and thick heather. After fifteen minutes I hit another forest road and then found my track leading off it.

This track went endlessly upwards and I was walking directly into at least a force seven gale and driving rain which persisted most of this very demanding day. The track ended and became a path which then disappeared necessitating walking on a compass bearing across several kilometres of featureless moorland and bog and peat hags to reach a river. The river cut into a ravine and every few hundred yards side ravines fed into the main one and all these had to be negotiated steeply down and up with no path. Even looking at the map and taking GPS readings in these conditions is a trial. At a point which had to be identified I branched away from the river to climb over a pathless bealach and descend to Loch an Daimh. The route now followed the edge of this loch to arrive at last at the bothy. It was 4:30pm. In the past I have poked a bit of fun at bothies, but I’m telling you that when you need one they are the best thing in the world.

I was not exhausted when I arrived, but fairly damp and starting to get cold, but I was elated to have managed this tough journey properly and under control. It had only been about eleven miles, but it had taken me eight hours.

I had a hot cup-a-soup and then got into my sleeping bag wearing my Berghaus Primaloft jacket and dozed until 6:30pm on a proper bed in the upstairs room.

After I had made a proper meal I decided that the upstairs room was colder than downstairs so I put my Therm-a-rest on the floor and I had found an old duvet upstairs which I put under and over the Therm-a-rest with my sleeping bag sandwiched between them, and I had a surprisingly good night. Prior to retiring I made sure that all my food was stowed in the rucksack and no scraps left about so as not to encourage mice or rats.

31 - Walking Aspirations

Leg dressings have been dispensed with. I am driving and getting around fairly normally. Jill’s house is on the market and I am looking after Jake the dog so viewing can take place in her absence. For the last two days I have taken Jake for short walks, fifteen minutes or so, but I do intend to take things very steadily for some time.

My knees are still suspect so I’m not sure if I will be able to do long walks again but my appetite has been mightily whetted in the last twenty four hours by news on Gayle and Mick’s blog: http://gayleybird.blogspot.com/

I met Gayle and Mick last year on my LEJOG walk which they also completed. They have since done The Coast to Coast, The TGO Challenge (a several day west to east traverse of Scotland), and a weekend crossing, west to east of Wales. Their next project is the diagonal from Kent to Cape Wrath, a route I have considered myself. When I tried to define a route on Memory Map the footpath system through Kent and even to the north of London seemed fragmentary and unsatisfactory, so I will be interested to see what Gayle and Mick make of it. They have stated a proposed start date for 2nd April.

If I feel I can tackle another walk there are two possibilities for next year. The first would be in France following the GR7 through the Languedoc and the Cevennes. The second would be a route in the UK which I have already plotted on Memory Map starting at Lowestoft, meandering through The Broads, then round the perimeter of The Wash and heading up the east coast as far as Whitby then cutting across to St Bees Head on the west coast of The Lake District.

Post number 30

The recent conviction and sentencing of the three plane bombers has been regarded as a success for the security forces. As I understand it the plan was to blow up seven airliners. I assume the three people convicted would have accounted for three of the planes. Presumably, therefore there are still four others out there somewhere about which l have read or heard nothing. This is a bit worrying. Has anybody gleaned anything about this that I have missed?