Wednesday 30 December 2009 – A ‘Gray’ Day

It’s a year since we waved Nick off to Shanghai.  Today’s plan to meet him got off to a poor start when Sue’s illness prevented her departure from Timperley, but Nick was ready and waiting by the time I arrived at Leighton Moss RSPB’s skating rink of a car park soon after 9.30.

Another gent wandered (well, slithered) up….

“Hello Martin”

“Hello Mark, good to meet you”

Mark is the author of the excellent ‘Beating the Bounds’ blog and had taken the trouble to come along and say hello.  It’s always good to meet such people who have become ‘on-line friends’ in the flesh, and the three of us (Nick is also familiar with Mark’s writing')  enjoyed a lengthy tea/coffee break in the café, before Mark headed off home to confront some domestic duties.

Nick and I set off along basically the same route that I walked with Susan on 28 October – reported on here and here, in dull, cold weather.  It was not a day for stunning images of Silverdale – you’ll have to visit Mark’s site for those, but we did enjoy a good chat and were able to catch up on the year’s activities.

Lunching on a bench near the summit of Arnside Knott, we were glad we hadn’t attempted anything more ambitious, as the conditions in the Lake District looked as if they may not be so amenable for the ‘cosy chat’ that we were enjoying.

The caravan park at Far Arnside was quite busy with holiday makers as we passed through en route to an alpaca farm, Silverdale village, Woodwell, and the fleshpot known as the Wolf House Gallery.  Their tea and cakes were up to the usual high standard and we enjoyed a long break in the warmth of the café.

Then we braved the full force of the brisk arctic wind for our stroll back to the RSPB car park, arriving well before 4 pm after a very pleasant day’s stroll.  We had been expecting either ‘light rain’ or ‘snow showers’, depending on which forecast we’d looked at.  So we weren’t complaining about the cool east wind that had substituted for these forecasts.

My photos were some of the worst I’ve taken this year, but (mainly for Nick’s benefit) I’ve uploaded them to a slideshow that can be viewed here.

Here’s our route – 17 km, 340 metres of ascent, in around 5 hours including stops.  It was the last trip for my Hi-Tec boots, which effectively fell apart; a review will follow.

That’s it for 2009, this being our 386th and final posting for the year.  Sue and I hope you have enjoyed at least a small fraction of these ramblings and that you will join us again, on-line and/or in the flesh, in 2010.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy, even Adventurous, 2010!

Tuesday 22 December 2009 – A Great British Ridge Walk – Number 3 – Y Garn’s North-East Ridge descending via The Devil’s Kitchen

An easy route from Bill Birkett’s book - ‘Great British Ridge Walks’ provided the inspiration for today’s trip to snowy Wales, triggered by messages from The Pie Man about his Snowdonian ridge walking ambitions. 

I’d forgotten all about the planned walk with Alastair until he called on Monday evening:

“About tomorrow’s walk.  I’m afraid I can’t make it.”

‘Hmmm’ I thought.  ‘The conditions may be interesting, should I go anyway?’

“Why don’t you go anyway?” announced Sue.

No destination had been planned, and I needed to be home before
4 pm, but page 17 of Bill’s book provided a suitable answer, with a walk of only 8-9 km, ascent of around 730 metres, and timing estimated at 4 hours.

So the following morning I brushed the sleep from my eyes, optimistically shoved crampons and ice axe on board, and headed off down the M56. Chester was reached by the time I realised I’d brought no money.  I’d have to drive slowly to preserve fuel, and miss out on a mug of tea at Ogwen Cottage, but my main concern was the state of my low reserves of screen wash, without which driving would be a little difficult!

Anyway, I pressed on and by 9.30 I was staring at this view of the rift directly above Ogwen Cottage.

The slatey shaley rock from this ‘Quarry Canyon’ was taken many years ago for use as a whetstone material for sharpening steel, and on warmer days school children can be found here, learning the rudiments of rock climbing.

It was a delight to hear the creak of fresh snow under my boots.

Above the steps the path flattens out for a while, heading towards a ladder stile that leads to this gentle slope on the approaches to the north east ridge of Y Garn.

Llyn Ogwen comes into view far below, with Lynn Idwal nearby to the left as you ascend.  The going in just a few inches of freshly blown snow was easy.

Soon the steeper slopes of the north east ridge made for slower progress, especially as frequent stops were needed to admire the views.  Around 700 metres the snow was firm enough for crampons to be of benefit, so on they went, for the first time this winter.  I think it was the first time I’d attached them to the leaky old Asolo Fugitives (no chance of a leak in today’s temperatures – the boots were worn for comfort) and they worked perfectly on this walk.

Here’s the view from this spot, which was just below the cloud base.

Then it was a case of sticking to the rocky crest in order to avoid drifted snow on the snow laden route of the normal path.  The views came and went, and whilst there were patches of blue sky there was a fresh breeze which made it hard to distinguish between the swirling cloud and the spindrift.

At the 947 metre summit, the spindrift prevailed…

A pleasant descent started beside the cliffs of Y Garn’s eastern face before turning SSE to emerge from the clag above a familiar looking stile.  Despite there being a few people out today, the fresh dry snow and the mountain breeze conspired to eliminate any sense of a track until The Devil’s Kitchen was reached, revealing a well trodden but very slippery thoroughfare. 

Climbers were playing on the sheets of ice that were draped across the entire Cwm.

I kept the crampons on until below 500 metres, where I stopped for lunch – and their removal – in a calm spot with this fine view across Llyn Idwal to Pen yr Ole Wen.

Following the path below Idwal Slabs, on the east side of Llyn Idwal, there were good, if monochromatic, views of the slabs, and of Tryfan as it slowly crept into view, draped in cloud.

Below Llyn Idwal family parties frolicked in the winter conditions, this chap rather foolishly showing off by wearing shorts.  I was later to hear of men in t-shirts and jeans having been rescued from the nearby slopes of Snowdon.

By the time I’d reached the shores of Llyn Ogwen, Tryfan had freed itself from its shield of cloud.

I’d enjoyed a very leisurely outing in lovely winter conditions (Trekking Britain – you set off in the wrong direction!) and was back at the car well within 4 hours, and back home, after another easy journey, by 3.30, managing somehow to avoid the gridlock in Altrincham caused by the day’s fresh snow.

I took 24 photos, which can be viewed in a slide show here.

Here’s the route – 9 km, 730 metres ascent, in under 4 hours.

Boxing Day – Crampons in Timperley

“I’ll just pop out for the paper” announced mother.

I looked out of the window to see pedestrians negotiating our pavement in the manner of novice skaters at the Silver Blades ice rink.  Except that the fence at the rink is higher than the walls down our road, and it doesn’t have gaps for driveways.

Mother was not permitted, on this occasion, to go through with her death wish.  I would fetch the paper.

This required Special Equipment.  I’m not sure whether the people in the Spar shop appreciated the spikes, but these crampons are rather less aggressive than those used four days earlier (report to follow).  They were however, in truth, more necessary today.

There were very few people about from whom to gain admiring looks, but it should be evident from these pictures that today, for one day only, the most appropriate footwear for the streets of Timperley, flat though they may be, was crampons!  A first.

Dunham Massey in Winter (2)

Firstly, a bit of a Grump.  I hope you don’t mind.  This posting would have been made around noon yesterday (27/12) had my computer not suffered a violent attack from spyware known as ‘Antivirus Live’.  I think it must have arrived from a ‘banner’ on a website I had open at the time.  It completely evaded the ‘Zonealarm Extreme Security’ that I installed after the last, much less invasive, virus attack from ‘Shield Safe’, another evil thing that I removed a few weeks ago with assistance from Darren, Alan and Robert.  It has taken many hours of effort to remove (if only temporarily?) this latest spyware, and it has stretched my computer know how, such as it is, to new limits.

I was going to thank the above-named for their earlier help, and now I do so again, as without that help I wouldn’t have had the confidence to tackle today’s problem.

There is a Lesson to be Learned.  Don’t leave websites that stream advertising ‘banners’ open on the desktop, however reputable the host site may be.

Anyway, back to the intended topic, our Christmas Eve walk.  We were planning to go to Styal, but given the icy conditions, and the presence of an 84 year old in the party, we decided on the flat grounds of Dunham Massey and its surrounds.

So, only four days after our last visit, Sue and I enjoyed the same stroll from Dunham Massey to the Swan with Two Nicks via the Bridgewater Canal, now well frozen and suitable for skating on!

This time we had Jenny (Night Bird) and Dot for company in the snow.

 

Then it was through the meadows to Dunham Massey House,

and on along a familiar circuit around the grounds.

We stopped for mulled wine, shortbread and brownies, of course!

Then paused with many others to admire the fallow deer.

 

The whole route apart from the descent from the canal was safe despite the ice, so we were able to return intact to enjoy our Christmas festivities, passing the usual selection of bird life on the way back to the car park.

For anyone with an obscure fascination for Dunham Massey, Jamie from Trekking Britain went there two days earlier and took these photos.

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas from all at Timperley Towers

And have a Brilliant 2010!

Where am I now?

Entries from pie men will be disqualified!

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Where am I now?

Entries from pie men will be disqualified!

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Dunham Massey in Winter (1)

We woke to bright sunshine yesterday, but by the time we’d parked at Dunham and strolled down to the canal towpath, it was snowing.

We left the towpath to join the path leading to Dunham Massey, via the Swan with Two Nicks.

The house, closed for the winter, stood stark below the heavy sky.

Down one of the ‘rides’ a lonely obelisk stood splattered with fresh snow.

The sky briefly cleared.

Fallow deer tucked into the feed provided by the National Trust.

Returning to the car, a moorhen scooted away.

The ducks, seabirds and swans were all concentrated into a small area where running water had inhibited the pond from freezing over.

Saturday 19 December 2009 – Orienteering – My First Attempt

Back in the summer, in the Maritime Alps, we met some orienteers.  They enthused about the sport.  Today I decided to try it out for myself.

I’d discovered that my local club - Manchester and District Orienteering Club – organise a series of Saturday morning meets, suitable for beginners, so this morning I headed off to nearby Woodbank Park in Stockport.

The registration point was manned by a lady called Sue, and everything was friendly, welcoming and relaxed.  I paid my £3 and borrowed a ‘dibber’ – that’s a little electronic gadget that you insert into a device the size of a small GPS unit at each ‘control’ point.

Then I wandered off to the start, where my 45 minutes of searching for ‘controls’ started with my first ‘dib’ of the dibber.  I was then handed a 1:7500 scale map showing 21 numbered ‘controls’.

I strolled off, alone, as everyone starts individually – after the person in front has disappeared.  Where the **** was I?  I was completely disorientated!  It took me a good five minutes to get sorted out, my whereabouts being confirmed by the discovery of control number 113.  Great.  I ran off and soon found control number 104, but looking at the map I realised I’d missed number 126.  I’d gone right past it.  This was harder than it looked!

So I went back and dibbed that one, then set about taking a bit more care to visit as many of the remaining controls as I could, by way of an anti-clockwise circuit.  Most were easy enough to find, but eyes in the back of the head would have helped, and some markers seemed to be placed at the very edge of the 50 metre diameter circles that indicated their presence on the map.  The conditions were lovely – cold and firm – and I soon found myself a little warm, having inadvertently dressed for a slow winter hike.

With 15 minutes left, I found myself at the far end of the map, so I jogged back to the start/finish, visiting whatever controls I could find en-route.  I even found an extra one not on my map.  I’ve now checked the web site and have discovered that there were five such extra controls – indicated on maps at certain control points.  This had gone completely over my head.  Anyway, I got back in just under 47 minutes, so I received a time penalty, but I had managed to visit 17 of the 21 control points on my map, plus the extra one that would only count if I’d ‘visited its ‘slave’ control first’ (I have no idea). 

Back at the registration desk after my 5 km jaunt, the dibber was downloaded and a small print out showing times and numbers of the controls I had visited was handed to me together with a Rose’s chocolate.

Sue told me ‘the results should be on the web site by early next week.’  So then I’ll have a better idea of how many people were taking part and how I did, though really I’m not that bothered – this turned out to be an enjoyable way of getting a bit of exercise on a bright frosty Saturday morning.

There’s another event, even closer, in January.  I may well be there.

Postscript:
23 people took part, 12 of whom were in the ‘Score’ competition in which, so it seems, I participated.  There were 26 controls.  Two people visited them all, but both of them exceeded the 45 minute limit.  I found 18 controls (180 points) and incurred 10 time penalties, so scored 170 points, coming 8th out of the 12 participants, and taking comfort from the fact that I was the first ‘over 60’ to finish, and all those above me were members of orienteering clubs.  There’s certainly room for improvement though!

Friday 18 December 2009 – Snow in Timperley!

This is an unusual sight to wake up to in Timperley.

Nevertheless, intrepid TGO Challenger John J made it round for coffee and cakes, in exchange for vital assistance regarding the broken power supply for my slide scanner.  We enjoyed a score draw on the Christmas card front  as well.  Thanks John.

It was a lovely day, so I took a stroll down the canal to the Swan with Two Nicks, passing this barge near the Bay Malton.  Ice was forming on the canal, with thin sheets stretching all the way across it in places.

Returning to Altrincham through the grounds of Dunham Massey, I caught the sunset from outside Dunham Massey house.  The trees have now lost nearly all their leaves, and the cloudless sky made for a rather quick sunset process.

Sue reckoned it was better from Timperley Bridge.  But she can’t prove it!

Tuesday 15 December 2009 – A Great British Ridge Walk – Number 24 – The Mardale Horseshoe – High Street via Riggindale Ridge descending Harter Fell via Gatescarth Pass

Bill Birkett’s book - ‘Great British Ridge Walks’ provided the inspiration for today’s easy walk with Father Christmas and some followers.  With reindeer craftily disguised as small dogs, we set off from Mardale Head shortly after 10 am on a wintry day with low cloud, but at least it stopped raining as we set off.

Our route up Riggindale Ridge looked steep and sharp from the banks of Haweswater.

“Who’s the prettiest of them all?” asked Santa, whilst we enjoyed some elevenses.

As we gently rose up the hill, Santa’s magic made the clouds lift ahead of us, with the remainder of the ridge, topped by Racecourse Hill (the summit of High Street), suddenly drifting into view.

Clouds swirled below us as Bruno the Reindeer waited for his charges and I tried in vain to spot the resident eagles.

A pause in the eerily reconvened mist enabled Santa to catch his breath and relate a ghost story about a wake in a bothy.  This man’s imagination knows no bounds!

 

Puddles near the summit had 2 cm of crusty ice that Bruno found very tasty.

 

 

Here are some views at the summit of Racecourse Hill.

After the windy ridge, the summit conditions were relatively calm, especially behind this custom built windbreak.

Descending towards Mardale Ill Bell, the low sun reflected brilliantly off Windermere, with Kentmere summits in the foreground.

The sun was shining brightly in Kentmere.

After a brief encounter with some bouncy ladradors, we trundled off to the summit of Harter Fell.  It was quite cool – around 1C, plus wind chill.  After succumbing to wet feet on some recent trips with Santa, I was glad to be in warm winter boots, with warm, dry tootsies.

There were fine views to the west.

From the north eastern cairn on Harter Fell, Haweswater, far below, looked very pretty.

At various points on this walk, Shirley got out her little digital recorder thingy and asked us various podcast-interest questions, such as “Have you always been unable to finish a sentence?” and “That RABid fleece doesn’t half pong, wot?” I seem to be completely unable to say anything vaguely interesting or sensible when faced with a recording thingy, but maybe Podcast Bob will be able to edit it to form something vaguely interesting to Podcast fans – possibly a Captain Beefheart track or something…… Santa seemed to do better…

Here’s the day’s route – 11 km, 830 metres ascent, taking 5.5 hours.

The Haweswater Hotel, despite drilling noises from builders, provided sustenance for the weary.  It had started to rain again.

Another excellent day out.  Thanks all for coming along.

The next ‘Great British Ridge Walk’ will be on Tuesday 12 January 2010 – a short jaunt from NY 232 194 in the Newlands Valley, up Hindscarth and across the Littledale Edge to Robinson, starting at 10.00 am.  All welcome; come properly equipped!

Santa’s take on today’s walk is here. 
Shirley (Peewiglet)’s is here.
Here’s a slideshow.