Saturday 27 March 2010 - A Long Day In The Car

On the road again, for 10 hours, but well worth it. We are at a favourite spot. It's called Tigh na Mara. Occasional showers and spectacular rainbows accompanied us today, with sun specs being needed for most of the time.

We chased Andrew, Rosemary and Lucy, who are installed nearby, and Ken and Anne, whose luxurious quarters are called Hallival. Our own 'house mates' will arrive tomorrow.

Ken and Anne cooked us a lovely meal, then R+A arrived to polish off the wine. They needed something after appearing in a very bedraggled state due to slightly inclement meteorological conditions.

Today's postcard was taken on arrival here, from the same place as the header that adorns this blog. Today's conditions on Loch Broom were somewhat different less photogenic!

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Dunham Massey in Spring (1)

We have become frequent visitors to the new Winter Garden at Dunham Massey.

Now it’s spring, lots of stuff is ‘springing’ to life.  Apart from what the harsh winter and temperatures of –15C to –20C has killed off, that is.  This winter was a bit of a surprise to the gardeners, given the Mediterranean nature of recent such seasons.

The above picture was taken by Sue on Tuesday.  The garden really was most colourful, with swathes of daffodils as well as some more unusual varieties.

We’ll be back there soon, but first we head north.  So it’ll be a return to ‘mobile blogging’ for the next week or so.

New Scarpa Infinity GTX Boots take a Mud Bath

My old Asolo Fugitives* having seen better days, I took a trip on Wednesday to the Alpenstock emporium in Stockport.  Their boot selection isn’t as extensive as that at Outside in Hathersage, my usual source of footwear, but the Infinity seemed to fit, so I bought the pair and saved myself a wet drive to Hathersage.  They are very similar to the Fugitives, and at 1475 gm (size 43) are virtually the same weight.  Thanks to Hugh and Jose at Alpenstock for their patience during my lengthy visit.

The boot quest had become a little urgent, as I could do with these boots for some upcoming trips.  Whether I can break them in in time remains to be seen, but tonight (Thursday) they got their first outing – a 6 km jaunt around Alderley Edge with Andrew.  We were the only ones daft enough to turn out for this scheduled evening walk.  It was dry and comfy in the Drum and Monkey; not so outside.  The boots were ‘well muddied’ so there’s no chance of them going back.  They were ‘reasonably’ comfy, and should be ok so long as the ankles don’t rub my tendons, a problem that I’ve encountered in the past (but not with the Asolos).  So a few short walks with these new boots will be needed to break them in.  This is a slight problem, as some longer walks are on the cards for next week; it looks as if I’ll be carrying a spare pair in the bag!

The walk started just as the overhead tap was turned on, but the rain did ease from time to time, with the moon even coming out for a while.  Despite the rain and the canopy of trees, the ambient light (Andrew theorised that it all emanated from the local footballers’ security systems) meant there was no need for torches.  This didn’t prevent my esteemed companion from taking a bum slide down a boggy path, causing him to reject any idea of re-entering the pub after the walk; and my muddied new boots – the only footwear I had – probably wouldn’t have been appreciated either. So it was home to an early bath!

Hopefully our forthcoming evening jaunts will be better attended.  All are welcome, of course.

Scarpa Infinity report as at March 2014:

A second pair of boots was soon acquired as Alpenstock offered a very good deal on them (£99). They were comfortable from the start and hardly needed any breaking in.

The first pair is still keeping the water out and has covered over 2,400 km (1,500 miles), including two TGO Challenges, the Dales High Way, a trip to Turkey, backpacking in the Maritime Alps, and a week along Markus Petter’s Caledonian Trail route. They have been superb.

The second pair was used, as was the first, for numerous day walks, and for one TGO Challenge and a couple of weeks in the Apennines. Their biggest trip was 2013’s 950 km GR10 trek, at the end of which they were showing serious signs of wear. So, knowing that the other pair was in better condition, I abandoned this fine pair of boots after just 2,200 km, on the outskirts of Banyuls-sur-Mer.

Excellent boots. I hope that the Mustangs that succeed them will be as good.

*The Fugitives bought in October 2008 have now (March 2010) done about 1000 km and are in good condition but leaked after only a few (albeit very wet) km.  The ones bought in 2007 leaked after less than 500 km, and are now starting to disintegrate after over 2000 km of use.  Both pairs have been extremely comfortable.
 

Tuesday 23 March 2010 - Alpine Points of View – Comes to Stockport

Sue and I escaped to the Alps for an hour and a half last night, courtesy of Stockport Walking & Outdoor Group, who had booked Kev Reynolds for the evening.

Kev’s lecture, one of many in his repertoire, was excellent, transporting his seventy strong audience to the playgrounds of the Alps that Sue and I so much enjoy visiting (that may be obvious from sight of the little bundle of books I pulled off our shelves for today’s postcard).

This particular lecture enjoys the following trailer:

“Over a period of more than 30 years Kev Reynolds has walked and climbed in many different parts of the Alps; has lived and worked there, written more than a dozen guidebooks to specific regions, as well as Walking in the Alps - a comprehensive guide to the whole alpine range, from the Alpes Maritime to the Julians of former Yugoslavia. In this talk some of Europe's most dramatic scenery, plus its flowers, animals and villages will be displayed.”

It’s good to know that such enthusiasts as Kev are willing to travel long distances to talk about the things they love, for modest fees within the budget of smalls clubs like this Stockport one.  The landlord of ‘The Grapes’ looked quite pleased as well, with such a huge influx of unexpected customers after the talk had finished.

If you run a small walking group, you could do worse than book this inveterate climber, walker and guide book writer to inject a dose of infective enthusiasm into a cold winter’s evening.

Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 March 2010 – RentaHostel at Fellside, near Caldbeck

This was home to the 26 attendees of this weekend – the YHA’s Fellside Centre, near Caldbeck.  A ‘virtual tour’ of this Georgian shooting lodge is here.

As is customary on weekends organised by Sue W, we woke on Saturday morning to rain, so whilst one group chose to head into the cloud that cloaked the fells to the north of Skiddaw, eleven of us set off on a 21 km circuit contrived by Notchy to pass by a number of hostelries.

It was ‘dreich’ as we observed various becklets heading down the slopes to give Caldbeck a good wash.

Farm tracks, bridleways, and this flooded road led us on the anticlockwise circuit towards the fleshpot of Hesket Newmarket.

 

The Old Crown pronounced itself ‘open’, but not for us, as we trailed past in the wake of our over-enthusiastic leader.  This was all too much for Sue and Martin S, who elected to amble back along the riverside via Caldbeck.

Notchy led the remaining nine of us past boxing hares into this quagmire at Hall Field, before taking us alongside a quarry, beside which dire warnings encouraged us to keep to the path.

As we approached another haven from the rain, coal tits twittered in the hedge, and a small tsunami just missed us as a vehicle tore past on the flooded road.

The Sour Nook Inn didn’t suit Notchy, who dragged us on to a church yard in Sebergham, where he could hold court without fear of repercussions, though Ken and Anne rebelled.

The gentle route of the Cumbria Way drew us through a pleasant wooded valley beside Cald Beck, in improving weather, leading to yet another hostelry.

“We went there last night”, asserted the Boss, who led us instead into The Old Smithy, for pots of tea and coffee for 92p each.  It turned out that various members of our party occupied this place continuously for over four hours in a sort of relay!

With tea sloshing around his interior, and his predilection to cramping up on the top of ladder stiles, Notchy took to the easy roads for his return to Fellside.  He retained just two disciples, letting the remaining six off the leash.  We strode purposely towards the heights of High Pike, steaming in the afternoon sun. 

Leaving that particular summit for the morrow, we soon turned west towards our destination, pausing frequently to look back across the pleasantly sunlit landscape.

This was a gentle 21km, 6.5 hour stroll, including numerous halts and less than 500 metres ascent, along the thin blue line shown below.

Sunday dawned clear and sunny.  Whilst others embarked on a longer traverse of the peaks at the back of Skiddaw, six of us chose a short morning stroll up High Pike, which at 658 metres towers high above Fellside.

Various groups of children were embarking on their D of E Award training.  Jenny was keen to follow them as (she said) our leader, pictured in the distance below, seemed unable to haul his vast bulk up the gentle slope extreme incline at anything like a reasonable pace.  Anyway, as it turned out, the children couldn’t keep up with either Notchy’s blistering speed, or our supersonic pace.

It was quite cool and breezy, so elevenses were taken in the lee of the summit.  We probably needed to stop anyway, to draw breath and for Notchy to attend to his blisters.

A sign at the summit tried to tell us that London was visible, over 200 miles away, but all we could see was Carrock Fell, with the Peak District beyond that blocking any chance of seeing London in today’s atmospheric conditions.

Richard and Jenny tried their x-ray specs, but they couldn’t even see Carrock Fell.  We look happy enough, though…

We descended by a similar route under hungry buzzards, observing groups of milling children, lolloping lurchers and sunny vistas.

And finally to Fellside, where, locked out after our sojourn had ended on Sunday morning, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the….picnic bench.

Here’s our 7km route, taking just over 2 hours and involving an energy sapping 385 metres of ascent according to Mr Anquet.

There’s a short captioned slide show (37 images) here for anyone interested.

As in some previous years (latterly in 2007) Sue and I catered for this weekend, the Saturday evening menu for which, for record purposes, is shown below.  I’ll upload any recipes that anyone may like to have – in fact I may upload them anyway when I have the time.  The links will be indicated by the usual underlining.

Caldbeck Menu - 20 March 2010

Crisps and dips

To Start (7.30pm)
Winter vegetable soup (V), or
Crab cakes with chilli sauce, or
Baked artichoke and Parma ham gallettes

Main Courses
Salmon and fennel fish pie, or
Lentil and tomato moussaka (V), or
Venison and beef with port and apricots*, or
Coq au vin*
accompanied by Great British Mash* and Petit Pois

Desserts
Fruit salad, or
Strawberry cheesecake, or
Lime and lemon meringue, or
Chocolate bread and butter pudding

Coffee and After Eight Mints

All washed down with Cape Chardonnay and Cape Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

Thank you to all who helped with kitchen duties, and especially to Ken, who cooked the breakfasts.  As usual, one of the hardest jobs was that of returning various implements and containers to their places in our own kitchen, and so far all that seems to have gone missing is our large Teflon cooking mat.  A mystery, as we searched Fellside for it.  Ah well! 
Also for the record, the luxury ingredients for two breakfasts and Saturday dinner worked out at £18 a head for the 26 strong group.

A View – 19 March 2009

Good Morning!

There’s nothing likely to be of interest from Timperley today, unless you like cooking or driving up the M6, so here’s a reminder of the view we had on 19 March last year.

Given the numerous distinguishing (or should that read ‘distinguished’) features, there are no prizes for guessing the location.

Tuesday 16 March 2010 – A Great British Ridge Walk – Number 20 – Skiddaw by Ullock Pike and descent by Birkett’s Edge

These ‘Great British Ridge Walk’ ventures seem to be coming thick and fast.  Today it was the Lake District’s turn, starting early, with my journey heading in a rather bizarre direction – to Graham’s house in Marple – before the battle through traffic jams to eventually gain the M6 at Preston.

Phew, at least I wasn’t driving today, and could grab a cup of coffee at Tebay  that I could sip at my ease all the way to Keswick.

Mike and Bruno were ready and waiting at the more than ample-sized lay-by at NY 237 311 near Bassenthwaite, so by 10.30 we were ambling casually up a small hill called Watches. 

A sheep was strolling unconcernedly along a wall.  (No trickery here, I promise.)

We took our time, willing the cloud to lift off the summit of Skiddaw.

Today’s views were excellent.   Here Mike and Bruno laze on warm rocks during a brew stop with a fine view to Bassenthwaite Lake and beyond.

Some competent cyclists sped down the rocky bridleway up which we had risen; we admired their skill on this technically demanding terrain.

The summit of Ullock Pike yielded more fine views – towards Keswick, Derwent Water and the central fells, but better vistas were available from Carl Side, which summit Bill Birkett strangely omits from his route.

A group ahead was struggling on the snow slope that slanted up to the summit ridge, so we took the direct approach, with less by way of snow and steep drops.

It was easy going, with no ironmongery required.  There were quite a few folk on the ridge, but the summit was deserted by the time we reached the trig point.  It was pretty cool, with a cold stiff breeze keeping us alert.

Bruno tugged a bit too hard in his quest for snow fights.  Mike stood his ground.  Bruno’s lead broke.  He cried.  (Mike, that is.)

An easy descent led to this glaciated valley down which Dash Beck, well, ‘dashes’.

After which we dashed through some fields, so unobservantly that we missed the path at Hole House and finished up going along a metalled lane rather than by-passing the farm at Barkbeth.

“Never mind” said Graham.
”Never mind” said Mike.
”Ruff” said Bruno.
”It’s so nice to have such forgiving companions” said Martin.

We were down soon after 4pm.  Mike sucked deeply on a curious cigar (see above) before heading back with Bruno’s guidance to the Great Wilderness known as ‘County Durham’, whilst Graham and I adjourned for fish ‘n chips in Carnforth, where it went dark.

Mike’s excellent report is here.

A slide show (32 images) is here.

And here’s our route for the day: 14 km, 940 metres ascent, taking 5 hours plus stops.

The next ‘Great British Ridge Walk’ will see me venturing into, passport and visa permitting, the wilds of Scotland.  Watch this space!

Purple Passages (1)

First, apologies to all those insulted in yesterday’s posting.  No malice was intended, I assure you.

Do you, like me, sometimes wish you could remember to mark those rare purple passages you come across just before nodding off to sleep?

I usually forget to reference them and find that they soon seep out of my limited capacity for retention.

However, I recently came across such a passage in a book, published in 1958, in which Canadian author Farley Mowat updated the journals of Samuel Hearne, who from 1769 to 1772 explored more than a quarter of a million square miles of Canada’s “Barren Lands” with no other company than that of reluctant and often hostile Indians.

Hearne walked almost 5,000 miles through one of the most forbidding territories in the world.  Twice defeated he returned a third time to become the first white man to reach the Coppermine River and the Arctic coast which stretches west from Hudson Bay to Siberia.

The book, Coppermine Journey, appears to be quite rare even in its paperback version, so I have to be careful with the first edition copy lent to me as reading matter for my recent journey home from Canada, but let me know if you live nearby and would like to read it before I send it back.

It is clear that the North American Indians were a violent and unruly set of murderers who massacred Eskimos as a sort of sport.  On one of his failed sorties Hearne writes  “Nothing could exceed the cool deliberation of these villains”, as they proceeded to rob him of all his possessions apart from soap and a single razor that they felt were sufficient for his long journey back to the safety of the Prince of Wales Fort in Hudson’s Bay.

Anyway, for the final and successful expedition he had with him a charismatic Indian named Matonabbee, without whom failure (and probably death) would probably have been inevitable.

And so to the passage that caught my eye, near the start of this long final expedition:

‘Matonabbee attributed our present misfortunes partly to the misconduct of our guides, but mainly to the insistence of the Governor that we should take no women.
”For,” said he, “when all the men are heavily laden, they can neither hunt nor travel any distance.  And in case they should meet with some success in hunting, who is to carry the produce of their labour?  Women were made for labour.  One of them can carry or haul as much as two men.  They also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothes, keep us warm at night- and in fact there is no such thing as travelling any considerable distance without their assistance.  More than this, women can be maintained at trifling expense, for, as they always cook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times is sufficient for their sustenance.”’

Food for thought as this year’s batch of lemmings finalise their arrangements for slogging across Scotland during May?

Saturday 13 March 2010 – A TGO Challengers’ Spring Reunion

“We’re here.  Let’s go for a stroll.”

“It’s called Woodlands Valley.  I wonder why?”

Amongst the crisp pine needles and leaf litter, a wandering hobo appeared.  We fed him some Chocolate Caramel Shortbread.

“I feel better now” he exclaimed.  Then he wandered off, repeating something about “need my Medication…Guinness”.

Up near Doctor’s Gate, we met a doctor called Martin.  “In need of Medication…must go…Rugby…TV…Calcutta…need to watch” he blurted.

A gaggle of figures passed above us as we returned through the forest.  They were being led down the dangerous A57 road by an elf with a long white beard who was desperately seeking Medication.  “Macallan, Laphroaig, Glen Morangie, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet” he chorused.

Back at the stark white building, some badly pitched Aktos and a Pie Man’s Palace flapped in the breeze whilst the inmates concocted Sue’s expensive stark white dinner, sponsored by Dunlop, featuring sea-life from the 20th century.

There were lots of lovely people there, including an elderly gent with a huge belly.  “It’s the Medication…Black Bull Bitter and Potatoes” he confessed, before resuming the fruitless search for his favourite colour.

It was great to see everyone, and we also missed those who couldn’t make it.  We look forward to seeing you again soon and hope that all our conundrums will have been discovered and our Medications solved by then.  Especially our own!

Wednesday 10 March 2010 – A Great British Ridge Walk – Number 7 – Moel Hebog by the North-East Ridge and a Traverse of the North Ridge over Moels Yr Ogof and Lefn

A leisurely start saw Graham and I ambling away from Beddgelert car park at 10.30 am.  The start described in Bill Birkett’s book was simplified by new paths beside the recently restored Welsh Highland Railway.  The sun was shining and everything was very peaceful.

There was a lone walker ahead in the distance who we never caught up, but we soon overtook a group of six trainees (they all had map cases, boots with the sizes inked onto their heels, and a weary looking leader who kept halting them for his next words of wisdom).

There was no other sign of human life on the hill.

A position was reached where much needed elevenses could be enjoyed, with a panoramic view towards Snowdon, its nose in cloud, and snow capped Moel Siabod to its right.  Cnicht and the Moelwyns are out of frame to the right.

A pleasant, scrambly ridge conducted us to the summit by 12.30, mainly along a thin path through the rocks, though we made our own way really, avoiding hard-frozen slabs of ice and snow – there was not enough to warrant crampons on this occasion.

The views from here are excellent, though the shadows cast by big clouds over the Snowdon massif meant we didn’t enjoy the brightness of our last two ‘Great British Ridge Walk’ outings.

Bright shafts of light lit up Tremadog Bay, beyond Porthmadog.

After slithering down a steep bank of snow that was just right for a lengthy standing glissade, we found a lunch spot sheltered from the cold north-easterly, near the col leading to Moel Yr Ogof.  Then we zoomed on up Moel Yr Ogof through a steep looking but easy on the ground defile to the summit, with views back to the broad snow slope down which we had earlier glissaded.

From this second summit we continued through a geologist’s paradise, with big chunks of rock (bombs) embedded in the concrete like consistency of a band of ancient lava.

A ladder stile at the next col led us on to Moel Lefn.

Once down at the next col – Bwlch Cwm-trswsgl – a slightly complex route, vaguely waymarked, led back down to the camp site at Meillionen, where the human activity indicated that the ‘season’ has started.  We even saw a Dutch touring car today.

We missed a turn after the camp site and finished up on a boggy path by the river, with an illegal walk down the railway line to finish (instead of a legal but possibly slurrified – and our boots were clean! -path through a farm).  It was 4 pm – we were in plenty of time to drive home and enjoy a fine repast prepared by Sue.

I will insert a route description in due course, as Bill B’s needs amending to take account of the restored railway line.

Here’s where we went, in a fairly leisurely 5.5 hours – 12 km with about 975 metres ascent.  The more correct route should have been down the path that links point 5 back to Cwm Cioch, but I suppose our accidental variant made for a truer circuit.

It wasn’t the best day for snapshots, but a few piccies, including some of Graham’s (thank you, Graham) are available to be viewed here.

It’s Skiddaw next – meeting at 10.00 am at NY 237 311 on Tuesday 16 March.  Be there or be square, as The Pie Man would say.

Mike’s House – A Project

Here’s my son Mike outside the first home of his own, just down the road from us in Northern Moor.

The living room is as big as his current flat, so he’s quite pleased (an understatement).

There’s a bit of work needed – new boiler, various bits of minor repair work, perhaps rewiring, and complete redecoration.

We start on the ‘Music Room’, the priority for any musician, tomorrow, probably.

I’m not a DIY sort of person, so Gayle (for one) can expect some ‘How do you do that?’ type of emails and discussions.

Meanwhile, crocuses are sprouting beside the canal towpath, despite the cold east wind and constant frosts (there was ice on the canal in Altrincham all day today).