Vernante (2)

Jamie, there are lots of places we haven't been! Scandinavia, for example... (You'll have to come on one of our walks to claim your prize.)

Jenny, we do remember that night fondly, and it's true that Notchy and I got less inebriated than the rest of you. ...I didn't have my dancing shoes then!

This year we stayed in the posh hotel opposite the currently shut 'Touring' where we laid our heads two years ago. It was excellent, but we did miss out on the delights of La Diligenza as (like many of Limone's restaurants) it wasn't open. The holiday season hasn't yet started. We did however find very good value food at Pizzeria La Crubarsela.

Today has been another lovely day, with less afternoon cloud than yesterday. Sue and I enjoyed a 5.5 hour, 11km stroll with about 1000 metres ascent, by way of a warm up. We had left a large bag at Albergo Nazionale in Vernante, so my load was lighter than it will be for the next few days.

We started out at 10.30 on a route under a bridge and up past a mediaeval tower to the east of the town, soon leaving the tarmac and progressing to dirt track and then a mountain path through beech woods. These provided good shade but didn't stop us from dripping in the heat.

Paths thick with leaf litter led eventually to a small col where we turned left down an indistinct contouring path. After a while we found ourselves drifting gently down through the woods to a point about 150 metres below where we should have been.

There was only one thing to do. Regaining that 150 metres was a bit of a thrutch up the leafy slopes of the beech wood, but it was hardly a jungle. We were however surprised to emerge onto the crest of the hill by a signpost. We must have been just to the north west of Rocco Baila, as surmised in the previous posting.

We rewarded ourselves with a long lunch blessed with formidable views from this final outpost of the Ligurian Alps, to the Maritime Alps across the valley. It was perfectly quiet here, apart from the call of a cuckoo, other random chirpings, and the occasional rumble of a train in the valley some 800 metres below us.

Dragonflies flitted around us, whilst a bird of prey floated on the air currents high above us. Just for fun, or marking its territory?

A right turn took us slightly to the east of the crest and to a fine viewpoint that looks across to Bec Rosso and a line of high mountains to the east, with Cuneo and the plains that lead shortly to Turin to the north east.

Heading along the crest of the ridge on a path not revealed by our 1:25,000 map No 2, we made it to Passo Ceresole at 1620 metres. Hereabouts were the unmistakable rootings of wild boar hunting for truffles. On the way we had passed lovely wild flower meadows flaunting orchids, lilies, broomrapes, houseleeks and many other striking plants, and the pleasant aroma of thyme accompanied us as our boots smothered the small plants.

A steep descent from the col led to a contouring path and the welcome shade of the trees in the beech woods.

There were several more open sections where the views could be admired, before the dense cover that marks the domain of mushroom hunters in these 'private
woods'.

A visit to the mediaeval tower concluded our little jaunt at around 4pm. Despite our proximity to Cuneo and Turin, we had seen just two people low down on the walk, which had proved to be an excellent choice for the day.

Reunited with Susan, who in turn had been reunited with her jacket, we booked into the hotel and then pottered around Vernante, where hundreds of paintings on the walls of the houses depict the story of Pinnochio.

'Half Board' was a good choice tonight. Lots of tasty morsels have contrived to bloat us into submission!

Tomorrow we plan to start a six day 'hut to hut' trek in the Maritime Alps, based on walk 12 in Gillian Price's excellent book 'Walks and Treks in the Maritime Alps', published by Cicerone. Thanks for your advice and encouragement, Gillian.

There may be some transmission delays as we'll be in a relatively remote mountain area.
Should be fun though...

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Vernante (1)

Here's Sue, at lunch time, looking down towards Vernante from near Rocca Baila at around 1500 metres, with the Maritime Alps sheathed in a haze in the distance.

Susan has popped back to Tende to recover a misplaced jacket, so it's just as well that we chose the 8 minute train journey to Vernante today, rather than the longer trip around to Terme di Valdieri. Besides, Vernante is a lovely place to stay.

Comments: I'll now be replying to comments on this trip by way of the following posting rather than by further comments, as signing on in Google etc is just too much of a faff. In that context, thank you Gillian for your good wishes - Sue now wishes she had read your book more carefully before we set off (re transport, accommodation, etc) - we are already having a little adventure by way of an experimental route - as you may gather from the guess at our location (more of that later).

Alan, you are absolutely correct, the message to those having problems viewing this blog should be "please update your browser to the latest version - eg Internet Explorer 8 or 9, or Firefox 4 or 5 - and that should solve your problem - a Google search 'how to update browser' will no doubt reveal how to do it if it isn't already obvious".

Now then, let's get back to that wonderful view towards the high mountains that are our destination on this trip!

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Limone

Here is Limone's main square, where we are savouring the delights of this pleasant Italian town a couple of hours north of Nice.

It has been a lovely day, but the mountain weather has temporarily darkened the skies.

Thanks go to Mike for getting Sue and me to Liverpool by 5.30 this morning, following which we enjoyed an 'easy' journey all the way to our apartment for the night at the Grand Palais Excelsior Hotel here in Limone.

By coincidence, as our train passed through Tende, Susan hopped onto it, having already been here for a few days. So our planned rendezvous in Limone proved pretty straightforward.

The apartment (suite?) is excellent and we are enjoying a welcome beer before popping out to La Diligenza for something more solid.

Another day, another trip. Let the good times roll!

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Out with the Old, In with the New

Do all good things come to an end, or does life simply move on?

Both, I suspect.  My trusty old Crocs were purchased 4½ years ago at Ottawa airport for the purpose of river crossings and evening wear whilst backpacking.  Since then they have been on five TGO Challenges and numerous other backpacking trips and holidays of all descriptions, as well as accompanying me on wet day walks when it has been handy to have spare footwear for the pub.  At 285gm they are really no trouble to carry around.

I’ve also backpacked for around 100 miles in the Crocs, an activity for which they are not ideal, especially when the sole wears down to a smooth piece of plastic (or is it rubber?).  Anyway, they slip easily in the wet, and aren’t all that secure when being used for river crossings.

So, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a successor to the Crocs, not really expecting to find anything as light as they are.

Then Alan Rayner discovered the Hattori running shoe, from Saucony.  I investigated this minimalist piece of kit and am now the owner of a pair of running shoes that weigh just 245gm, 40gm lighter than my Crocs!

I can run in them!  They have (a bit of) cushioning, and a grippy sole, and they will be great for river crossings, evening wear and for backpacking generally, when the boots become tiresome on hot dry sections.  And I can use them for running – not that I do much of that.

I took this picture earlier and should have taken one of the grippy sole as well.

I’ll have to add the sole picture later, as the shoes are now stuffed deep inside my bag for our next trip, which starts shortly.

Meanwhile, the Crocs are not dead, they are very useful for trips into the back garden, and they do slip on rather more easily than these Hattori shoes…

Finally, I notice from Alan’s blog that Inov-8 have some lightweight shoes – 190gm is quoted – that’s excellent if it’s for a pair, but I suspect it’s per shoe, as in the case of the Hattori’s quoted 125gm.

PS You’ll note that I’ve changed the header, footer and background images to some taken on the TGO Challenge.  Poor Michael now features on the header, at a spot that many Challengers will recognise.  Not so many will be able to identify the Munro from where the footer image was taken, probably because they have never been there.  Even fewer will recognise the Munro from whose trig point the background image was taken, and in truth, it could be anywhere.  It just happens to be Meall Chuaich, early on 20 May, before the snow melted.  I hope that those of you who have your computers set to bring the background image to the foreground on your screens will appreciate my effort to provide you with a clear background/foreground for a few weeks.  If anyone is aware of this problem and knows how to sort it out, I know a couple of readers who would appreciate the sharing of your knowledge!

The Vaude Soft 111 Baby Carrier (Papoose) – A Review

[Note that on 5 September 2012, Webtogs Limited went into liquidation, but its business has legitimately been continued in the name of Dorset Mountain Sports Limited, t/a Webtogs, with whom I have had no contact whatsoever, nor did the liquidator of Webtogs Ltd respond to my enquiry as to whether any members of the public had lost money as a result of the liquidation.]

Webtogs delighted my daughter by sending the Vaude Soft 111, one of their range of Baby Carriers, for me to review.

Here’s what she thinks of it:

“I first took Jake out in the papoose when he was five weeks old.  At this age he was beginning to hold his head up and I was confident that the papoose provided him adequate support.  I tightened the adjustable straps at the top of the outer facing part of the papoose to help support his head.  He seemed comfortable, and must have been as he fell asleep as soon as I started walking.
I had help putting the papoose on the first time I used it, but have subsequently put it on myself without difficulty.  I fasten the strap that goes across my back first (pictured),



then put the papoose on over my head.  With the buckles undone I  hold Jake against the part against my body and then carefully do up each buckle, making sure his hands and feet are not trapped.
My husband helped me to adjust the back strap and the two lower side straps (on either side by my waist) to make the papoose comfortable the first time I used it.  The side straps have stayed in that position and don’t need to be adjusted each time I use it.  I can reach the back strap and pull it to tighten it to myself, which I do when I feel I need to – the strap is shown below, with the buckle obscured by my hair.



I’ve now used the papoose quite a few times whilst taking the dog for a walk as well as Jake.  It makes walking with both Jake and Oscar (the dog) really comfortable and easy to do. (Oscar is usually on a lead!)



To make sure I’m comfortable and safe, I make a conscious effort to walk with a good posture, bend down using my knees, and support the outward facing part of the papoose (where Jake’s back is) with my hand if I have to lean over when I bend down.

So far, I’ve only used the papoose with Jake facing me, and every time he has fallen asleep as I walk.  He always seems comfortable and I can feel his hands, feet and head to check that they are warm enough.  His body stays warm as it is close to mine, so he doesn’t need extra clothes, just a hat if it’s sunny or cold, socks/shoes and gloves if it’s cold, and suncream when sunny.

I intend to use the papoose with Jake facing outwards when he is around three months old and can hold his head up: I don’t think his head would be well enough supported at the moment (he’s now 8 weeks/11½ pounds).

The papoose has been excellent for taking the dog out on terrains that don’t permit a pram (and on terrains that do permit a pram) as it makes holding his lead easy, enabling me to walk comfortably.  There’s even a pocket for Oscar’s biscuits!”



So, that’s Kate’s comprehensive appraisal of the Baby Carrier to date.  She’s delighted with it and sees it as accompanying her for another 6-9 months, after which time a more substantial carrier, such as the Littlelife Cross Country S2 Child Carrier, with space to store clothes etc will probably take its place.  In the meantime I’m sure that when Jake gets a bit bigger, she will try using the carrier on her back – that does not seem appropriate for a very small baby – and will notate this review accordingly.

So, to summarise:

Fit and Finish:

• this is a well made piece of kit, thoughtfully designed
• the baby carrier can be adjusted (within reason) to suit any user

Features:

• baby can face forwards or backwards and be carried on the user’s back or front
• fully adjustable for custom fit
• useful mesh compartment for dog biscuits etc

Weight:

• not an issue for this product

Practical Use:

• ideal for babies up to 9-12 months old

Price:

• £44.99 from Webtogs, whose service is excellent, with free delivery in the UK, and you won’t be charged until the goods are dispatched

Alternatives:

• there may be alternative products around, but Kate has no desire to seek them out; this one is perfect for her present needs.

Conclusion:

• a well constructed carrier for a very young baby, this piece of kit frees mum from the drudge of pushing a pram and sends the baby to sleep instantly.  Brilliant!

__________________________________________________________

Note: Whilst the gear was provided by Webtogs, this review, over which I have total editorial control, is totally independent of that on-line retailer.
__________________________________________________________

Finally, a view more images, as I was asked to provide ‘lots of cute pictures’.  That isn’t so easy when the baby falls asleep immediately he’s inserted into the baby carrier!

Sunday 26 June 2011 – The Mam Tor Classic Bike Ride

Richard has only recently taken up mountain biking, having volunteered to do the tough ‘gold’ course on the Cairngorm Challenge in September.  It was a pleasure to join him today, on a perfect Peak District morning, for a ride that he found in his book of rides and I found on this excellent website run by Pete Gamble.

We may both have been a bit fuzzy from the previous night’s separate red wine incidents, but we managed to rendezvous and depart from the car park at Castleton by soon after 9.30.  Incidentally, there are numerous free parking opportunities along the route for those who object to shelling out a fiver for the convenience of the car park.

The ride starts with its most boring section, along the tarmac, past the turn to Winnats Pass, which rises steeply past Speedwell Cavern up the valley shown below.

You could choose Winnats as a challenging variation, but it really is much steeper, with more traffic, than the ‘classic’ route we chose to follow, up towards Mam Farm before doubling back above the Blue John Cavern and regaining the road that is open to traffic and heads up to the top of the pass leading to Edale.

It’s good to get this major ascent over with, and the whole route is a delight from hereon in, starting with the lovely path to Hollins Cross, just by way of a warm up for the ‘rough stuff’. 

Although we shouldn’t have ventured onto the footpath, we cycled up the paving to the summit of Mam Tor, where a bystander kindly took the header photo.  Nobody seemed to mind, and we hardly damaged the cobbles as we descended courteously back to the bridleway.

There were lots of mountain bikers about, and Richard’s new bike was a subject of envy.  Mine was also admired, but without envy; at 21 years old it’s maybe the bicycle equivalent of an original Fiat Panda 4WD.

Anyway, from Hollins Cross care was needed for perhaps the most technical section of the entire ride, with one or two bouldery steps to negotiate on our way down to Edale.

Here’s Richard, setting off from Hollins Cross.

The road section from Edale to the turn off to Clough Farm was fast and easy, with little traffic, unlike the narrow nettle lined bridleway up to the farm, down which a succession of mountain bikers roared.

It turned out that the latest Polaris Challenge mountain bike event was being held in the Peak District this weekend, and many riders had chosen to come down this bridleway just as we went up it.  We managed to find a gap in the traffic to slither unimpeded up the narrow muddy sunken lane that comes out at Clough Farm.  Beyond the farm a wide track leads gently upwards before descending steeply to this ford across Jaggers Clough.

We met more Polaris challengers, about half way into today’s allotted 5 hours of mountain bike orienteering, having already done 7 hours yesterday, as we rose steeply up towards Hope Cross.

Instead of going right to the cross, we turned left up a gentle but slightly technical slope, before descending joyfully over rough ground to Woodlands Valley.  I was pleased to be just about able to keep up with Richard on the descents (‘pride before a fall’!), despite my lack of suspension, though he was much quicker on the ascents.

Anyway, we were soon across the A57 and rising steadily past Rowlee Farm to the ridge that separates the two long fingers of Ladybower Reservoir.

Once on the ridge a welcome breather in the sunshine on this beautiful day preceded a much less technical ride along the pleasurable ridge, through buttercup meadows.

Grassy tracks led towards Crook Hill, and we failed to locate the boggy ground mentioned in Richard’s guide book.

Pride comes before a fall.  I proudly shot past Richard on the 30mph descent from Crookhill Farm.  I can’t actually recall having had a ‘proper crash’ on this bike in all its years of ownership, whereas Richard assured me that “I fall off at least once on every outing – you have to challenge the limits”.

You can guess what’s coming.  Richard stayed sedately and securely on his hi-tech stallion all day, and watched as I attempted to brake from 30mph for a right angle bend just above the road beside the reservoir.  It was gravelly.  I did avoid crashing down onto the road, but judging by the expression of the car driver below me it may have been a close thing.  At first I thought I’d just a few nettle stings, but when I noticed blood spurting out of a gash in my knee I decided against just jumping back onto the bike as if nothing had happened.

Anyway, Richard’s first aid kit proved useful.  The hole in the knee was patched up and no lasting damage has been done.

I later discovered that I’d been ‘fingered’ by a local witch who at that very moment was with Sue, saying to her “wouldn’t it be funny if Martin had a crash and couldn’t go on the next trip – I could come with you instead”.  Luckily it was my bionic knee that took the impact, so the witchery failed.  Good try though!

After this incident the rest of the route was uneventful, mainly along minor roads and gentle tracks, passing through the village of Hope, where the annual well dressing was on proud display.

A narrow lane led out of Hope, up the final hill, on which noisy quad bikes tried to scare us.  The views continued to be superb, with Mam Tor, Lose Hill (pictured below) and Win Hill strewn across the skyline to our right.

We got back to Castleton in plenty of time for ice cream in just over 4 hours for the 33-34km ride, with around 800-1100 metres ascent, depending on which gadget you use for measurement.  Garmin says 34km, 820m ascent, whereas Anquet claims 33km and 1120m ascent.

The route plotted on Anquet is shown below.

Here’s the Garmin version:

Thanks, Richard, for an excellent and entertaining (I hope my crash entertained you as much as it did me!) ride, and for the choice of a very good route on which no pushing is required - to me that, together with a high off-road percentage, is a feature of a good route.

There’s a very small slide show with just a few more pictures here.

Wednesday 22 June 2011 – Wheeling and Walking in the Peak District

Today Sue was booked in at a function in Baslow to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Andrew Montgomerie’s ordainment as a vicar.
I decided to tag along, for a breath of fresh air whilst Sue was busy celebrating with the worthies of Andrew’s congregation.



I managed to find a most enjoyable route, mainly off-road, with no particular difficulties – there’s a link to the route card below.
After the briefest of stretches along the main A619 road, a quiet minor road led up to Pilsley, home of one of numerous ‘Devonshire Arms’ hostelries in these parts, where the Duke of Devonshire – the Cavendish dynasty, has been the principal landowner for hundreds of years.



The scenic ride took me by mistake to Bakewell, then back to Edensor and a lovely off-road section through New Piece and Manners woods to a major junction of paths to the south east of Coombs Farm.
Here’s the view from that junction.



Beyond Coombs Farm, the track passes under a bridge that marks the southern end of the Monsal Trail, six tunnels along which have recently been reopened, making the trail excellent for cyclists as well as walkers.  Previously cyclists had limited access as, with the tunnels blocked for many years, the cyclable sections were linked mainly by footpaths barred to wheels.
My route today didn’t extend as far as the tunnels, but the quiet track made for a very pleasant, relaxing ride after the undulating start from Baslow.



I don’t tend to rush about on the bike.  It gives me a sore bottom.  Tea/coffee shops do a good business – I can’t cycle past them – as happened at Hassop Station cafe – see above.
After leaving the easy trail near Great Longstone, I headed up to Rowland, and on up a narrow lane to an area strewn with these blue signs:



This is obviously one of a number of areas in the Peak District where off-road vehicles have caused damage to ancient artifacts and by-ways.  This particular location is one of many being monitored.
I saw no evidence of off-road vehicles today.  There were plenty of signs indicating where they were and were not allowed to venture.  There seem to be plenty of places where they are tolerated, including some of the better surfaced lanes hereabouts.
Here’s the double dyke that is in need of protection.  Exciting, isn’t it?



Just up the lane, Deep Rake becomes High Rake and the track runs beside this deep quarry.  I suspect that vehicles rather more corrosive than trial bikes and recreational 4WDs may have somewhat damaged the fragile double dyke just here.



Just beyond the quarry, a grassy bridleway leads down Longstone Moor towards a large pond that appears to be a relic of intense mining activity just here.



At another major junction my route led down Rough Side, which is signed clearly as a footpath.  The place was deserted, so I would have cycled anyway, as the surface looked as if it wouldn’t be harmed by my tyres, but another sign, whilst barring anything with an engine, encouraged cyclists and horseriders to be courteous to other users.
The track surface has received recent attention and was excellent to cycle along, eventually turning into a narrow thread of tarmac down Coombs Lane for a quick descent to Calver.



From Calver, another very short section along the main road took me to a gentle climb up the B6001 towards Bakewell, past a lay-by that those wishing to avoid parking charges could use as a base for this route.  A left turn along a narrow lane led to a 30-40 mph sweeping descent back to Baslow.
The route is shown below, and there’s a route card here.  (It prints onto one A4 sheet at 70%.)



Fortified by tea in the church hall, and accompanied by a well fed wife, I stashed the bike and proceeded up the hill towards Baslow Edge, past houses you would love to own.



A few minutes above the village, a shower was swinging in, backed by sunny period.  (Did I mention it was a showery day?)



The Duke of Devonshire’s Chatsworth estate was in clear view to the south.



Just before the delights of Baslow Edge, we reached Wellington's monument, dedicated to the Duke of Wellington and a celebration of his victory at the battle of Waterloo in 1815. It was erected by a local man called Dr Wrench, who as an army man, felt the need to counterbalance the memorial dedicated to Admiral Nelson on nearby Birchen Edge.



Once on the Edge, we passed this huge boulder that I can recall trying to ascend on many previous visits.



There’s a good view from the Edge above Curbar.  In between showers.



Back down in the valley, the River Derwent flows serenely through the village of Curbar.



A pleasant riverside path and a quiet lane led back to Baslow and its noisy weir.



Crossing back over the river by the old toll bridge, we passed a brick booth from which the tolls may have been collected (by midgets?).



It’s thanks to Andrew, the vicar of St Anne’s church in Baslow, that we made this trip, and a very enjoyable day out it was too.



Here’s the route of our walk – 7.5km, 250 metres ascent, taking less than 2 hours.



A slide show for the whole day can be found here, and the route card for the bike ride is here.

Summer in Timperley (2)

Back home in Timperley, our swans have produced two youngsters.

The towpath is fairly dry, apart from at a spot where a water main appears to have burst, but this recently surfaced section of the Bridgewater Way, between Sale and Brooklands, is particularly benign, without so much as a pedestrian in sight on a sunny Monday morning.

Anyone for a bike ride?  Tomorrow (Wednesday 22 June) morning at 9.45 am from Baslow Church (SK 251 723) – about 20 miles, of which half will be off road but not technical – at a gentle pace about 3-4 hours.

PS You may have noticed a duplication of this posting and a test posting.  This is because Windows Live Writer failed to transmit the posting and gave me the following error message:

“The server reported an error with the following URL:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/NameofBlog
405 HTTP method POST is not supported by this URL”

I managed to resolve the issue by uninstalling Windows Live Essentials and reinstalling the software, following this guidance.

(Just in case anyone has a similar problem.)

A Dales High Way - Day 8 - Newbiggin-on-Lune to Appleby-in-Westmorland

21km, 300 metres ascent, 5.7hrs incl stops.

Weather: rainy all morning, overcast afternoon with more rain later.

Gayle - good to hear from you. The Phreerunner effect (to the uninitiated this is my unswerving avoidance of bad weather) is not dead, it's just on holiday. Wait and see, and don't let the forecast inhibit your travails!

Phil - Hugh does indeed lead Coast to Coast walks, as on his present trip for Wilderness Travel, on which a party of North Americans is walking snippets of a C2C route on a 'day walk' basis.

Last night's meal at the Black Swan was very good - it's clearly a very successful operation down there. The 'Three Lads' turned up, with a fourth member of their party - 'slim Paul' - who has been curiously transparent until now.

The place was humming, but some mysteries remain... Who IS Fred, how does he manage to have such a woman on his arm, and why did the other two members of their party fail to show? We'll never know.

Today, to be brief, we finished the route to Appleby, mostly in the rain. It was a wet day in the Dales.

An easy start led through pleasant countryside past soggy sheep to a fine but very slippery limestone pavement on Great Kinmond. We slithered down past pretty orchids and primroses, and through a 'working farm' (very scruffy, in need of proper 'work') to Great Asby, where we paused in a bus shelter full of newspapers for the locals to collect. The 'Three Lads' (now a foursome) turned up and went to the pub. Two blokes on the Westmoreland Way joined us.

We decided to carry on to the pub at Hoff.

Andrew banged his head and had to sit on a wall (pictured) to recuperate. The path to Hoff was wet and muddy.

The pub at Hoff was closed, so we lunched on the car park. The New Inn is deceased, for the time being - there's a planning application.*

Not far now to Appleby, but the route was fraught with mud and frisky cows. We made it, and celebrated with cream teas in a friendly café - Taste of Eden.

The castle is shut - since 2004.

Now we are waiting for the train home.

I'll do an overview posting with links to proper photos in due course.

Hope you enjoyed this little journey.

Bye for now.



* October 2011 update: The pub at Hoff has re-opened according to Ethan.

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A Dales High Way - Day 7 - Sedbergh to Newbiggin-on-Lune (Brownber Hall)

19km, 850 metres ascent, 5.7hrs incl stops.
Weather: cloudy morning turning to drizzle for a couple of hours from 12 to 2, then sunny periods.

Chris, if you email me via the 'contact us' button on www.topwalks.com I'll let you know when I've put a suitable 'label' on these blog postings to facilitate a meaningful link from your website.

Good to hear from you, Heather. We had an excellent meal at the Craven Arms, despite Gary's 'Vegetarian Incident' - he's a bit prone to such Incidents, so I wouldn't be concerned, though you may be wise to supplement your tasty meal with a vegetable side dish! And we visited your wedding venue! Wow!

Thanks also for your comment, Roger and Jacky. We hope the Garden Party doesn't turn out too soggy, and we look forward to seeing you again soon. John Hillaby's route through Britain? - an ambitious project - now where's that map?

We were John and Sue's only guests at Holmecroft. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and a chat with them both, before setting off to replenish our luncheon supplies at the Spar shop in the main street. Soon a new Spar will open opposite the entrance to The School, which may change the whole feel of the place.

The lane above the high street car park yields several opportunities for false starts through suburban streets, but some clever (boring?) person has placed 'To the Fell' signs that no doubt discourage navigationally challenged visitors from heading up to dead ends.

The Swifts of Sedbergh were doing their best to dispose of the town's unwary insects as we progressed above the roof tops beside the rising waters of Settlebeck Gill.

The 'Three Lads' who are walking this same route zoomed past - Peter (the boss), Paul (springy legs) and Kev (sunburnt legs! [How?]) - all from Sheffield, on a regular sort of trip; it was the Coast to Coast last year.

A slow plod took me over Arant Haw whilst the others went around it, then on over Calders to our 676 metre high point of the day, The Calf. There was a cold wind at our backs; windproof jackets were donned, and in my case gloves - on 17 June!

It was nearly noon. The sky started to leak though the cloud remained high. We made our way through the drizzle along a pleasantly high and cloud free ridge, over Hazelgill Knott and West Fell. The cloud remained high despite the drizzle, but the lunchtime view down the Langdale valley (pictured - badly, but that's how it was) was rather muted on this dull day. However, the forecast downpour failed to materialise - we are happy about that - and as we descended into Bowderdale the mizzle evaporated and we suddenly found ourselves perspiring under a weak sun.

We passed a pair of oyster catchers nesting on a wall, with goldfinches enjoying the nearby gorse, and hedgerows lined with meadow cranesbill and lady's mantle.

A wet field then a narrow lane led to Brownber Hall, where Hilary and Andrew have been the owners of the 150 year old house for just six months. A lovely place, most appropriate for our last B&B of this trip. It's full tonight, with 18 guests, including eight Americans and their three leaders, one of whom is Hugh Westacott, whose writing in The Great Outdoors magazine I remember well. "You must be very old if you remember those" quipped Hugh.

"Hello Peter" - I surprised a man otherwise known as "Mr Grumpy". One of the Americans' leaders is none other than Pete Goddard, vetter and veteran of 22 TGO Challenge walks across Scotland. Sadly he failed to finish this year and is still trying to nurse himself back to health. We all wish him well.

There's no local eating place, and Hilary isn't cooking tonight, so we have a lift from Andrew to the Black Swan in Ravenstonedale, on which I'll report back tomorrow.

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A Dales High Way - Day 6 - Chapel-le-Dale to Sedbergh (Holmecroft B&B)

25km, 800 metres ascent, 7.5hrs incl stops.
Weather: emerging from an early heavy shower, a pleasant, cool day with sunny periods.
No of comments from guide book authors: 1 - great to hear from you, Chris, and I'm quite happy for you to post links to these pages. We have found both the Route Guide and the Companion to be helpful and informative, as is the website; the only significant omission we've noticed is the Craven Lime Works between Langcliffe and Stainforth.

We finally parted company with Gary, who (thanks for your message) set off home, Jacky - who was called away on urgent business, and Roger - who kindly gave us a lift back to the Hill Inn.

R+J are involved in a second hand book sale in Giggleswick on Saturday. Their garage is currently home to several boxes of books. On the top was what looked like a 1939 first edition Observers Book of Birds. Worth more than the expected 50p?

The downpour had just about ended by the time we set off from the Hill Inn, but waterproofs were donned and despite his earlier intentions Andrew announced that he would be walking around and not over Whernside. So we strolled slowly down to the village, up to Eller Beck past some 'art' (the 'Boggard' of Hurtle Pot), and on to Broadrake, where I took high road and Andrew followed the other three lads who were on the Dales High Way, along the low route that skirts around Whernside's eastern flanks.

[I'm a little puzzled that the authors of this 'High Way' decided to designate the route over Whernside as an 'alternative', preferring the 'skirting around' option for their principal choice.]

By now the sky had cleared and the summit ridge of Whernside was glinting in the sunshine. I plodded slowly up the steep staircase of recently laid paving slabs, with great views down to the Ribblehead viaduct and the neighbouring hills. Approaching the summit, a team of stone-wallers was busy putting the finishing touches to a repaired wall.

I'd not expected to find the summit alive with a mass of small children searching for geocaches! They were having great fun.

Heading off to the north, past Whernside Tarns, the high pitched chatter of small children was replaced by calls from wheeling peewits and the sweet songs of skylarks.

Boot of the Wold was deserted when I reached it, so I had just a young wheatear for company for a pleasant half hour in a sheltered spot whilst I waited for Andrew. He finally came into view for about ten minutes before reaching and passing me. Sitting right next to the track, I must have been well camouflaged!

Lunch was taken in a grassy glade shortly before reaching a stretch of tarmac past a Methodist Chapel, and Dent was reached via the Dales Way path beside the River Dee in Dentdale, the banks of which were filled with generous portions of wild flowers.

It was warm down there, so a pause for café rehydration was required before embarking on our onward journey through lovely meadows (pictured) to Barth Bridge, one parapet of which was being totally reconstructed.

A steep, hot pull up to Lunds Farm was punctuated by a long chat with a farmer who thought this whole walk was beyond the capability of any normal person, and he did also stress that he thought we may be normal. Andrew wandered off, feeling exhausted, whilst I tried to point out to the farmer the defects in his reasoning, citing Andrew as proof. The farmer looked less than convinced!

By and by we reached the 'school' town of Sedbergh, and walked slowly past the town on the shortest route I could come up with, eventually emerging on the main road opposite our comfortable and quiet B&B, where John and Sue are our friendly hosts.

The Red Lion provided adequate sustenance at a good price, and we adjourned to watch 'the teachers' thrash each other at cricket on one of Sedbergh School's excellent pitches, equipped with a fine club house and all the latest gizmos including a remote controlled electronic scoreboard.

PS - Chris, we'll try not to get lost!!

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