Saturday 3 January 2009 - A Raw Day on Ingleborough

Today the weather forecasters drew us out of the house a day early for our 'Sunday Walk'.  Luckily, our plans had not been advertised, so adjustments could be made. 

Setting off from Ingleton at 10 am we were disappointed to find grey skies instead of the predicted blue ones.  However, with only a handful of folk around, we enjoyed a peaceful ascent of Ingleborough via Crina Bottom.  A descending photographer concurred with our feeling that it would be a 'grey day' all day.  He was returning from the summit empty handed - fooled into an early rise by the forecasters.

The path was well frozen and quite icy, though the precautionary crampons were not needed.  With an increasingly bitter breeze as we approached the summit, we were impressed to see two well equipped young cyclists skillfully (and courteously) negotiating the difficult stepped descent.

On the top, various folk ambled around in conditions that could be described as 'benign but raw'.
Pen-y-ghent lurks behind Sue's right shoulder.

A little care was needed on the steep descent to Chapel-le-Dale, with the sun tantalisingly beating down only 5-10 km to the north.

Dropping to the main road via Souther Scales, we then headed around the chapel and past a group of cave divers beside Hurtle Pot, before coming across this statue.
 
This plaque provides its history.  Wow - no vandals here for 25 years!

After another luxurious picnic lunch, with fine if grey views, we headed on up the lane below the grey-green bulk of Whernside.  A left turn by Ellerbeck along the flat and frozen path across Scales Moor took us to a fine vista back to the Ribblehead Viaduct, and across to the frost covered northern slopes of Ingleborough.

Sheep shivered, and hopefully avoided slipping down the 'pots' that litter this area.

There was no sign of any snow despite the illusion - it's just frost.

Photography was difficult on this grey day; we snapped away but were unable to capture the ribbon of red that graced the horizon above Morecambe Bay.  Later this red light turned to purple after the sun had set - memorable, but too distant to record the image.

There had been many folk on Ingleborough, but our fine route back to Ingleton was deserted until we reached Twistleton and joined a procession of people on the latter stages of Ingleton's famous Waterfall Walk, the charge for which (£4.50 for an adult) seems exorbitant, but as we joined in the middle of the route we avoided any payment.

It was dark and slippery in the chasm that the well constructed path negotiates beside the River Doe before drifting past a quarry and along side roads into the village, but Sue did manage this pleasing image of Beesley Falls.
  
Bernie's Café in Ingleton provided good value tea and cake to fuel us for the journey home.

This was a slightly more energetic route than some of our recent strolls, but a very pleasant one and extremely simple to navigate - the 19 km with 800 metres ascent took us just under 5 hours, excluding (brief because it was chilly) stops.  Here's the outline.
 

BTW - I'm afraid we failed to clear the litter shown in the top picture.  So much for that resolution, but we may persist with bottles and cans, etc.

Thursday 1 January 2009 - Hoar Frost on The Sandstone Trail

Happy New Year!

A short drive in freezing conditions to the Candle Workshops at Higher Burwardsley (SJ 521 563) saw Sue and I setting off on a circuit involving the Sandstone Trail, by 10.30, along with an assortment of unconnected folk, mostly with frisky dogs to exercise.  Especially the one that arrived in the back of a pick-up truck, dribbling a six inch icicle.

Hoar frost dominated the day.  Sadly a lack of sunshine led to monochromatic views.  It was however beautiful.  We encountered locals who said they had never experienced quite this level of frost on the trees, which appeared as if in full white foliage.  It was chilly.  There had obviously been repeated hoar frosts over a day or two, as for a lot of the time our path was thick with the white crystals that made it look as if there had been a light covering of snow.  But it was just frost.

There were lots of people out.  Someone had obviously celebrated the New Year at Rawhead, at all of 227 metres our high point for today and the highest point on the 34 mile Sandstone Trail - and had left their empty 'Asti' bottle on the trig point.  So they were cheapskates as well as litter louts!  The bottle is now being recycled, and today in Timperley we saw someone else selflessly clearing discarded beer cans from beside the canal towpath.  Start as we mean to continue, this year...

Bickerton Hill, the site of one of our memorable summer evening BBQs was donated to the National Trust by the Wheeldon family.  There's a commemorative plaque with some poetry - I'll save that for a future posting on an uneventful day so, dear reader, you are spared for now! Hopefully, unlike the Ellerside Ridge near Cartmel, this place is not threatened by the 'march of the wind turbines'.  We enjoyed a fine picnic, our first of the year, involving smoked salmon and other delicacies. New Year's Day always seems to have the air of a fresh start, and today was no exception.  Almost everyone we encountered was up for a chat.  Whilst we were out for a walk on our own, it really did feel most sociable.

As usual, I started a list of birds for the new year.  This always gets started but doesn't progress far.  Today we saw buzzards, huge flocks of chaffinches and starlings, great tit, blue tit, greenfinch, wren, heron, carrion crow, blackbird, thrush (not sure which sort) sparrows (ditto), numerous robins, feral pigeons, wood pigeons, pheasants and magpies.  And due to our speed of passage we probably missed a lot more.

The photos are all very similar, but here are a few more images, below which is an outline of our 15 km route, which included 550 metres of ascent and took us a brisk 3½ hours, including stops.

New Year's Eve Royalty

Princess Kate and Prince Andrew were our hosts for New Year's Eve and are responsible for my aching shoulders, as they had a Wii for Christmas....!
Thanks for a lovely evening and a feast fit for a King.

A New Year's Eve Engagement

Congratulations to Kate, and to Simon who chose to prostrate himself in front of my daughter in the last hours of 2008.

Our very best wishes go to you both.  2009 is off to a great start...

Saturday 27 December 2008 - Cartmel and the Ellerside Ridge

This was our last walk of the year.  It was fitting that the sun beamed down on us all day from a clear blue sky, leaving us - despite the cold - with our abiding memory of this year...

A Year of Constant Summer.

We can only hope for (but don't expect) the same next year.

I notice Martin Rye is being complimented on his gear reviews.  We are pleased not to have been serious testers of gear (though we are available as such) this year, as we would have struggled to achieve much proper testing.

That said, I have the following observations:

1.  Innov8 Roclite shoes - fell apart after less than 300 km of gentle use.
2.  Waterproofs - not really tested despite our having been 'out' for around 150 days this year.
3.  Terra Nova Hyperspace tent - withstood strong gales - I feel it was tested despite only being used in anger on two nights.
4.  Hilleberg Nallo tent - now 4½ years old, used for 100+ nights in Scotland, Pyrenees and Alps.  Still not 'tested' by the weather.  An excellent tent nevertheless.
5.  Hi-Tec Altitude Ultra boots (courtesy of WD and Hi-Tec) - I am testing these and their low weight and extreme comfort have created a very good impression so far.  Maybe soon I'll get a chance to test their waterproof qualities.

A fuller review of some of the kit we used this year may follow when time permits.

Cartmel was reached by 10am.  There were plenty of parking spaces in the village, making for an easy rendezvous with Nick and Daniela, with time to wander in the grounds of the impressive Priory (above) before enjoying coffees in the 'tea shop'.  The owners hoped we would be the first of many customers today.

A stroll through the quiet village, past several hostelries, led us to the unlikely site of a racecourse.  It hosts an annual horse racing meeting which must transform the normally tranquil village into the scene and atmosphere of a splendid carnival.

In today's sub-zero temperatures we strolled briskly on, past the fields of Seven Acres Farm and into Lane Park Wood.  On and on, missing our planned turn right up the path that the 'Cumbria Coastal Way' shares with the 'Cistercian Way'. 

I blame Daniela - she was chatty as ever.  Not to worry though, she and Nick were savouring this rare taste of English countryside before their imminent return to Shanghai, where Nick has as tough a job as we can imagine.

It was easy to regain our route via a short stroll past Holker Hall up the B5278 road, then muddling our way along the vague forestry tracks around Long Scar.

Before long we found ourselves rising up to the Ellerside Ridge, where our high point for the day - at all of 170 metres - lay at a trig point slightly off the path at How Barrow.   We lingered here with tea and CCS for quite some time.  It was sunny, calm and very pleasant.  We had some lunch.  A tripod was found for some group photos.  Striking poses were formed against the backdrop of the Coniston peaks and wide views of the Lake District, Morecambe Bay, and the Yorkshire Dales with Ingleborough's distinctive outline.

The ridge held fine views despite its diminutive stature.  Being outside the Lake District National Park, very few folk were around on this stunning day.  A fox scampered in front of us, and an ancient aircraft looped the loop in the distance.We paused at length in an attempt to capture images of the ice crystals that, in the shade, were holding their form all day. Turning along the right of way to Speel Bank Farm, the view east dominated.  Had we sported binoculars we may well have spied some 'lard' on Hutton Roof.  A dim horse at the farm tried to nibble our fingers. Our path took us up past a red deer reserve and through Collkield Wood, heading north to join a minor road at Grassgarth.  Whilst the surface was well frozen today, this short section of our stroll displayed evidence of the passage of many trail bikes that had devoured the frail paths.  Such a shame. (Actually, I think we may have missed the path here and descended on private land where trail bikes are allowed to roam.  Thankfully it was quiet today.)

A short way along the road a right turn along a dark bridleway led us into an area of forest devastation known as the Great Allotment.  The path passes small lakes and is clear and firm, leading in and out of woodland before emerging from the forest in an area that could call for waterproof footwear should the ground not be frozen.

With superb views south, we lingered here for second helpings of tea and lunch.

Paths, tracks and minor roads led on beyond Over Ridge, past tall pines with long shadows, and through narrow stiles and grassy fields to Wall Nook. Here we followed footpath signs but deviated from our planned return to Cartmel via Well Knowe.  We were distracted by a field of very large and attentive sheep. Luckily, only I knew the plan, so nobody seemed bothered when we emerged onto a minor road at Croftside.

This lane led pleasantly back to the fleshpots of Cartmel, where throngs of visitors had filled the small village during our absence.  It was positively humming with activity.  A small boy overbalanced in his quest for fish, and plopped into the stream by the Kings Arms.  He made a fairly rapid, soggy, and no doubt shivery exit!

There's a 'sticky toffee pudding' shop here...irresistible, and well worth buying a jar of extra 'sauce'.

At 14 km, and with only 350 metres of ascent, this was indeed a short walk, but as we wound our way back to the tea shop, the low sun cast a final rosy glow over the 800 year old Priory before darkness fell. Here are a few more images from today's walk - an album of 34 images to supplement those above.

Here's an outline of our route.

And finally, as this is our last posting in 2008, Sue and I take this opportunity to wish all our readers our very best wishes for health and happiness, and even a few satisfying days out, in 2009 and beyond.  And if you'd like to join us tomorrow....we will be starting at about 10.30 from the Cheshire Workshops at Burwardsley - SJ 521 563 - for about a 15 km (9 mile) circular walk featuring the Peckforton Hills, Bickerton Hill and the Sandstone Trail.
We'll be taking butties for lunch, but also perhaps passing a hostelry.

Boxing Day - 2008

A family occasion:
Enough to break the lens - I gave up at that point despite the plentiful ammunition.

I'm sure any readers will agree with my decision!

Christmas Day - 2008

We enjoyed a lovely day, with a walk by the Bridgewater Canal, a fine meal, and an enjoyable session with a pile of pressies next to the tree.....before sinking into oblivion.

 

Lunch?

 

 

Grandma was there as well, but seems to have escaped from the viewfinder...

Wednesday 24 December 2008 - Styal Woods

The allure of 'a short stroll with a grandma' was enough to attract Rosemary and Lucy to these pages for the first time.  They usually lurk, unseen to the world at large, in a kitchen next to an Aga.

But today the sun was shining, the rendezvous at Twinnies Bridge was 11.30, and a finish in time to return home for lunch was promised.

A very small van that was dispensing 'real' coffee in the small car park, together with a ritual doling out of chocolate caramel shortbread, provided sustenance before we headed off through the National Trust woodland towards Styal Mill, closed today, but picturesque with the winter sun bathing the old mill's bricks with a soft glow.
A little circuit in Styal Country Park, beyond the mill, was sufficient for today, before returning via the mill car park and the field paths above the woodland.

Lucy, a youngster, continued to pull on her lead all morning, this youth's tiredness being exhibited only by the increasing floppiness of her tail towards the end of the 5 km stroll.

 

We met Queen Patsy, resplendent in her posh carriage, and her family.

 

 

 

Dogs gossiped.

Humans gossiped.
 
"What is going on?" chorused the three stooges.

We were heading deep into the woods, following the cleft wrought by the River Bollin.  Who would have thought that jumbo jets were landing just a few metres away from this spot!

We eventually emerged from the woods to enjoy the easy walk across fields and back to Twinnies Bridge in good time to return home for lunch.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Seasons Greetings from Timperley to all our readers and correspondents.

With our Best Wishes for a Happy and Active 2009

from Sue and Martin

The Engadine - Switzerland

We've been a bit quiet recently. 

Not because we've been away.  We've just been under the weather and busy with a variety of things of absolutely no interest to our readers.  During one of our jobs - sorting the vast 'tray' of 1500 emails that has accumulated since our New Zealand trip, many months ago, I've come across a few items that are far more enticing than 'December in Timperley'.

For example, one of our new friends from the TGO Challenge - 'The Eccentric Austrian' ('Eccentric' covers a multitude of characteristics that only readers of our TGO Challenge report will appreciate), Markus, reported as follows on one of his subsequent activities:

"At the end of July we undertook a three day biking trip across some great mountains in the Swiss Engadine. A walker's and biker's paradise. We´ll come across some sections of this superb tour again on our Transalp ride. Please, find some photos of this trip in the attachment."

The Engadine may present Sue and me with a bit of a problem regarding our ongoing 'Italian Border Route' walk.  We will reach the area in 2009 or 2010, but the 'ethic' of our route is that it stays mainly in Italy.  We may therefore be missing this superb area of Switzerland that we not yet visited.  That's despite my having been the proud owner of 'Walks in the Engadine' by Kev Reynolds, since 1991!

Perhaps a circular walk will have to be devised.

Markus and his friends clearly enjoyed their bike ride.  The trail shown at the head of this posting looks (if they weren't walking! - do we have an Austrian wimp?) fairly challenging, and the images below give the impression of high level fun.  The track pictured above looks to me to be similar to Sentiero Orsi that links the Tuckett and Pedrotti huts in the Brenta Dolomites - the path nicknamed 'The Lower Cycle Track'.

Anyway, this has added a little brightness to a dull Saturday afternoon in Timperley.  Thank you Markus - I hope you don't mind me using your pictures, and I look forward to hearing more about the 'Transalp' ride (I've admired again the images you kindly sent, and I may be tempted to reproduce them if you can provide a short report...) For those who haven't been there, I can recommend the Brenta Dolomites, where Molveno is a delightful base.  The Engadine also looks as if it is a 'must go' area.  We would like to be able to report from there at first hand in the not too distant future.

Sunday 14 December 2008 - A Christmas Bimble

The Vanilla Kitchen Coffee Shop in Tideswell provided welcome refreshment for the crushed passengers of the small car after the winding roads from Manchester.  Gary and Sue were already installed, and we enjoyed a leisurely sojourn here before heading down to Tideswell Dale Picnic Site.

Here the occupants of a fleet of vehicles that had arrived from places as far flung as Louth and Crosby were milling around exchanging Christmas cards and noshing Nallo Lady's chocolate caramel shortbread.

Graham and Tove - who had just about the shortest journey - were inexplicably missing, so we paused briefly before setting off without them on a dull, overcast day.  Thankfully it was dry and calm, so not at all bad for this sociable outing.

Litton Mill has now been renovated and after years of looking derelict it now appears occupied and presentable, despite a large piece of plant still lingering outside.

Beyond here Andrew's gloomy prediction of a flooded path at Cressbrook seemed to come true when we met another group returning along the path, shaking their heads despondently.  So we decided not to join the ducks, and headed along the alternative higher path to Cressbrook, where another mill has been converted into apartments.  These have a much better outlook than those at Litton.  There's a café here, but today it looked shut for the winter.  The path was indeed a bit flooded, but it looked quite navigable for those with decent boots.

It's many years since I had seen so much water here, but I suppose it did rain yesterday.  Anyway, we were soon up on the old railway line that to Ruskin's dismay* provided a link between Buxton and Bakewell.  I recall the days before the tunnels hereabouts were blocked - they were fun to walk through, and perhaps that's why we didn't notice the flooded river in those days! Upperdale from Monsal Head

It took us less than an hour and a half to reach the sanctity of the Longstone Restaurant at Monsal Head Hotel by soon after noon.  Sue and Phil were waiting, shivering in the cold air, both suffering from ailments that had confined them to bed for the morning.  We installed ourselves at the two long tables prepared by the staff.  Three people were missing, but their food had been ordered and was being cooked, so Ken (who had turned up 'on spec') was faced with the decision as to which of the three meals he should eat, and the rest of us were anticipating a share of the other two.

Drinks were ordered and crackers were pulled as our leisurely lunch commenced.  The door burst open and a red-faced, puffed out, soggy duo entered the fray and claimed their places at the table.  Graham and Tove had got lost on their short journey to the departure point.  This used to happen a lot when Graham had affairs with a string of Marilyns, but after carousing with 1524 of these ladies to date, he seems to have run out of girls with that name in England and has moved on to bagging Norwegian Toves.  Fearful of missing their meals, the soggy pair had waded through the flooded river at Cressbrook, so as I thought - it wasn't really all that bad despite Andrew's woeful prediction.

[This won't stop Andrew, still grumpy from nearly witnessing recent horrific events at the City of Manchester Stadium, asserting that he was right and I was wrong!]

The food and service was excellent and we enjoyed the best part of 2½ hours in the warmth of the restaurant.  Some water pistols discovered in the crackers provided entertainment for the more intellectually challenged within this diverse group.  It had been a good turnout of 19 for the traditional Christmasy get together.

Historically a small group of friends would assemble on this day in the Stable Bar next door and plan the next year's activities so that they could be broadcast by way of Christmas card enclosures.  Remember those?  But times move on, and the internet can be deployed to aid with planning, so whilst plans for 2009 were discussed, the actual 'programme' doesn't need to go out with the cards and can be communicated by email and web page, and even here.  [This walk is the last on the current programme, so suggestions for 2009 will be gratefully received.]

Anyway, by the time we left at around 2.30, with Sue and Phil adjourning to their sick bed and Graham and Tove now in tow, the light was already beginning to fade.  But not enough to prevent a group photo by the weir in Monsal Dale (see above).

Ambling back to Tideswell via Brushfield was fairly intuitive, and the closest we got to viewing a map today was the minute screen on Paul's flashy GPS enabled mobile phone.  (I'm only jealous!)

Even that was not needed though, and despite a pause for tea, etc in High Dale, we managed to get back to the cars (except Graham and Tove - they are still looking for theirs as far as we know) before 5 pm, without the need for torches, which only a couple of us had with us anyway....

So ended an excellent and most sociable little excursion.  Thank you everyone for coming, thank you for paying for your food, etc so efficiently, apologies for any minor errors in the above account (feel free to comment), and we hope to see you all again soon, after all your various Christmas trips to Kilimanjaro, Ayres Rock, Liverpool Bay, Bonsall, and a few more mundane destinations....

Here's a short slideshow - just 15 images from this overcast day.  Thank you to Jenny for providing most of them.

Shown below is an overview of the route - about 14 km with 700 metres ascent, and strolled on this day in less than 4 hours at a very amiable pace. *"There was a rocky valley between Buxton and Bakewell, once upon a time as divine as the Vale of Tempe; you might have seen the Gods there morning and evening - Apollo and all the sweet muses of the light - walking in fair procession on the lawns of it, and to and fro among the pinnacles of its crags. You cared neither for Gods nor cash (which you did not know the way to get) you thought you could get it by what the Times calls 'Railway Enterprise'. You enterprised a railroad through the valley - you blasted its rocks away, heaped thousands of tons of shale into its lovely stream. The valley is gone and the Gods with it, and now every fool in Buxton can be at Bakewell in half an hour and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton; which you think a lucrative process of exchange - you fools everywhere."