Helvellyn via Swirral Edge 8th July 2012

Despite getting up at 6.30, I still didn’t manage to get started walking until 10.45. I really am going to have to NOT stop at Lancaster services for a coffee in future.
I had 2 goals for the day: to do a bit of a scramble and to do a long walk to see if I’d got the stamina.
I parked up at Glenridding car park for a whopping £7 for the day, although as it turned out it was less than a pound per hour. There are clean, free loos in the car park, and a cafe and postcards if you want them.
The route goes past a camp site and then rises up alongside Mires Beck. I soon picked up 3 old men (on large Ramblers’ outing from St. Helens). They were either behind or ahead of me for half the day. I left them to climb to Birkhouse Moor (1st Wainwright of the day). A dog was roaming loose on the hillside and chasing sheep but I couldn’t see an owner, too far away for me to try to catch it too, and then what would I do with it, even if it did stay still long enough?

Ullswater

Back on the path along a big wall for a long flat section. Over on St. Sunday Crag, someone was being rescued from the cliff. When I’d walked St. Sunday Crag I’d watched a rescue of someone on Striding Edge.

Away from the wall to head across to Red Tarn, still flat so made up some time.
Red Tarn is at the base of the climb to Swirral Edge and a Mountain Leader was about to take a group of children up there too. I knew he was an ML the minute I overheard him point out Geographicum lichen! Plus he got them all to check their bootlaces and talked about foot placement and 3 points of contact.
The group commenced the climb and I stopped for my first lunch of pitta filled with hummous, tomato and basil so as to give them a good head start.
However, when I got to the hard part of the climb up the edge, there they all were again so he let me go past. It’s a short section of scrambling and does require concentration and thought as to where to put your hands and feet but there is enough room to take the numbers of people. It was more busy with people coming down but waiting for them is a chance for a breather. What it does do is get you to the top very quickly. A father coming down with his son was berating him for going down on his bum and bullying him in a very unpleasant way, such a contrast with the group coming up and I so wanted to intervene and kick dad off the mountain but anyway I kept quiet.
Helvellyn (2nd Wainwright) is a big plateau at 950m and I stopped at the first cairn and chatted to a couple of men about whisky. Then I moved on to the trig point and chatted to a couple of Indian men who had come up the easy way from Thirlmere with no gear, no map, no compass. They took my photo and I took theirs. My first trio had turned up by then and we all advised them how to get down and back to their car but I didn’t see them after that so they must have gone a different way, which would mean a long walk along the road.

Someone biked up Helvellyn
Me on the top, doing the bent knee pose!

I treated myself to an energy bar in the shelter and then set off for Nethermost Pike (3rd Wainwright) and then Dollywagon Pike (4th).

Old gatepost at foot of Dollywagon Pike

After Dollywagon it was 3/4 of an hour to get down to Grisedale Tarn, although the path is good. Here I had my second lunch, identical to the first and it rained for about 10 minutes.
I was feeling quite tired and still had a long stretch to get back to Glenridding. I only managed to do this by setting myself intermediate goals of places to look for and aim for.

Ruthwaite Lodge climbing hut

It was a lovely walk and although I’d seen a few people I hadn’t actually passed anyone since Helvellyn. It took 2 and 1/4 hours to get back, the last section was a bit tricky. I had an option to go up in order to get back down, staying on Access Land and on Rights of Way, or to go off the Access Land and along marked paths on the contour. I chose the latter as I just couldn’t face any further up by then and was cursing every little rise. This took me across a fence with barbed wire into a mucky old wood with lots of bog and rotting trees. I slid my way out of that to go through over head high bracken which wet me through and then down onto a real track leading to a house and then onto the main road which frankly I was quite glad to see.
I left Glenridding at 6.30 and was back home at 8.30, not bad!
I did 17 km which is 10.5 miles – mountain miles! so the stamina is ok as although I felt tired and had a few leg and foot aches and pains, nothing was unbearable. And I did the lesser of the 2 Edges leading to Helvellyn, so all I need now is my pal Cath to do the other Edge!

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Lakeland Break 28th June – 2nd July 2012

Silver How 28th June

Carol and I arrived in Chapel Stile in time for lunch. As we drove near Windermere a big storm had started up. We got unpacked without getting too wet and the storm only caught up as I walked back from parking the car. We are staying in the annexe to Inglewood House which is Jane and Malcolm’s holiday cottage that they let out. They have very kindly allowed us to come here to the annexe. It’s compact but has all mod cons. C has a ham and a cheese sandwich lunch and I have tuna salad that I picked up on the way in M&S at Lancaster services. I sit and continue with Wolf Hall on my iPhone while lightning and thunder perform a merry dance. The rain is bouncing up about 6″. About 3 it starts to brighten and the rain stops so we quickly get out.
Just along the road is a path up to Spedding Crag which rises steeply to a col. From there we bear to the left to avoid the bog but miss the good path which is indistinct at that point. We descend a little through tall bracken and cross the first of several raging torrents. We skirt round a plantation where several big trees have been uprooted. Looks like the ground has been loosened by the vast amounts of wet and then a big wind has toppled them.
At a wall corner we turn left up a good path towards the clouds. I am expecting Wainwright’s scramble but the path continues to the top of Silver How. C says she is pleased she’s done the summit. As we turn and descend the clouds head away and we get good views to Grasmere. We return via the good path that avoids big bog and bracken to the col. Then a fast descent, all done without the use of an anorak!
We’ve got Look What We Found chicken curry with rice, sugar snap peas and ciabatta for supper. I wasn’t quite sure what the cooking facilities would be so played easy. It’s a microwave with grill and oven and 2 separate and fast heating electric rings and all work efficiently. So well that I am now thinking about getting one myself. As well as varifocal contact lenses (these would be easier for seeing up mountains in the rain.)
Carol
Down to Chapel Stile
Big cloud on top of our heads

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Townend and the Grasmere Hotel 29th June

We got into the Nat Trust’s Townend on a “bring a friend for free” offer (NT BOGOF!). It’s a 17th century farmhouse that stayed in the Browne family for yonks and then one of them went mad for wood carving in Victorian times. Beatrix Potter knew the family and was scathing about the carving. Nearly everything oak had been attacked so you can see her point. I liked the house and old barn opposite. Mr B had made up his own coat of arms and installed his own pew in the church but the other parishioners said “stuff that” and ripped it out and burnt it.
Picnic lunch in car. Pitta bread with salami, tomatoes and crisps for me, ham roll, crisps and tangerine for C.
We went to Grasmere and Ambleside shopping.
Dinner at the Grasmere Hotel run by poofs. 4 course dinner for 2 for £45. Pâté appetisers. C had duck and orange pate, then tarragon chicken then Grasmere gingerbread and meringue. I had sardines (3) because had only the other day said I’d never had one. The fish was nice but very fiddly to eat so won’t bother again but might try tinned to see if they don’t have bones. Then beef in beer with spuds and veg. Sorbet in between first and second courses. Then almond frangipani with almond and brandy ice cream. C made friends with everyone. So we heard all about the people who got soaked to their underwear. Coffee which came with mini choc coated Kendal mint cake. Finding it hard to move….
Down the street from our door
Townend, fab chimneys
Very old barn at Townend

Holme Fell 30th June

We parked in a NT car park at Tarn Hows on the road from Ambleside to Coniston. A short stretch along the busy main road to Yew Trees Farm which was used in the Renee Zellweger film about Beatrix Potter and although BP didn’t live in it, the farm was one that she bought and gave to the NT. The walk goes along a flat section above Yew Trees Tarn and then rises through Harry Guards Wood. The path follows the stream up to Uskdale Gap which is a col with views across to the Langdale pikes. We then climbed a bit more to the cairn which gave us views to Coniston Water. We descended to get out of the wind and nipped down to “Reservoirs (disused)” to sit on a rock for our picnic lunches. Mine was the same as yesterday’s and I think C’s was too. Some Belted Galloways were munching about 100m away which was fine but then they gathered on our path back. They belonged to Yew Trees Farm who sell the meat. The cows mostly moved away but as we set off about 5 of them were on the path and we had to walk between them. Ahead of us was a party of 5 people who watched our fearlessness in the midst of cattle!
We got down quite quickly meeting only a group of DoE silver medal candidates. I considered getting some beef but the logistics of keeping it cool, fresh etc. not so easy.
We popped into Coniston and popped out again so took a circuit drive round the lake going past Brantwood, John Ruskin’s house which looked interesting and now thinking about going there.
Home for lamb dinner whilst the locals bang away at the pre gala dance. Grilled lamb steaks from our farm shop with spuds and steamed broccoli and carrots.
Across to Pavey Ark and some Stickles
Reservoir (disused)
Coniston Water

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Tarn Hows and Iron Keld 1st July

We survived the pre gala dance by playing Scrabble in the kitchen downstairs where mercifully the noise was less. I was beaten. But very tired so drank wine and whisky. Just after getting into bed it stopped promptly at midnight.
This was a day for trying to dodge the rain so we had a look in Rock Bottom in Grasmere whilst firming up our plans. Decided to park in same NT car park as yesterday (this weekend I’ve recouped nearly half my NT membership fee!). Just as we set off a man asked us to keep an eye out for his camera so we took his phone number and promised to do so but we didn’t find it. The footpath to Tarn Hows goes through woodland up the side of a stream that turns into a waterfall and then Tom Gill which is quite a high fast force. Tarn Hows itself is a man made lake with manicured paths but also ducks, geese and water lilies and islands.
Usual lunch on a wet bank looking at the rain on the lake.
Then we got away from the main drag and onto AW’s “rough old road” to the Iron Keld plantation. Here we headed north to Iron Keld. A keld is a source or spring. We then turned back and retraced our steps. We saw 2 stoats running along a wall for a good few metres.
Finished off the day at the Jumble Room in Grasmere. Great resto and recent diners have been Vint Cerf (our waiter said he was the head of Google, but as a founder of Arpanet he goes back before Google was even thought of and without which Google would not exist) and Sting! I had gnocchetti with cheese sauce and truffle for starter. Never had truffle before but am a convert – totally delicious. C and I both had lamb koftas served with couscous, cherry tomatoes, cucumber yoghurt sauce and rose petals (another first!) C had sticky toffee pud and I had pannacotta with strawberries and shortbread. All very delicious. If you go there, which we both heartily recommend, the upstairs is quieter.
Tom Gill
Many gloves for foxes
Near Iron Keld
Iron Keld plantation

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The Monday was too wet for anything much so we drove around a bit, Brantwood looked too busy so we had our sandwiches in the car looking at some wet cows and then headed home.
We had a lovely few days eating our way round Grasmere. We had some good walks up the smaller fells and managed not to get badly wet. I now need to not eat for several weeks to get this belly down!
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Loughrigg Fell 8th June

We ended up with a day trip to the Lakes and climbed this fell. It turns out that despite its compact size it is a Wainwright. We had fortuitously parked the car in a place with good access to the fell. It’s a short walk up with great views across to Grasmere but also fab all round views. We picked a small one because the weather had just been awful all the way across to the Lakes and we managed to get to the top without getting wet. It only started up again for the long haul as we descended. All very atmospheric and it’s pronounced Luff-rigg.

Grasmere
CB
Oh that’s where the chocolate went!

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Pavey Ark 6th May 2012

I arrived at Dungeon Ghyll about 12 and parked in the hotel’s car park for £4 for the day as opposed to the national park authority’s car park opposite for £6.50. I’ve just found out there are National Trust car parks at Stickle Ghyll and Old Dungeon Ghyll so I could have parked for nothing. They weren’t very obvious is all I can say. I didn’t actually get going until 12.30.
My plan was to climb Pavey Ark via Jack’s Rake and then once up, do as many Wainwrights as I could fit in. Really I should have started earlier but I was so tired it didn’t happen. I know exercising more makes me less tired but at the moment I am very tired most of the time so in a vicious circle which is hard to break out of.
I got up Dungeon Ghyll easily, taking the right hand path but crossing over so as to be on the left side at the top. A dam is shown on the map which I guessed correctly that it would be walkable but I didn’t want to take any chances. The paths in this area are all very good and new. At Stickle Tarn, I turned left and got away from all the people and had my first lunch (falafel wrap, crisps from M&S).
I found the start of Jack’s Rake and almost immediately felt I was entering into climbing rather than scrambling, retreated, and then went and located the real start to the Rake just a few metres away. This was fine until I reached a section I just could not get up. I could have moved to the left but felt that to do this I needed to be wearing a hard hat. I know that lots of people go up here without one. I think also by this time I was feeling rattled so despite this hard won 50 metres of height gain, I again retreated. Part of me kept saying “if David Dodwell can do this, so can I” but by this time my confidence was dwindling. DD is an ex-colleague, lovely man and very fit! I was annoyed with myself as the conditions for doing the Rake were perfect, no wind, no rain.
So then onto Easy Gully, Wainwright says this is fine except for one section where you need long legs. Fine it was until I reached this huge block of rock. I helped a teenage girl get up it by pushing on her bum (I told her I was going to do this and it was the only bit I could reach!), her friend or relation was pulling her up so I told him, once we’d got her up, that this is not a wise thing to do (because her weight, even though she was very light, would still be enough to pull him down, and I have just learnt this on ML training). Despite me chiding him, he very kindly offered to help me up, but  I said if I couldn’t get up under my own steam I would go back down again. I tried looking for alternative ways to get round the rock but it really was the only way. During one of these,  I slipped back down a rock and banged my knee. I just couldn’t do it and have no idea how this party which included a small child and a dog, managed to get up there. Let alone AW! Another retreat, back down 100 metres. Time for my second lunch which was almost identical to the first!
By this time I was starting to feel even more tired and fed up, but didn’t want to waste having driven 110 miles. I contoured round to what AW describes as a grassy slope. It no longer is as it’s been converted to a very good path, you can just see where the grassy slope was in places. This got me up to the top of Pavey Ark at last.
It was now well after 4pm and I needed to think about going home. So instead of skipping around on the tops gathering lots of Wainwrights very quickly, I had to go back down. I headed in the direction of Harrison Stickle, contouring around to reach the path. I passed a laminated photo of a child which someone had fairly ineffectively secured to the ground. Whilst I’m very sorry that the child has died, I can’t understand how anyone can think this is a good idea. All it needs is a big wind, which will probably be quite soon and then this just becomes detritus.
Lots of interesting rocks on Pavey Ark, some with big blobs stuck on and lots which look as if they’ve been sand blasted, which they probably have as it’s a form of volcanic sandstone. Just found out these are created by vesicles, pockets of vesicular gases which were created when the rock was molten.
I chatted to a man and boy going up as I went down. I’d seen them earlier. They also had bottled out of Jack’s Rake and also failed Easy Gully. What a misnomer that is. So it wasn’t just me but this didn’t make me feel any better.
The walk back down to Stickle Tarn was quite quick but the path back to Dungeon Ghyll seemed to take forever. I arrived back at the car just after 6pm and ate 2 energy bars.
This was not a Quality Mountain Day for me, but more a day of frustration, stress, tiredness. Weirdly it probably does fit into the ML remit for one, see below. No navigational incompetencies but very little achieved. It felt like all I did was either go up or go down without the relief of a little bit of flat. I did about 150 metres on top of the actual height of Pavey Ark (700m).
I used my Magellan GPS booster which extends my phone battery life and improves the GPS reception. Along with Memory Map on the phone, this worked really well and I’ve finally got a track of my route on my PC. I did 9 km in 5.5 hours. It does show however that I swam in Stickle Tarn, which is something Chris would do, but not me!

A QMD as defined for the Mountain Leader scheme:

  • the individual takes part in the planning and leadership
  • navigation skills are required away from marked paths
  • experience must be in terrain and weather comparable to that found in UK and Irish hills
  • knowledge is increased and skills practised
  • attention is paid to safety
  • five hours or more journey time
  • adverse conditions may be encountered

Now of course, I can’t help but think of other meanings for QMD! None for publication here though!

Since I wrote this, 2 people have died on Jack’s Rake, one of them was a man who is related to a woman I work with and the 2nd a woman a week later. It is not an easy scramble and needs real care and preparation.

Pavey Ark from Stickle Tarn
From Easy Gully
Defeated by big, bad boulder in the middle
Stickle Tarn from Pavey Ark
Tormentil

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Low Pike, High Pike, 27 November 2011

Parked up in Ambleside for £6 for 5 hours. Bit pricey. I left the car park just after 11.00 and quickly found my way, always the hardest bit when starting off in towns. The Nook takes you along a lane which has several boarded up old buildings which appeared to be part of the University of Cumbria. It’s about a kilometre to Nook End Farm which also appeared uninhabited but they had left their outside lights on. You have to walk through the farm and then very soon you are at Lower Sweden Bridge which is to do with swithins although other than the saint, I’m not sure what they are. I did a bit of leap frog with a couple who annoyed me because I didn’t want to do that, but I soon left them behind. Going to the gym every day for the last week has paid dividends and I felt quite fit. It was pretty cold and windy but I stayed on the east side of a very tall wall which goes all the way up and it was a good windshield.
I was looking for what Wainwright describes as a “Bad Step” but didn’t see it. It made me think of the Hillary step but I’m not planning on going looking for that!
I got to Low Pike after a bit of scrambling and had a chocolate biscuit. I was wearing lined trousers which was just as well. I’d put them on after seeing the forecast that said on the tops the wind chill would be -15C.
Just before the land of bog I climbed a stile that had been constructed for giants, I consider I’m fairly averagely proportioned but I could hardly hold the 2 sides at the same time and the steps were also very deep. Then the huge expanse of bog which was quite hard to work through, but there are helpful signs saying “Deep Bog” and pointing the hapless walker to yet more bog. Considering this is part of the Fairfield Horseshoe, this section really needs sorting with stepping stones. I managed only to get a few footfulls. I also made a mental note not to be returning in the dark for this section.
At High Pike I got out of the wind and had my lunch of pate in a garlic pitta bread. It was still very cold with the wind. After wrapping up I decided to head back down as it was just too cold and windy to be much fun, I momentarily pondered how to deal with frost bite but soon warmed up my hands with the exercise. As I had remarked to Becks only the day before, on her not reaching the top of Cadair Idris, “the mountain will always be there”. Except of course if you live in the Appalachian mountains where mountain top removal has being going on for the last 50 years. I just find this thought so upsetting. After Carol and I watched Bladerunner last weekend, I checked up to see what Daryl Hannah was up to these days and found that she has been arrested several times for protesting about various environmental outrages including mountain top removal. Oh and Bladerunner is dire. What a gloomy film, it hasn’t improved in the 30 years since I last watched it.
I would probably have done more if it had just been one of those factors (cold or windy). I only had a few little bits of rain on me during the walk. My new hat works very well as it covers my ears, mad that I’ve been wearing an ineffective hat for so long.
On the way down I came across a few pounds and 3 keys. I was in a bit of a dilemma as to what to do with these and in the end I left them there on the grounds that if I had lost mine, I would retrace my steps to find my things. I hope the people to whom I think they belonged did that. I decided that taking them to the police probably wouldn’t help much.
On my return route, I located the “Bad Step” as I took a slightly different route and then came upon it and was glad that I was just going down it as it would have been quite hard to get up it, not possessing the giant arms and legs.

Back at the car, I changed my footwear and then went to the loo in the car park and although it was still light outside, there was no light inside so this was a real lot of fun. I had a quick look in the shops but failed on that particular mission so went home for a warm up.

Looking back at Windermere
The wall
Looks innocuous but made for giants
Back towards Low Pike
My picture to echo Wainwright’s drawing of the same. Note horizontal courses of stones.
Ray of light
Low Pike again
Strata
Blasted bog
Oh yes, and where exactly is the path?
The Bad Step looking really harmless
My actual ascent, not having noticed the Bad Step
Some colour at the end of the day

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