Trekking Britain Blog

Higger Tor and Carl Wark via Burbage Rocks

2012-01-15T12:57:00.000Z

Weather has been pretty lame for the past few weeks. It has been really grim. Temperatures milder than normal for this time of year which means wet, windy and dull. It has been a serious problem in the hills and mountains and sadly fatal for some. However for the first Thursday in weeks, the chirpy young weather girl on the BBC weather report seemed to have good news. There was to be a slight respite for several hours last Saturday morning. I was a little cautious of this forecast as all week they were reporting that winds would ease, in reality however it blew a gale for the entire week. I was looking at possible routes on my Macbook and had to turn up the music due to the noise of the wind coming down our chimney. I wasn't going to get much chance to get out at the moment so I jumped on the chance of a possible weather window.

Carl Wark and Higger Tor

I posted on both Twitter and my Facebook page the fact I was going to go to the Lake District or Snowdonia, to see if anyone wanted to join me. Despite people always telling me they would love to join me, of the 1390 people who would have seen this post only a handful replied and unfortunately they were all already doing something elsewhere or couldn't make it. I have to admit I have struggled myself in recent months to push myself out of bed on Saturday mornings after having busy weeks at work. Looking back at my review of what I had done in 2012 and the years before, it reminded me that I only got to those incredible places because I pushed myself. So I've promised to push myself and get out more this year and get past that first half hour in the morning. The first half hour where I feel like a concrete slab lying motionless and immovable in a state of laziness I feel it would be impossible to rise from. I hadn't had many responses to anyone else joining me, so I decided to save money and instead go to the Peak District. I also realised that if I went early enough and did a short walk I could be back in time to make my way to Moss Lane to watch the Alty match.

Climber traversing Burbage Rocks

I decided on a walk I had done before. Last time however I forgot my camera and had to take all the photos on an old 1.3 megapixel camera phone so the quality of the photos was pretty awful. I chose Higger Tor and Carl Wark via Burbage Rocks as it is a short walk yet it gives you a real sense of space and wilderness. Saturday morning I felt great after getting past the initial concrete slab scenario and having a shower and breakfast. Packing was fairly easy as it was only a short walk. I felt great in the car listening to the brilliant Vaccines album at full blast whilst passing Lyme Park where the cheerful winter sun was rising and piercing through moody clouds creating a stunning scene of blues and oranges. I turned off the A6 and made my way to the Hope Valley via the always impressive Winnat's Pass. Mam Tor and The Great Ridge looked huge, bathed in the morning sun. After driving through Castleton, Hope and eventually Hathersage, the road rose towards the moors and eventually reached the sharp bend at The Fox House, where I turned right then right again into the National Trust car park at the Longhaw Estate.

Upper Burbage Bridge

As a National Trust member I get free parking in their car parks, so any walk that can be started from one of their car parks is favourable. I sat in my car getting kitted up as it was bitterly cold outside. I had to open the door to put my gaiters on and had a bit of a shock when I opened one gaiter and pulled the velcro apart to find a pair of knickers hanging from them. Luckily no one was looking. I can only presume they had come together in the laundry. The missus might not have been with me on this walk but her underwear certainly was. I walked from the car park down into the Longshaw Estate and passed a few walkers who were all friendly. I turned right and made my way to the gate house, crossed the B6521 and made my way into the woods on the other side. It was still very windy out so I soon had to stop and put my windproof over my fleece. I reached the A6187 and crossed it to the wide flat track that heads into the Burbage Valley. The track is a very easy route, I think last time I came along this way I turned off this path and went up via the quarry onto Burbage Rocks. This time I decided on the easier route along the valley track, partly because it was a bit different and to see the rocks from below. When I finally get round to writing up this walk I will actually suggest this way as despite being more popular and much easier, you do get a much better aspect on the rocks when seeing them from below.

Higger Tor summit rocks

The path bent right into the valley above the forest. The view straight ahead was of Carl Wark on the other side of the valley with Higger Tor directly behind it. They would be my return route. I continued along the track and kept looking back as the sun behind me was creating incredible rays as it pierced through the moody clouds. Ahead was the incredible gritstone edge of Burbage Rocks. To my right now was the southern end of Burbage Rocks. It looked almost man made, like someone had created a straight wall of squared rock columns. The track eventually comes to the upper section of the rocks and I was then able to get closer and explore the rocks. Anyone who passes this way and doesn't do so is a fool. I came across climbers I hadn't even noticed from further away. Most of them were trying to decide if it was too windy to be safely hanging themselves off the face of the rocks. I took some great photos of the huge rocks from below. I continued along the track until it reached the popular Upper Burbage Bridge. Here there are two fairly large parking areas. During summer months this bridge and the banks of the bubbling brooks can be a very popular. Today however it was so cold and windy that there was no one around.

Lunch spot under Trex Rock on Carl Wark

I looked down toward the brooks and couldn't decide if I would be able to cross them. Here Burbage Brook has two tributaries, one comes from a north west direction and the other from a north east direction. There are two lovely stone bridges, one over each tributary. Over each is a path avoiding the main road. The crossings are just a narrow section with rocks used as stepping stones. The brooks had a lot more water in than I have seen before. I watched as two other walkers stepped across them with ease, then followed. Once on the other side I had to make my way to Higger Tor. I chose the quieter path that goes under the Fiddler's Elbow, a great choice as it was quiet and gave great views across the forest to Burbage Rocks, but the going was very boggy. At one point I crossed a bog with a trainer stuck in the mud, I felt sorry for whoever had walked off leaving it behind. I started the ascent up Higger Tor and the wind really started to pickup. I approached three walkers who all stopped to chat about what a lovely day it was. We were happily chatting until a huge gust of wind came and threw one of the men into me, it was quite bizarre and we had a good laugh about it then moved on.

Higger Tor from Carl Wark

The summit of Higger Tor was a very windy place to be so I didn't spend too much time up there. I went over to its western side to see the impressive summit rocks and the view to the Hope Valley. I could make out may hill tops and of course the ugly cement work buildings. I made my way down the short scramble off Higger Tor and crossed the moor to Carl Wark. The ascent path took me past the pre historic fort walls, most certainly built to last. The summit has some fascinating weathered rocks, including one that the last time I saw it I nicknamed the Turtle Rock as it really does look like a Giant Turtle. On Carl Wark I decided it was warm enough to stop and have lunch so I found a cracking sheltered spot between rocks on its south eastern face, sheltered from the cold prevailing north westerly winds. The lunch spot gave me a great view across the forest to Burbage Rocks. The rock above me while I was having my lunch looked like the head of a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur as you will see in the photos. After eating my sandwiches I made my way off Carl Wark towards Burbage Brook. Again the brook was definitely higher than I remembered it being the last time I attempted to cross it here. I remember having difficulty crossing the brook here last time and moving a little further up stream to find a narrower section.

Trees near the Longshaw Estate

On the descent of Carl Wark I had been joined by a group of walkers. Me being the idiot I am, I decided to try and impress the group by jumping from one huge gritstone boulder on one side of the stream to another. I only just made the jump but landed badly on the other side with all my weight on my right knee. I did the usual manly thing of grinding my teeth together and walked away saying I was okay. In truth though my knee was hurting badly. I walked it off and made my way to the track I had walked in on earlier. I followed my route back through the woodland, crossing the road and back to Longshaw. The doctor says I have just bruised cartilage and to take plenty of anti-inflammatories. It still isn't great but feels much better. Thank goodness too as I am off to my first ever skiing trip in Morzine, France next weekend. So the next time I'll be outdoors I will be thousands of metres high in the Alps. As great as the Alps will be, I still have a big place in my heart for my local Peak District and I am glad I nipped out for this short walk last weekend. Its a great walk when you are short on time.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Happy New Year! 2011 Review

2012-01-01T03:49:00.002Z

I am currently sat on my couch with that sort of frustrating trapped feeling you get when you know its been way too long since you got that outdoor fix. It is the outdoor fix that folk like us require in order to stay sane. I am also sat here thinking to myself that I didn't do enough in 2011. So I looked back through my Picasa photo albums to see exactly what I have done in the last year. It is so easy to forget sometimes just how god damn lucky we are to be alive. While others around the world live in poverty and suffer from illness I on the other hand have a beautiful wife who is my best friend, a caring and loving family, amazing friends, a secure future, prosperous career and live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I am so lucky to be given life and try every day to appreciate it. Below is just a quick review of days and nights I have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed this year...

February 5th... Sgurr Coire Choinnichean

I didn't get any walking done in January as I was working most weekends. My first outdoor fix of the year was my first trip to Knoydart with Nicky, Steve, Elaina, Kirstin, Maria and Zoe. We stayed at the luxurious Knoydart House, with a awesome views across Loch Nevis from the dining table and a warm outside hot tub, it was heaven. We walk up the Corbett of Sgurr Coire Choinnichean from Inverie and had snow showers on the summit ridge then later in the Old Forge Inn I received a rather painful spanking with a big wooden ore...

Sgurr Coire Choinnichean

February 20th... Win Hill

In February I went up Win Hill with Janet and Simon from my old work place. I love this walk as it is so easy yet it gets you up high and puts you bang in the centre of everything that is great about the Dark Peak. I tried to start a walking club at work but we struggled with the numbers of people prepared to get up early on Saturday mornings. It was a cold dull day and Win Hill was covered in wet snow. Simon sliding down a muddy slope on his backside was by far the highlight of the day, especially with denim being his choice of leg wear...

Simon and Janet on Wooler Knoll near Win Hill

February 26th... River Bollin

I also went for a walk down to my local river the River Bollin in February to see if I could spot the elusive Otter. One place that the Otter is rumoured to live is the tributary known as Birkin Brook. The brook is teeming with fish as it is the outflow of Rostherne Mere which is stocked with fish for the masses of birds that use its sheltered and protected waters. Still no joy finding the Otter, but the Bollin and the Birkin were in spate and I did see the local Buzzards which always makes me smile...

River Bollin tributary Birkin Brook in spate

March 4th... Bow Fell

March saw me head out on my first wild camp of the year, and what a fantastic one it was. I pulled up at the Old Dungeon Ghyll and the weather could not have been better. I tried to eat my lunch on the patio at the Old Dungeon Ghyll while being attacked by a Robin and a Great Tit whole literally stole my Eccles Cake. I ascended to Rosset Pike with a snow covered Bowfell looking alpine above me. Angle Tarn was the original wild camp destination but the bowl the tarn sat in was holding a layer of incredibly cold air. It was still light so I headed for the summit of nearby Allen Crags and found a fantastic wild camp spot near the summit with wide views. Morning came and brought a complete contrast. The next day was cold, drizzle and windy. I made my way across Esk Pike then Bowfell before descending to the Old Dungeon Ghyll...

Wild camp spot on Allen Crags

April 22nd... Harter Fell

Nicky and myself headed up to the lakes on a warm hazy day and decided on Harter Fell as we didn't want something too strenuous but wanted a decent walk. The upper Duddon Valley is in my opinion the most under rated part of the Lake District National Park. We pulled up at Birks Bridge and made our way across the River Duddon then up through the old forest towards the steep ascent of Harter Fell. It was a brilliant day to be out and a fantastic moderate walk. The views from the summit were excellent. We stood in amazement of the jumping Salmon and Trout in the River Duddon on the way back to the car...

River Duddon near Birks Bridge

May... Shining Tor

The Goyt Valley is a part of the Peak District that I had never discovered before. One thing I had always wanted to do was to bag Shining Tor the highest hill in Cheshire, the county in which I was born. Turned out that Shining Tor was by no means the most interesting part of this walk though. The old Erwood Hall and the Spanish Shrine added a fascinating historical twist to the walk. The woodlands around the Erwood Hall area where so colourful. It is definitely a walk I will do again...

Summit trig pillar on Shining Tor

June 25th... Crow Point

June saw me visit my dad who lives in Barnstaple, North Devon. My dad has made a name for himself around his local town as he spends a lot of time picking up litter at Braunton Burrows, a place I loved playing on as a kid when visiting my family. Braunton Burrows is the largest sand dune system in Britain. It was also the first United Nations Unesco Biosphere Reserve in Britain. The area is also part of the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding National Beauty. The burrows are rich in wildlife, especially insects and butterflies, and has an internationally recognised abundance of rare and in some cases unique flora and fauna. We had a great afternoon walking around the headland, dad on his off road disability Tramper vehicle. I took my new bike down to Devon with me and cycled home after the walk from Braunton to Barnstaple along the excellent Tarka Trail and South West Coast Path route...

An old wreck and an old boat

June 26th... Dunkery Beacon

This was probably my favourite walk of 2011. I have always wanted to walk up to Dunkery Beacon, the highest point in the Exmoor National Park. It is an easy walk as a bridleway from the road takes you up a very easy ascent to the summit. Dad asked if I wanted to do it and I was obviously up for it. The bridleway meant his Tramper could easily make it up there and beyond. What I didn't bank on was dad asking me if I fancied getting up really early in the hope of seeing the sun come up from the summit. We had watched the weather forecast and seen that it was perfect weather for cloud inversions, excellent I thought but surely we won't see one from up there. How wrong could I have been, it was unforgettable. Probably one of the best mornings of my life and I never thought for one moment I would ever have stood on top of a hill with my dad watching the sun come up over a cloud inversion. Just typing about this moment makes me tingle. It was absolutely amazing!...

Sunrise over cloud inversion from Dunkery Beacon

July 23rd... Delamere Forest

Delamere is another childhood favourite. We often went out in the car for a drive and ended up having a picnic in the forest. From my front door I can jump on a train and for a very reasonable fair end up getting off a train thirty minutes later in the middle of a huge forest. The train station is literally in the centre of the forest and there are many walks and cycle routes through out the forest. On this occasion I decided to get off the train and ascend Old Pale Hill for a view over the forest then a circular walk taking in some of my favourites spots, including the stunning Blakemere Moss. It was the perfect day to test my new camera and polarising lens...

Blakemere Moss in Delamere Forest

August 7th... Culag Woods

In August we returned to Ullapool with Steve, Elaina, young Craig, Sandy and Louise. Ullapool is one of my favourite places on earth, such an excellent base camp for discovering so many amazing landscapes. The weather was pretty pants, so bad in fact it kept us indoors a few days and I think there was only one day when it didn't rain at some point. One place I always visit when I head up this way is Culag Woods. It is a small natural woodland above Lochinver looked after by the local community. Nicky and myself stumbled across Culag Woods one day and went in for what the notice boards said was an hours stroll. We were in there for just over five hours as we found it so magical. Steve and Elaina had visited the woods with us before but it was a first for Craig, Sandy and Louise. Plus we did the right thing and visited the Lochinver Pie Shop for Venison and Cranberry delights...

The magical Culag Woods

August 9th... Stac Pollaidh

Determined to beat off the weather we agreed to attempt Stac Pollaidh while in Ullapool. Steve had climbed it many years ago in the forties or something and Nicky and myself climbed it three years ago. Craig was climbing it for the first time. It started well as we set off from the Loch Lurgainn car park. The unmistakable ridge above looked as impressive as ever and there wasn't any rain. As we got to the shoulder of Stac Polly though the weather came in and we get soaked. We reached the Bealach and made the sensible decision to descend. Despite the weather turning absoilutely freezing and soaking for a while we all danced, literally, along the path back to the car...

Craig and Nicky on Stac Pollaidh

August 11th... The Quinag

I wanted to make sure I did something big while I was up in Ullapool. The one day that gave us sunny was the only opportunity to do something big. Nicky was studying at the cottage. Steve, Elaina and Craig wanted to go to Sandwood Bay, so I would be on my own for the day. I set my sights on Ben More Assynt but when I approached it from the road it was still covered in high cloud that didn't look like it was going to lift so I decided on the backup plan which was to walk over the Quinag summit of Spidean Coinich. In the end I actually walked to all three of the Corbett summits on The Quinag and it was a fabulous day out. The geology on Spidean Coinich was incredible. If it wasn't for the cloud inversion on Dunkery Beacon this would have been my favourite walk this year.

Myself on Quinag's Sail Garbh summit

August 13th... Inchnadamph Bone Caves

Weather forecast wasn't looking great for our last day in Ullapool, but there was a four hour weather window from midday to afternoon. We decided to explore the Bone Caves near Inchnadamph which we had all past and read about so many times but never bothered to explore. It was a surprisingly interesting walk down a lovely glen. We saw the almost unbelievable Fuaran Allt Nan spring and had great fun in the caves. This including myself being dared by Steve that I couldn't fit through a hole which the guide book described as only passable by small children. Steve lost the bet as I squeezed through, the bet was that he would buy my seafood platter that night at the Kylesku Hotel. Great holiday away with great people, and meeting young Craig for the first time was such fun...

Craig, Elaina, Steve and Nicky in the Bone Caves

August 22nd... Black Hill

I decided to take a day off during midweek in August as I needed a break from work and a day in the hills. I chose Black Hill in the Peak District as it was one of the harder Peak District walks I still hadn't done. It was a great time to do a hill which is often described in negative terms, known for its unforgiving boggy terrain. However on this sunny warm day I found a transformed Black Hill. Work by the Moors for the Future foundation have transformed this once quagmire back to a lush green landscape full of wildlife. The Crowdon Horseshoe was very enjoyable and totally unexpectedly so...

Common Lizard on Black Hill

August 27th... Monsal Head

The Monsal Head Social Meet organised by Terry Bond was a undeniable success at the end of August and I was very glad to have been a part of it. It was a fantastic weekend with lots of laughter and I met lots of new like minded outdoor folk. The meet brought together a large number of people who had only communicated via online Social Media. I went on a walk with several folk including Gareth from Webtogs, Phil Sorrell from Social Hiking, Pilgrim Chris, photographer Giles Babbage and Mike Beaumont. The walk was down Millers Dale along the wonderful River Wye which was teeming with Trout. Great walk and a great weekend...

Monsal Head

September 23rd... Dunham Park and River Bollin

Struggling to get my outdoor fix in September I took a morning off work and took a stroll from my front door down through Dunham Park to the River Bollin. On the way I discovered the Dunham Massey Brewery which I have to admit I have made several trips too since. I can't resist their moreish Chocolate Cherry Ale. Instead of eating my lunch at my desk at work, I sat by my favourite three trunked tree by the River in the sun eating a freshly made sarnie...

Triple trunk tree by the River Bollin

October 15th... Goretex Bloggers Summit in Germany

I was offered an all expenses paid trip to the Goretex European Bloggers Summit in October. It was an eye opening experience that I will never forget. Gore were fantastic and treated us like royalty. I learned so much about designing and testing outdoor equipment. They really impressed me with their incredibly stringent testing which guarantees their brands quality. We also walked a short hike in the Bavarian Alps, which included descending by candle light through the woods. The weekend was great and I met lots of new people including my four companions for the weekend the fellow British bloggers Dave Mycroft, Fiona Williams and Tom Evans who were all great fun. A truly unique experience...

Gore-tex European Bloggers Summit at Gindelalm

November 10th... Ben Lomond

This was probably the second worst experience I had ever had during the last decade of hill walking. I headed up to Scotland for a few days as I needed a break and it was Frank's Final Munro Weekend in Glencoe. The plan was to spend the first night wild camping on the Ptarmigan Ridge then bag Ben Lomond the next morning. This plan was on and off until the day as the weather forecast wasn't great, but come Thursday I opted for the wild camp as the weather was surprisingly good. It turned out to be the worst camp ever as I had to bail at 2am when the tent finally succumbed to the incredibly strong gusts of wind, descending an unfamiliar mountain from 700m to almost sea level in pitch black and storm force winds ain't easy. I was very proud of how I dealt with the situation calmly and got down safely knowing I had the right equipment and experience. As I love telling people...I nearly died...

Wild camp above Loch Lomond

November 12th... Beinn Fhionnlaidh

After nearly dying on Loch Lomond the night before, I headed up to Glencoe to meet friends at the Clachaig Inn. It was a great weekend as we celebrated Frank turning sixty years old and bagging his final munro Beinn Fhionnlaidh. There was lots of alcohol drank that weekend and lots of laughs. Frank was really chuffed as over twenty of his friends and family managed to make it all the way to the summit, despite some never climbing a hill before in their lives. I have only twenty Munros under my belt, god knows how Frank and other people have achieved all 283 of them!...

Myself and Frank at Beinn Fhionnlaidh Summit

December 2nd... Blencathra

Early December saw the first proper snow fall in the mountains, so as is the case every year, I took a day off work and went snow chasing. Via the wonder that is Twitter I had learned the night before that Blencathra definitely had a sprinkling so headed that way. I attempted Sharp Edge but as snow showers came in and the knife edge ridge was quite a challenge. As I got closer to the Bad Step I took the sensible decision to turn back as the going was just slippery wet snow and ice. When I reached the summit via the other ascent route the clouds opened and revealed a stunning wintery panorama...

Blencathra sporting Movember Trucker Style Tash

December 16th... Dunham Park and River Bollin

I have done this walk several times this year as I can do it from my front door, but this time was definitely my favourite. The first snow we had seen here in Altrincham this winter had landed so it was time to take another morning off and head outdoors. The golf course was beautiful, covered in snow and backed by stormy clouds and sunrise. The weather closed in as I got down to the Bollin Valley and turned into heavy wet snow for the rest of the walk...

Dunham Forest Golf Course in snow

Not bad for someone who thinks they didn't do enough last year!

Blencathra via Sharp Edge

2011-12-03T09:50:00.001Z

Every year there is a small group of people in Britain who get ridiculously giddy at the first sign of snow on a British weather forecasters map. These people even have their own weather forums and in recent years have used Twitter hash tags to create a website that shows live snowfall as it happens. These people have even been known to stay up staring out of their windows all night, without even sleeping, in the hope of seeing snow flakes fall past the glow of their streets lights. These people travel around with a spare sledge in the boot of their car, even though they don't have children. I have to confess I am one of these people and some of my friends refer to me as The Snowman. So when I saw the Mountain Weather Information Services forecasts mention snow a few days ago I couldn't believe my luck, as I had actually booked two days off work. Deciding where to go on Thursday night was made easy when tweets started coming through on Twitter by reliable sources saying that a sprinkling of snow had fallen on the Lakeland fells over eight hundred metres above sea level.

Ascent path from Scales

I had originally planned to go to Scotland this long weekend but a combination of not being rich and extortionate fuel prices made me think again. I did want to do something I hadn't done before as I tend to find myself being a bit boring sometimes and sticking to my favourite walks. So I decided on the Newlands Horseshoe which I have wanted to do for some time. I packed my winter gear the night before as I knew I would need to set off as early as possible to get up to the Lake District, as there are not many daylight hours this time of year. So full winter gear packed, including ice axe and crampons, I set off at half six in the morning. Traffic was just before rush hour so I soon found myself dashing trouble free up the M6. As I approached the South Lakes junction I looked left and squinted through the windscreen trying to spot any signs of the white stuff. Unfortunately although I could see the tips of the Coniston Fells, none of them had snow on. 'Oh well' I thought to myself, at least I can just put my normal boots on and do a decent walk. Then it dawned on me, being in a rush this morning I stupidly hadn't picked up my walking boots!

Tarn Crags above Scales Tarn

Luckily I did grab my winter walking boots. These are obviously very stiff boots and not the kind of footwear designed for a long horseshoe walk, so plans had to be changed. Most of the tweets about snow the night before had mentioned Blencathra. Being short in distance and easily accessible from the main road it is ideal for a quick jaunt. It also happens to be one of the best mountains in the Lakes and I dare say probably my favourite. My preferred route being an ascent of the knife edge Sharp Edge ridge and a descent of the Halls Fell Ridge. As I passed the Howgills I was convinced the snow may have gone as none of the Howgills beautiful round lumps had white stuff on them. My faith was soon restored when crossing Shap. I looked left to see High Street and Helvellyn topped by the bright white stuff. With a Smile on my face I turned off at the North Lakes junction and made my way along the A66 towards Keswick. After a few miles a white topped Blencathra came into view. I pulled into the layby at Scales, parked up and kitted myself. From the A66 I could also see the Newlands Horseshoe which didn't seem to have snow on any of it's peaks.

Snow showers over Scales Tarn

I set off along the A66 then turned up the path between the houses to reach the open land below Scales Fell. I turned right and ascended the path above Mousthwaite Combe to reach the col between Souther Fell and Scales Fell. Looking back from the ascent path I could see that Great Dodd was the lucky mountain with the most snow cover. It even looked as though it had more snow on it than the higher Helvellyn. I turned left and headed up the Glenderamackin Valley to reach Scales Beck where I ascended it's banks to reach the stunning glacial hollow of Scales Tarn. I stood at the tarn soaking up its dark yet strangely calming atmosphere. The cliffs of Tarn Crags were lightly dusted with snow, making it's usually over powering cliffs look unusually gentle. I had to make a decision now, do I or don't I tackle Sharp Edge. I have done it in cloud and sunshine but never in slushy ice and snow. My heart was saying do it, my head was saying don't. My heart won and I set off on the ascent path to the start of the Sharp Edge ridge. As I climbed the clouds came down and wind picked up. It started snowing, that hail like Graupel snow that blasts into your face like sand.

Sharp Edge

I managed to get to the half way point along the ridge along the easier path that skirts the ridge to the right. Half way though the path disappears and I had to get up on to the crest of the ridge. With great difficulty I reached the crest of the ridge and made my way carefully along to the drop just before the infamous Bad Step. After loosing my footing on several occasions and getting more wet and cold I decided this was not a good idea. I couldn't get a grip at all and every time I put my boot on the slate it slipped down on the icy mush. I stopped when I reached the crest and put my Microspikes on but they just slipped on the angled slate and made balancing even harder. Crampons were complete overkill and made things much worse. I turned round and made a dodgy slippery descent back to the path then headed back down to Scales Tarn. I passed three lads without ice axes who were heading towards the ridge. I didn't lecture them on not doing it as I hate when people do that to me. Instead I just told them what the conditions were and wished them luck. As I had been putting my hands in puddles of mush, my gloves were absolutely frozen and soaking wet. I swapped into my mittens which were warm, dry and heavenly. I made my way across Scales Beck then up the ascent path on the south side of Scales Tarn.

Snowy Blencathra summit

This path is incredibly direct. I don't tend to use this path as I prefer Sharp Edge, but as I advise people to use it on my website for an alternative to Sharp Edge when it is impassible, it was good to give it a go. I watched Sharp Edge across the tarn and followed the lads progress. They got to exactly the same point I did and then sensibly turned round and headed back down the ridge. The path I was now on soon reached the snow line and the path had no footprints, so it looked like I was the first person to ascend it since the snow fell. I was surprised to find that in places the snow had filled up to drifts of a few inches deep in the path. Looking behind me as I got higher I could now see down the Scales Fell ascent path, another one of Blencathra's many routes that I had never tried. I presumed it was just a boring walk up a bulk, but I was pleasantly surprised to see it was actually another excellent ridge walk. I reached the summit plateau turned left and made my way to the summit. As I reached the summit the snow stopped falling and the clouds started to lift. Perfect timing and the views were awesome. The views along the rest of the long summit ridge would have been enough as the rest of the mountain looked incredible covered in white snow with dark brown and red ridges heading off towards the valley far below.

Doddick Fell

The views opened up all around and I could make out which mountains had been given a sprinkling of snow. It was certainly a select few that had been given a proper sprinkling. The Derwent Fells and Central Fells only had a very slight sprinkling on their highest tops. The neighbouring giant of Skiddaw was similar to Blencathra with snow above eight hundred metres. The best snow looked to be on the Helvellyn range and the Eastern Fells, in particular The Dodds. I had a look down the Halls Fell Ridge from the summit but it was covered in ice and snow. The last time I descended the Halls Fell Ridge I looked across to Doddoick Fell and thought it would be nice to descend that way one day. I looked across to the Doddick Fell ridge to see it free of ice and snow. Therefore I turned round and headed down the zig zags towards the Scales Fell descent. There were some scary spin drifts passing me at times like mini tornados. I turned off the Scales Fell path and headed down the Doddick Fell descent path. This route is steeper than it looks from a distance. The first section is quite a scramble and some crazy gusts of wind had me pinned to the rocks at times. The descent of Doddick Gill was windy but pleasant with views across the valley to the snowy Great Dodd. I visited Keswick after the walk but found the gear shops full of the usual overpriced ultra lightweight garbage lacking in longevity or features. I didn't need any new gear and I had already spent enough money on fuel to get here. Therefore the only thing I had to do before I left the Lakes was to make a detour to Ambleside to get the wife her favourite Chocolate Fudge. By the time I was leaving the Lakes it was chucking it down with rain and five degrees. If that was falling as snow on the high fells, there would be a significant amount of snow by now. Snow is forecast for most of next week too. It took its time, but winter is finally here!

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Primus Eta Express Review

2011-11-20T15:03:00.001Z

Item...

I have been given a Primus Eta Express Camping Stove by the guys at Go Outdoors to test and review. The Eta Express stove is marketed by Primus as a small, lightweight and highly efficient camping stove. For your money you get the complete kit of stove, pot and windscreen in a small, lightweight and easy to carry package. Its unique selling point is its fuel efficiency. The built in compact windscreen, and pot with built in heat exchanger make sure that the Eta Express shortens boiling times and cuts fuel consumption by a third. Primus are a highly reputable camping stove manufacturer, often referred to as the inventors of the modern backpacking stove. The original Primus paraffin stoves were used by the likes of Edmund Hillary, Roald Amundsen, and George Mallory during trips to both poles and the highest mountains in the world. They have continued to invent and manufacture top products for over a century.

Testing...

Testing the Primus Eta Express on Ben Lomond wild camp

I took the stove with me on a high altitude wild camp in Scotland last week. I first used it by the side of Loch Lomond on a picnic bench to make a brew. I then carried the stove in my backpack up the Ptarmigan Ridge by Ben Lomond to a height of 700m above sea level. I used it in the porch of the tent twice on a very windy night firstly to boil water for a brew and to hydrate a freeze-dried meal, then later to boil water again for another brew. After a scary and unplanned night time descent where I had to abandon camp, I used the stove again by Loch Lomond on a bench to boil water for porridge and another brew. I tend to use my back packing stoves primarily for boiling water.

Stove...

Primus Eta Express stove

Given Primus' reputation it was no surprise to find that the build quality of this stove is excellent. The piezo igniter is by far one of the best I have ever seen on a stove with built in piezo ignition. The trigger springs back neatly against the stem of the stove and the rest of the piezo is encased within the stem. The control knob for regulating the flame is a substantial knob instead of the fragile pieces of folded wire you usually get on lightweight stoves. The pot supports are flat and rough enough to hold a pot well. My only problem with the stove itself is that the pot supports do not click into place well enough; one of them is very loose. If you knock them at all they will move around. Overall though the stove really impresses me. It is solidly built, compact, lightweight and the built-in piezo igniter is by far the best I've seen on a stove. The stove also comes with a strong and protective fabric pouch.

+ Excellent piezo igniter.
+ Strong build quality.
+ Lightweight and compact.
+ Substantial control knob.
+ Useful pouch.
- Pot stands don't stay in place.

Pot...

Primus Eta Express pot with heat exchanger and frying pan lid

The pot is a 1 litre non stick aluminium pot with frying pan lid and built in heat exchanger underneath. Being one litre it may be a little overkill for solo backpackers, but makes it ideal for two people or winter trips. It is impressively light considering it has the built in heat exchanger. The pot is actually identical to the excellent Primus Litech Trek Kettle, though slightly deeper and obviously with the heat exchanger on the bottom. In fact I have just put them side by side and now I don't know which frying pan lid belongs to which as they are exactly the same piece. I am not a huge fan of frying pan lids as I have yet to find an actual practical use for them. If only they were made twice as deep they could be versatile and be used to replace a mug as well as a frying pan. However if you do decide to fry small amounts of meat or an egg it would be ideal. Both the pot and the frying pan lid are coated on the inside with a three layer titanium non stick surface which is great for those who want to use the pot for cooking food. I have to admit I tend to use my pots on trips mostly for boiling water. The pot also has a useful pouring spot. My only problem with pot is that for the price I would expect some measuring indicators inside. I find measuring indicators extremely useful when backpacking with freeze-dried and freezer bag cooking meals. I suppose the pot having the heat exchanger on the bottom means it won't have the versatility of working with some other stoves. The entire package including gas canister stows away within the pot. The pot also comes with a strong and protective fabric pouch that makes for a very compact and easy to stow complete cookset.

+ Built in heat exchanger for efficiency.
+ Lightweight despite heat exchanger.
+ Non stick surface.
+ Pouring spout.
- No measure marks.
- Pot not as versatile as others.

Windscreen...

Primus Eta Express Windscreen

The stove that I have been sent by Go Outdoors is the second generation of the Primus Eta Express stove, despite the fact that Go Outdoors still has the product image of the first generation. In fact most outdoor retailers still use the image of the original version. The only major difference between the first generation and the second is the wind shield. The wind shield on the first stove was a smaller purpose built shield that hung off the end of two of the three pot stands and covered around a third of the outside of the stove. The wind shield on the second generation Eta Express is no longer a purpose built wind shield but is instead the Primus Clip-On Windscreen. This is a big seller and does have its fans, though I don't think I am one of them. The below is official safety information from Primus...

To avoid overheating, only stoves that fulfil certain requirements can be used with the windscreen. To use the windscreen safely the stove needs to leave a 11 mm ( ½ in) gap between the pot and the windscreen and have a flame that is directed upwards to the pot and not to sideways to the windscreen. Primus ExpressStove fulfill the requirements but a number of present and older Primus products should not be used with the windscreen, eg. Micron,TiLite, ClassicTrail, Mimer and TechnoTrail stoves.

Surely leaving a gap of 11mm between the pot and the windscreen kind of negates the whole purpose of the windscreen in the first place. The windscreen doesn't work with a lot of lightweight canister stoves including some of their own earlier models due to the requirement of a directly upwards flame. By far the biggest problem with the windscreen however only becomes apparent when you assemble the Eta Express and clip the windscreen on to a gas canister with the stove screwed on. The windscreen actually blocks the piezo ignition. This is a huge oversight from such a reputable company... or is it? Have they simply decided not to go to the hassle of making the separately manufactured purpose built windscreen that worked well, in favour of just adding an existing product to the package, even though it doesn't actually work? I searched online and from what I can see everyone who has ever reviewed this product has found the same problem. I decided to email Primus directly to see what their answer was...

Hi Jamie

You can operate both the piezo and the valve at the same time, if you rotate the windscreen so you in the open side see the piezo on one side and the valve on the other. I usually turn the windscreen back again after the stove is lit, so it’s easier to regulate the flame.

Best regards

"I usually turn the windscreen back again after the stove is lit." Hmm I think I will give that a miss. Not only because it is dangerous but also because of the above problem with the pot supports moving around. I tried the suggested technique when I tested the stove on the wild camp, and as predicted it didn't quite work as it moved the loose pot stands around. It may seem like I am obsessing slightly with this windscreen problem but I find it fascinating that Primus clearly don't think this is a problem yet pretty much every person that has ever reviewed this second generation Eta Express has said exactly the same thing. It is either a big oversight or an unacceptable cost cutting exercise.

+ Stows away over a gas canister.
- Can't use piezo safely when it is in place.
- Requires 11mm gap above itself before the pot.
- Won't work with some other stoves.

Conclusion...

Primus Eta Express stowed in stuff sack

Luckily for Primus the excellent stove and pot make up for the inadequacies of the windscreen. Overall I would say the Primus Eta Express is a very good camping and backpacking stove solution. It is highly efficient saving you time and money, and very easy to use, especially the piezo ignition which is excellent. The whole package is lightweight and compact. The stove, windscreen and fuel all fit inside the pot which then fits in a neat stuff sack and stows away discreetly into any backpacking rucksack.

The Primus Eta Express Camping Stove is now available now from Go Outdoors. Don't forget that Go Outdoors will not only price match, they will also beat the price match by 10%. Also check out their full range of Camping Equipment.

Beinn Fhionnlaidh from Glen Creran

2011-11-20T12:35:00.001Z

After Thursday nights adventures I spent most of Friday afternoon asleep in my cosy bed at the Clachaig Inn. On Friday evening a noisy knock at the door signalled the arrival of Elaina, who I was looking forward to seeing. Partly because she had promised me a batch of her delicious home made banana muffins. I followed Elaina down to the Bidean Lounge to join Kirstin, Iain and Steve and of course the star of the weekend Frank who I hadn't seen for a few years. This weekend was all about Frank, who the next day would be bagging his final Munro Beinn Fhionnlaidh. By final I mean the only one on the list of 283 Munros that Frank is yet to summit. Frank is still fit as a fiddle and to use the word final would be wrong as I know for a fact it won't be the last time he climbs to the summit of a Munro. Frank also wanted to have them all under his belt before he was sixty years old. It just so happens that Sunday would mark his sixtieth birthday, so the weekend was a double celebration. We ordered food and I stuffed down Haggis followed by a tasty Venison Burger. Over dinner I told everyone about the adventure I had on Thursday night. Of course sympathy was soon replaced by the usual mocking and mickey taking, not surprisingly a trend for the weekend.

Walking for Elleric to Glenure

After washing dinner down with a few pints of ale my Thursday night adventure had turned into a dramatic near death experience that I just had to share with the rest of the Clachaig Inn. Later on we were joined by the friendly folks from Frank's mountaineering club in York. Maria arrived having just come down from Buachaille Etive Beag. Maria who we nickname the Energiser Bunny, managed to cram in several Munros this weekend. I am fairly sure the next final Munro event will be Maria's. Gordy who I haven't seen for ages turned up with his mate Stuart, who I immediately bonded with. It may have been something to do with the fact we were both modelling the latest Movember trucker moustaches, or as other people referred to them, seventies porn star moustaches. It has to be said we did look like the chuckle brothers when we sat next to each other. Gordy and Stuart were a bad influence on us all and Steve in particular. The drinks went from ale to whisky and even to port. Much later on we were joined by Frank's son and daughter and their partners. I'd never met these guys before but was not surprised to find they were a great bunch. They had their soft boxer dog Maui with them who was an immediate hit with the dog lovers, myself included.

Lunch spot at 500m on Beinn Fhionnlaidh

As Steve ordered his fourth "last" drink of the night Frank declared that everyone should be at the car park in Glen Creran at the start of the walk for 9am. A few people looked tired in the morning though most of the Scots and Yorkshire contingent seemed to have not surprisingly managed to avoid hangovers. I picked up Maria from the Glencoe Youth Hostel and we drove to Glen Creran. We drove under the Ballachulish Bridge, past Castle Stalker then turned left on the Glen Creran road before the Creran Bridge. At the car park it was great to see so many people had turned up for the event. There were already twenty people. The only two missing were Gordy and Stuart who turned up half an hour later but soon caught up with us on the hill. We set off along the track from Elleric to the farm at Glenure. Steve and myself spotted a herd of Red Deer on the hill side above the farm as we approached. At the farm we turned left and carried on along a track through the forest. When you have dozens of people in a group like this you often find that despite usually keeping an eye on the navigation, for some reason everyone thinks that someone else is navigating. Unfortunately no one was and when someone finally did look at the map we realised we should have turned right off on to a less obvious track, almost immediately after the farm.

Fraochaidh and the Ballachulish Horseshoe

We retraced our steps and headed up the correct track. There were several Red Deer stags as we passed one of the farmers fields. The track soon led us on to the grassy western ridge of Beinn Fhionnlaidh. This route is not always the preferred route up Beinn Fionnlaidh, there is also a popular route up from Glen Etive. Frank decided on this route as despite it being a bit of a slog the terrain is fairly straight forward, and therefore easier on those less experienced who had joined us. There were a few people with us that hadn't walked up anything like a Munro before and a few who were returning after injuries. It can be difficult walking in a big group with varying abilities, but most people were understanding and just enjoyed taking their time. Personally I have never been someone who rushes up and down mountains. I spend my life in a rat race, why on earth would I want to do the same on a mountain. We were soon joined by Gordy and Stuart who looked surprisingly chirpy considering how much they had been drinking the night before.

Guard of Honour for Frank

The views behind us were now starting to open up over Loch Creran. The cloud level was lifting and revealing impressive peaks all around. Beinn Fionnlaidh really is one of those mountains, similar to Moel Siabod in Snowdonia, that looks like it has been placed by human beings for viewing purposes. It is completely surrounded by impressive mountains and wild glens. We stopped for lunch at around the five hundred metre contour. The banana muffins were being consumed at an alarming rate. The sun was shining now and everyone was in great spirit. We continued up the ridge, which is famous for its unforgiving slog and false summits. Passing the Lochan Cairn Deirg the views towards Beinn Trilleachan were awesome with the suns rays beaming down into the wild hidden glen behind it. The only sign of life two buzzards circling on the thermals. We headed along the upper section of the ridge which narrowed and gave us a few false summits. Three Ptarmigans in almost complete winter plumage came to say hello before scuffling off over the rocks.

Frank summits his final Munro Beinn Fhionnlaidh

As we neared the actual summit, around us the cloud had now risen above all summits except Bidean nam Bian. The summit trig point was now only metres away so everyone created a guard of honour walking sticks for Frank to walk through on approach to his final Munro. At the summit a bottle of champagne was opened and Frank gave a speech thanking his family, friends and walking buddies. I made sure he mentioned that I had nearly died getting there of course. Bagging all of the Munros is an incredible achievement, Beinn Fionnlaidh is one of the easier, but even climbing an easier Munro like this makes you really appreciate what a task it is. I am a long way off with only twenty two! Frank had some incredible adventures while bagging the Munro's and I was more than happy over the weekend to hear stories of the many ups and downs. All twenty two of the group had made it to the summit, which was fantastic when you consider some had never climbed a hill in their lives, some were recovering from injuries and some had lifelong ailments. The panoramic views from the summit were breathtaking. To the west looked over our ascent route and beyond Loch Creran. To the north the Ballachulish Horseshoe, the Mamores and a few minutes later Ben Nevis. To the south the pointy mountains around Glen Etive like the mighty Ben Starav. The wild hidden glens behind Beinn Trilleachan still basking in rays of hazy sunshine. By far the most impressive view though was east towards the Glencoe mountains and the Black Mount. As the cloud had only just lifted it was creating a natural roof just above the mountain summits. Both Maria and myself took a wander to the eastern edge to stand in awe of this sight.

Eastern ridge of Beinn Fhionnlaidh

We saw several people coming up the eastern ridge from Glen Etive. They made it to the summit just as most of our group had started the descent. It would have been quite a shock to have found twenty two people at a summit you would usually have to yourself. When they reached the summit Maria and myself explained to these guys why twenty people were descending from the summit area. They told us a fabulous story of how they were on a final Munro party a few years back when the guy turned to his friends and said "do you know guys I think I have already done this one". Brilliant! I left Maria at the summit and started the descent. I soon caught up with Steve, Maria, Gordy and Stuart who were understandably taking their time. Why rush away from such a stunning landscape. We also realised if we took our time we would get to see the sun go down over Loch Creran. I had a few moments on the descent where I just sat and tried to take it all in. I think most hill walkers have those moments on a walk where they split from the pack and wander off on their own to clear their head and think about how lucky they are to live and in such a beautiful world. Not only was the sunset something special but it also fell right behind my favourite place, the Isle of Mull. On the orange horizon was the silhouetted profile of the Ardmeanach peninsula, Ben More and A'Chioch. The ground underfoot on the final grassy part of the ridge was often an unsettling mix of wet slippery grass and mud so we ended up on our backsides on a few occasions. By the time we reached the woods and the farm at Glenure we were in full darkness but none of us wanted to ruin the atmosphere with our head torches so we made our way along the track back to the car park in darkness. The skies were clear and as well as a few bright planets we could also see seven stars that make up The Plough.

Elaina and Stuart passing Lochan Cairn Deirg

The return journey back to Glencoe took twice as long as the outward journey as we got stuck behind the slowest land rover in Scotland. As we approached Glencoe via Loch Leven, through the car windscreen we could make out the black outline of the Pap of Glencoe. I headed to the Glencoe Independent Hostel where a vacant bed awaited my arrival. Paul who I hadn't seen for a very long time had arrived in the afternoon. He soon put us all in a good mood by telling us how happily in love he is, and as well as the soppy story he also provided more Whisky. That night in the Clachaig's Boots Bar we all celebrated Frank's incredible achievement and celebrated the old boys 60th birthday. He received a cake with fireworks and a five foot tall silver sword to cut it with! Unfortunately the events of Thursday and staying up late the night before had taken its toll on me so I was seriously lacking energy. I chatted to two of Frank's friends who happened to live round the corner from me back home. We moved to the Bidean Lounge later in the night as the Boots Bar was absolutely rammed and roasting hot. As I decided not to drink on Saturday I helped the others by escorting them back and forth to bunk houses and youth hostels. I made several trips up and down the minor Glencoe road that night. On a few trips I nearly ran over drunken walkers and on one trip i nearly ran into a young Red Deer crossing the road. I was so tired that the only memory I have from the Bidean Lounge that night was looking up to see Maria stood at the bar lifting a local Scotsman's kilt! That night most people stayed up till the early hours in the youth hostel, I however rested my eyelids and dozed off so I would be fresh for the long drive back home in the morning.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Ben Lomond from Loch Lomond Wildcamp

2011-11-15T22:31:00.000Z

The first glimpse of Scotland's most southerly Munro, Ben Lomond is one of many favourite moments during trips north to the Scottish Highlands. Ben Lomond is like an old friend sitting by the side of Loch Lomond welcoming you back to what us outdoor folk think of as the real world. Despite admiring Ben Lomond many times through my car windows from the A82 trunk road on the western side of Loch Lomond, I have never actually climbed it. I have seen many impressive photos from my Glasgow-based friend's adventures up the mountain that is often dubbed "Glasgow's Mountain". I took a few days annual leave and decided that I would head north with a plan to drive up the eastern side of Loch Lomond to Rowardennan, wild camp on the Ptarmigan Ridge then bag the summit of Ben Lomond in the morning. I booked off Thursday and Friday so I could do the wild camp on the quiet Thursday night. One of our outdoor friends Frank was climbing his final Munro of Beinn Fhionnlaidh near Glencoe on Saturday, followed by celebrations in the Clachaig Inn for his 60th birthday, so I could combine the wild camp with that too.

Bonnie bank of Loch Lomond at Rowardennan Pier

I had a busy start to the week at work: I was sent to Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester in three days. I packed on Wednesday night and checked the MWIS and Met Office weather forecasts. Damp, cloudy, drizzle and breezy were all mentioned, which didn't exactly inspire much energy the next morning. I set off on time and travelled up the M61 then M6 with no problems. It was dark and cloudy with the odd shower through England. As I approached the Solway however, the clouds gave way to blue skies and hazy sunshine which lasted all the way through Scotland. I used the newly extended section of the M74 that skirts south of Glasgow city centre. It was quite a novelty seeing the city from a new angle and took half an hour off the journey. When I reached the roundabout at Balloch - the one with the eyesore of a sculpture - I turned right and passed through Balloch. The last time I was in Balloch was 1996 to watch Oasis, one of the most memorable events of my younger years.I have never driven up the road from Drymen to Rowardennan via Balmaha that skirts the eastern side of Loch Lomond. It is a rather stunning area with incredible views across Loch Lomond. The parking and camping along the road seems to have changed a lot over the years so it was hard to find information on exactly where to park. When I reached the Rowardennan Hotel and saw a few free parking spaces behind the hotel I decided to park up. I left in great spirits as the weather was far better than had been forecast. The night before I wouldn't have believed I would be seeing the views I was about to across Loch Lomond. I walked along the road passing the proper car park where I should have parked, then reached the bay by the pier at Rowardennan.

Sun setting over Loch Lomond

The views from the small bay across the still and silent loch were breathtaking. Looking up I could see the rocky knoll on the end of Ptarmigan high above and to its right the gloomy looking Ben Lomond shrouded in cloud. I walked past the Rowardennan Youth Hostel then past the park ranger offices before turning right on a path through the woods by Rowchnock House. The path passed by a tumbling burn, through a gate and ascended the hillside passing a sheep fold then continued ascending the hillside towards a waterfall on Sput Ban. I continued to follow the ascent path, pausing every so often to look back and admire the ever-opening views across Loch Lomond.The path, which wasn't too bad, continued a fairly simple route across Spat Bun skirting a small forest. As the path passed the long crag on Tom Fithich the sun was just starting to set to the west over the Arrochar Alps. The views were absolutely stunning at this point with blue skies and contrasting dark clouds. I crossed a small stream then the path started to get a little steeper and end up at the foot of some tricky zigzags. The zigzags were tough, though only because I'm not used to the weight of a pack of wild camping gear these days. I was eventually on the top of Ptarmigan with the first proper view of Ben Lomond which looked quite foreboding shrouded in windswept grey cloud. Ahead I could now see the small lochan that was the planned wild camp spot.

Loch Lomond from Tom Fithich

I reached the lochan and hunted for a decent flat area to camp. The only problem was the wind. Up here on the ridge itself it was getting windy, so with that in mind and realising the wind direction was coming from the east I headed round the lochan and down the western side of the ridge. I soon found a flat spot out of the wind and set up camp.The view down Loch Lomond from the camp spot was awesome, looking down almost its entire length. However, by the time I had set up camp the sun had set, it was getting breezy and where Loch Lomond had been, now there was cloud and the flicker of lights from Inverbeg, Tarbet and the A82. I settled in for the long night. It is easy to forget how long winter nights are; I would not see daylight for another fourteen hours! I made tea using the Primus Eta Express stove which I have been given to test and of which I will do a full review later this week. After tea I snuggled up inside my lovely new Rab Alpine 600 sleeping bag, which was major overkill as it was surprisingly warm for mid November. Due to the long night ahead I had downloaded an entire series of Big Bang Theory on to my iPhone. I lay in the tent watching my brilliant iPhone screen while outside the clouds were dropping lower, the air getting damper and the gusting winds picking up all the time. I looked outside at one point to find I was now in total darkness and a thick cloud.

The lochan on the Ptartmigan Ridge

By 8pm I started to get sleepy as I had got up early that morning and driven for several hours to get here. The winds seemed not to be giving up and were instead getting worse, so I grabbed my ear plugs and tried to doze off. A short while after the tent above me inverted and plunged toward my head. I am used to this and the disorientating flapping of a fly sheet in strong winds, so I just put my head back down and carried on trying to ignore the ever increasing winds. This went on for another hour and the tent inverted more frequently almost smacking me in the face a few times. By 9pm it was starting to bug me and a few times I had to put my hands up to stop it hitting me in the face. By 10pm I had adopted a bizarre position in the tent where my body in my sleeping bag was in the inner, my body above my chest was out into the porch. The reason for this was that I had to hold the structure of the tent in place, kind of using my body to complete a geodesic structure and stop the tent from constantly inverting and snapping the poles. It was also at this point that I packed everything away other than my sleeping bag and readied myself for the frightening possibility that I may have to abandon camp at 750m and descend the mountain in pitch black darkness, severe gales and thick cloud!Every so often the tent got brighter giving a false sense of security tricking my tired and exhausted mind into thinking it was a gap in the weather. This brightness was actually the white cloud coming over the crest of the ridge and down what I thought would have been the sheltered side of the ridge.The gusts were getting very serious now and almost flattening the tent. I lay in the bizarre position holding the tent for five horrific hours, getting more and more cold, hungry and tired.

Wild camping above Loch Lomond

The whole time I was thinking in my head was I doing the right thing riding out the storm. One extremely settling factor was that I did have reception on my iPhone, which I turned off at 9pm to conserve battery life. Knowing I had decent waterproofs, warm kit, enough food and decent head torch made a big difference too. With these things in mind and seeing as the tent had lasted so far, I decided staying in the tent was the right thing to do. The alternative after all was descending in the dark, damp and severe gales on an unfamiliar slippery path. Not only that but also with a heavy pack, exhausted, hungry and somewhat mentally shaken up. At 2am I checked the time and was glad to think I only had another five hours to see out. Then it all went wrong at around 2:30am: several gusts at the same time slammed the entire tent by my arms down flat to the ground. The tent, as it is designed to, popped straight back up, but two of the poles came out of the eyelets on the inner and threw themselves out. The tent was now all over the place and turned into a wind sock with myself inside it. I couldn't really tell what, if any, damage had been done and couldn't do anything to get it back into shape or even get hold of it. I bent over and stuffed my sleeping bag in its dry bag then the rucksack and made my way outside into the scary dark nightmare that I would now have to navigate for the next few hours with extreme care.Rescuing the tent was probably the hardest part of the whole night. I had to tie the doors around my legs then get on top of the tent and pull the pegs and poles out. This was while the entire thing was flapping around like mad. I was aware of the poles swinging around dangerously in the air. After throwing the tent and poles in the rucksack I made my way up the slippery and steep western side of the Ptarmigan Ridge to the small lochan. Getting back round the lochan I made a point of taking my time as I knew one slip and I would have been in the lochan.

The moon eventually helped out

I found the ridge path and despite the winds now blasting into me trying to push me over, seeing the path which I could now follow was a massive relief and made me feel a lot better. My pounding heart was now telling me to get down as quickly as possible to a more sheltered environment, but at the same time my head and experience were telling me to keep calm, and my eyes were on the ground below (now lit up by my head torch held in my hand). It is incredible just how much of an obstacle and annoyance wearing glasses and effectively having no eye sight without them can be a a time like this too. On the ridge in the cloud they steamed up immediately and I had to hold them on my head to stop them blowing off. If they had, there is no way I would have made it off the mountain by myself.Luckily the path was fairly clear and I was hugely relieved at finally reaching the bottom of the zig zag section. It was at that point that the wind started to ease as the path descended the more sheltered western side of Tom Fithich. It was also at this point that I smiled for the first time in several hours. I knew as long as I didn't trip or fall I would be safe. As the path swung in slightly and crossed the stream, the full moon appeared like a huge floodlight and even Loch Lomond could be seen. I could also see the lights of the youth hostel and hotel a Rowardennan. At the lower section of the path I did unfortunately slip on wet grass and upset an old football injury of my medial collateral ligament of my right knee. It was just a short walk through the woods then along the track back to Rowardennan where I sat in the dark on a bench by Loch Lomond. I looked around at the quiet, inky rippling water, the dark shapes of the mountains silhouetted by the moon, and it all felt so calm and innocent and a complete contrast to the scary nightmare just a few miles up the mountain on the high exposed ridge. I tried to sleep in the car when I got back to it but only managed around half an hour. I set off feeling relieved to have escaped from what could have been a bad situation and proud of myself for dealing with it so well. The trip up to Glencoe was great as the sun was only just rising and created stunning scenes around the mountains. Some of the ridges had cloud rushing over them at speeds I had never seen before. I arrived at the Clachaig Inn at around 8:30am where I was given a taste of true Highland hospitality. They made me a free bacon sandwich and pot of tea, then arranged a room for me that I could sleep in during the day, re-energised ready for the arrival of the rest of the folks later on.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Gore-Tex Bloggers Summit

2011-10-22T18:31:00.000+01:00

Saturday morning we all appeared at the breakfast tables looking far from fresh. Mainly due to a lack of sleep and the consumption of German beers the night before. After breakfast we all headed outside to the coach where we were hit by a wall of very cold air, frost on the cars and freezing fog. Luckily the fog soon lifted to make way for perfect blue skies and sunshine yet again. The views from the coach window were stunning as we made our way to Gore's offices near Feldkirchen-Westerham. Myriad fields and trees backed by a horizon of jagged Bavarian Alpine peaks. Each village as pretty as the next with classic alpine style housing and each with its own majestic Bavarian style church.

Gore-Tex Bloggers Summit at Gindelalm in the Bavarian Alps

Gore are a huge company with an annual revenue of over three billion dollars. However as we entered their impressive offices we could have been forgiven for thinking we had entered the offices of a small local cottage industry. The staff who are all active fans of the great outdoors were friendly, helpful and positive. They were all clearly happy in their jobs and you could tell they worked as a close knit community in a open team driven working environment. We were surprised to find that most of their staff don't even get given job titles as they see everyone in their company as being equally as important as any other. The reception area has many awards on the walls that the company has received internationally for being a great place to work. Every member of staff we spoke to gets outdoors regularly and jumps at the opportunity to get involved with the company's many promotional and community events.

Gore offices in Feldkirchen-Westerham

We were welcomed to the offices and introduced to the members of staff that would be spending the day with us. Amongst them was Timm Smith, Gore's product development specialist who helped design the new Active Shell product. The introduction was given in an open area where there were examples of new jackets from many of the top brands that are creating garments using the new Active Shell material. There was also a huge sculpture on one wall of a close up of a Gore-Tex membrane magnified. After the introductions we were given a presentation and talk about the history of Gore and its products. I was surprised to see that Gore are also involved quite heavily in other industries including electronics, medical, emergency services, musical equipment and even the space industry. After the company presentation they gave us a an eye opening demo of how well a Gore-Tex Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene based membrane, or ePTFE membrane for short, can work at moving warm moisture vapours from our bodies. Firstly they showed the difference between standard non-breathable materials and the breathable ePTFE membrane. They gave us a glove cut of normal plastic material and one of the ePTFE membrane. The hand in the plastic material began to sweat badly after only a few minutes yet the other hand in the membrane glove was completely dry and very comfortable. They then asked for a volunteer so Dave stood up and volunteered. I have to admit, the presence of a bucket of cold water put me off volunteering.

Tom & Dave with their Gore-Tex membrane demo gloves

For the second demo they asked Dave to put his bare hand in the cold water to soak it wet. They then asked him to put his wet hand inside the membrane glove and put his hand in glove into the bucket of cold water. We couldn't really figure out why they had asked him to do this. Then after five minutes they pulled Dave's hand out of the bucket and asked him to take his hand out of the membrane glove. Much to our surprise Dave's hand was now completely dry. What was then explained to us was that as the water on Dave's hand got warmer against his skin in the glove, it turned to moisture vapour, which the clever membrane allows to escape through its tiny holes. Thus keeping Dave's hand dry and comfortable. It was an excellent example of moisture control which is key to the breathability of their products. They also had a demo machine that showed steam coming from below the membrane and passing through it.

Dave putting his hand in a bucket of cold water

I have to say that the term breathability is not something I have ever really believed in until this weekend. I walk very hot and sweaty so I was physically the ideal testing candidate for any claims of breathability and mentally too as I have not found many products I would say work for me on the hills when I am working hard. For the next few hours the bloggers were split in to two groups. My group headed to another room where Timm Smith, Gore's product development specialist who helped design the new Active Shell product, was going to give us a presentation on Comfort Science. I have to say I learned more about outdoor clothing in the hours spent with Timm and in the testing labs than I think I have ever known before. Timm who in his spare time is also a climber and outdoor enthusiast, was brilliant, he answered all our questions extensively and opened our eyes to how membrane based waterproof and windproof products technically work. He made us look at the three layer system as not just a line of linear layers but side on and three dimensional. This helped me to understand that three layer Gore-Tex membranes use a combination of a DWR ( durable water repellent ) protected closely woven outer layer for the first line of waterproof defence, followed by the membrane which not only acts as the secondary waterproof layer but more importantly moves the moisture out, followed by the soft inner layer that protects the membrane and helps hold moisture and distribute it before the membrane moves it out. I have to admit I had always thought of DWR based materials and membrane based materials as being two separate technologies generally. What Timm showed us was that the three layer system combines them and they all work together.

Timm Smith, designer of the new Active Shell membrane

One question I put to Timm was how does the membrane move the moisture through the outer layer if it is covered in a DWR. Timm explained that the outer layer is a closely woven fabric but when magnified you could see it does have tiny openings. These openings are not completely blocked by the DWR. Instead the DWR coats the surface facing sides of the threads, so that moisture droplets just drip off the closely woven and none absorbing surface. These tiny openings allow the warm evaporating moisture coming through the membrane to leave the garment. Timm went on to explain the importance of moisture control in products like Active Shell. The Active Shell range has been designed by Gore primarily for fast and lightweight users. The range is more geared towards runners, cyclists and lightweight adventurers. It compromises ruggedness and durability for breathability and lightweight. These are sacrifices those users are more than happy to make and Gore have done well to recognise that and come up with an amazing product. They are trying to get this message out to potential buyers and were great at listening to our ideas on how they could achieve that by means of education through retailers, online material and labelling in shops.

Examples of Active Shell jackets on the market

We had lunch and sat with bloggers from around Europe, networking and exchanging thoughts on what we had seen so far. Dave set about asking a few of the bloggers why they felt bloggers from different countries don't tend to talk to each other much. It seemed that the German blogs in particular preferred to be more technical and to the point whereas the British blogs were more about personal experiences and opinion. The other obvious difference being the language barrier, this could of course be dealt with on blogs by giving the option to translate the blog or using browser translator plugins like those built in to Chrome. We also got a chance to speak to one of Gore's branding chiefs Tom Bugg who was over from America. Dave was keen to make his point about people seeing Gore-Tex as just Gore-Tex, not the three or four types of Gore-Tex that are now on the market. Each type of Gore-Tex is specifically designed and fit for its specialised purpose, I agree with Dave when he says that most people in the UK still don't realise this. Tom assured us he would take this opinion away with him. It does seem that this problem is something which it looks like Gore are now trying to resolve and Tom did say watch this space.

Gore-Tex testing labs in Feldkirchen-Westerham, Germany

After lunch my group were taken to the test lab area. This test lab had now moved to a different location so was no longer in use. Instead what they have done is left everything in place and created an educational lab environment where they can show the likes of us how things are done. The lab experience gave me a huge respect for the companies technical integrity. Gore-Tex based products carry the Gore-Tex guarantee "Guaranteed to keep you dry". When you consider that the final product is actually created by the brand and not Gore-Tex themselves this is a brave guarantee to make and keep. However after seeing the lab tests I now know how they can keep that guarantee. We asked about the guarantee and how they carry the promise through. They told us that every contact made via the guarantee system is dealt with personally and is followed through until the user is satisfied. The products are sometimes fixed and if required are replaced. Sometimes customer education is all that is required or a reapplication of the DWR.

Example of a fabric that failed colour tests

The way that Gore-Tex works is that the brands such as Berghaus, The North Face, Mammut, Haglofs etc will provide Gore with a test sample of the outer fabric they want to use. Gore then make a sample of what would be the finished three layer product by bonding their inner layer and the membrane layer to the outer layer provided by the brand. This test product is then put through incredibly stringent tests, of which there are over a hundred. If the product fails to work for whatever reason then the brand must provide a more suitable outer fabric. Gore protect their excellent reputation for quality this way. Gore claims that "Products engineered with Gore-Tex fabrics are durable, water and wind proof combined with optimised breathability." It came as no surprise then to find that all of the tests had at lest one of these four criteria in mind. One question asked was if Gore also tested its products against its main competitors such as Event, Paramo, Polartec and the brands own inventions. They said they do also test against competitors both in the lab and outdoors in real life situations.

The Gore-Tex Water Tower

One of the tests is to wash the product for over five hundred hours. This prompted another interesting question to the lab specialists which was, how was it best to wash your Gore-Tex garment. The answer given was to wash in a washing machine but without fabric conditioner, then when the garment is still slightly damp apply a DWR via spray to only the outer layer of the garment, then tumble dry. We asked why a spray and not a wash in DWR treatment, which I have always used. The answer was actually fairly obvious, you don't want to apply DWR to the inner layer or the membrane as it will block it and therefore stop moisture from evaporating and destroy the effectiveness of the three layer system. Blatantly obvious I suppose but to this day I have always used the wash in Graingers type DWR treatment, I won't be doing so any longer on my membrane based waterproofs. The breathability tests are not only done by Gore but also by a recognised external testing labs. The waterproof tests are done to ISO 811 standards. Once the final product has passed all the strict tests, the material is bonded by Gore. They then provide the final fabric on rolls to the brands and they manufacture the final product into a clothing garment. Gore do work very closely with their brands and make sure that the brands staff are skilled up and capable of handling their products. Seem welding is one skill required for example. After the labs they showed us the Water Tower where they simulate various weather conditions for both testing and fault finding. There was also a Wind Stopper tunnel for testing windproof garment.

The forest walk to Gindelalm

A final presentation was given by Timm Smith on Active Shell, which I will talk about in detail on a separate post in the future as there is easily enough to fit on a full post including my own experiences with the test garment they have given me. They wanted us to test for ourselves an Active Shell jacket, so they organised a cracking short ascent in the Bavarian Alps. So after the Active Shell presentation we all gathered our belongings and headed out to the coach. The weather was now absolutely glorious. It is no exaggeration to say that in three days over in Germany I didn't see a single cloud. After another lovely drive we arrived at a car park in a forest. The coach had to do a very interesting three point turn before he left us. We all kitted up and looked like a right bunch all wearing the exact same jacket. On looking German hikers were somewhat bemused. We were soon joined by Benedikt Bohm, a Gore athlete and the best known Extreme Ski Mountaineer in the world and now father and Managing Director of the ski mountaineer gear manufacturer Dynafit. We walked a fairly steep and winding five kilometres through an enchanting forest. At one point where the path crosses a stream, I stood photographing the view upstream from the bridge and watched in amusement a Black Squirrel run down one side of the valley, crossed a log over the stream then run up the other side. Unfortunately I had left the main group of walkers at this point so couldn't point it out to anyone.

Benedikt Bohm at our table in the Gindelalm restaurant

We reached the top of the ascent at the Bavarian alpine hut of Gindelalm. One of three huts situated at an altitude of 1242m between Schliersee and Tegernsee in the saddle between the mountain and the Auer Gindelalmschneid. I checked my back at this point and found that my base layer was completely dry on my back, in the last decade I don't think I have ever had a dry back after a hill walk, so the Active Shell had passed its first test with flying colours, I even took a photo just to prove it. The sun was just going down and the view towards the higher Alps was stunning. It was pretty cold so we all crept inside the cosy warm hut for a final presentation, this one by Benedikt who had carried his presentation kit up in a rucksack. It was a brilliant presentation, some of the adventures he'd had were just mind blowing and totally over whelming. Stories of seeing people die in the death zone, coming close to it himself at times contrasted with some stunning photographs of himself and his mountaineering buddies stood on top of the the highest mountains in the world. Benedikt was rather popular with the females it has to be said. The girls were very smitten by the rugged yet well groomed blond German athlete. After his presentation he sat with us at our table to eat. The food was delicious and the beer went down well. It was great having Benedikt on our table and he was asked many questions about his adventures and received a lot of attention from the girls. If there was one theme from Benedikt's presentation it was will power, he constantly used the term and looking at where he had been and what he had achieved it was no surprise that he though it to be the most important factor in his achievements.

Fiona & Sylvain in Munich

After the meal and drinks we were all asked to go outside as we had to now descend back through the forest by moonlight. Most people had brought head torches but we were also provided with fun real flame torches which really added to the atmosphere. The descent was trouble free. Obviously handing out fire torches to thirty beer and wine drinking walkers and telling them to descend a steep winding forest path for an hour in the dark isn't the smartest idea, but it went well. We got back on the coach after putting out the flame torches and headed back to the hotel. Most of us too tired to even consider having another beer. The following morning we said our goodbyes to the many people we had met and got on the coach which took us back to the airport. We had several hours to kill again so Tom, Fiona, Sylvain and Myself headed into Munich for what was my second flying visit this weekend. We looked around the beautiful city then settled down at a typical continental cafe and had delicious bread, wine and pasta. After sitting in the sun we headed back to the Airport and went our separate ways home. It is impossible to describe how good this weekend was. I feel like I was treated like royalty by Gore but also with huge respect. They have not only educated us more than we could possibly have imagined but at the same time listened to our views and taken on board what we had to say. I would like to thank Gore and Massklusive for giving me such an amazing opportunity. A big thank you to the other three UK bloggers Dave Mycroft, Fiona Russell and Tom Evans who I spent the most time with over the weekend, there is nothing better than decent like minded people. I still can't believe how much we laughed at weekend as we all got on so well. Anna McNamara who works in Marketing Communications for Gore in the UK at their Livingstone offices looked after us the whole weekend and soon became part of the gang. So thanks to those people but also to all the staff from Gore and of course the bloggers and journalists from around Europe. Fantastic weekend I won't forget in a hurry!

I have uploaded all of my photos from the weekend here.

There is also an official Gore-Tex Flickr album here.

Bloggers who attended this event...

Dave Mycroft http://www.myoutdoors.co.uk/
Tom Evans http://www.exceedpossibility.co.uk/
Fiona Russell http://www.fionaoutdoors.co.uk/
Sylvain Bazin http://sylvainbazin.blogspot.com/
Gregory Herlez http://www.greg-runner.com/
Alexander Bardu http://www.outdoor-professionell.de/
Jens Nordmann http://www.hiking-blog.de/
Steve Auch http://www.uptothetop.de/
Sven Linckels http://www.freiluft-blog.de/
David Schaffler http://freizeitalpin.at/
Sebastian & Rike Bonner http://www.beuteltiere.org/
Christian Forjahn http://www.kletterfieber.net/
Uli Strelzing http://www.auf-den-berg.de/
Axel Jansen http://outdoorseite.de/
Thomas Hubner http://www.happynewshoe.de/
Marcel Naumann http://www.ausgeruestet.com/
Markus Vaas & Veit Schumacher http://www.airfreshing.com/
Federico Casnati & Rafaela Zingler http://www.neveitalia.it/
Julio Fernandez & Juliana Aristizabel http://www.blogbtt.com/

Gore-Tex Bloggers Summit first day in Munich

2011-10-15T00:15:00.000+01:00

It has been a great first day in sunny Munich at the Gore-Tex Bloggers Summit. I set the alarm clock last night for 5am knowing it would not be easy getting up at such an early hour. The only benefit of getting up that early is that I can get revenge on the cat, who usually wakes me in the early hours everyday. So being cruel I crept down stairs and gave her a shock and wake her up.

I stupidly decided to update my iPhone and iPad to iOS 5 before this trip which wasn't the best idea as it meant spending the last two nights loading all my content back on as I wanted it for the trip. Despite that taking up my time I still just about managed to pack in time the night before and kept things to a minimum. The only consideration was a few warm clothes as the forecast temperatures are below freezing for the next few days. I left behind around half the kit I had originally planned on taking.

Taxi arrived at 5:15am as booked. The airport was extremely busy and full of noisy holiday makers and stag parties, just what you need when you are half awake, a bunch of drunken chavs shouting. I grabbed myself a bite too eat then queued up at the boarding gate where I was soon joined by Dave Mycroft from www.myoutdoors.co.uk who I already know and would be spending the next few days with. Manchester was grim but as soon as the plane had raced down the runway and burst through the clouds we were in the most heavenly surroundings lit by a morning sunrise.

Flying is something that fascinates me, I find it hard to comprehend how incredible it actually is for us to be able to fly as we do. As well as spotting geographical landmarks out of the window I was also watching the excellent 127 Hours movie on my iPad which was a great, until the moment when he cuts off his arm, that bit I just could not watch! The flight was a breeze and Lufthansa was quite a refreshing change to some of the cheaper airlines i have been on recently.

The weather in Germany for today and the next few days is blue skies and sunshine. Crossing Germany from north to south was a real eye opener, so many trees and so much open farmland. As the plane approached Munich and lost altitude I could make out a long line of dark mountain peaks reaching high in to the sky, some higher than the plane. It was of course the Alps and they were looking awesome. Most of them had patches of snow on them. There were many pretty villages with churches and castles dotted around the countryside near Munich as we came in to land and a surprising amount of Solar farms.

We landed and got through the airport very quickly as neither Dave or myself had any luggage other than our rucksacks which we had packed light. We had several hours to kill at the airport as the shuttle bus that would take us to our hotel was not due for another five hours. We sat at a cafe outside the airport and had a long chat about outdoor gear and other geeky outdoor related subjects then decided to hop on a train and head in to the city.

Everywhere including the airport, the train station and the city streets were incredible clean and free of litter. No queues anywhere, efficient transport, trouble free efficiency in every aspect of every thing we had to deal with. These German traits I had been told of but had never been to Germany before to experience. Marienplatz was our destination which is the main square in the centre of the city. We had a look around a fantastic old building in the platz then headed along a street to find somewhere to eat and drink. We found a well priced bakery come cafe that had a good beer and well priced food.

We soaked up the sunshine and watched the people of Munich go about their normal daily lives. The citizens of Munich seem to be a very civilised, polite, calm and relaxed bunch. After sitting in the sun for a while we made our wayback to the airport, after getting a little lost and confused in the multi level train station. Back at the airport we tried to find Fiona and Tom, fellow UK bloggers who had flown from Edinburgh on a later flight. We eventually met up with them at the meeting point where the shuttle bus awaited our arrival. At the shuttle bus we also met around a dozen other bloggers from other parts of Europe and the Gore-Tex team themselves. The coach took us to our hotel in Miesbach, a good hour south of Munich.

On route as we got closer to the hotel we also got closer to the mountains, which looked absolutely stunning. At the hotel we were treated to a Gore-Tex goodie bag containing a test jacket of the new Gore-Tex Active Shell. I was given a large, despite most of my clothes these days being medium. However it was a good job as the jacket is an active close fitting. First impressions, simply by examining the jacket and materials, are very positive. The jacket packs down to nothing, the material is very comfortable, even next to the skin and it is unbelievably light in weight.

When we booked in to our rooms at the hotel i realised they had me down as Bassnett, Jamie Frau! Last time I looked i am sure I was a man! Dinner tonight was an excellent buffet. We sat with the many representatives from Gore and spoke to a few bloggers from around the continent. It was great to meet up with the German bloggers and hear their perspective on blogging. Tomorrow after breakfast we are being whisked away to Gore's testing labs to be shown how they test and design their products which is going to be a real eye opener and a fantastic experience. After that we are heading in to the Bavarian Alps for a hike to a restaurant where there will be a special presentation by record breaking extreme ski mountaineer Benedikt Bohm. Following the meal and presentation we will be descending back down the mountain by head torch before heading back to the hotel.

Here are a few of the photos taken today...

Millers Dale from Monsal Head

2011-08-27T13:51:00.000+01:00

Last weekend I went to the Monsal Head Social Meet to celebrate the Peak District National Park's 60th anniversary. The meet was organised by Terry Bond who has gained himself a reputation as one of the best outdoor short film makers in the country. One place Terry seems to have taken to heart over the last year is the massively underrated White Peak area of the Peak District National Park. The idea of the meet was to bring together Walkers, Backpackers, Wild Campers and Newbies with a particular focus on those who are regularly contributing to the the ever growing outdoor related social media networks. Twitter, Facebook and Blogs in particular have created a network of like minded individuals, most of whom had only met each other via the internet. So this weekend was a great chance for me to meet many people I had never met in person. The meet which took place at the Park House camp site was as a huge success. I was really impressed with the site, it was clean, friendly and had decent pitches. It is also just a five minute walk from Monsal Head where there is a cafe, hotel and pub as well as dozens of walking opportunities. Terry was spot on with the venue!

Monsal Head

Outdoor gear retailers and manufacturers were present. They helped provide gear for a raffle Terry organised that raised £160 for Kinder Mountain Rescue on Saturday night. There was Ali from Terra Nova who showcased a few of their excellent lightweight tents. Gareth Jones from Webtogs showcased some innovative tents new in from Nemo in the states and also joined us on our walk. Luke from Ellis Brigham who along with his missus were very friendly and knowledgeable as I have come to expect from Ellis Brigham staff. Luke handing me a free pair of thick Smart Wool socks was certainly a good start to my weekend! Amanda from Chocolate Fish Merino was wondering around with a folder full of technical information on the many types of Merino Wool and good and bad ways in which it is sourced. On Saturday night Mark from Rab turned up with a car boot full of Rab's next season gear, most of which was admiringly fondled for a long time. The scene, a field of outdoor gear geeks fondling each others tents and dealing out of car boots, must have been quite a bizarre one for any onlookers. The new Rab Microlight Event jacket was the star of the show from Rab, but with an RRP of £275 will be out of most people's budget unfortunately. Dave Mycroft of the My Outdoors website provided a few test tents on show. These tended to be more my kind of thing to be honest. One particularly nice one was the Mountain Hardwear Skyledge 2.1 tent. I could list all of the folks who attended the meet but instead have decided to add a list to the bottom of this post, listing some of the people who attended and their respective Tweets, Blogs and Reports.

Webtog's Gareth Jones tent demonstrations

Friday night saw us all down the Stable Bar behind the Monsal Head Hotel consuming local ales and surprisingly impressive food. My choice of ales is usually the sweet one and I chose the Farmer's Blonde. It washed down my Green Thai Curry and Sticky Toffee Pudding very well. After a head torch lit road walk back to the camp site a large group of us decided to stay up for an hour or two talking. Over the two nights Terry's drunken Monologues became legendary. I went to bed eventually, soon to be woken by a screaming baby in the neighbouring tent. This pattern followed on Saturday night too and I didn't get much sleep over the weekend. I had taken my ear plugs but even they couldn't stop the screaming keeping me awake. I woke at around 8am and started up my stove to boil water for my tasty home made Spicy Fruit and Nut Porridge which I make using the Freezer Bag cooking method. I was quite content with my porridge until I decided to wander across the field in the direction of the others who were all huddled around Dave Mycroft. Dave was knelt down over a large stove with two frying pans full of delicious rashers of bacon, handing out tasty bacon sarnies. I was showered, packed and ready to go walking by around half past eight but soon realised that no one else had quite the same eager attitude. It was at least an hour before anyone else was ready. Instead of going off on my own I decided to wait and was glad I did so as Gareth Jones, Phil Sorrell, Pilgrim Chris, Giles Babbage and Mike Beaumont all showed intentions of doing the same route I had chosen. The fact that this route involved a half way stop at a well reputed local pub may have been something to do with this.

The Red Lion at Litton

We set off in good spirits and the weather was looking good. The night before, my journey to Monsal Head was a nightmare with heavy rain all the way to Buxton and a Friday night rush hour on the A6. At Monsal Head at the start of the walk there is a stunning viewpoint down the dale from Monsal Head, with the Headstone Viaduct adding to the typical White Peak scene. We made our way down a steep and slippery path. Phil was the first to nearly slide down it on his backside. The path eventually reached the bottom of the valley and on a track now passed a field full of Geese. The track met the minor road which we then followed through Upperdale until it reached Cressbrook. At Cressbrook we stopped to marvel at the huge Cressbrook Mill which has now been completely restored. Across the road Mike spotted a beautiful large Grey Heron on the old mill pond, it flew across the pond of course as soon as my camera was ready to take a shot. The lads decided to take the higher route along the road in to Cressbrook Dale and I took my preferred route along the lower and quieter track passing Ravensdale Cottages. Ravensdale Cottages are in a stunning setting with a crag high above them and surrounded by natural green woodlands. I met up again with the rest of the guys at the footbridge to Cressbrook Dale. Heading through the woodlands we suddenly heard someone behind us on the path. It turned out to be Mark from the meet who was about to head east off the main path to ascend to the top of Wardlow Hay Cop. We left Mark and continued up the dale which opened out after the forest like so many of these White Peak dales. We headed west from Cressbrook Dale into Tansley Dale and ascended to farm fields. The weather was great, the company was great, the conversation was great, and it was a great day to be out. As we approached the quaint village of Litton we crossed a few stiles. At one of the stiles several toddlers were running towards us so we let them cross the stile and all made comment on how good it was to see young children out in the fresh air.

Trout in River Wye

At Litton we made our way to the Red Lion. This is a delightfully cosy pub with low ceilings, set in a quaint and quiet village. The staff and locals were really friendly, even giving us recommendations on the local ales. Some of us had packed lunches, but those who ate there were really impressed with the food. I had a pint of Barnsley Bitter recommended by a local at the bar. One of the locals pointed out the strongest on tap so Gareth had an evil plan to give a pint of that to Phil. It backfired as he accidentally gave it to himself. We sat out the front on benches in the sun. Some of the folks who use their phones as GPS loggers were using the latest Power Monkey solar chargers to charge their battery hungry mobile phones. After enjoying a well deserved rest at the Red Lion at Litton we set off along the road through Litton Dale towards Tideswell Dale. We crossed the road at Tideswell Dale and then headed south along the road, before crossing again to the footpath on the other side. The path passed through a car park at Tideswell Dale then took a lovely stream side route through woodlands flanked by small limestone cliffs. At one point we found a large wooden sculpture of a water vole, which if you are extremely lucky can be seen in the area. There is somewhere on the web a photo of me dry humping this large creature. Surely this photo has to have been photo shopped as I am far too sensible to have done such a thing? The path split here and we took the one on the west side of the stream. The path eventually reaches a minor road which took us in to the small hamlet at Litton Mill. We stopped to look at the River Wye. Looking in the river we saw several large trout. We continued past the huge Litton Mill which has also been restored and is now posh apartments. What an incredible place to live was all I could think as we were passing the mill.

River Wye in Millers Dale

After Litton Mill the next few miles are simply stunning as the River Wye makes its way through the eastern end of Millers Dale. This is one of the best parts of the Peak District I have ever seen. The River Wye is absolutely teeming with large trout, and unlike most trout, do not flee at the first sight of you, instead they just swim around occasionally surfacing to feed on surface insects. We walked past a weir where one trout decided to sit in a beam of sunlight long enough for me to get a great photo. By this time I was starting to slow down as I do when I enter somewhere as beautiful as this, I could have sat for hours in one of the trees just staring in to the river. The woodlands surrounding the river were also stunning and full of bird life. The woodlands themselves were flanked by ever increasingly higher sheer limestone cliffs. The guys kept politely waiting for me but eventually I told them not to worry about me and go on ahead without me. One of the great things about being out with fellow regular walkers is that we all knew that if one of us separated it didn't matter one bit as we all knew where we were and would make our own way back safely. As the river approaches Cressbrook it slows down significantly as the weir at Cressbrook creates a huge pond in the river. As I approached the slower and wider River Wye the incredible white limestone cliffs of Water-cum-Jolly Dale took over the view across the way. There are trees over hanging both the path and river at one point, which provided a great way of seeing the trout in the river that were literally a few feet away. As the path approaches Cressbrook the impressive Rubicon Wall of limestone hangs over the path.

Weir at Cessbrook Mill

The rest of the guys headed through Cressbrook Mill and back along the minor road route we took earlier in the day. I decided to do a slightly different route back via the Monsal Trail which I had heard so much about. So instead of heading through the Cressbrook Mill I instead turned right and headed over the bridge that crosses the River Wye weir at Cressbrook. I took a few slow lens shots of the weir then ascended the path on the other side. The path heads along a contour on the hill over looking Cressbrook before reaching the Monsal Trail. The Monsal Trail is a brilliant facility for cyclists, walkers and horse riders. The trail uses the route of an old railway. In the last few years a project by the Peak District National Park Authority costing over two million pounds funding from the Department of Transport has seen the tunnels repaired, resurfaced and lighted to extend what was already a great trail. The tunnels allow people to pass from one dale to another in a unique way that wasn't possible before. I read some of the information boards along the trail mainly on the old railway and why it was there, then headed south east along it to reach the Headstone Viaduct. I have to admit I wouldn't like to walk the route of the trail as it is mostly in a complete straight line and the views are obstructed by trees. Walking in a straight line gives you an odd sense of not gaining distance. I'd much rather be down in a dale walking alongside a winding river any day.

My Terra Nova Superlite Voyager tent & my car Keisha

Black Hill The Crowden Horseshoe

2011-08-22T17:13:00.001+01:00

I was originally supposed to be heading up to the North York Moors this weekend so booked off the Friday and Monday on annual leave. However after reviewing the petrol bill for our recent trip to Ullapool including driving around while we were there hit nearly three hundred pounds I decided it was probably best to stay at home, save money, do the house work, help the missus who had a busy weekend, get some website work done and maybe go for a local walk on Monday if the weather was good. Turned out for once the weather was absolutely perfect locally! I woke on Monday morning to find perfect blue skies and fluffy white clouds. A few days before I read a tweet from someone on Twitter saying they had been up Black Hill in the Peak District and were shocked by how green the place was due to the excellent work done to restore the moors. Having not done Black Hill I decided a sunny dry day would be perfect for my first time on a hill with a reputation for being unforgiving in bad weather. It is quite a lengthy walk and in certain conditions can be a very serious outing. I have seen photos in guide books of Black Hill's summit, the 'Soldier's Lump' and it often looked like hell on earth surrounded by nothing but sinking black mud. These images are unfortunately still used even in modern guide books and still appears for example on the Wikipedia page for Black Hill. As you will see from the following trip report and photos the Black Hill I discovered was far from all that negativity and was a thoroughly enjoyable and fantastic walk!

Trees below Black Tor

The journey there was heavenly as everyone else was at work, the only difficult part being the usual bottle neck around Tintwistle. The bypass subject is a difficult one around these parts and although I do not wish to see beautiful and important woodlands like Swallows Wood destroyed to make way for a bypass you can't help but think that the thousands of stationary cars and lorries exhausts are doing more damage to the local moorland and woodland than a bypass would if traffic was able to just move through the area. There are so many areas of Britain that have dual carriage ways and motorways going through them that survive because the traffic simply passes through without affecting the surrounding environment. As I say it is a difficult one but I don't see the traffic disappearing any time soon and the situation will only get worse and if anything have a negative effect on the surrounding environment unless something is done about it. I arrived at Crowden, somewhere I have never stopped before, I've only ever flown past on the Woodhead Pass on the way to Sheffield or other Peak District walks. The car park, which I am very pleased to say is still free, is just off the main road and has a lovely wood behind it. There is a camp site at Crowden which I was pleasantly suprised with, it was very clean and had a great shop and facilities which walkers can use. There is also a youth hostel in Crowden so plenty of options for people wishing to stay over night.

Oakenclough Brook

After checking out the camp site I headed north along the road out of Crowden to the Youth Hostel. The road crosses a bridge over Crowden Brook before the Youth Hostel, here I stood on the bridge and listened to several Dragonflies heading up and down the brook. I headed through the Youth Hostel car park and north west on an ascent path through heather and ferns. The path crosses a pretty leat of slow flowing water, reflecting the blue skies. The path split in to several paths at times but they all eventually ascended to reach the much clearer and wider Pennine Way path below the cliffs of Black Tor. I headed north on the Pennine Way up the valley. The view ahead was a stunning wide moorland valley covered in purple heather, flanked by gritstone cliffs and roofed by blue skies and fluffy white clouds. I reached an almost out of place tree plantation of around a dozen trees of Oak, Birch, Fir and Rowan. I sat and listened for a while. I am a Senior IT Analyst on a major law firms busy service desk so my Monday mornings usually consist of phone calls from people requiring me to help them with their problems repeatedly reminding me that time is money. Today I was sat in sunshine looking at stunning scenery listening to Dragonflies, Grouse, Stone Chats, flowing water and smelling nothing but fresh air and blooming heather with all the time in the world. If only every Monday morning could be like this! I found a stunning yellow mushroom under the trees and took a few photos. I continued on the Pennine Way path through slopes of fragrant purple heather.

Laddow Rocks

As I approached the impressive cliffs of Laddow Rocks the path turns left and heads to and crosses the tumbling Oakenclough Brook. I took a few side shot view photos of Laddow Rocks then made my way along the path as it crossed the top of the cliffs. The views from Laddow Rocks were fantastic stretching all the way along and across the Crowden Great Brook valley. Looking back towards Crowden I saw the huge dark bulk of the neighbouring Bleaklow above Torside Reservoir. After Laddow Rocks the path passes the castles at the head of the valley then descends to Crowden Great Brook. The valley narrows at the end in to a deadly quiet and wild land. As I was stood texting someone on my iPhone out of the corner of my eye I saw something wiggle its way across one of the big Pennine Way paving stones. I was delighted when I realised it was a small Common Lizard. I carefully put my hand in a diamond shape around it and it crawled on to my wrist for a photo. The path crosses Great Crowden Brook several times before reaching a stile over the perimeter fence then heading up the final ascent to Black Hill. As the path crossed Crowden Great Brook I was watched by a lovely bobbing Dipper on the rocks, I was quite surprised to see it here as they usually prefer wider and faster flowing rivers lower down. Maybe the sunny weather meant the Dipper could get higher the moor for a rare scoff of the many insects on the upper brooks many rocks. I went over the dog friendly perimeter fence stile and started the final push towards Black Hill. The path all the way to the summit was of the huge Pennine Way paving stone type, of which I am a huge fan. These paving stones are the only solution I have seen that stop people wondering off path, everywhere I see them is a narrow path following a set line and lacking erosion. The only negative is that they can be hard on the knees at times.

Common Lizard on my wrist

As I reached the first view of the summits trig point pillar, the paved path crosses a lovely peat bog pond with Dragonflies. All the way up the summit area I was constantly waiting to turn a corner and see an impassable quagmire of deep unforgiving peat bog. It never materialised and the rumoured success of the regeneration work was confirmed, this once barren and ruined landscape is now completely transformed and an abundance of green grass and wildlife. A combination of properly paved paths, reseeding from the air, perimeter fencing to keep sheep away, biodegradable netting of hags and lots of dedication from the Moors for the Future partnership has completely changed the future of Black Hill. There are currently discussions on similar proposals for Kinder and Bleaklow including the perimeter fence, after seeing the results on Black Hill I know which box I will be ticking. The summit of Black Hill is known as Soldier's Lump. This name relates to the Royal Engineer surveyors who were given the task of erecting trig points as part of the original survey to map Britain. Erecting trig points on thousands of hills across Britain is no easy task. If you are unaware of what was involved in this feat I would suggest researching it to appreciate how these regular features you see on walks were first installed, and their vital importance to the maps we use today. Black Hill was a difficult hill for them to erect a trig point on its highest point as they could not find any solid ground on which to erect a trig pillar in the usual way.

Black Hill summit Soldier's Lump

From Black Hill summit the views were not amazing as it is a very wide summit area. The peaks of the Yorkshire Dales were in view to the north as were the West Pennine Moors. The most obvious feature in view from the summit is the huge seven hundred and fifty foot tall one hundred and forty ton Holme Moss radio transmitter. From the summit I wanted to head south to south east towards Tooleyshaw Moss and its unique stone cairn. That route I thought was going to be fairly easy as it is after all the continuation of the infamous Crowden Horseshoe, however there was a very deep bog in the way so I had to retrace my steps back towards the pond then turn left over less boggy ground. In the end I managed to reach the stone cairn at Tooleyshaw Moss and the normal path was then easy to follow as it was flanked with wooden marker posts every few hundred metres. The stone cairn at Tooleyshaw Moss could have in the past I imagine have created a false summit for walkers in bad weather with many thinking it was the summit of Black Hill as from a distance it is sometimes first when approaching from the south. As I was stood next to the stone cairn a fighter plane flew extremely low and fast over Black Hill. It didn't look like the usual RAF Tornado planes you see when out and about so I am guessing it could be one of the Eurofighter planes from BAE.

Stone cairn on Tooleyshaw Moss

After Tooleyshaw Moss the path follows the eastern side of the Crowden Horseshoe through peat hags, marked all the way with wooden marker posts and the odd small stone cairn. I have to admit if I did Black Hill again I probably wouldn't bother with this eastern side of the horseshoe as it was very bland compared to the western approach. I crossed over the perimeter fence again at White Low, then as I reached the descent of Westend Moss I sat down in the heather slope to have my packed lunch with a sunny view over Crowden to Bleaklow. I chose not to walk over to the trig pillar on the top of Hey Edge and instead descended Hey Moss to the track that heads up Crowden Little Brook. The track passed under the spills of the old Loftend Quarry. To be honest they are probably the most aesthetically pleasing quarry spills I've ever seen and are made even better by the small plantations. The local sheep were sheltering under the trees to shelter from the warm sunshine. I crossed a stile over looking Crowden and made a short steep descent down to the Youth Hostel I walked along earlier. A short walk back down the road led me back to the camp site where I bought a cold drink from the shop then headed back to the car. A great day out, especially the approach along the western side of the horseshoe. I managed to get back home just before the rush hour too. I caught the sun quite badly as I only chose to put sun cream on half way through the walk, don't think I will ever learn that lesson!

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Inchnadamph The Bone Caves

2011-08-12T12:10:00.002+01:00

This was the last day of our week away in Ullapool. The weather was like the rest of the week, unpredictable with the possibility of showers. We planned on doing something fairly easy as there was heavy rain forecast for the early evening onwards and we had all had adventurous days the day before, myself doing the whole of the Quinag massif and the others had driven to the far north to walk out to Sandwood Bay. We had spoke all week about visiting the Bone Caves near Inchnadamph as none of us had bothered with the small walk before as we usually head for the hills or longer day walks. Looking at the guide books a few days earlier we were surprised to find that the actual Bone Caves were not those at the end of the glen above Inchnadamph but actually down a glen a few miles south of Inchnadamph. The day before I spotted a really tiny wooden sign at the proper car park saying 'Bone Caves' so now knew where it was. So we set off from Ullapool late morning and headed along the drive along the A835 towards Inchnadamph, a road I could drive down every day of my life and never get bored. Stac Polly looked fabulous as everything around it was dark and cloud covered yet it was lit up basking in sunshine by itself. After a short while we reached the sign posted car park at the foot of the Allt nan Uamh glen.

Badger Cave above Allt nan Uamh

The visitor boards at the car park were in a bad state but there was a box of free informative leaflets on the history of the Bone Caves. There was also a sign on the information boards letting visitors know that they are due an upgrade in the near future. We set off along the footpath passing a few lovely waterfalls on the Allt nan Uamh to the right. The footpath then rises steadily and bends in to the glen. The glen is beautiful. I have to admit as I said above I have ignored this walk thinking it would be really easy, close to the road and full of tourists. I couldn't have been more wrong to be honest. There was not one single other person the whole day, the car park was empty, the glen was beautiful, there were several fascinating features and the views were stunning. The walk to the caves is not as simple as I had first thought either and requires a moderate two and a half mile walk along an often rocky path. After rounding a bend in the glen we reached something that was just awesome. I had seen on the map a feature marked as the Fuaran Allt nan Uamh spring. I have seen many springs before and seen places in limestone areas where streams and small rivers suddenly appear from the ground and out of caves. However this was something else it literally appears from nowhere and is no stream or small river it is a full on flowing river. We all stood and looked puzzled for ages as we tried to comprehend how on earth a very shallow large puddle of water suddenly developed enough water to be a full flowing river just a metre further down. You really do have to see it to believe it.

Fuaran Allt nan Uamh spring

After the Fuaran Allt nan Uamh spring the normal river course continues up the glen but dries up after a few hundred metres. We continued along the valley following the path by the dried up river bed. The big crags of Creag nan Umah that contain the Bone Caves were now visible at the head of the glen. As we were silently moving along the glen we had the fright of our lives as a speeding RAF Tornado jet darted across the valley from one side to the other in less than a second. Usually you get a slight distant noise indicating the arrival of a fast moving jet but as we were down in the low glen it just suddenly appeared and certainly scared the hell out of me. Most guide books show the path as sticking to the northern side of the Allt nan Umah until the far end of the glen passing the caves then looping back to them after crossing the Allt nan Uamh. It seems these days that the preferred route is now along a better laid path which crosses the Allt nan Uamh before the caves and ascends a safe steep path up to Creag nan Uamh. So we crossed the dried up river bad and headed up the clear and well laid path through heather and ferns and then over steep rocky ground to Creag nan Uamh and the Bone Caves. Up to our right as we ascended this path Steve spotted a bird which turned out to be a big Buzzard that sat on the rocks on the skyline above and watched as we passed by.

Steve & Craig in Bone Cave

The Bone Caves which walkers can explore consist of four main caves. There is the Badger Cave, Bone Cave, Reindeer Cave and Fox's Den. The first cave on the right hand side is the Badger Cave which we put our packs down in. We looked out from the cave and marvelled at the view across to the rather splendid looking Beinn nan Cnaimhsaig while Craig who is probably half the size of the rest of us explored the back of the cave. Steve and myself also tried to explore the rest of the cave but unfortunately crashed our heads on the roof of the cave, although it sounds like we were both daft I have to admit I was by far the most daft as I followed Steve out and watched him do it first then did it myself in the same spot. We went off to explore the second cave known as the Bone Cave, this cave has a small narrow passage connecting it to the third cave known as the Reindeer Cave. The guide books and the information leaflets stated that only a small child would be able to crawl through this small narrow passage. Craig set off through the narrow passage and appeared out of the other side where Steve, Elaina and Myself were waiting with our cameras. Looking at the narrow passage was quite scary when it was dark but looking at it with a head torch I felt there was a chance I could fit through it and drag myself through. I foolishly shared this thought with Steve who then challenged me to do it and said if I did he would buy my meal that night. Always one for a challenge I obliged and prepared myself for the squeeze. It was a terrifying ordeal, I don't like dark tight spaces like that. I was ecstatic with relief when I got out of the other side and found myself in the Reindeer Cave with Steve and Elaina pointing cameras at me while shaking their heads.

Narrow passage from Bone Cave to Reindeer Cave

Anyone expecting to see actual bones in the caves or walk any distance in to deep caves will be disappointed by the Bone Caves but that isn't what they are about. Cavers exploring further in to this cave system and the surrounding area have found the bones of animals as far back as forty seven thousand years ago. The list of species found is incredibly long and includes the likes of Northern Lynx, Polar Bear, Arctic Lemming, Arctic Fox, Brown Bear, Wolf, Reindeer and also includes four thousand year old human remains. The caves are a designated Ancient Monument and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is not known for definite why so many bones were found in these particular caves but one theory suggests they were washed in by the melt waters from glaciers. I would suggest reading the free leaflets that are available at the start of the walk to help your imagination wonder off to the world that left us these clues. The more important bones such as the Polar Bear and Lynx skulls are kept in the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, though there are casts of some of the bones in the Visitor Centre in Lochinver for you to look at. After checking out the Fox's Den and eating Mars Bars in the Badger Cave we headed back the way we came. The views down the glen on the return were stunning from the descent path. I could see Spidean Coinich on The Quinag in the distance that I had tackled the day before so bored the rest of the group again with stories of the previous days adventure. On the return route I decided to stay off the path most of the way and walked down the dried up river bed. The different types of rock along the the rivers bed were fascinating. We reached the incredible Fuaran Allt nan Uamh spring again then made our way back through the glen to the start. If you have ever dismissed this walk like myself then don't as it is a great wee walk. After the walk we headed down to Lochinver to get Pies for folks back home and then made our way to the Kylesku Hotel where we spent our last night of the holiday consuming Seafood Platters, drinking a pint of An Teallach and watching Seals in the loch. There is no better place on earth than this part of Scotland in my opinion I will go back every year of my life that I can. Great week in a great place with great friends.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Quinag The Three Corbetts

2011-08-11T13:31:00.063+01:00

The weather forecasts late on Wednesday promised Thursday would be the best weather day of what was too be a pretty wet and windy week. With that in mind I knew Thursday had to be the day I climbed to the top of a significant mountain. There are dozens of spectacular and unique mountains around Assynt but sadly I have only climbed to the top of a handful of its hardest and highest mountains. I wasn't feeling that fit as I haven't done much hill walking recently. The walk up Stac Pollaidh two days before had me clutching my sore knee a few times and my big toe which I broke two months ago was also still giving me grief. I decided I would have a go at a Munro so I chose Ben More Assynt as the walk didn't seem too long or technical. The route I decided on was the popular one from Inchnadamph via Conival. Elaina had mentioned that Quinag could be a fall back option as you can climb in from the road the passes over from Loch Assynt to Kylesku. This was a route I had spotted before when travelling over the pass, and Quinag is a mountain that had always caught my eye both when I have seen it with my own eyes and when read other peoples accounts. So I decided I would head for Inchnadamph to do Ben More Assynt but if I changed my mind and wanted a slightly easier option I would head for the car park on the pass below Quinag and just do the first of its Corbett summits. I packed most of my gear the night before. I was delighted when I woke the next morning to see sunshine beaming through the curtains for the first time this week!

Loch Assynt from Spidean Coinich ascent

I set off on my own as Nicky was having to study to complete her assignment which had to be in the next day. Elaina, Craig and Steve were all off to see the beautiful Sandwood Bay. I had done Sandwood Bay a few years before with them so I decided against doing it again for the sake of getting up a mountain on the best possible day. As I headed out of Ullapool the weather was great and the stereo was on full blast, banging out The Best of James. I rounded the bend at the stunning Ardmair pebble beech over looking Ben More Coigach with a smile on my face. By the time I'd passed Knockan Crag the weather wasn't looking quite as promising on the higher tops. Cul Mor was holding a lot of cloud and as I got closer to Inchnadamph and pulled in to the car park I realised that both Conival and Ben More Assynt weren't to be seen. I looked across Loch Assynt towards Quinag and it was basking in warm sunshine. This made the decision to go for the easier option of Quinag much easier. So I continued along the main road, drove past Ardvreck Castle and turned north on the A894. At the top of the pass I pulled in to the decent sized car park and parked up. It was sunny and I was about to climb a new mountain in Assynt. I set off along the clear footpath that heads out towards the corrie and Lochan Bealach Cornaidh. When the footpath reached the first lot of rocks I turned left and headed towards the eastern slopes of Spidean Coinich. I expected great things from Spidean Coinich and I wasn't disappointed. After passing a pond full of lilies I started the long arduous slog up the gentle eastern slope of Spidean Coinich. This eastern side of Spidean Coinich is what is known as a 'dip slope' of quartzites. I have often passed over the road pass and marvelled at the white and light colours of Spidean Coinich and its neighbouring peaks. I have however, never walked on such a mass of quartz rock before and I was quite shocked at how hard it was to keep on my feet where it was wet. The surface was like marble, almost like trying to walk on the floors of the Trafford Centre when they are slippery, wet and at a forty degree angled slope.

Spidean Coinich

As I made my way up Spidean Coinich the views across the corrie and Lochan Bealach Cornaidh to Sail Garbh were amazing. I stopped on several occasions turning a complete circle and staring in amazement at the world around me. Just before the summit there was a drop down to a beautiful small unnamed lochan. As I reached the top the quartz gave way to Torridonian sandstone, which was weathered in places and was kind of like a limestone pavement on its side, creating what looked like huge man made walls. It was an incredible sight and I soon found that almost the entire summit area was surrounded and held up by this incredible natural geological marvel. As I reached the summit I honestly at one point found it hard to believe that one of these huge cliff walls wasn't man made. The top of Spidean Coinich was extremely windy so I didn't stay around for long. I headed north west along the ridge passing another lovely lochan, this one known as Lochan RuadhBealach a Chornaidh and told myself that despite my original plan of doing just this mountain then back to the car, I would see how I felt at the bealach. If I was up for it I would at the least carry on and climb up and down Sail Gharbh, the highest peak on Quinag and then the second Corbett of the day.

Sail Gharbh

The drop to Bealach a Chornaidh was quite far, which I already knew would be the case as in order for the Corbetts to be classified as such they require a drop between each of at least five hundred feet. I made it to the path which comes up from the corrie and heads up on to Sail Gharbh and I didn't even need to have the conversation with myself, I already knew what I wanted to do and set my sights on not just Sail Gharbh but also the third Corbett of Sail Ghorm. I knew this would not be an easy walk, but I still had several hours of daylight left and all the time in the world, in one of the greatest places I'd seen. The ascent path to the ridge out to Sail Gharbh was fairly steep and muddy in places but soon reaches the bealach on the ridge. A direct walk along the ridge and over a few false rocky summits and I was stood at the highest summit point on Sail Gharbh with incredible views across back to Spidean Cionich and all its glory. I have to say of the three mountains Spidean Coinich grabbed me more than the others, it is simply stunning and its geology is fascinating and worth looking up if you have the time. The summit trig point pillar on Sail Gharbh was quite bizarrely sheltered within the confines of a circular stone shelter, something I hadn't seen done before. So I took a self timer shot of myself on the summit of Sail Gharbh then looked across to Sail Ghom and the ridge sweeping round to it. It seemed miles away and it felt like it too! I descended Sail Gharbh and made my way to the unnamed peak which sits at the centre of the T shaped Quinag mountain massif. The view point from this central position is fantastic with all three Corbett mountains and their attaching ridges leading off in three different directions.

Sail Ghorm

From the centre point on the unnamed peak I made my way over yet two more peaks before finally reaching the long slog up to the summit of Sail Ghorm. On the way to Sail Ghorm there is an out crop of rock that you can walk out on for a great photo opportunity. Its like walking the plank over the hundreds of Assynt lochans. From the same bealach you also get great views down towards Kylesku and its majestic bridge. Sail Ghorm's great advantage is its seaward facing views which today were bathed in sunshine. After enjoying Sail Ghorm and being rather pleased with myself for doing all three Corbetts I made may way back along the ridge to eventually reach that central point again. This time rounding the central point peak to reach the bealach where the steep muddy path drops back down to Bealach a Chornaidh. I followed the path along its three and a half kilometre route back to the car park via Lochan Bealach Cornaidh. The path disappearing on several occasions, I also lost it as I was looking in awe at Glas Bheinn across the way. My feet were pretty sore by the time I got back to the car park so before crossing the road I sat on a wooden bridge and dipped my feet in a small stream. I felt so great knowing I'd bagged all three Corbetts and done a walk twice as good as I had planned. Buzzing with adrenaline I raced back to Ullapool rocking in the car to Guns N' Roses while gazing out the window at the likes of Suilven, Canisp, Cul Mor, Stac Polly and Ben More Assynt all looking incredible in the sunshine. A roasting hot bath was had when I got back to the cottage. Nicky and Myself had delicious fish from the Seaforth in Ullapool for tea then waited for the others to return with happy tales from Sandwood Bay where they had a great time in glorious weather all day. A fantastic day on a fantastic mountain massif. The Quinag is an amazing roller coaster of peaks, each of them slightly different, my favourite by far being Spidean Coinich. The next day we were heading back from Lochinver towards Loch Assynt on the A837 and looking up to the Quinag from its western approach, it is a massive seven kilometre undulating roller coaster of a ridge walk from there and I'm so glad I've done it. The day after we saw it from Kylesku where the two Corbetts of Sail Ghorm and Sail Gharbh soar above the land like to huge giants with big shoulders.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Stac Pollaidh from Loch Lurgainn

2011-08-09T21:34:00.001+01:00

First time I saw Stac Pollaidh I repeated the same sentence that most walkers do... 'Wow, I have to climb that one day!' It is a truly magnificent spectacle. It is by no means the highest and it is tiny compared to its bulking neighbours. What makes Stac Pollaidh or Stac Polly as it is more popularly known, so special is its rugged proper mountain look. When viewed from the main Ullapool to Lochinver road children always say the same thing 'it looks like a volcano' and it sure does. The mountain rises to a stunning ridge of shattered Torridonian Sandstone with difficult weather sculptured pinnacles and terrifying loose scree gullies. The mountain itself is simply stunning and unique but what makes it even more special is that it sits in the middle of Assynt, surely one of the most incredible places in the world. The weather today wasn't great again and was actually worse than had been forecast. So being low in height and next to the minor road out to Achiltibue, Stac Polly was a fairly safe yet satisfying option, on what could turn out to be a rainy day. It is an easy walk to get to the lowest point on the summit ridge. The route is a heart shaped circular walk round the back of the mountain. Walking either way on the ridge itself is not as easy and getting to the actual summit requires a very stretching move up one particular rock pinnacle.

Stac Pollaidh from the car park

So Steve, Craig, Nicky and Myself set off in good mood as the weather didn't look too bad in the morning. By the time we got to the car park at Loch Lurgainn the sun was shining and the stunning profile of Stac Polly had a blue sky background. Heading down the Achiltibue road getting loser to the mountain you can't help but feel exciting looking up at it and knowing you will soon be stood on top of it. The Loch Lurgainn car park was full so we had to really squeeze Steve's car in to get a space. We got kitted up and crossed the road to the kissing gate. The path that ascends from the kissing gate is lovely with birch trees, heather, bilberry, ferns and mushrooms. The path came to the deer fence and second kissing gate and led out on to the open moorland below Stac Polly. Years ago the ascent of Stac Polly was done from here by just heading directly up its steep screes. These days the delicate scree has been protected from imminent human destruction, properly laid and long lasting path now loops the mountain with a detour path ascending at the back to the ridges lowest point. As we got higher on the path and rounded the shoulder of Stac Polly the weather took a turn for the worse. The views across Loch Lurgainn to Sgorr Tuath were very atmospheric. At one point we were stood on the path looking south east to Cul Beag and either side of us were huge walls of clouds moving in like curtains around Stac Polly and us, and from this moment on it rained.

Craig & Steve as the weather moves in

We ascended the ascent path to the ridge round the back of the mountain. Usually the views out over Loch Sionascaig to Suilven from here are some of the best in the nation, but today they were pretty awful. On the odd occasion the clouds did thin slightly to show us Loch Sionascaig. The first time I climbed Stac Polly was a few years ago with Nicky, it was a perfect sunny day and we had the time of our lives tackling the ridge and even made it to the actual summit. So when we reached the ridge in wind and rain it was a difficult decision but Steve and Myself made the decision to head back down and save it for a better day on this occasion. It really isn't worth standing on top of a mountain in such a stunning location without a view. After following the other descent path heading north west off the mountain we stopped at a viewpoint with pinnacles to take some photos and eat our lunch. As we sat and ate lunch the weather got worse and turned in to strong cold north westerly winds and driving rain. We moved quickly down the mountain and tried dancing to the sun gods as we descended the mountain, it didn't work and it got very wet and cold. I didn't take any waterproof pants and my walking trousers got soaked. After rounding the western end of the mountain the hill started its descent back down towards Loch Lurgainn and we were very relieved when the weather improved and the wind and rain both settled down.

Craig & Nicky on Stac Polly with Loch Scionascaig behind

On the final descent Craig had fun jumping off some large boulders. Again the moody atmospheric views across Loch Lurgainn to Sgorr Tuath were really impressive. We took photos of Steve and Craig on rocks below Stac Polly then headed through the kissing gate down to the lovely rocky path back to the road and car park. Despite the bad half hour of stormy weather we had a really good time on Stac Polly. It was a real shame we didn't get to show Craig what Stac Polly is really about, having been up there ourselves before, we know just how special that walk along its crest really is. The weather didn't improve for the rest of the day and we headed back to Ullapool for a house warmed by a wood burner and Elaina's tasty home baked cooking. While showering after the walk I felt a nasty bite on my leg near my backside and realised there was something biting me. I grabbed it and pulled it off with my nails, one look at it on my hand I knew straight away what it was. Yuk, nasty blood thirsty tick! I called Nicky in and asked her to give me the once over, and she found another behind my knee. We take these nasty critters seriously as we know friends and family who have suffered Lyme disease from the nasty things. The one on my backside worried me as it had given me a nasty bruise. Luckily I was okay. Steve also found two on himself a few hours later. The next day the weather was much worse and it rained all day, so we stayed in and watched Harry Potter and Lost DVD's.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Culag Woods from Lochinver

2011-08-07T19:26:00.001+01:00

The plan was for another sunny summer holiday in Ullapool. The weather gods however, had other plans. The forecast for our chosen week is wet and windy for most of the week according to the dreary weather forecasts. It seems most days so far we have spent glued to the television watching the ever worsening weather forecasts and rioting back home in Manchester, as the noise of driving rain falling on the plastic conservatory roof gets louder. The drive up on Saturday put us in a positive mood as despite torrential rains and thunder through Cumbria, the drive up was perfect with no delays. As we reached Inverness on the A9 the skies opened up in front of us, we had blue skies as we crossed the country from east to west to reach Ullapool. I love the fact that as you descend to Inverness you see the North Sea then less than an hour later you reach the Atlantic Ocean at Ullapool. We met up with our friends in Ullapool and opened the doors to our stunning self catering property that we lived in for a week two years ago. It was great to meet up with our 'north of the border' buddies again and we all nipped down to the fantastic Seaforth seafood bar and bistro where I had a tasty Red Mullet with Chili Jam, washed down with a pint of An Teallach. After eating we headed down to the harbour to see the Ullapool harbour Seals, which on this rare occasion were shy. While down at the harbour I spotted a black and white cat sneaking around the ferry port piers, it looked surprisingly similar to the cat that was advertised as missing on the front of the recent edition of the 'Ullapool News'. The next day we phoned the owners to let them know it could well have been their much missed little moggy.

Are you brave enough footpath

So the next day we had been hoping for a sunny day but instead were presented with a dull start with occasional showers and brief sunny spells. First intention was to head north to Lochinver and the infamous Lochinver Pie Shop, a massive favourite of ours. We pulled up at Lochinver and Craig decided immediately that the activity of stone skimming was more important than pies so we headed down to the shores of Loch Inver to show him how it is done. We entered the pie shop and each of us got a few pies with the intention of eating them over the next few days. I however just couldn't resist and being the infamous 'Pie Eater' that I am, I couldn't even wait to get out of the shop. A rather scary member of staff in the shop came straight over and gave me a stern telling off for eating my 'take away' pie in the shop, much to the amusement of the others. I sulked and left the shop to eat my Venison and Cranberry pie in the rain. The obvious bad weather option if you are around Lochinver is Culag Woods. These woods are fantastic. On our first trip to the woods several years ago Nicky and myself entered the woods with the intention of doing a quick morning walk of no more than an hour long. We left the woods seven hours later! The woods are now owned and looked after by the locals who founded the Culag Community Woodland Trust. They are an incredibly well looked after gem. Kids love the woods as they are littered with fun things like a play area, wooden animals, information boards, hidden dens, trees and wildlife.

Mushrooms on Culag Wood floor

So we headed for the upper 'Woodside' car park despite the drizzle. Getting to the car park is easy, you just follow the Achiltibue road that ascends from the village. The road passes a small school by a loch, surely this is the worlds most idyllic setting for a school! A loch covered in lilies, overlooked by Suilven. We ate our pies in the car at the car park in case the drizzle stopped which it did. We covered each other in Avon Skin so Soft to put off the ever increasing midges and set off through the gate in to the woods. We turned immediately left heading along the narrow and dark 'Are You Brave Enough?' footpath. This is a great route that is easy to follow as you just keep the stone wall to the left at all times. The path passes through Pine and Conifers then snakes its way through Birch and Beech. We all had fun at this point as the trees were holding a lot of water on their leaves. Every time someone grabbed a trunk for balancing they shocked and soaked anyone under its canopy. The woodland floor was dotted with mushrooms and fungi of various shapes, sizes and colour. The path eventually got us to the stunning White Shore beach. White Shore is a lovely curved bay of pebbles on the shores of Loch Inver. Just behind the beach there are fishing nets and fallen trees that have been turned in to an adventure playground. We had fun as usual, Steve pretending to be Patrick SwayzeInver we set off along the Shore Path. We took photos at the lookout point in the forest that has been purposely framed by the installation of a wooden photo frame sculpture.

Sandy on top of Daphne

Last time we were in the woods with Steve and Elaina we didn't walk up to the viewpoint so we made a point of doing so this time. The view point is at the top of a wee hill called Cnoc na Doire Daraich which translates to the Hill in the Oak Woods. So we headed up the Viewpoint Path which climbs through delightful woodland, passes a looming cliff then turns and climbs above Loch Inver and the woodlands to reach a wooden bench that gives a great view across to Suilven. The ascent path was bordered with beautifully colourful heather in summer bloom. From the viewpoint Suilven looks striking and like the shape of a huge bell from here. We tried to enjoy the view but the midges soon saw us descending after a few photos. The descent brings you at at a play area with a see-saw, teepee and a twigloo, which Craig just had to get in to. We turned left and followed the main path again. We took a detour along a wooden boardwalk to have a look at the big Culag Bog. Louise nearly took a tumble in to the bog at one point as she was too busy talking instead of looking where she was going and missed a step down on the boardwalk. After the bog which to be honest wasn't exactly teeming with wildlife we got back on the main path. We passed a few wooden animal sculptures in the trees along the way including a horrible looking spider. We found an excellent den at one point so all the boys jumped in to it for a photo. We got back to the cars and drove home along the more scenic route via Achiltibue and took a detour out along the dead end road on the peninsula. I took my first ride in Sandy and Louise's new Landrover now known as Daphne which was great fun, a beautiful and versatile machine that was surprisingly comfortable. I reckon they are going to have some great trips in Daphne. We pulled in at the shores of Loch Buine Moire where we were gifted with a panoramic view of Cul Mor, Cul Beag and Stac Pollaidh. We got home and Elaina made us all a tasty meal, after which we went for a bike ride around Ullapool and along the Ullapool River track in the dark which was great fun. Not a bad day at all considering it had rained for most of it. Fingers crossed for a better day tomorrow.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Delamere Forest & Old Pale Hill

2011-07-23T19:55:00.001+01:00

I was a bit stumped this weekend as the weather was glorious but the missus had the car, so if I wanted to get out then it would involve either public transport or my bike. I got myself a new camera this week and I was desperate to get out and play around with it to see what it could do. The week before I developed a weird injury I picked up as a result of over doing it a bit on the bike every day then playing two hours of football some nights. So just in case, that was the bike out of the equation as I wasn't too sure if I had fully recovered. I had been taking anti-inflammatory tablets most of the week. I therefore decided on a plan I'd had for a while. Only a forty five minutes train ride away is the incredible Delamere Forest where I spent lots of happy days as a child with my family having picnics and making dens in the ferns. The train fair is only nine pounds return and the train station is literally bang in the centre of the forest. So I packed a summer bag, which is always surprisingly easy, and headed down in to town to visit Waterstones for the OS Explorer map. I couldn't resist a large Mocha from Costa Coffee while I was there and grabbed myself a packed lunch and breakfast. Another thing I was interested in was the Pathfinder book of walks in Cheshire, I see them all the time in shops like Blacks and Millets, so I strolled down to Millets. Did they have it? No of course not, why would a Millets in Cheshire have a map or guide book of Cheshire? I mean that would just make far too much sense. I could have got myself a Lonely Planet book on Bolivia or a cheap nasty pointless solar torch made in China, but a useful map or guidebook of the local area, No!

Blakemere Moss

After stressing my above frustration at the sixteen year old teenager in Millets who looked at me dumbfounded, I continued on my journey and brought my ticket at the station. It was a pleasant relief to find that the return ticket was only nine pounds, in a world where I am constantly being ripped off I think nine pounds return is not bad. I helped an old man to use the Metrolink ticket machine on the Manchester bound side of the station. I half felt sorry for him as he clearly couldn't handle the technology, but the techy mean side of me wanted to bang his head against the machine and ask him why he didn't just press the blatantly obvious buttons fed to him on the touch screen interface. I sat at Altrincham railway station and thought of how the lovely old structure compares to the soulless Metrolink conversion that has taken place at Timperley. I got on a surprisingly busy train, full of rowdy young lads on their way to a stag party in Northwich. There were no seats left other than the one directly outside of the toilet, so I hoped for the best and sat in the potentially problematic seat. I was fine until a rather disturbing moment when one of the lads didn't press the lock button inside the loo and one of his friends came along and pressed the open button. It is a sight I won't forget for a while! I absolutely love travelling by train through the British countryside. Staring out of the window on a sunny day you get some perspective of just how vast the country is. Fields and hedgerows seem to just go on forever. Wildlife is in abundance with rabbits munching on grass, herons sat by ponds and Buzzards circling over fields. The journey was pleasant as I passed through yet more lovely quaint railway stations like something from a Honrby railway set. The railway embankments were all covered in the stunning blues of Rosebay Willowherb. After what seemed like nothing the train, much to my excitement, arrived at Delamere. The sign on the station wall as you disembark proudly says "The Forest Station", which put a smile on my face.

Delamere railway station

Delamere Forest is the largest woodland in Cheshire, covering just under a thousand hectares. The forest is a mix of deciduous and evergreen forest. Delamere means 'The forest of the lakes' and the forest does have several constantly changes lakes, or meres as we like to call them in Cheshire. The most fascinating of all those lakes is Blakemere Moss which I have experienced before at various times of the year in various conditions. The forest and Blakemere Moss would have to wait though as my first objective for this walk was to climb to the top of Old Pale Hill. When people think of Cheshire they think of wide flat low lying lands with big horizons. I proved this wrong recently with the walk up Shining Tor, the highest point in Cheshire at five hundred and fifty nine metres above sea level. Over here on the west side of Cheshire is the Mid Cheshire Ridge, an impressive and understated sandstone ridge with dozens of impressive hills and features. Old Pale Hill is the highest point on the northern end of this ridge. I was interested in seeing if I could ascend a wee hill without my knee or thigh giving me grief, and also interested in what views this modest hill would give me. I turned out of the railway station and headed west through the car park to join the roadside path to the visitor centre and bike hire area. I was impressed by the mountain bikes they had for hire as nearly all of them were expensive Kona bikes in excellent condition. From the visitor centre I continued south west passing the Forestry Commission depot and on to the Old Pale Hill car park.

Old Place Hill summit stone

From the Old Pale Hill car park I ascended the wide winding track and after just a few minutes of ascent I was already on my own as no one was ascending the hill. In fact all the way to the summit I only saw one person, who was a descending fell runner. The views were opening up and I stopped several times watching Sparrow Hawks and Crows flying over the forest side fields. The views behind over the forest showed just how huge it is, and in the middle was the big opening at the waters of Blackmere Moss. The path to the summit of Old Place Hill was very easy going but enjoyable. The summit of Old Pale Hill has three huge transmitter masts which were not a surprise to me as I had researched the hill on the internet the night before. They don't really affect the experience as the walkers summit is at the north end of the summit and the messy mast area doesn't need to be visited. The summit has a brilliant set of standing rocks that point you in the direction of each of the seven counties that are in the circling view. The English counties of Derbyshire, Lancashire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and the Welsh counties of Denbighshire and Flintshire are all represented by a standing stone. In the centre of the summit platform is the biggest standing stone, representing Cheshire itself. Around the circumference of the platform there are topographical plaques pointing out all the summits and features in view such as Moel Famau in the Clwydian Range and Shining Tor the highest point in Cheshire. A lot of effort has been put in to this summit feature and I thought it was excellent. I like these things on popular smaller hills like this and also like when they have the educational touch to them. They don't have their place in wild places but somewhere like this I think they can be made in a way that they fit in well. I stood picking out various landmarks I could make out, usually hills, but also the likes of the Fiddlers Ferry power station, Liverpool's anglican cathedral, Joddrell Bank and the Dee Estuary's Flintshire Bridge. I also took a walk around the plaques on the summit platform and learnt a thing or two.

Teasels

I did try and find the trig point on Old Pale Hill but soon realised it is hidden away behind the fences around the transmission masts and buildings area. The descent took me past some cute brown cows which I stopped to talk too, like you do! I switched back on myself and headed down a track through meadows towards Eddisbury Lodge. Before I reached the road at Eddisbury Lodge I nipped in to a beautiful wood to take some photos. Standing in the middle of a silent forest smelling nothing but pine needles really is something special, especially when the sun keeps coming out of the clouds and shooting rays through the trees. I turned left along the road to reach Eddisbury Lodge and then followed the very narrow path north that is now the Sandstone Trail. The Sandstone Trail is a thirty five mile long distance path that traverses the Mid Cheshire Ridge from north to south. I hope to do this entire route soon as a two or three day backpack. I continued along the Sandstone Trail and followed it passing the west of Eddisbury Lodge through some enchanting woodland. Just before the Sandstone Trail rises to cross the railway I turned left to head in the direction of Black Lake. The intention was to visit Black Lake, which has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The lake is a Quaking Bog famous for being the home of a rare breed of Dragonfly. I totally missed the track to Black Lake and instead found myself at the next railway bridge so crossed that and switched back to the right to eventually re-join the route of the Sandstaone Trail. Along the stretch near Black Lake the path was flanked with many colourful wild flowers and was teeming with the buzz of Dragonflies, Butterflies, Bees and Wasps. I headed along the now wider and busier track. There were loads of families enjoying the tracks that are perfect for a day out on their bikes. After admiring a seat carved out of an old tree trunk I reached a junction where I turned right to head in the direction of Blakemere Moss.

Myself on Blakemere Moss

Blakemere Moss is an incredible place as you will see on my photos. After many unsuccessful attempts to return the area to woodland a decision was made in the nineties to return it to wetland. The felling of trees has now created a haven for wildlife, in particular birds which thrive in the shelter of its wide open waters, nest on its many islands and fallen trees and take full advantage of the surrounding forest. Each day it takes on a different look and never ceases to amaze me. Today Blakemere Moss was blue, as the skies it was reflecting were blue with small white fluffy alto cumulus clouds and alto cirrus clouds. It was the perfect place for me to test out my new camera, especially as I had also purchased a polarizing lens, perfect for these conditions. The first thing that struck me was not only incredible views from the side of the moss but also the incredible noise of the Gull colonies. I chatted to a couple by the moss and asked them to take a photo of me and returned the favour. I followed what was now the Delamere Way, another local long distance path, east along the south shore of the moss. Every so often the boggy shores on the left caught my eye and I went off to explore. As I reached the most southern side of the moss the sound of screams echoed around the forest from those brave enough to be tackling the Go Ape tree top orienteering course. I stopped a few times to watch participants with trembling legs being helped along by the Go Ape instructors. After reaching the far eastern end of the moss I reached the busy road that dissects the forest. Here I turned right and found a path just off the road that took me south parallel with the road to reach the campsite. At the campsite I joined the road and followed the road back to the railway station. I managed to resist getting an ice cream from the station cafe. The train journey home was as enjoyable as the inward journey. I saw plenty of wildlife again and could make out Shutlingsloe and Joddrell Bank as the train crossed the Northwich Viaduct. A fantastic trip and one I will make a lot more often as it is so easy to do, I can walk down to the station, pay someone nine pounds return and in less than forty five minutes be in the centre of such a wonderful place!

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Dunkery Beacon & Great Rowbarrow

2011-07-04T23:00:00.003+01:00

When my Dad asked me last Friday night what I wanted to do with the two days we had together, one of the first things that came to mind was Dunkery Beacon. The summit beacon at 519m above sea level is the highest point on Exmoor, and the highest point in South England outside of Dartmoor. I still hadn't climbed along the roof of Exmoor before and with the weather forecast looking the way it did on Friday night I couldn't think of anything better. I also knew that my Dad's Tramper, his off road mobility scooter, would have no problems at all reaching the summit as I had passed by Dunkery Beacon a country lane before now and seen a straight forward bridleway leading up to the summit. As I said in my last post I was delighted on Friday night when my Dad said "why don't we get up real early and go see the sun rise from Dunkery Beacon?... leave here at 3am?", my response was "well I am up for it if you are". We had been out to Braunton Burrows the day before and done an easy walk over the dunes and along the beach, finished off by myself cycling the seven miles back to their house. We had pie and veg for tea Saturday night, showered and then watched the weather forecast on the telly. After days of rain there was to be a big swing in the weather to perfect warm blue skies and initial low lying cloud and fog. Sounded like perfect cloud inversion weather to me, but is 519m above sea level really the kind of place we would get to see a proper cloud inversion from? So an early night was had to prepare for our 3am start.

Parking up on Dunkery Hill above the clouds

My alarm went off at 2:50am and it was still dark outside. I could hear my Dad pottering around in the kitchen already up and preparing our packed lunch. We had got most things packed the night before so we didn't wake Mrs Bassnett Senior, or we would have been in big trouble! We stealthily made our way out of the house. Bats were circling the lamp posts outside munching on the many moths and insects. As we climbed out of Barnstaple and in to the Exmoor National Park the mist and fog we were promised by the weather man showed itself and made driving conditions difficult at times. A certain small stone bridge around Challacombe Mill will vouch for that won't it Mr Bassnett? The fog persisted as we made our way through Challacombe, Simonsbath and Exford. This was very promising and exactly what we had hoped for. As we got close to Dunkery the sky, when we got rare glimpses of it, was starting to turn into that mesmerising aplenglow it gets as the sun is about to rise in the morning. Then something magical happened, at Luckwell Bridge the road rises from 240m above sea level to Dunkery Gates at 387m above sea level then ascends even higher as it skirts the eastern side of Dunkery Hill to 447m above sea level. As we drove higher and higher the world above the clouds opened up and Dad stopped the car as we both said "Wow!" at the same time. I would say we couldn't believe our luck, however I believe in situations like this you make your own luck. Watching the forecast closely, knowing the right conditions, then making the effort to get up at stupid o'clock is not just luck! Our determination had paid off and the view all around and particularly to the east was just simply awesome. The cloud level was at around 350m so we had views all around above the clouds and with various other higher parts of Exmoor sticking out like islands on a sea of clouds.

Dad getting his camera ready for the sunrise at Dunkery Beacon

We continued up the road and then Dad slammed his breaks on again, this time to watch three majestic Red Deer Stags run across the road and make there way over the heather moorland away from us. We finally reached a good parking spot around grid reference SS904420 where the bridleway descent meets the road. We took numerous photos, I know how quickly cloud inversions can disappear in certain conditions so took plenty of photos. We unloaded the tramper and set off at a quick pace up the bridleway knowing we had to race the sun to the summit. For most of the ascent which is just over a kilometre, I was having to jog to keep up with my Dad who was storming up the bridleway on his Tramper. Only pausing briefly at times to take in the stunning scene around us and the familiar dawn moorland sound of Grouse and Skylarks. As we got closer to the impressive stone built beacon on the summit we spotted several other walkers on the summit who looked like they had the same idea as ourselves. We reached the summit with literally only ten minutes to spare. In those ten minutes we spoke to the fellow walkers and discovered they were from the North Devon Ramblers Group. These guys had been walking all night as part of their "Dusk till Dawn" circular walk from Dunkery Bridge. It was great to meet like minded folk who were as mad as we are! The view from the summit was incredible. It was very touching for me as I had experienced such views before but never thought I would see such a view with my Dad. His Tramper enables him to get to these places he never thought possible years ago and neither of us could ever have dreamed that we would have shared this experience at this time in my Dad's life. As the sun neared its first appearance the skies got brighter and the inversion even more impressive.

Watching sunrise over cloud inversion from Dunkery Beacon

Looking to the distance horizon over the clouds we could make out further away tops now. Dartmoor was a wide and flat island to the south. To the north the Brecon Beacons in South Wales, the likes of Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and the Black Mountain clearly visible and sat like islands in orange skies above a white sea of clouds. They actually looked to me like the Small Isles in Scotland when the sun sets up there. The sun rose above the clouds from the west and we all stood in silence in awe of it. We stayed on the summit for a good half an hour chatting to the ramblers group and watching the ever changing scene around us all. One guy spotted a group of Red Deer making their way up to the hill and over the col between Dunkery Beacon and our next target Great Rowbarrows. At first it looked like a dozen, but then another dozen appeared and then another and eventually there were over fifty of them, a great sight. The ramblers group set off heading west at first then south east along the footpath back down to Dunkery Bridge where they had parked the night before. The Red Deer raised their heads then scattered as they approached them. We headed west to follow the easy ridge walk across heather moorland to Great Rowbarrow. Little Rowbarrow, Great Rowbarrow and in fact all of the hills on the high Dunkery Hill ridge are littered with stone cairns and burial mounds, some dating back to the Bronze Age. The going across the wide moorland ridge was easy. The path dog legs between Little Rowbarrow and Great Rowbarrrow then descends north west to Lang Combe Head.

Sun rising over the clouds from Dunkery Beacon

When we reached the tarmac road at Lang Combe Head we turned left and continues along it heading up hill passing close by some beautiful wild Exmoor Ponies. The inversion over the Bristol Channel was now starting to clear and more of Wales's coast line was coming in to view. After a kilometre along the road we turned left on to a bridleway heading east back in the direction of Dunkery Beacon. The bridleway was easy walking again and after over a kilometre and a half we reached a junction of paths where a bridleway heads off right to Dunkery Bridge, the route the ramblers will most probably have taken back to their cars. We carried on heading east following their earlier footsteps back to the summit of Dunkery Beacon for our second visit of the morning, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits entertaining us all the way. We soon reached the summit again, a good few hours after we had left it earlier, this time the views were far more extensive and equally impressive. We could now see in to all of the surrounding valleys and only the odd swathe of misty cloud hung on to the colder moors, forests and valleys. I was ravenous by this point as I forgot to pack food in my actual rucksack. We descended Dunkery with smug smiles on our faces telling everyone we saw on their way up what an amazing sunrise they had missed.

Dad on heading toward Great Rowbarrow on his Tramper

We reached the car and it was like we had parked in a completely different place, you could now see how high we were up on Dunkery Hill, valleys leading off in all directions flanked by typical Exmoor countryside. We sat by the car and ate the packed lunch Dad had prepared and sat contemplating what a great morning we'd had. The drive home was glorious as Exmoor always is on a hot sunny day. As I have already said this National Park is in my opinion the most under rated in Britain by a long way. We finished off the morning with a trip to Porlock Weir for ice creams and Lynton for a much needed orange juice. The trip back to Barnstaple along the A39 is a very familiar one indeed for myself having done the trip many times before. Much to our delight, a small slender Red Fox vixen ran across the road from one hedgerow to another as we neared Parracombe. It was quite a bizarre sighting considering the time was exactly midday. We got home and went to bed for an afternoon nap, absolutely knackered from our early morning start. We visited relatives again in the afternoon then I treated my Dad to a Chinese take away, after which he fell asleep in his chair. The next day I spent fixing his PC and installing a few extra bits and pieces to put it back in a backed up, safe and working condition. I left wishing I could have stayed longer, but I know I will be back again and again. The drive back was great despite driving through Birmingham at Monday evening rush hour there were no major problems and the sun was shining all the way home. A fantastic weekend I will never forget!

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Crow Point from Braunton Burrows

2011-07-01T21:45:00.003+01:00

I headed down south this weekend to visit my dad, who unfortunately had computer problems again. Being hundreds of miles away means that I can't help him when he gets into serious trouble with his PC, and we all know how much the local computer shop can charge to do what to someone in the profession like myself, can do in half an hour at no charge. So I decided to spare him forking out those extortionate costs, and at the same time spend the weekend with him outdoors in one of my favourite areas of Britain. Devon, Somerset and in particular the Exmoor National Park are to me one of the most under rated areas when it comes to natural beauty and walking opportunities. I spent all of my six week school summer holidays in Barnstaple in North Devon with my grandparents at the bungalow in which my Dad and his lovely wife now live. The bungalow sits high on a hill above the town with the most stunning of aspects. From their lounge window at the back of the bungalow is the kind of view you would die for. Watching the sunset over the rolling hills on Saturday night from their lounge chair was very satisfying. I spent the most of those summer holidays either on the glorious beaches with my cousins, down the magical Bradiford Water river below the bungalow by myself or out in the car on a drive and picnic to one of the many beautiful parts of Exmoor with my grand parents and their friends. Those early experiences certainly fuelled my love for the outdoors.

Dad by the old wooden barge and his Tramper

As is nearly always the case when I need my car to travel to a far away destination something broke down a few days before. This time the exhaust started blowing. It turned out that the damage I had done to the car several years ago when I accidentally parked the car on a big boulder in Glencoe, had finally come back to bite me in the bum. I can't complain though as the damage has taken several years to finally break. Luckily I know the greatest mechanics in the world. Not only are they great at their job but the twins at AS Motors in Northenden are also outdoor folk and can often be found climbing up mountains at weekend both in Britain and abroad when they aren't dirtying their hands under Mancunian's neglected cars like my own. They also stand on the terraces at Moss Lane with myself cheering on my beloved Altrincham FC. Sounds too good to be true but they really are great, I phoned up at 5pm Thursday and by midday Friday my exhaust had been replaced and Keisha was ready to drive me down south. So I finally set off along the M6 south, usually a nightmare journey but it wasn't too bad. Going the opposite way heading north was a lot worse with accidents causing major congestion pretty much all the way from Birmingham to Manchester. I reached Birmingham in good time and joined the M5. With so many visits to Devon as a child you can imagine how many times I have one this journey! The pace was good going until I reached Worcester where there had been an earlier accident. The congestion was still there so I ended up crawling all the way past Bristol to Tiverton where the new trunk road makes a speedy trip across Somerset and Devon to Barnstaple. In the old days that trip from the M5 to Barnstaple was a nightmare and often involved driving it through the night. My dad was often the story teller of frightening tales, usually involving the mythical Exmoor beast, especially if we hit anything in the night!

Pyramid Orchid

The trip along the M5 was always an eye opener for me and I was always the kind of child who stared out of the window at the world. The Malverns are the first real hills you see and considering their lack of altitude they still give a very striking profile, like a bunch of pyramids rising over the Worcestershire countryside. The next point of interest I remember from my childhood trips is more of a man made affair. The docks at Avonmouth where the motorway crosses the River Avon bridge where fascinating as a child, hundreds of chimneys pumping out smoke and steam of all colours. Although I am glad to say that these days most of those dirty chimneys are now gone, it is sad to think of the industrial job losses the area must have suffered over the years. Ironically these days Avonmouth is now a mass sprawl of thousands of imported cars that are shipped in regularly on the huge car ship. There are also numerous huge wind turbines now instead of chimneys. The next hills I remember were the pointy Crook Peak, just after the Weston Super Mare junction at the far western end of the Mendips and the small but perfectly formed Brent Knoll, just before the Burnham on Sea junction. Maybe one day when I am not in a rush I will stop by one of these lovely small hills and climb one of them. As the motorway makes its way across Somerset it crosses several rivers and dozens of drains full of bird life. The names of these rivers and drains have stuck with me my whole life Huntspill River, King's Sedgemoor Drain and the River Parrett to name a few. By the time I reached Tiverton it was chucking it down with rain and it continued to do so for the remainder of the journey. I arrived at the Bassnett Senior's residence and sat up late on the first night chatting to my dad who I hadn't seen for far too long. We chatted about what to do with our two days, we decided the best plan was to do the Crow Point from Braunton Burrows walk on the Saturday and I wanted to climb to the top of Exmoor's highest point Dunkery Beacon on the Sunday. The weather forecast made for interesting listening and gave the impression that a cloud inversion and perfect conditions was possible early on Sunday morning. To my surprise dad said "why don't we get up real early and go see the sun rise from Dunkery Beacon?... leave here at 3am?", I was delighted so my response was "well I am up for it if you are". More on that in the next blog post!

The wooden boardwalk across Braunton Burrows

On Saturday morning dad got his Tramper off road mobility scooter charged up and loaded in the back of his Berlingo. I have been cycling to and from work this last three weeks as I have purchased a new Specialized Sirrus Elite hybrid road bike through the Cycle to Work scheme. I have cycled over 200 miles in the last three weeks on this bike and it is fantastic, it has given me a really love for cycling I've not had for decades. I decided to take my bike down with me so I loaded it in the Berlingo too with the intention of cycling the seven mile stretch back to Barnstaple from Braunton where we were walking. We visited relatives in Braunton then made our way down the toll road out to the car park at Braunton Burrows. My dad loves this place. As a child I remember spending hours in the sun playing on the beach and flower covered dunes. Braunton Burrows is the largest sand dune system in Britain. It was also the first United Nations Unesco Biosphere Reserve in Britain. The area is part of the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding National Beauty. The burrows are rich in wildlife, especially insects and butterflies, and has an internationally recognised abundance of rare and in some cases unique flora and fauna. My dad has spent the last few years cleaning rubbish from the dunes which are sadly often ruined, particularly by people leaving dog mess in bags. If you are reading this blog then there is a good chance that like my dad and myself you will never be able to comprehend what on earth goes on in a persons brain when they litter such a beautiful place. The toll road that leads to the car park has a wonderful marsh drain down its right side for the entire mile and is always full of ducks and there young. We paused at one point as dad started telling me how he often sees a Grey Heron at that point, and wouldn't you know it, the moment the car paused it flew up from behind the bush across the field. Herons are stunning birds, always a joy to see and often easy to spot due to their size and their slow motion style of flying. We parked up, unloaded the Tramper and set off across to the south western edge of the car park. There were Rabbits darting away down their holes at every turn, the spills of soil excavated from their holes littered with seashells. Rabbits are one of my favourite animals. They often get negative press from being labelled with ideas of what is and isn't wrong or right with human's perceptions of evolution and nature, luckily here the Rabbits are seen for the positive effects they have on the area.

View to the groynes from Crow Point

We reached the wooden boardwalk that heads south west from the car park across the wild dunes. Initially the most eye catching flowers by far were the stunning blue of the Viper's Bugloss. The dunes were already abundant with colour from yellow Evening Primrose, white Marsh Orchids, purple Pyramid Orchids, purple Thyme, tiny pink Rest Harrow, fragrant Honeysuckle, trumpet like Sea Bindweed and so many more. As we got closer to the sea the Sea King rescue helicopter from Royal Marines Base Chivenor down the estuary flew low over us. When I was young Chivenor was an RAF base and as a lover of planes I loved the constant jet activity as my grand parents house was right under the flight path. I remember one Christmas at my grand parents when that Sea King helicopter flew above the back garden with Santa hanging out of it waving! The Burrows have always been used as a training area for the armed forces. During the war the American Army used this area to train and prepare for the Normandy landings. We continued towards the sea along the boardwalk. As we reached the drop down the dunes to the beach dad showed me a stunning Sea Holly plant which I had never seen before. We found some that had flowered and it really was stunning, the leaves change to the blue of the flower they hold. We reached the beach at the old wooden groynes below the old ruined pre war lifeboat lookout station. We had lunch sheltered behind the walls of the old look out station. Exploring the area behind the beach I came across hundreds of Cinnaber Moth Caterpillars munching away on every Ragwort plant in the area. The water here is the neck at the mouth of two adjoining river estuaries as they reach the sea, the River Taw from Barnstaple and the River Torridge from Bideford, as they meet the Atlantic Ocean. We headed south from the groynes along the beach to the lighthouse at Crow Point. Beach combing is one of my favourite past times. We came across lots of Moon Jellyfish and stumbled across a beached Cuttlefish. We rounded Crow Point and headed along the River Taw estuary. Turning back towards the dunes along the beach we came across many boats that were lived in on the beach. An old abandoned wooden barge sat proud and colourful on the sands, it made for a fantastic photo opportunity with its many layers of varied coloured paint stripping off and contrasting with its rusty and wooden structure pinned together with huge solid iron pins. A short walk along the beach and we headed back over the dunes next to the beach to reach the car park. It really is a special place and I hope it stays that way. Dad put his Tramper back in the car and drove home, while I get on my bike and cycled a glorious flat and eye opening route along the Tarka Trail back to Barnstaple. Very satisfying day out with dad in his favourite place. We got home and went to bed early ready for the next day which was to be even more special, more about that in the next blog post.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Shining Tor via Cats Tor

2011-05-26T22:57:00.002+01:00

I decided last mintue this weekend I would discover a part of the Peak District I have never explored on foot before. I have driven through the Goyt Valley a few times and always said to myself that I would go back and do some walks there. It is a popular place with a good reputation and only an hour from the suburbs of Manchester. In particular I've always wanted to walk to the top of Cheshire's highest point Shining Tor. I had a look online and was pleasantly surprised to find that parking throughout the valley is still free, which these days is sadly very rare. The weather forecast for Saturday was fine and dry in the morning with cloud moving in over lunch time and then rain in the later hours of the afternoon. So I set off fairly early hoping to miss any showers, well early for me anyway! There were hardly any problems on the roads at all so got there in just over an hour. I drove through Whaley Bridge which I don't think I have driven through before and was pleasantly surprised to find it is a lovely place. The road climbs out of Whaley Bridge and in to the heart of the Goyt Valley, I stopped at the viewpoint on Long Hill to read the information signs and take in the views across the reservoirs up the valley, I enjoy reading the local information signs as there is always something new to be learned about the area you are discovering. After taking some fairly serious bends on the main road, another minor road switches back to the right and down to the reservoirs at the head of the valley. The road is steep and makes a quick descent to the dam before crossing it to reach the far shore where there are two car parks. I stopped at the first car park to have a glance at the map and realised it wasn't the one I was looking for, the planned start being another kilometre up the road at the Errwood Car Park.

Errwood Reservoir

I eventually found the Errwood car park and parked up Keisha, my black Astra who had her 100,000 mile birthday this week. Can't believe she has let me drive her the equivalent of round the world twice over the last eight years. Most of those miles taking me to mountains and far away places like regular visits to the far north of Scotland. The freedom the car gave me several years ago changed my life forever. I'll stop talking about Keisha now as it freaks some people out how attached I am to my car. I set off from the car park excited about exploring somewhere new. Walks you have done before can be comforting sometimes but today I wanted that exciting buzz of having to use the map to find my way again and not knowing what was round each turn and over each hill. The path from the car park took me through a field of tall ferns that stood like an army on a hill. The path went through a gap in the wall, through a metal anti vehicle gate and then down a track through some of the most colourful woodland I have ever seen. The forest was alive with the usual spring colours but with the added addition of Rhododendrons and a bright yellow shrub I was yet to identify. A small stream passes under the track and then after only a short walk a track switched back to the right clearly sign posted to Errwood Hall. I climb up that track and found myself in the opening at the ruins of Errwood Hall.

Errwood Hall

Errwood Hall was built in the 1830's by a wealthy and well educated Manchester business man by the name of Samuel Grimshawe. He gave this impressive stone built mansion and surrounding estate to his son as a wedding present. The hall was a happy home to two generations of the Grimshawe Family for over a hundred years. The estates comprised of two thousand acres of land with workers cottages, a private school, woodlands, moorlands, farmlands, farms, a small hamlet, a private colliery and several other small buildings and features. Sadly the hall was demolished in the late 1930's when the Fernilee dam and reservoir were constructed to provide water for the growing industrial town of Stockport. I am not too sure why the hall had to be demolished, it is thought this was in the interests of water purity in the valley. I would like to think that in our day and age such an impressive building would have been rightly preserved. All that remains of the hall now is its stone floors, a few steps and the impressive stone arched window frames of the last remaining wall which luckily for us are all preserved by the Peak District National Park Authority. The surrounding landscape is still influenced by the Grimshawe's. Most noticeably the thousands of Rhododendron and rare Yellow Azalea shrubs that the family brought back from their many voyages and planted. In summer months the colours of the woodlands in the valleys around the hall are absolutely stunning. There are several other noticeable features in the landscape around the old estate. On the small hillock behind the hall there is the family cemetery which was restored by North West Water in the 1980's. To the east up the track from the hall are the remains of the workers cottages and old stone walled farmland. Just south from there is the old man made waterways and walls from the old colliery. Most of the farmlands and the old hamlet of Goyt's Brige are now under the waters of the reservoirs.

Yellow Azalea

I took in the strange atmosphere at the hall which was made less eerie by the positive noise of a family having a picnic and playing on the old ruins. It is sad the hall is now almost completely gone but at least its history is known and people research its story which I quite like. The full story of the Grimshawe Family is well document online at this fantastic resource. From the hall I took a path heading north west , eventually crossing an impressive curvy wooden bridge over the stream. At a junction of paths I then took the ascent path to Pym Chair. Pretty much every path junction around the Goyt Valley has excellent sign posts. Some people worry about sign posting and elitists often say the hills would be ruined by them. I totally disagree and I think when done properly and sympathetically they can be extremely beneficial. The path was surprisingly quiet and in the blue skies and sunshine it was a delight to be out. The path rises above the valley on the left which is a mixture of planted forestry and natural woodland, there was a constant bird song which only added to my already wide smile. At one point near Foxlow Edge I disturbed a Skylark who made it fairly obvious what it thought of my sudden arrival close to its nesting area as it flew directly over head doing the usual crazy display of noise and wings that Skylarks so famously perform. Definitely one of my favourite sounds when in the Peak District. I continued along the path, passed by the stone walls of the old Withinleach Farm, then reached the most bizarre building.

The Spanish Shrine

Probably the most fascinating of all the buildings on the estate is the Spanish Shrine that you will find on the walk up to Pym Chair from the hall. Just after passing the ruins of Withinleach Farm on the path to Pym Chair you will come across a round stone hut, not too dissimilar to Hagrid Huts in the Harry Potter movies, with a small cross on its roof. The Grimshawe family built the Spanish Shrine in 1889 in memory of Dolores de bergrin. Miss Dolores was governess to the children at Errwood Hall and teacher at the estates small private school. Sadly she died in her early forties on a visit to Lourdes. The hut is not locked and you can open the wooden door to reveal its inner delights. The wall of the shrine has a beautiful tiled mosaic. It also has a pulpit, religious items, candles, letters and remembrance items. I had a look in the hut and took a photo. I am not a religious man at all, I like to consider myself agnostic if anything, however I do enjoy the architecture and decoration of most religious buildings and this was no exception. I continued on the ascent beyond the shrine heading towards the tarmac road known as The Street. Looking back from here I could see that Foxlow Edge would have been a great detour. I watched a Kestrel flapping around above me for a while, it seemed to be stalking something in the grass to my left, either that or it likes posing for photos so it can feature on Trekking Britain.

Kestrel

I reached The Street and headed over to the far side of the road where a path avoids the arduous task of ascending the tarmac. The ascent reaches the pass known as Pym Chair. I think named after a famous chair like rock about here somewhere. I then crossed the road again and started the long ridge walk across Cats Tor to the col known as The Tors and then eventually up the final ascent to the summit of Shining Tor. From Cats Tor looking back I could see the sun lighting up Windgather Rocks at the furthest end of the ridge, a magnet for first time climbers. As I climbed higher the views opened up, the contrast of the flat Cheshire plains on one side and the dark peat moorland on the other. The obvious features being the reservoir below and the huge white telescope dish of Jodrell Bank sticking out like a sore thumb in the flat Cheshire plains. Ahead the view was of a well laid stone paved path, white cotton grass and the objective of the day Shining Tor with its pointy neighbour Shutlingsloe beyond stealing every one's eye. Wild Moor across the Goyt Valley had lovely patterns where the heather had been worked and managed creating strips on the hillside, it looked almost as if someone had done a bad job waxing their legs. Looking far over my right shoulder I could see Manchester and as I always do when I'm up here I thought about how lucky I was to be up here instead of down there in one of those crazy bustling city streets I have to walk down every working day of my life. I whistled The Manchester Rambler as I often do when I am in the Peak District and hummed Shining Star by Ash, probably due to the fact I was on Shining Tor? The wind was really strong but mild, a really good day for the ever useful wind shirt. As I reached the col known as The Tors two Grouse flew up over a wall to my right to reach the next field, they hadn't banked on the wind picking them up like it did and darting them to the next but one field instead. It was absolutely hilarious seeing two fat birds darting through the air so quickly like over sized darts. I reached the summit of Shining Tor and stood on top of it in awe of Shutlingsloe across the valley, it really does steal the lime light here as the summit of Shining Tor isn't much to write home about.

Shining Tor Summit Trig Point

There is a wall and bench on the summit and through a gate in the wall the OS trig point pillar. I realised at this point that the highlight of this walk was most certainly not the highest point. The two tors are what I expect from the Peak, though with less features then most Peak summits, the ridge walk is pleasant though and gives great views. The true highlight of this walk was definitely the valleys and woodlands around and above Errwood Hall. I headed down the long straight dip from the summit across the head of Shooter's Clough and up to Stake Side. The long Stake Side ridge has an almost perfect stone wall along its crest, the ridge has an incredibly straight profile and when seen from The Tors and Shining Tor you could easily think it was man made like some kind of Incline. I turned left along the ridge, on a day with more time I would have turned right where just a kilometres easy walk away along the easy bridleway is the Cat and Fiddle Inn. I walked along the top of the ridge on the easy track with the impressive stone wall on my left standing taller than me for most of the descent. I had a look at the map and decided that just walking straight back down to the reservoir on the track looked nowhere near as good as heading down in to Shooter's Clough. It was definitely the right decision, I headed through the gate and took the zig zag switch back down in to Shooter's Clough through some more beautiful woodland. I found an old stone dyke at one point and found it the perfect place to stop and have my lunch as it was sheltered from the strong north westerly wind.

Myself and Johnny Marr

The track finds the bottom of the valley and crosses some stepping stones over the small idyllic stream. I set off along a path that heads past the man made walls of the old colliery and eventually reached the track I left earlier near Errwood Hall. Here there are the stone walls of the ruined old workers and servants houses. I turned right and headed back down the track to eventually reach the car park. On the way back down the track having to stop every so often to stand in awe of the woodlands and the incredible colours shouting out from them. If I do the walk again I would probably head up and over Foxlow Edge on the initial ascent to Pym Chair and would also visit the knoll behind Errwood Hall on the way back by heading up to it from the ruined workers houses. There is the family cemetery up there where several Grimshawe family members and their much loved staff are buried. Fabulous walk with so much variety in a stunning valley only an hour from Manchester. I'd had a good day as it was, but then that night it was made even better. I went to Sainsburys in Altrincham to pick up a few groceries and bumped in to one of my musical heroes. The legend that is Johnny Marr! I am a huge Smiths fan, they are one of my favourite ever bands so to meet Johnny was a huge thing for me. We chatted for a few minutes and he even gave me one of his plectrums he had in his jacket pocket. Great day and glad it wasn't my last which Saturday was supposed to be according to some nut case of course!

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Harter Fell from Birks Bridge

2011-04-22T17:41:00.005+01:00

It had been six weeks since I had last climb a mountain due to a broken toe I acquired playing footy. I played my first game back this Thursday and was chuffed to find my toe was okay so the next objective was naturally to get out in the hills again. The last walk was the wild camp walk up to Esk Pike and Bowfell, which involved walking across icy boulders, snow fields and camping out in dropping temperatures, this walk's weather forecast however involved scorching temperatures and smog warnings! So it was a huge relief to be preparing for a walk by removing items from my rucksack and lightening to a summer load. It was Easter Bank Holiday Friday and last minute, or midday to be precise, we decided to pack our bags and head up to the Lakes to tackle something moderate yet satisfying. I've often looked up or over to Harter Fell and thought it must be a great position to spend an afternoon. This small yet interesting mountain is flanked on both sides by the beautiful Eskdale and Duddon Valleys and gives a unique panoramic view of the Southern Fells.

Myself on Harter Fell summit

Harter Fell is only accessible by a long forty mile drive round the south of the Lakes or over the not so driver friendly Wrynose Pass. The Duddon Valley is definitely one of my favourite places in the Lakes. I was expecting it to be quieter than the rest of the Lakes as it usually is but after queueing for hours on the M6 all afternoon I expected the Lakes to be littered with Bank Holiday tourists. I was so wrong, in the few hours it took us to do the walk from Birks Bridge all the way to the summit of Harter Fell and back down we saw just one guy fell running and that was it! We set off at midday and were soon trying to find ways to avoid the car park that was the M61. We got off the motorway and took the A6 instead which lead us across to the M6 which to be honest was just as bad. We stuck it out and crawled our way to the Lakes with the masses. Windermere and Ambleside were fairly busy as we passed through but after that things were not too bad. We drove through Little Langdale and passed the Three Shires Inn. Little Langdale is a beautiful place. We headed up and over the Wrynose Pass where usually on a bank holiday you would struggle for a place to park but there were only half a dozen cars. Turning left at Cockley Bridge to the Duddon Valley we soon found ourselves at the Birks Bridge car park. It took me a long time to understand that there was no machine asking me for an extortionate fee, a free car park surely not!

My broken toe

The car park had several cars and a few campers too who were chilling out on the side of the River Duddon basking in the sunshine and enjoying the views. We set off on foot, crossed the new bridge and turned left towards Birks. Crossing a small stream we watched tiny fish darting from our shadows in the water. We ascended through Great Wood to the old farm buildings at Birks which I understand is now some kind of outdoor education centre. After rounding the buildings at Birks we headed up the track then took a muddy footpath past some old stone wall ruins into a bowl shaped area that has been deforested. The path was not easy to follow here as the path just disappears at times in to the boggy mess left behind by the deforestation. The path eventually reaches the far end of the deforested area and starts its steep ascent of the craggy slopes. The deforested area has been replanted with deciduous trees that are already looking at home and attracting many small bird species. The twin crag of Buck Crag towers above the deforested area and looked like the kind of place Indians would jump Cowboys!

Buck Crag with Grey Friar behind

After the deforested area the path got much steeper and rougher then rounded Mart Crag. The views behind us now of the Coniston Fells opened up. I had never seen the dam wall of Seathwaite Tarn reservoir before or the Walna Scar quarry spills. The path entered a vibrant area covered in Heather and Bilberry after Mart Crag and then reached a stile and gate over the forestry fence at the unmistakable Maiden Castle. We took a photo here along the fence line as it was astonishingly obvious which side of the fence the sheep could graze. Below the fence was green foliage they couldn't munch on and above it was just dead barren land. Maiden Castle is s prominent crag of rock with two devil like points on top of it. The path was much easier after Maiden Castle and headed in the obvious direction towards the highest ground. It was certainly not going to be the kind of day for clear crisp views to other mountains as any visibility was blocked by the extremely hazy sunshine. One thing I do like about these conditions is that they turn the views into pastel colours in layers one after the other creating a confusing sense of distance. We soon reached the summit area but avoided the easier path to reach it on the left and instead headed round the back and took an exciting scramble route.

Nicky with Altocumulus clouds above

I was really impressed with the summit area. Harter Fell sits in a perfect position flanked on each side by two of the Lakes quietest valleys, the valleys provide impressive views, especially down to Eskdale and the Roman Fort of Mediobogdum on the Hardknott Pass. Even more impressive though is the panoramic view that Harter Fells position gives to the Southern Fells. There is an impressive panorama to the back of the Coniston Fells and a unique panoramic view of the Scafell Fells. There are also views seaward to the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man on a clear day and to the south the lesser trodden Black Combe and the Dunnerdale Fells with the pointy Stickle Pike prominent. We sat for half an hour sheltered by one of the summits rocky tors basking in sunshine with views over the Eskdale Valley to the Scafells. Fun was had scrambling up each of the summits three rocky tors before making our way back down the way came up. After getting acquainted with the friendly Herdwicks we reached the stile and gate over the fence at Maiden Castle. The steep path back down to the deforested area above Birks was loose underfoot and saw us both on our backsides at times. We moved several hairy Caterpillars off the path to safety. The sun had gone down behind the other side of the fell and the many small song birds gave us a few lovely tunes.

River Duddon

Passing Birks we laughed at sheep looking at us through holes in the stone walls. As we entered Great Wood I saw an unusual looking bird on a tree in the distance, at first it looked like a Jay as it had black and white on its chest but as we got closer we realised it was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. It flew off across the trees in true Woodpecker style, I think they fly a little like Penguins swim with each flap the wings go all the way down and almost hook round its body. At almost the same moment another larger bird flew on to a tree around thirty metres from us and we immediately recognised it as a Buzzard, the bird that I would have to say is one of our favourites. The wildlife didn't stop there either as we stood on the new bridge at Birks Bridge we marvelled at the dozens and dozens of jumping fish. Not sure if they were Trout or Salmon, I do know that the huge Salmon do travel up here during spawning season from the Duddon Estuary and leave plenty of eggs in the spawning areas at the top of the Duddon. The Duddon Valley really is a fantastic place and anyone who hasn't discovered it is really missing out.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Bowfell & Esk Pike via Angle Tarn

2011-03-06T21:18:00.005Z

I had a few days off work last week as I finished at my last place on the Tuesday. I didn't bother to set off on my adventures until Thursday as I knew I'd be hungover on Wednesday morning after leaving drinks with now ex work colleagues on Tuesday night and Wednesday was the fifth anniversary of the day I met my lovely wife. The plan was to get out in the mountains and fit in a decent high altitude wild camp. Leaving my crazy job last week left me in an unexpected mental state similar to Stockholm Syndrome and ever since I left on Tuesday I have actually missed the adrenaline rush I got from my job. I kept thinking about things that I had left unfinished and worrying about things that are no longer my problem. So it was vital I got away and chilled out for a few days to flush those thoughts out of my worrying mind and recharge the batteries ready for my new job which I start on Monday.

Wild Camp with Great End & Great Gable at sunset

So scouring maps and looking at what I have and haven't done yet in the Lake District I eventually came up with a few ideas. I absolutely love planning walks and looking over maps. Options in the Lake District these days are often ruined by extortionate parking prices at proposed walk starting points. It costs enough in petrol at the moment just to get there! I must admit I think I will join the National Trust again so I can use their car parks for free when I am in the Lake District. I like that in recent years the National Trust has decided to promote its outdoors based assets and the hard work it puts in to the conservation of their expanding land assets. For too long they promoted stately homes which were in my own biased opinion nowhere near as important to our generations futures. Recently they have introduced their outdoor membership and have been heading in the right direction, so I have no problem re-joining them again. I did the usual public transport option research as I always do when I have a few days to spare, but as usual after hours of sifting through maps and timetables and checking out costs I realised that if I want to get to proper mountains it is still cheaper by car even with extortionate parking. I like to do something new each time I make the effort to go to the Lake District and so had a look at some of the higher fells I haven't climbed yet. Some walkers, elitists usually, have very negative views of peak bagging. I can't think of a better way of setting yourself a target on planet earth. Forcing yourself to top out on every mountain in a particular area sounds like absolute heaven to me! I have a life plan to make sure I do all of the higher peaks while I still can. I've experienced in my own life with family and friends how sadly your health and ability to walk can be taken from you at any time. So with that in my mind while I can I will head for the experience of the higher peaks and leave enjoyable bimbling around lakes and valleys for when I am less able.

Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel and Hikers Bar

So with all that in mind I chose Bowfell. A pointy exposed summit which has always looked inviting with views in to Langdale and across to the high Scafells. I decided I would do a circuit via Mickleden, Rossett Pike, Angle Tarn, maybe Allen Crags, Esk Pike and then Bowfell and a descent of The Band. The only problem being that I would have to pay for two days parking at the Old Dugeon Ghyll National Trust car park which equated to a ridiculous twelve pounds. I read a few forums though and people were saying that the Old Dungeon Ghyll would let people park over night in their smaller adjacent car park at quiet times for a small fee and a donation in the Mountain Rescue collection box. Choosing kit on Thursday morning wasn't too easy as the night time temperatures were predicted to be below freezing for most of the week. The Weatherline website had a fantastic photo the felltop assessors had taken that day of a cloud inversion from the summit of Helvellyn which really got my mind giddy with the optimistic idea of a possible inversion, another reason to head high. Finally packed and ready I set off mid Thursday morning in a great mood. I love multiple days like this with simple and changeable plans as it means I can really take my time. I had been out the day before checking out a micro fleece jacket I'd had my eye on for a while. I was after a micro fleece but with features like a full zip, hand warmer pockets, elasticated ends, hem tightening, high neck etc. I stopped off on the way at Snow & Rock to pick up a Mountain Hardwear Micro Chill Full Zip Jacket which is the first fairly okay priced of this type I'd seen for a while and they had 20% off. It is great, I wore it for the entire trip and hardly took it off until I got home.

Mickleden

No traffic jams and clear weekday mid morning roads meant I was in the Lakes sooner than I had planned and the place looked absolutely stunning in blue skies and sunshine. Driving through the Langdale Valley I couldn't possibly imagine that on a day like this I'd rather be many places on earth. I parked up at the Old Dungeon GhyllMickleden. As I left the Old Dungeon Ghyll behind I looked up to the right to see two Buzzards circling on the thermals above Raven Crag. I could tell that photos were not going to be quite as good as I'd hoped as it was extremely hazy with strong sunshine and the previous nights cold ground frost creating a slight mist. As I rounded in to Mickleden in glorious sunshine and blue skies, I admired my planned decent route to the left, The Band ridge of Bowfell. The track through Mickleden is really flat and easy going until it reaches the head of Mickleden.

Plane circle Pike of Stickle

The track eventually reached the wooden footbridge over Stakes Gill. Here the path splits in two, the Cumbria Way path goes up to the right over Stakes Pass and the path I took goes left to Esk Hause via Rossett Gill and Angle Tarn. I set off up the ascent of the Esk Hause path then heard a strange noise, as I turned round I watched in amazement as a small plane that looked similar to a Spitfire did acrobatic circular displays around the Langdale Pikes. It was surprisingly warm in the afternoon and I was sweating like a pig as I usually do. Luckily the path went in to the huge dark shadow of Bowfell as it climbed towards Rossett Gill so I got a respite from the sun but it was still warm considering the time of year. I sweat even more when wearing my GoLite Jam rucksack as its lightweight design means no proper ventilating back system. I love the GoLite Jam but may have to look for another rucksack as the sweaty back problem is just too bad and if its bad on an early spring day its only going to be worse again come summer. I recently changed my day sack for this reason and I am pleased with the results so may have to do the same for my multi-day sack. I also need to consider dumping Merino Wool as it just doesn't work for me, its anti-pong qualities are the only benefit I get from it. It develops holes from nothing, costs way too much and when it gets wet it stays wet forever which isn't pleasant when wild camping that night.

Angle Tarn

I reached the top of the newly and well laid Rossett Gill path and got my first glimpse of Angle Tarn. Before heading down to the tarn though I dumped my rucksack behind a boulder and headed up to the summit of Rossett Pike. The views were excellent. Pike of Blisco looked pointy, warm and inviting whereas Bowfell and Esk Pike looked craggy, cold and uninviting. I said goodbye to the warm Mickleden view and descended back to collect my rucksack. Originally I had planned to camp at Angle Tarn, however when I went down in to the bowl of the tarn there was a major drop in temperature as the cold air was trapped there. Angle Tarn is an awesome place, the tarn is similar in shape to Blea Water below High Street. It has that tear shape and sort of half empty look about it as if someone pulled its plug out for a little while. The backdrop, the huge towering crags of Bowfell and Esk Pike create an over powering atmosphere and are a great contrast to the view in the other direction from its outflow which heads out towards the unspoilt, wild and peaceful Langstrath Valley. I decided to continue on beyond Angle Tarn and head for Allen Crags instead which was still basking in sunshine. It was an easy decision really, although Angle Tarn is an awesome place, it was freezing cold compared to everywhere else and you don't really get any wide views which I was hoping for. I carried on up to Esk Hause and then took the easy ascent to the summit of Allen Crags. The summit giving wide panoramic views and a great aspect on the next days route across Esk Pike and Bowfell. The view across Sprinkling Tarn to Great Gable was extra special as was the immediate view to the huge crag of Great End. I found a spot on the more sheltered northern side of the summit and set up my tent.

Myself giddy at seeing some snow

I was horrified to find I had forgotten the small ziplock containing my teabags, sugar and dried milk so couldn't have any brews! The meal I had was a freeze dried Reiter's Spaghetti Bolognese. I am not a fan of Reiter's freeze dried foods, I find them too salty and the packaging is rubbish as unlike their competitors they don't reseal after use. You would think by now they would have caught on to this idea! I also couldn't find my long handled titanium spoon so had to make do with a standard length spork so I ended up with spag bol all over my gloves. Luckily I had some of the Old Dungeon Ghyll current slice for afters to make up for the poor taste. As the sun dropped the massive bulk of the Scafell range and Great End impeded any spectacular scenes there may have been in the views to the west. A lovely orange band went across the sky to the south west though over Esk Hause and there were some lovely warm orange and pink light on clouds above Great Gable. As the sun dropped so did the temperature so I was soon chased back in to my tent by the cold. I settled down for the night and set my alarm. Luckily there was increasing cloud cover through the night keeping temperatures just above freezing. It was a very quiet wild camp as it often is on the summits. Just the tent fly sheet flapping in the wind and every so often a plane. I woke at around half five in the morning and it was just starting to get light. I unzipped the tent door and had a look outside hoping to see a cloud inversion but instead saw an atmospheric mess of clouds shrouding Great End. I popped out of the tent to have a look around and it was cloudy everywhere with a slight gap in the clouds giving a brief glimpse of Sprinkling Tarn below.

Myself on Bowfell summit cairn

After enjoying my own recipe Spicy Fruit and Nut Porridge I quickly packed up and made sure there was no trace of where I had spent the night. I descended the path back to the cross shelter on Esk Hause and then headed for the obvious ascent path to Esk Pike. As soon as the path became a bit hands on there was dangerous ice and snow patches everywhere. I probably should have used my Microspikes but chose not too. The path rounds the back of Esk Pike over some slippery flat ledges and then surprisingly quickly reaches the summit cairn which was quite difficult to reach over a short slippery boulder field. I didn't stick around on the summit as there were no views just thick damp, oddly warm clag. I had a quick look at the map and took a compass bearing as I've not been up here before and could not see any more than thirty metres or so in front of me. After descending Esk Pike I crossed Ore Gap and headed up the northern end of Bowfell until I reached the obvious cairned path that follows a surprisingly easy gradient up the western flanks of its northern ridge. The snow fields increased in number and size as I got higher. I reached the col between Bowfell Buttress and the summit and found a large and rather unstable looking cornice. Still no views and just mild damp clag. I headed up over more ice covered slippery boulders on the summit pike to reach the summit of Bowfell. I had always hoped my first summit of Bowfell would be in sunshine so I could experience its famous views. There is usually a unique panorama of the rougher side of the Scafells. Bowfell sits at the end of several surrounding valleys including Langdale, Langstrath and Lingcove. I was also disappointed not to really be able to explore its summit. Alfred Wainwright was a big fan of exploring summit plateaus and crags and was a big fan of Bowfell. It has many unique features and visually fascinating geology. He even confessed that Bowfell would be in his top half dozen.

The Great Slab

I hung around on the summit as it was deadly silent and a great place to chill out and have a few thoughts with myself. I was also hopeful that the clouds may sink slightly as every so often blue sky would tease me just above the summit. I waited a good half hour but it sadly never cleared. I traced the path back to the bottom of the summit pike and followed the cairned path down to the aptly named Great Slab, a huge flat slab of rock at an angle of around thirty degrees. Like much of the rock around here it has stunning strata and is apparently an ancient lake bed. The path got steep after the Great Slab as it made its way down to the Three Tarns col. Here I turned left and followed the descent path to The Band. I have to admit I was quite disappointed by The Band. I've seen many photos of it from Langdale and imagined the path would follow the crest of the ridge all the way to Bowfell. So I was disappointed to find this wasn't the case and the path was actually taking a less exciting lower route along the southern side of The Band with no views in to Mickleden. The views over to Crinkle Crags, Bowfell and Browney Gill are not bad though of course and once you reach the bottom end of the ridge the path does take the preferred route and gives incredible views in to both Langdale and Mickleden. I heard a loud noise as I was descending the path and looked up to see a huge army plane heading toward me with four great dirty trails coming from its four large turbo prop engines. The plane flew dangerously low over Lingmell Fell, over the head of Langdale and down Mickleden before disappearing in to the cloud. It was actually quite scary and I was convinced I was about to hear it smash in to Rossett Pike at the head of Mickleden but it just disappeared! Was it a ghost plane or just a very good pilot? I eventually reached Stool End farm at the bottom of the ridge and followed its tracks back to the Old Dungeon Ghyll where I bored the poor barman I had met the day before with my experiences. I was too early for food unfortunately but still had the end of my current slice and bought myself a pot of tea. It was another great moment as I sat with the cheeky birds in the beer garden and looked through the photos I had taken over the last twenty four hours with a smile on my face refreshed ready for the next week. A great trip and much needed!

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Win Hill from Hope Village

2011-02-21T19:09:00.000Z

As some of you may know I'm moving on from my current place of work in less than a fortnight. I have been offered a similar IT Analyst job at another law firm in Manchester so will soon be leaving my friends at Hill Dickinson LLP behind forever. Its a shame as I wanted to try and start up our Hill Dickinson Walking Club again this spring and felt confident we could get more people involved and out at weekends. So I have organised two farewell walks one that took place this weekend just gone and hopefully one next Sunday too. The up take on these kind of outings is never great and its totally understandable as these people are all wage slaves through the week and enjoy their Sunday morning lie ins and social life at weekend which they rightly deserve. I did managed to get two people out though and I reckon that despite the gloomy low cloud and freezing cold temperatures they both had a great day.

Janet, Simon & Myself on Win Hill

One of the group lives in New Mills so it seemed a good idea to walk in the Peak District. I picked up Simon from Piccadilly Station who made his way across from Birkenhead and Liverpool on the train, then made our way to New Mills and picked up Janet. On the Saturday several inches of snow fell on the Peak District so I knew we couldn't just go up anything as I wasn't too sure about what kit and ability the others had. I chose to do an easy to moderate walk that would guarantee us a nice pub or cafe at the end of the walk as well as making our wee leg muscles burn at times. I chose Win Hill from Hope Village as it is a perfect half day stiff walk up a pointy hill with great views and a great end to the walk ending up in Hope. We couldn't see much snow until we came off the A6 and headed towards Castleton. As we got higher, passed the Chestnut Centre and entered the real Peak District the snow became aparant and there was a good three or four inches too. The Winnat Pass as I say every time I've been near it, just takes my breath away and in conditions like this you could be anywhere in the world as you drive through this huge rocky canyon. I usually hit the curb at some point due to my leaning against the steering wheel whilst marvelling up at its huge cliffs. We got too Hope which was quiet enough for us to find free roadside parking, quite a rarity these days!

Ascent path to Win Hill

We kitted up and then set off down Edale Road. Our progress was soon halted as we had to hide behind a car as farmers moved a big flock of sheep down the road. We laughed at the sheep who were too busy chomping in to the green grasses and ivy bushes of peoples cottages to be hurried along. We turned right down Green Drive and crossed Killhill Bridge over the River Noe. After going under the railway and up the Twitchill Farm track we were soon ascending the long farm track with snowy slopes ahead of us. We headed through the farm yard and entered the sloping field behind the farm. The snow here was two inches deep and had completely soaked the muddy slope. Luckily Janet and myself seemed to have boots that gripped the mud well but Simon took about twice as long as us to ascend the field as his ascent was a case of two steps forward and one step back. We reached the gate at the top of the field and then turned to see Simon sliding downhill on his side. He took it very well and we helped for about ten minutes with tissues trying to remove the mud caked all over him. It was of course rather funny too and he was given a lot of grief about this incident for the rest of the day.

Forest near Wooler Knoll

We continued the steep ascent up another slippery grass field and were then relieved to cross the stile on to open rough land with much easier sticky rocky paths. We passed that beautiful hawthorn that anyone who has done this walk will know. As we got closer to the crest of the wide ridge we looked around us to find that we had pretty much entered the low cloud and the views were nearly all gone, a real shame as the views from this summit are usually one of my favourites. We climbed up to the top of the rocky Winhill Pike that gives the hill its distinctive pointed top and stopped for a few minutes to take a photo. We headed back along the ridge and walked along the top of it for a few kilometres until we reached the bridleway and footpath crossroads by Wooler Knoll. The path along the ridge top was pretty awful and suffering badly. I do feel it would benefit from some defining and maybe even the slab paths that work so well in these areas. I couldn't resist a walk through the woods to Wooler Knoll as it is such a bizarre nothing lump that sits in the forest so peacefully. To me it looks like a UFO landed there at some point,. Nothing ever seems to grow on it other than long grasses.

Janet with the white horse at The Homestead

We decided not to continue on towards Edale Cross as we couldn't see a thing and it was pretty cold. So we headed down the descent path, admiring the view across the River Noe to Lose Hill all the way down. It looks conical and stunning from this angle as you are looking straight on at the very end of The Great Ridge. We reached the tarmac road and followed it to Fullwood Site Farm. There were hundreds of pretty Snowdrops on the banks along the roadside. We headed through Fullwood Site Farm where we watched Geese and Guinea Fowl fighting and making a right racket in the field. I've walked on this path passing The Homestead a few times and the first was around six years ago. Each time I've been through here I've had a chat with a lovely white horse. He didn't let me down and was there again and came over to us all to lick the sweat off our hands as we tried to feed him what fresh grass we could find. We retraced our steps back to Hope and entered the Woodroffe Arms for drinks in front of their warm fire before heading home, all glad that we had made the effort to get out and get some well earned fresh air after a week at work.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Sgurr Coire Choinnichean from Inverie

2011-02-13T22:22:00.002Z

For the first time ever we actually set off on time! 8am on Friday morning and we had everything in the car and were ready to go. On the night before we did, what I think? other people do, and got all our kit sorted so we were ready to go in the morning. One of the reasons we wanted to be off on time was that the weather forecast wasn't good and we had to be in Mallaig to catch the boat to Knoydart by 3pm as it had been booked. We set off confident of making it in time. I took the usual decision to avoid the rush hour queues towards Manchester and headed across country through Cheshire fence lined lanes, over Warburton Bridge and joined the M6 at Warrington instead. This seemed to have paid off at first. As we rocketed north up the M6. It was obvious that the Met Office severe weather warnings were right and we watched in horror as high sided vehicles swerved in and out of their lanes. I was struggling myself at times and finding it quite hairy as the gale force winds threw the car sideways, by the time we got to Scotland my arms were really aching. Our progress was halted at Preston where three cars had hit the central reservation on the other side of the motorway and was right next to the M6 and M61 interchange which is busy at the best of times but at rush hour with thousands of rubber neckers it was hell, we suffered a good hour or so. The rest of the journey was heavy rain and strong winds but no more stoppages.

Our luggage at Mallaig Harbour

As we entered Scotland the winds actually died down and the weather was all about standing water, we aquaplaned several times. Above Tyndrum and heading towards Rannoch Moor was the first proper winter weather and the crossing of Rannoch Moor was really scary. As we passed the area near Kingy House and the Ski Area a van coming the other way had been blown in to the moor and was on its side with emergency vehicles already on site. We did a quick petrol stop at Fort William and realised there was no way on earth we could get to Mallaig in time for the taxi boat. Luckily this wasn't too much of an issue as they were fairly flexible. We finally reached Mallaig an hour late and met up with friends Steve & Elaina, Maria, Kirstin & Zoe. It was Elaina who had organised the trip as it was her birthday on the Tuesday. Steve and Elaina have been to Knoydart before and love the place. Zoe had been to Knoydart before many times too and also loved the place. Nicky, Kirstin and Myself were all visiting for the first time. We started to unload luggage from our cars and on to the harbour side. It was soon obvious that we had all brought way too much with us! It looked like we were all off to the Himilayas for a month the amount of luxurious food and outdoor gear we had just piled out on to the floor of Mallaig Harbour. The boat turned up and we started to haul our heavy luggage down the Knoydart Steps on to the poor wee boat.

Heading towards Knoydart on the boat taxi

The boat trip was great, I love nothing more than being on the outside of a boat as it crosses the wild waters of the west coast of Scotland. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy and getting dark so there wasn't the usual views. The boat clung to the coast line to keep out of the south west wind and we were soon heading across Loch Nevis towards the lights of Inverie with the huge dark brooding mountains above it including the one we would climb the next day. We all stood in a chain at Inverie pier and passed our heavy luggage up the slippery steps to the trailer. After a short walk we reached Knoydart House. This place is absolute heaven. If you haven't seen it yet then have a look here. This grand design sits on a perfectly positioned perch above Inverie giving stunning panoramic views from its huge windows. The first thing you notice other than its grandeur is the under floor heating, as you enter the house you take off your shoes and feel instant warmth through your socks. The house has everything you are used to in modern life mixed with incredible views and the luxurious touches like the huge hot tub out the front over looking the view across Loch Nevis. So we tried to take in our incredible accommodation for the long weekend. Elaina cooked everyone a lovely Toad In The Hole and then we all made our way down to the Old Forge Inn, Britain's most remote pub which was in view of the front window of the house and literally a two minute walk away.

Kirstin & Maria above Loch Nevis

The pub was just as described by so many. It has a great reputation for its warm and friendly hospitality, real ales and fresh seafood. It has an very positive reputation and rightly so. We were soon a bit tipsy and talking to the locals who were all friendly and welcoming. We were invited to play Killer with them on the pool table and failed miserably despite trying to use the girls as decoys to put off the locals. This tactic was soon turned round on us though and the locals tried the same dirty and at times rather exposing tactics! By the end of the night most people had gone home but three of us remained and were still drinking. All night the locals had warned us that if we wanted to stay in Knoydart we would have to suffer "initiation". We feared what this would involve and tried to avoid it. I will not go in to details but can tell you there was an incident involving my backside and a rather large wooden paddle! We left the pub, all three of us discussing the down and up side of being spanked. We headed out of the pub and despite the walk home being probably the easiest from a pub that any of us has ever experienced, the three of us all experienced in navigation got lost! We soon corrected our 'temporary misplacement' though and fell through the door giggling like teenagers... apparently.

Sgurr Coire Choinnichean ridge walk

The next day a few of us were a mix of sore heads and some of us still probably drunk. Zoe was all fresh faced after leaving the pub at a sensible hour and was eager to get up a hill. She stood over the rest of us and ordered us to get our backsides in order and gave us time limits like a drill Sergeant. It was a good job she did though as I think I'd still have been sat on my backside all day if she hadn't sorted us all out. The plan we had was to climb Sgurr Coire Choinnichean the Corbett above Inverie. Its no easy hill but its easier than most of the surrounding Munros and we knew we didn't have a long day and we were setting off a few hours later than expected too. I had looked up several walks before we left and knew I wanted to do this one. Sometimes you see a mountain in photos and think "I have to climb that one day". All photos I have seen of Inverie show the classic view from Loch Nevis with the Sgurr Coire Choinnichean ridge towering above it. I really wanted to climb it. So we set off, Kirstin, Maria, Zoe, Nicky and Myself. Steve looked a little worse for wear and Elaina unfortunately still has a bad knee so they stayed behind and enjoyed Inverie. I certainly missed them both, especially as they always carry the nicest food with them on a walk!

The girls on Sgurr Coire Choinnichean summit

We set off up the forestry track towards Mam Uidhe and the weather was great. We couldn't believe our luck as the forecast hadn't been great. We reached the edge of the forest and headed through the big deer gate in to the wild open glen. We had to turn right on to the open moor so did so at the best break in what seems to be a pretty pointless old fence. The initial ascent over tussocks of grass and boggy heather was pretty strenuous. As views opened up behind us over the sea and loch to Eigg, Rum and Skye we used the views as good excuses for a break to catch a breath. As we topped out on the flat plateau above there was hundreds of Red Deer which watched us for a while as we stood still watching them and then darted off as we made progress towards them. From here we could now see a side on profile of the ridge we were about to take on. We headed over to the top of Slochd a' Mhogha. I had seen a few photos of this deep ravine with its unique geology and really wanted to see it. There is a great view down to Inverie's Long Beach area too. We then stepped on to the ridge itself and started the exciting walk over this fantastic ridge. There was one tricky hands on bit near the beginning but nothing technical. We got to a point where the ridge went extremely narrow which made for an exciting walk for a while. Then the final climb to the twin summit south summit of Sgurr Coire Choinnichean. The weather was now closing in around us and sheets of dark showers hanging from dark clouds were heading our way. We headed down to the bealach between this summit and the higher north east summit. The bealach had some snow on it so we had fun walking on it, it was suddenly very windy. As we got to the higher north east summit we had a brief snow flurry much to my excitement.

Nicky on Long Beach

We took a few photos on the summit and then made a fast descent to the bealach between Sgurr Coire Choinnichean and Stob an Uillt-fhearna. It was somewhat less windy down in this bealach and sheltered so we decided to eat lunch. After lunch we headed down the pathless descent route to Loch an Dubh Lochain. Maria and Myself were ahead of the others and were lucky enough at one point to see a Ptarmigan in full white winter colours. I've seen several Ptarmigan's before but never completely white. We then stumbled across a big snow patch left over. The usual half hour of sliding down it on our backsides was had and really added to the fun of the day as it always does. We struggled down the two kilometre pathless steep descent towards the track that would take us back to Inverie. Kirstin decided to take a dip in a stream and Zoe a dip in a bog on the way down. The weather changed and started chucking it down so waterproofs on we finally made it to the track. A five kilometre stroll along the track took us back to Inverie where the Old Forge Inn and hand dived Scallops awaited that night! We had another good laugh after the meal in the pub and then I slipped off to our luxury accommodation to watch Match of the Day.

The Old Forge Inn, Inverie, Knoydart

Sunday was always going to be a chill out day for Nicky and Myself. The weather wasn't good and I woke up to find it raining outside. I got up at 9am to find Zoe and Maria getting ready for a walk. Maria has done all of the Munros on the Knoydart peninsula except for Meall Buidhe. So one of Maria's targets this week was to top Meall Buidhe which would also be her 60th Munro. I am pleased to say she did indeed bag that 60th Munro that day! Zoe and Maria left at 9:30 and I didn't bother to go back to bed, I sat on a couch listening to my favourite Classic FM Relax album on my ipod while watching the weather move through Loch Nevis, it was a relaxing moment on my own that was long overdue. The rest of the guys were up by midday. We decided we would go for a walk along the road to Long Beach and also have a look in the Knoydart Foundation visitor centre. Kirstin came with us and we had fun combing the beach until the showers came in and soaked us. We had a look at the history of Knoydart in the foundation centre and then headed to the Old Forge Inn to sit in front of the warm fire drinking hot chocolates drying our wet clothes. Later that evening we had a roast dinner in the pub and then headed back to Knoydart House and the hot tub which was an unusual and incredible experience. For three or four hours we sat in a roasting hot tub, with the stars above, Loch Nevis below and the distant noise of an owl for company. Brilliant! We reluctantly returned to Mallaig the next day and made our way home to Manchester and work the next day. Steve, Elaina, Maria and Kirstin stayed on at Knoydart and had a brilliant week. They even managed to fit in a ten hour ridge walk to Ladhar Bheinn and back. We will be back again to this fantastic place, hopefully next time in summer where longer days and better weather will allow us to do a few Munros.

I have uploaded my photos from the day here.

Elaina has posted the week on her blog here, and uploaded photos here.

Steve has posted the week on his blog here.

Route Map...

Y Garn and Cwm Idwal

2010-12-19T18:13:00.001Z

North Wales had a huge dump of snow last week. Northerly air flow combined with already freezing temperatures and weather fronts collected moisture off the Irish Sea, froze it and dumped it across Snowdonia. This therefore made it an obvious choice for this weekends walk. I spoke to our Northampton based friend Kelvin midweek who mentioned that he would be up that way this weekend too so we planned to meet up with him for an adventurous winter walk on Sunday. Kelvin being the hardened man that he is, slept in his van overnight in one of the A5 laybys in the Ogwen Valley. Temperatures dropped to minus fifteen that night! We on the other hand were nice and warm under a down quilt and electric blanket at home as I checked the weather forecast. The forecasts said it would be a very cold and sunny day, perfect conditions for a winter walk. So knowing we had to set off early to get there in time to make a proper day of it, we set the alarm clock for a quarter past six on Sunday morning.

Ogwen Valley from Y Garn's North East Ridge

We took an age defrosting the car as it was minus twelve degrees in Cheshire when we woke up. I have recently discovered that there is a problem with the heating system in my car too which the missus was not impressed with. Basically it decides when it will and won't pass through the warm air from the engine area so for the first hour of the drive we were freezing. To counter act the discomfort I knew the missus would be in I filled our Platypus water carriers with boiling water so she could use them as hot water bottles on the way. We got to Wales in good time as the A55 was clear. Amazes me how much time it cuts off the journey round Chester these days now it is continuous dual carraigeway from the end of the M56 to the A55. One thing I had never seen in my life until this moment was snow on a beach. I've been in Scotland when it snows but still never seen an actual beach with snow cover on it. The beaches along the North Wales coast looked great covered in snow and the Great Orme looked incredible. We came off the A55 near Bangor at the junction with the A5 and tried to use the services there, as we pulled in however all we could see was a car park covered in deep snow with abandoned cars strewn across its entrance and exit roads.

Afon Ogwen at Idwal Cottage

As we continued along the A5 towards Bethesda the snow got deeper and there were dozens of abandoned vehicles along the road. At Halfway Bridge we picked up a walker who was thumbing a lift to Idwal Cottage where we were heading. He was a cheery fellow and we had a good chat and laugh with him. As we approached Bethesda we could tell the place had clearly had a lot more snow than we had anticipated. Bethesda's pavements, cars and parking spaces were all completely buried under two foot deep snow everywhere. The village was surprisingly busy and locals with shovels were everywhere trying to clear their cars and pavements. We continued along the road with care until we got to Nant Ffrancon where a freak wind was blowing the snow from the fields on to the road. It got quite hairy in places but luckily a local farmer was on hand and was clearing away the drifts with his tractor and plough. We reached Idwal Cottage and had fun trying to find somewhere to park as all the laybys were feet deep in snow drifts. Nicky braved the cold outside, grabbed the spade from the boot and started digging out a parking space on the main road for us. The hitch hiking walker helped push the car in to place. With the car parked we got geared up ready for a proper winter walk. The day before I had been out to the fantastic Hitch n Hike gear shop in Bamford in the heart of the Peak District. I got Nicky some Grivel Monte Rosa crampons and got us both a pair of Kahtoola Micro Spikes which I had been craving for a long time. The Peak District drive the day before was awesome, despite reports of the roads being closed, in reality they were all open and passable. The Peak District looked amazing in surprisingly just a sprinkling of snow and the sun setting.

Myself, Nicky & Kelvin on Y Garn summit

We met Kelvin down the road at the Idwal Cottage car park toilets and cafe building. We hadn't seen Kelvin since we did the winter skills course together in the Cairngorms last winter so it was handshakes and hugs all round. We set off along the path to Llyn Idwal, passing through the gate and over the Llyn Idwal outflow which was covered in loads of incredible ice formations and of course as always with the backdrop above of Y Garn the target for the days walk. We chose Y Garn as the navigation is fairly straight forward, we've done it before and we know the going was going to be tough so had to choose something fairly short in distance. We soon reached the beautiful Cwm Idwal where monochrome snow and ice covered cliffs soared above a frozen Llyn Idwal, contrasted by perfect blue skies. From Llyn Idwal we could see fellow walkers on our route up the North East Ridge of Y Garn. It was obvious by their slow pace that it was going to be tough. We were soon making steady progress up on to the ridge itself via Pinnacle Crag. All the way we were extremely thankful for those who had broken the path and kicked steps before us. As we got around half way up the ascent clouds moved in over the surrounding tops and eventually covered us too. Visibility was not great but we easily made our way up the final ascent of the ridge to the summit plateau with relief and aching thigh muscles. The final part of the ridge is usually quite a narrow scramble but as is sometimes the case, with a wide area of snow packed on it the going was actually easier than normal.

Kelvin descending Devil's Kitchen path

On the plateau the visibility was so bad that we could only see around twenty metres in either direction. We turned left and used the impressive cornice as a hand rail to get us to the summit cairn. Trying not to step on the cornice itself at any point. At one point the white was so overwhelming it created an optical illusion that tricked us into not realising the snow in front of us was actually built up and at chest height to us. We walked straight into it, after expecting to walk just walk ahead and across it! The summit cairn provided a good shelter from the bitterly cold wind. We made ourselves some bucket seats in the snow and had lunch. All of us smiling and happy to be at nine hundred and forty metres above sea level in white out conditions with a bitter wind burning our faces. We felt alive! After trying to drink more of my frozen Lucazade, I took a bearing from the summit, for practice and just in case. The wind on the descent down the south side of the mountain was bitterly cold and stung all our faces. I was very glad of the Rab Balaclava I had brought from Hitch n Hike the day before. Kelvin took a few tumbles as we struggled through the deep snow towards Llyn y Cwn. After stopping to take a picture Kelvin suddenly realised he couldn't locate his camera. I started ascending the hill again following the path he took, with my thigh muscles starting to burn again. I turned round to hear "Found it!". I shot a disapproving glare at which they both laughed and trotted back down. As we got down to Llyn y Cwn on the col between Y Garn and Glyder Fawr the skies opened up to give us some pretty awesome and atmospheric views to the Carneddau on our left and Snowdon on our right. We played around near the frozen Llyn y Cwn where I landed face first in the snow and ended up falling down a hole to my waist at one point.

Nicky admiring the icicles

Our descent was via the Devil's Kitchen path. We struggled at first to find the proper path as others who had led the way before us had also gone way off course. We did eventually find the familiar wide open track that leads down to the small stone wall that crosses the path at the point where it turns in to a rocky scramble. The views from here looking over Llyn Idwal are always impressive, I'd say easily one of the best views in Snowdonia and today they were as impressive as I had ever seen them. We started to descend the slippery and steepening path. Nicky and Myself thankful at this point that we still had our Microspikes on our boots. We wore the Microspikes all day. Even when they are not necessarily needed you don't really need to take them off as they do not hinder your progress as crampons would. We had to be careful in places as the path was just like a slide in a playground but steeper, covered in compacted slippery snow and big boulders on the crags below. As I was carefully watching my own footing I suddenly heard a "Woah!" from below me and looked down to see Kelvin at the bottom of one of these tricky slides lay akimbo across a boulder which luckily had stopped him in his path. Nicky and Myself skipped a heart beat and Kelvin just looked up and laughed and said "Phew that was close, maybe its time for crampons". Was a very funny and memorable moment. To get down Kelvin's slope I used a skill I learned on the winter skills course last year and chopped out several steps using the adze of my ice axe, I was extremely pleased with my skills.

The Moon and Tryfan

As the path skirts the bottom of the Devil's Kitchen itself we looked up to see a winter ice climber half way up the back wall of the huge dark and foreboding gully. Looking up at him I could only think two possibilities. He either has serious mental issues or gigantic balls. My legs were shaking just watching him. As the path turns right again a big buttress sticks out from the right, this usually has a waterfall down the side of it but today the water was spread across the buttress and had dripped off frozen and created probably the most spectacular icicles I have ever seen all in one place. I got a good shot of Nicky stood under them to give perspective as they were huge. We chatted to several fellow walkers and climbers on the final descent to the shores of Llyn Idwal. A short walk round Llyn Idwal saw us back at the path we left earlier. By now it was starting to get dark but a massive bright moon shone the path all the way back to Idwal Cottage and provided a stunning backdrop to a snowy Tryfan which looked even more grand than it usually would. We fed some left over sandwich chicken to a beautiful and friendly Robin at Idwal Cottage then left Kelvin as he went back to his van and Capel Curig for a Lamb dinner. Kelvin stayed over in Snowdonia for a few more nights as it was just too good to miss. Unfortunately we made our way home in the freezing cold car and went to work the next day as he was enjoying Moel Siabod.

I have uploaded the photos from the day here.

Route Map...

Harrison Stickle via Stickle Tarn

2010-12-05T14:27:00.003Z

We had a right love and hate relationship with the snow this weekend. The plan for the weekend was to go to Oslo to see A-Ha's last ever concert in their home town as Nicky is a life long fan. However we got to the airport and boarded the plane on Saturday morning only to be told that we couldn't go anywhere as Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was a foot deep in snow and any flight heading their way would have to stay precisely where they are. For is this meant sitting on the apron at Manchester Airport. We waited for four hours until we had to make the decision to get off the plane which luckily we could as we only had hand luggage. We basically had to make it to Amsterdam for a 1:30pm flight which had now been cancelled and the evening flight too was cancelled so we wouldn't have made or been able to cancel the hotel. We've lost a lot of money unfortunately and Nicky was devastated not to make it to the concert. So after a down Saturday I decided we had to get up early Sunday and make our way to The Lakes to make the most of the snow instead and turn it in to something good.

Nicky heading toward Pavey Ark

Knowing we would probably be getting up early but not drastically early, I knew by the time we got the the Lakes we would probably only have at the most four or five hours of daylight. So I had to plan a shorter walk than normal and also take into account the fact we would be slower if the snow is as deep as reports say it is. I decided on the Langdale Pikes from Stickle Barn Tavern up the Stickle Ghyll path as I knew the roads would most likely have been cleared out to Langdale and it is easy to get to once you get off the M6, so saving some time. After de-frosting the car we set off into the a perfect cold, crisp, and clear blue sky winters day. The cars thermometer as we got to Kendal showed the temperature outside to be -8 degrees Celsius. As we came over the hill towards the back of Bowness we looked forward to see a wonderful sight, there was a cloud inversion over the whole stretch of Windermere and above it the huge white snow covered Consiton Fells.

Stickle Tarn

I love how on winters days like these with perfect clarity the mountains look twice their normal size and so much closer. The roads were clear all the way to Langdale. When we arrived I was surprised to see so little people around. The National Trust's Stickle Ghyll car park was fairly treacherous with a good nine inches of snow on the ground. I went through my usual stomping around effing and jeffing at the ridiculous cost of parking to go for a walk in the Lake District. We set off from the Stickle Ghyll car park and headed up hill on the left hand side of the Ghyll. The water falls were iced over with icicles and formations looking magical. Mounds of snow on boulders in the ghyll added to the magic. After a short steep climb we crossed a wooden foot bridge over the ghyll then continued our ascent on the other side of the ghyll. One pair of walkers we kept passing had a beautiful Bearded Collie and Spaniel that were clearly loving their adventures in the snow. We eventually rounded Tarn Crag and crossed Stickle Ghyll at the boulder field before reaching the dam at Stickle Tarn.

Wild scene on Langdale Pikes plateau

Stickle Tarn was completely frozen over and looked as good as it always does but even better that normal as its back drop the stunning Pavey Ark was covered in snow creating a grand monochrome scene. We ate a chocolate bar at the tarn and headed then headed left to the south western shore of the tarn before starting the ascent to the col between Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle. The ascent is steep and quite dangerous in winter conditions but the snow was two foot deep powder with no frozen layers at all so a fall would just see you buried in snow instead of sliding down the hill side. We didn't even bother to get our crampons or ice axes out as the deep snow gave a certain security you wouldn't normally have on a hill side covered in frozen snow. This two foot deep obstruction was like every step we were walking over a fence, we followed the steps of those who had gone there before us but the going was still pretty tough. At one point Nicky said it was like walking through whipped cream!

Myself on Harrison Stickle summit

We topped out on the col and walked across to the large bowl shaped Langdale Pikes plateau. As we reached the plateau clouds came rolling in for literally only around ten minutes and added a wild an desolate atmosphere to the place. As we headed towards Harrison Stickle the cloud was starting to break up and was leaving small brocken spectres and halo effects as the low winter sun hit the summit rocks and the remaining cloud. The cloud was gone by the time we reached the summit and the views were incredible, though it was absolutely freezing now we had stopped. We headed off StickleGhyll gorge skirting Harrison Stickle. The path was quite scary in parts as here you knew if you slipped there was a good chance you'd end up in that deep Dungeon Ghyll gorge below. Eventually the path eases off and ascends over a grassy slop towards Pike Howe. Pike Howe is a wonderful rocky knoll that sits in the most perfect position for gazing down the wonder of the Langdale Valley. Nicky topped out on Pike Howe while I took a picture and we then took the zig zag path from behind Pike Howe back down to Stickle Ghyll. We topped off our exhilarating walk with a hot chocolate sat by the wood burner in the Stickle Barn Tavern looking out at the beautiful snow covered fells. Perfect Day!

I have uploaded the photos from the walk here.

Route Map...

Helm Crag from Grasmere

2010-11-05T16:18:00.001Z

It had been way too long since I had walked along a mountain ridge thinking how lucky I was to be alive! I therefore looked at how many annual leave days I had left before the end of the year which I could utilise to get out in the mountains. I decided to book off several Fridays meaning that I now have no more five day weeks for the rest of the year. Last Friday I was free to do what ever I wanted, so after seeing the weather forecast the night before I chose to head up to the Lake District. The Lakes seemed to be the best chance of a rain free afternoon. The only problem was that I hadn't had a lie in for a long time so when my alarm went off at 7:30am I simply ignored it. I did eventually get my lazy backside out of bed around 8:30 and after having breakfast and packing I was on the road by 10am heading for the Lakes.

Grasmere Village

I wanted to do a walk I hadn't done before and as it was a Friday I wanted to try a more popular route which I would normally ignore due to its popularity but could take advantage of visiting during normal work hours. I had never done a walk from Grasmere and never looked around this popular tourist destination. On the Thursday night before there had been many Cumbria based tweeters saying that some roads were flooded and the lakes were higher than normal due to the rivers being in spate after heavy rainfall. Luckily the grim predictions never materialised and although some roads were passable only with care there wasn't anything to worry about. The rivers had water in them but none were flooded, the only flooding was Lake Windermere which was several feet higher than normal which was obvious at the pier in Ambleside where some of the buildings and boat moorings were under water.

Sour Milk Waterfalls & Far Easedale Valley

I arrived in Grasmere and looked for somewhere to park. I tried several car parks all run by the Lake District National Park Authority and was soon furiously effing and jeffing at the realisation that I would have to pay £7 just to park to go for a walk. The most popular walk around here being Helm Crag ridge taking most people just over four hours and yep you've guessed it, the charges go higher after four hours. Absolute disgrace in my opinion and will seriously affect my choice when choosing a National Park to visit in future. I'm not totally ignorant and fully understand the need to provide decent parking and keep local roads doesn't come free but £7 is a totally rip off! I literally was left with no money to spend in the shops afterwards which is a real shame as otherwise I would probably have nipped in to somewhere for a sandwich and hot chocolate after the walk.

Grasmere from Helm Crag

Other than that Grasmere didn't disappoint and was the beautiful quaint Lakeland picture postcard village I had expected. I parked up at the Broadgate Meadow car park as it is nearest to the start of the planned walk. I walked past the shops and headed up Easedale Road. I passed the Butharlyp Howe Youth Hostel where a Robin kept me company for a few yards and reminded me that despite my recent trip to Australia and its stunningly colourful birds, hardy and full of personality English birds are still my favourite. The road crossed Easedale Beck at Goody Bridge before eventually reaching the ford and footbridge at Steel Bridge. From here I got my first sight of the Sour Milk Waterfall at the far end of the valley ahead, fully in spate and justifying their self explanatory name. The route I took was not over the bridge to Easedale Tarn but on towards the Helm Crag path. I still hadn't decided in which direction I would do this slightly circular walk but the weather moving in made up my mind. I knew more than anything I wanted to get up on top a mountain today so knowing the weather could stay miserable I wouldn't want to go home without standing on top of a mountain at some point so headed for the direct route up Helm Crag.

The Howitzer above The Pass of Dunmail Raise

The autumnal leaves in the forests below the quarry at the foot of Helm Crag were breath taking and ticked another requirement of the day. This time of year looks incredible in the woodlands and forests but I find when we are having wet and cold autumn and winters that the window of time in which to see the autumnal rich red and gold colours can be a lot less than you would think and the leaves are soon gone by mid November. The ascent on to Helm Crag is fairly simple which along with its location above Grasmere Village make it a very popular walk. Having said that though you really shouldn't under estimate its quality. It is a great little mountain with stunning views in all directions, especially those over Grasmere and over to the Helvellyn and Fairfield range. The view down in to the Pass of Dunmail Raise is also well worth the easy climb, this great example of a glacial valley is often taken for granted when speeding along at 60mph through it on the A591 but from up here you can really appreciate its size and shape. It is like a much smaller version of the Lairig Ghru in the Cairngorms in Scotland, though dissected by a major trunk road. As I reached the shoulder of the mountain I looked up to see a Kestrel hovering above and then sitting dead still in mid air on the wind.

Gibson Knott summit cairn

Helm Crag's summit has two rock features. I reached the first rock outcrop on the south side of the mountain which gets its name from the fact it looks like a 'Lion and Lamb' from Grasmere Village below, it is easily accessible. Moving on I reached the other rocky outcrop at the north end of Helm Crag which is also its highest point and known as either 'The Howitzer' or 'The Old Lady Playing the Organ'. This outcrop also gets its name from the outline image it creates from the valleys below. From here you get the best view in to the Pass of Dunmail Raise. To reach the top of this rock outcrop you have to tackle a short but steep and tricky scramble which I decided to leave for another day as it was still raining and the rock was very slippery, what a wimp! The summit is the Lakes equivalent of the Inaccessible Pinnacle. Rumour has it that even the great Sir Alfred Wainwright never reached the true summit!

Far Easedale Valley

I continued along the ridge crossing Bracken Hause to reach Gibson Knott. A fairly none descriptive summit but the boggy walk along the ridge was invigorating despite the continuous rain showers, increasing winds and lowering temperatures. After Gibson Knott the terrain got even more boggy and rocky but I was just happy to be out in the wild with nature doing its best to make me appreciate life. I really enjoyed the views across to Steel Fell which I had never considered before but it looks like a nice and easy ridge walk I'll consider in future. I eventually reached the stone cairn and tarn on the summit of Calf Crag and knew that looking at the watch I would only have just over an hour of daylight left so any plans to do an excursion up to High Raise or across to Tarn Crag would be out of the question. I followed the path down to the head of the Far Easedale Valley and descended in to the valley.

Roe Deer near Grasmere

I was pleasantly surprised at how wild the Far Easedale Valley was and despite battering wind and rain really enjoyed the walk back to Grasmere. While walking through the Far Easedale Valley you have the Helm Crag ridge to your left and from down in the valley it makes the ridge look twice as high and impressive as it really is. You pass by some lovely waterfalls and gills through the valley. After following the Far Easedale Gill down its valley I crossed it over a wide wooden bridge then used the rocky bridleway behind Brimmer Head Farm to reach Steel Bridge and the Easedale Road again back to Grasmere. As I was walking near Goody Bridge I heard an animal over a stone wall by the road, peered over the wall to see if it was just a sheep and was delighted to see what I thought was a young Red Deer, but have since been corrected and told is a Roe Deer, munching on grass in the field. At the sight of a drowned hiker it was startled and soon made off but it was beautiful and a great way to end a good day on the fells.

I have uploaded the photos from the walk here.

Route Map...

Monks Dale from Millers Dale

2010-09-12T22:00:00.001+01:00

We are currently saving our spare cash for spending money on our honeymoon in a few weeks to Australia so any walks we do at the moment have to involve as little cost as possible. This means we either don't go or I go on my own as Nicky isn't a big fan of what the local area has to offer, she prefers the more impressive mountainous areas of the Lakes and Snowdonia. However I can sometimes tempt her with a trip to the White Peak as despite still being the Peak District it certainly take on a different look and feel compared with the dark gloomy Dark Peak that she grew up around. There was one walk in particular I thought of that for a while I had wanted to show her. Monks Dale is a lesser frequented National Nature Reserve known for its wildflowers, natural woodlands and stunning rugged limestone scenery.

Monks Dale

Monks Dale is typical of so many Limestone Dales in Derbyshire's White Peak area. It has an abundance of wild flowers and wildlife and changes with the seasons. It cuts deep like a ravine through the landscape showing scars of rock on the cliffs that flank its rich valley. One of the best things about Monks Dale is its solitude, it is by far one of the quietest of the Derbyshire Dales as most walkers tend to head along the main valley from Millers Dale up Chee Dale and Millers Dale itself following the lovely Wye Valley. We started our walk from the car park in Millers Dale. We turned left out of the car park up the road and then went over the concrete stile to the right in front of the small farm. As we crossed the stile we realised one of the young calves in the field next to the stone wall was making its way towards us bouncing along like a huge puppy. Nicky soon made acquittance with the beast and it took many a rub on the nose before sliding out its big wet tongue and giving Nicky the sloppy kiss she'd been waiting for all morning.

Nicky's gets some loving from a local

We headed into the Dale and down a very muddy path to the wooden footbridge that crosses the stream through the Dale. The last time I was here the stream was beautiful and had Mallards floating along its calm waters. I remember too having a lovely bobbing Dipper keeping me company for the walk. Today however the stream was completely gone! I was slightly gutted really as I love my rivers and streams and the joys of the distraction they give me. I stood and stared in amazement at the difference between then and now and remembered how last time I had sat watching the stream, now however there was just Nicky mocking me about how shocked I was and pretending to wash her face in the dried up river bed. We crossed the footbridge, despite there being no water to cross and made our way into the dale along the muddy and sometimes rocky path.

Nicky washing her face in the dried out river bed

As you enter the middle section of Monks Dale the valley opens up wide with the odd birch and rowan tree scattered among limestone scars and scree on the path side of the valley and a thick wood on the opposite side. At a point just after the scree we scrambled up an ascent to the right side of the valley to pick a spot amongst the limestone rocks for lunch. As we ascended we watched dozens of rabbits scarper, their little white backsides bobbing up and down left and right as they ran away from an unfamiliar shape. We found a great spot on warm rocks facing south down the dale with fabulous views. A noisy helicopter spoiled the silence for a while but landed in Millers Dale moments later. The spot we chose had an abundance of Blackberry bushes so we gathered a handful and devoured the natural tasty treats. After the wide section of the Dale it narrows out and the footpath heads down through the trees in to the very bottom of the valley floor and into the fascinating Monks Dale woods.

Monks Dale woodland footpath

The woods of Monks Dale are made up mostly of Ash, Willow, Beech, Sycamore and Birch trees, it is a completely natural woodland and deep in the sheltered valley floor has created a unique and to some an unforgiving environment. Even in the driest of seasons and hottest of days the woods take on their own climate. The damp temperate atmosphere creates an almost rain forest like climate. The trees are plentiful and covered in colourful lichens and thick mosses. The woodland floor is carpeted with wonderful wild flowers. The floors of the woodland here is home to the likes of Herb Paris, Moschatel, Dog’s Mercury, Marsh Marigold, Brooklime, Blue Water Speedwell, Wood Anemones, Bird Cherry, Dogwood, Water Aven, Orchids, Campions, Cowslips, Butterbur, Wild Garlic, Harebells and Jack in the Pulpit whose berries we got a great macro shot of. There is a lovely moss and lichen covered stone wall that completely dissects the valley floor and follows the line of the stream all the way to the head of the Dale. The path through the woods is very tasking and a quick look of the map shows a green valley with a stream going through it which is very deceiving, your progress through the woodland path is slowed down quite dramatically by its rough rocky nature, fallen trees, damp undergrowth and various other natural obstacles. We kept stopping every so often just to create silence and admire the mesmerising atmosphere of the wood, there was a constant buzz in the canopy above of Hoverflies and every now and then a Tit, Robin or Blackbird would rustle the leaves around us. We also spotted one of my favourite birds a Nuthatch making its way up a tree trunk next to us. The sun barely reaches the bottom of the narrow valley but on the odd occasion that it does the rays beaming down through the trees were stunning at one point catching a huge spiders web with its maker sat in the middle.

Monksdale House

Eventually the woodland path ends at a wooden gate through a stone wall and then after rounding a rocky outcrop you open out in to a wide meadow, so typical of the head of so many Limestone Dales. A road crosses the meadow, we sat on the roadside bench for while and then headed to the right and east ascending the steep road up to Monksdale House. At Monksdale House we followed the signs for the Limestone Way along a tractor track through the fields opposite the house heading south. We headed along the track, thankful of its stone walls as they keep us out of what was quite a chilly wind. We reached a standing stone in the fields on the left and had a closer look at it. The standing stone was typical ancient Carboniferous Limestone rich in Crinoid fossils. When the track headed back down towards Monks Dale and Millers Dale there was a large bank on the right covered in rabbit holes so leaned against the stone wall stood and watched as dozens of them ran around playing in the sun. We followed the track all the way back to Monksdale Farm on the opposite side of Monks Dale to the one we started the walk from. We walked through Monksdale Farm then through the gate and headed down the footpath to the valley floor again switching back on ourselves just before the bottom to cross the stepping stones which also seemed a little daft with no water. A short ascent back towards the road and we were back at the Millers Dale car park where toilets and an ice cream van awaited.

I have uploaded the photos from the walk here here.

Route Map...

Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common

2010-08-10T14:15:00.001+01:00

It was quite a shock to friends and family when for this weekends get away from it all excursion we chose the biggest metropolis in the nation. London is a place that always fascinates me, as a teenager and in my early twenties my only experiences of London were football matches. Travelling darn sarf to watch United play various London clubs was certainly an eye opener. Those earlier trips made me realise just how huge and diverse a place it is. This last weekend was basically a get away from it all weekend with absolutely no plans and something a little different from our normal adventures in to wild places and the mountains. Wild places, walking and nature watching was going to be put on hold for a weekend... or were they?...

London skyline from Richmond Park

One of the things that saddens me most in my own city is the complete lack of green spaces. Manchester is where my heart will always be as I was born in this area and brought up here. Manchester's music, football, passion and pride can not be beaten. However its complete lack of inner city green space really saddens me, especially as it is the place I spend most of my daytime hours as I have worked in the city for over a decade. Even our beloved city centre green of Piccaddilly Gardens has now been concreted over to make way for fast food outlets and "Chav Grazing" areas. There are some small green areas in Manchester city centre but there are very few and they really are small. Millions of office workers and city centre shoppers would die for some relaxing green space to chill out during busy stressful weekdays. I've always said if I ever won the lottery I'd buy a huge area in Manchester City Centre, put a huge twenty foot fence round the entire plot and landscape it as naturally as possible to make my own and respectful member exclusive heaven. London is a different kettle of fish all together. London has some fantastic squares, gardens and parks to be really proud of and they are all well kept and respected. I was really impressed by them.

London Cycle Scheme

We set off for the capital on Friday night from Manchester Picaddily. The train was one of the new Virgin Pendolino tilting trains which was actually quite scary. The speed of these things is frightening and especially when they tilt at almost a forty five degree angle as you fly through the country's railway stations. We sat and watched the nations beautiful landscape. It is something special to watch out of a train window on a good day. We saw a cracking rainbow at one point and I was star struck as United legend Lou Macari passed us heading for the buffet. We were delayed slightly as there were cows on the line near Macclesfield! We arrived in London a few hours later and set up base camp at our Travel Lodge accommodation near Euston Station. Pretty basic accommodation but a great location. We went out for the night around Leicester Square and then China Town for a meal where I had my first and probably my last taste of Pigeon.

Fish in St James Park Lake

Saturday morning we set off on a day of no plan at all but just walk around London. We set off in search of a place to eat breakfast and soon found Russell Square. Fantastic little green square just down from Euston Station in Bloomsbury. We sat in the sunny weather watching Pigeons playing around in the water feature cleaning their under wings and splashing each other. From there we made our way to Oxford Street to check out the shops but soon got sick of battling our way through thousands of very not like-minded shoppers. We got a Boots meal deal and had a look at our London AtoZ map, which we used to great effect to navigate the whole weekend, and found a green area on the map called Grosvenor Square near Mayfair. Again a splendid example of a well kept city centre park, most noticeable were the colourful flower beds teeming with buzzing insects and bees, certainly a good sign. After lunch we walked through the rather affluent Berkeley Square and Berkeley Street to Green Park. We walked through Green Park with its huge ancient trees which was buzzing with people in the sunny weather and came across a rather bizarre site. It was a meeting of Pug owners! Basically around fifty people all who owned a Pug dog. After standing in amazement at this bizarre site we walked past Buckingham Palace and in to St James Park which was also buzzing with people until it started raining and then everyone fled for shelter under the impressive Willow trees.

Almshouses in Richmond

We stood on the Blue Bridge in St James Park and enjoyed the spectacle of hundreds of fish swimming around in the lake. It was like a trout farm basin there were so many. Ducklings were diving under the water after them and we watched as they dived and there little feet paddled down behind them. We moved over to the far end of the park and found a group of Squirrels happily feeding from peoples hands which was a lovely sight. The rain continued to get heavy and persistant as we eventually reached Whitehall and Downing Street so we decided to head back to the hotel for a few hours power nap before heading out for the night. We went to the cinema and chose to go to the Odeon in Camden Town. Possibly the quaintest cinema you could image. We watched the new film Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in a screen only a dozen seats wide by a dozen rows, it was fantastic! Afterwards we headed back towards Leicester Square and found a lovely Italian down a side street where I devoured a delicious Calzone Pizza full of tasty Mozzarella. The Tube was closed by the time we came out of the Italian so we decided to walk back to the hotel instead of catching a bus or taxi. As we passed the church opposite Euston Station a lovely grey urban Fox ran across the road in front of us.

Red Deer in Richmond Park

Sunday the weather was blue skies again so we decided to go find another good park area we could go and chill out or walk for the day. Looking on the web I was trying to find that view you often see of the city skyline from a park on a slight hill somewhere in London. I found Richmond Park and decided we would head out to Richmond and go discover the park for the day. Looking at the AtoZ on the Tube en route I realised we could actually do a long linear walk by traversing both Richmond Park and the almost adjoining Wimbledon Common and then get the Tube from Wimbledon back to Euston. The route would involve about seven and a half miles walk from station to station so seemed possible and interesting. We got off the train in the lovely town of Richmond and headed along Sheen Road towards East Sheen, passing some extremely pretty looking Almshouses on the way. We entered the park near East Sheen Common and walked through the common which was a breath of fresh air indeed, the common is natural woodland with several paths winding their way through it. We came to Bog Gate the northern pedestrian entrance to Richmond Park.

Female Gatekeeper butterfly

Richmond Park at almost 2500 acres is the largest Royal Park in London and is home to around 650 roaming Red and Fallow deer, foxes, butterflies, birds, rabbits, ducks, insects and more. The pastoral landscape of hills, woodlands, ponds, gardens, flowers and grasslands set amongst ancient trees offers a peaceful respite to visitors. This really is an oasis in the centre of a huge metropolis. By the Bog Gate entrance there was the kind of buzzing noise you would usually associate with over head power lines, however in this instance it was the more natural sound of hundreds of Grass Hoppers in the rough by the wall. As we entered the park there was several Red Deer sheltering under trees from the sun so we too sheltered under on of the ancient oaks and ate lunch admiring them. It was great to see so many locals walking their kids and cycling around the park. We headed off over The Bog as it is named on the map, though it was more of a dried out grass land. Before coming down South I had heard people talking of how dry the grass is down here during this dry summer and we really saw for ourselves how dead the grass was around the parks and commons. We saw dozens of Rabbits and were often gifted a sight of the beautiful Gatekeeper butterflies. After eating sweet Blackberries off the bushes on The Bog area we reached Sawyers Hill. Sawyers Hill is a road that traverses the park, only open during daylight hours. We sat on a bench on the top of the hill and admired the incredible contrasting view of the London skyline above the wild park. All day there was a constant line of planes above coming in to Heathrow, fascinating at times when you could see four planes at once all lined up in the sky on there way in to land. From Sawyers Hill we headed down to the Pen Ponds that were populated by ducks and birds of all types. We eventually reached the roads leading out to the Robin Hood Gate entrance. Once we reached the gate we headed through and across the main road crossing over to Wimbledon Common.

Pen Ponds in Richmond Park

Wimbledon Common is the largest expanse of heathland in the London area. The western slopes, which lie on London Clay, support mature mixed woodland. The Commons are a flagship site for the stag beetle. Most of the Commons are a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation. And of course home to the TV series The Wombles! We crossed the bridge over Beverley Brook and then followed the bank of the brook for a while until we spotted fish in the brook and had to take a closer look. The fish were plentiful and some were really big Salmon. It was great to see so many fish in the brook as reading up on the brook I found it had been lifeless for almost a century due to pollution but recent efforts over the last decade have brought it back to life and from what we saw it is full of life. We went slightly wrong as I being a big lover of rivers and streams was keeping close to the brook. We found we were at the bottom of the west side of Robin Hood Road which would take us to the eastern side of the common. We headed up Robin Hood Road, a long up hill track through fantastic natural woodland. We reached the far end of the common by Springwell Cottage and followed roads past the dried up golf course and out to Wimbledon itself. We made our way down the hill to the station and set off on our long journey home via Euston Station. Brilliant days walk and you would not have a clue you were in a big metropolis at all. If you ever have a weekend in London then I'd highly recommend getting the Tube to Richmond and walking this route to Wimbledon over Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common. We probably saw more wildlife in this weekend to London than we usually see on a weekend in The Lakes.

I didn't take many but uploaded the photos from the weekend here.

Route Map...