Getting Fit

There's a need to get fit for Christmas as we've just booked a skiing holiday in Belle Plagne. The cost of skiing always means we are on the first lift in a morning and coming down last at night. If you're not fit it's exhausting. So today we went for a walk.

Middle Dodd from the foot of Kirkstone Pass.

We tried parking at Hartsop but it was mayhem as as organised mines walk was just getting under way. So we drove a couple of miles up the main road to a deserted layby near a footpath sign and away we went. Lakeland fells might be small but this fell goes straight up. The forecast on MWIS said sunny and it was at first but it soon clouded over and the summit was in mist and hence no photos.
A road runs through it.

So after Red Screes it was down the Caiston Glen and back to the car. The Innov8s handled it well , but I did notice the bog water is starting to feel decidedly colder and I had to put the gloves on for the first time in a while.

Living the Dream

Back from the long awaited holiday. We went to Southern Germany in the campervan. The weather was atrocious on the way down but did improve when we got there. We stayed at the above site and cycled into Fussen and the surrounding countryside on the excellent Radwegs.

We then swung right past the Bodensee and through the Black Forest , climbing Feldberg from the ski resort at its foot.


Lunch was eaten whilst an old German man told us how he had been in a prison of war camp in Shropshire. I'd tried not to mention the war..........

More rain followed in the journey up through France so lots of Flunches were eaten and a great time was had by all.

Two nights around Beinn a Ghlo

Click on images to make them bigger.




Feeling a bit jaded I managed to get two days off work. The forecast was good so Saturday at 2 pm found me parking beside Loch Moraig above Blair Atholl.

The path up Carn Liath is quite obvious from the car park. I am not very familiar with Scotland so had rung about deer stalking and have to say the answer was not particularly helpful. Based more on the fact that there were other cars parked and that they don't shoot on a Sunday ( the following day) I went ahead. So two hours later I was on the summit and for all those people who haven't already asked, no its not snow its quartzite boulders.


The light was disappointing for photography but the beautiful ridge beckons you on to the two munros for tomorrow.


In the event I camped just above the col on the shoulder of Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhaigan (BCC). The wind dropped and the midges came out forcing a retreat into the tent. Later I looked out to see herds of un- shot dear on the summit ridge silhouetted against the evening sky.






I awoke on Sunday to sunshine and no midges.

After traversing BCC and descending to the col I was on the summit of Carn nan Gabhar by 10 am.
I decided to press on instead of reversing my tracks and ended up descending steep slopes above Loch Loch. Cool name, if it was in the Lake district some pratt would call it Lake Loch Loch.
(eg. Lake Windermere , Lake Ullswater etc.)
Heading for a gill I stopped for my dinner , again herds of deer were in all the hollows on the fellside.




After dinner I had a paddle in Loch Loch then walked out along the east shore. There were two landrover loads of folk having a barbeque at the southern edge. Weren't very friendly when I shouted hello.
By the time I had walked around to upper Coire Laggain I was hot and tired. I pitched the tent besides a beck coming down from Airgiod Bheinn. There were more than a dozen ruined shielings here and the place was very atmospheric.


And boy oh boy did those midges go crazy when the sun went down.






I did not bother trying to make tea or eat breakfast next morning but just packed as much as I could in the tent , put on the net and headed out into the mist. As long as you keep moving they can't get you. I headed for the car and hopefully a breakfast in Pitlochry.

I thought they might stop serving breakfast at 10 am so just went into the first cafe I came to in Pitlochry. Full Scottish ? asked the lass. I' m thinking what could be the difference between full Scottish and full English ? I can now tell you : at least £5 dearer (£11.50) undercooked bacon, cheap poor quality sausage, and toast that must have been re toasted as it was as hard as iron.

Lessons learned: lighter less bulky tent needed as this item of equipment weighs at least twice as much as anything else I carry, Innov8s work brilliantly in Scotland ( a ML training instructor told me they wouldn't) , you don't need fancy expensive socks as I just wear ordinary grey nylon ones the same as Ray Jardine, and finally don't go into the first cafe you come to no matter how hungry.

Laal Walk

More commitments this weekend meant we did not get out for a walk until 1500 hrs on Sunday afternoon. Luckily Rannerdale Knott is only half an hour away and makes a grand short stroll with good views.
There was one place in the car park. It had obviously been a busy day as there were cars parked everywhere and people having barbecues by the lake.

We continued along the ridge before slanting off left to the valley just before the hause.
Rannerdale is a beautiful little valley and in spring is carpeted with bluebells.
A reminder that autumn is just around the corner as the rowan berries are ripening and the bracken is going brown in places.
Oh well it was a lovely afternoon , the company was good and I got to practice with the new camera.

Panasonic G2

Well I'm still coming to grips with the new camera. My 6MP Pentax istds has served me well but thought I'd try something a a little lighter and more modern so bought a Panasonic G2. I find it easy to use inside when I can read all the screens, but outside it is difficult to see. Similarly the info in the view finder is difficult to focus on when wearing glasses.



We have not been out for a while so decided on a short training walk up Eycott Hill from the Mungrisedale road. This is an interesting area geologically. Various volcanic rocks lie on the Skiddaw slate and are overlain by the carboniferous deposits. The grass was long and wet and we were bitten by clegs. There was an absence of sheep and lots of wild flowers. Maybe the sheep are managed here?
I think this is campanula rotundifolia. A white version. Alba?

Had the usual cup of tea on the top and watched a big shower just miss us.

We were a bit worried about some cows in the fields below but they did not move. We have had a herd stampede towards us in the past so were a little nervous.

Well I'd better get back to that incredibly complicated instruction book....

Too Busy

Well the summer is whizzing past in a blur of commitments and DIY. We did manage one night in the tent last month. The evening was well on when we were finally walking up Deepdale after leaving the car at Bridgefoot.



We were hoping to camp in Link Cove. This is a beautiful place and if the beck closest to Greenhow End is followed up past the waterfall there is a lovely slab with the water running down the edge. After weeks of little rain we decided to carry water up from the main beck just in case. As it happens there was still a trickle flowing. The places to camp were limited as any flat ground was boggy. luckily we found a place that , although not flat, had a super view and sun rise into the tent door.



After our usual breakfast of pre made weetabix alpen and powdered milk we were off up the back of the cove onto Greenhow End. There was no one on the summit of Fairfield and we met only one on the summit of St Sunday crag.

A descent to the valley was made via Gavel Pike and Lord's Seat.


Some of the rest of my time has been spent converting a Citreon Relay panel van into a camper van . Before :-
After:-

Eskdale Backpack

Went for a 2 night backpack , starting Friday night . Zoomed home from work , got ready, no time for tea so I stopped at Whitehaven Morrisons for chicken tikka and naan. Consequently I was quite late parking at the cattle grid lay-by above the road end for Brotherikeld. Always slightly worrying leaving car for 2 nights, especially when its the only one there. Walk went via Tow House and Scale gill to a shelf above High Scarth Crag. A longish walk in the dark to find water that looked drinkable was needed as I forgot to fill the Platypus earlier. I awoke the next morning to a grey start.
A breakfast of crushed oatybix and dried milk saw me away and over the col to the Great Moss. The weather started to clear so I decided on Scafell Pike via Cam Spout.

Instead of heading for Mickledore I went right to look for a previously unvisited tarn. Broadcrag Tarn seems to be just a puddle, but is named on the OS map.



A quick zoom across the tops and I was filling the platypus in the stream in Calf Cove above Esk Hause. A dinner of rice , oatybix and chocolate was had on Pike de Bield after dropping down from Esk Pike.

After dinner I dropped down to Lingcove Beck below Bowfell. I just got the tent up at 4pm when the wind and rain arrived . So instead of a balmy evening looking at the view I was confined to the Hillleberg for 14 hours. I spent the first few hours making tea and cooking stew.





Sunday was a better day and I walked out over the beautiful ridge of Hard Knott and Border End.

This must be the most beautiful place in England...... The car was still there and knowing that the Laal Ratty station cafe opened at 10 o 'clock I was in the door at 10 seconds past ordering the best bacon sandwich this side of Pluto.