Archive for the 'Annual Wildie' Category

Northern Fells Wildcamping – Part 5 – The post-match analysis

Posted by BG! on May 23rd 2010 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Wildcamping

 

Items we forgot to take = 2 (Chris's Ajungilak inflatable pillow and Petzl Zoom headtorch.)

Items we forgot to bring back = 0

Items we gained = 1 (a bit of slate from the slopes of Bannerdale Crags.)

 

 

Items we lost = 0

Ticks = 0

Walkers met on the fells = 3

Injuries = 1 minor, 0 major

Losses of dignity = 1

Distance = 21 miles according to Memory-Map, probably nearer to 25 miles actual

Ascent/descent = 4526 feet according to Memory-Map

Wainwrights = 6

Pubs visited = 1 (twice)

New kit tried and tested = 1 pair (Aku Croda GTXs, rating = brilliant!)

Revelations = 1 (Sainsbury's Basics Instant Custard. A pack weighs 74g, contains 68g of powder, needs 425ml of boiling water, provides 312 kcal, serves 2 and tastes excellent. Current price: 9p a pack. Bargain.)

 

Northern Fells Wildcamping – Part 4 – Finishing Off

Posted by BG! on May 22nd 2010 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Wildcamping
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The next morning we were clagged in again so we had a prolonged breakfast waiting for the wind-driven rain to abate. Eventually we packed up and checked out the vacated pitch to ensure that we'd left no trace of our temporary residence. Other than the dry patch uncovered as we struck the tent there wasn't any sign that we'd overnighted there, and we were confident that the ensuing rain would soon deal with that:

 

Without a trace

 

We headed back to and over the col and took the path beside the Glenderamackin to the footbridge below White Horse Bent:

 

Descending beside the Glenderamackin

 

While we were on our way down the wind picked up and lashed rain at us, so I packed away the camera to keep it safe. Declining the option to continue down the path along river, we crossed the bridge and went up the easy slope and along the deceptively-long ridge to the summit of Souther Fell. After a few minutes of map-checking just below the summit, we went off-piste down the eastern flank to intercept one of the diagonal tracks back to Low Beckside. We'd met no other walkers that day until we reached Mungrisdale.

At valley-level the wind and rain had ceased and the temperatures were rising fast, so we took the opportunity to rehydrate at The Mill Inn at Mungrisdale. Well, it would have been ignorant to have passed by without going in. That, and the fact that it would have been cruel on the wild horses needed to drag me kicking and screaming up the road:

 

The Rehydration Station


From there it was but a short mile back to the car at Bowscale Moss. Thankfully the local equine population weren't there to give us a send-off:

 

The final stretch back to Bowscale Moss

 

Just one more post to follow, then we're done.

Northern Fells Wildcamping – Part 3 – Rises and Falls

Posted by BG! on May 21st 2010 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, LMAO!, Wildcamping
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So there we were, on Carrock Fell, trying to figure out which way to go next. As I saw it, we had three options:

  • Stay up high - take in Knott and Great Calva, drop down to Skiddaw House, cross the Caldew dryshod at the bridge, head East up Mungrisdale Common;
  • Take a middling route - ascend Knott, drop down Snab, ford the Caldew, head South up Mungrisdale Common;
  • Take a direct route - descend the flank of Carrock Fell to the bottom of Grainsgill Beck, follow the Skiddaw House service-road to the base of Snab and then proceed as per the middling option.

Predictably we couldn't agree, so we delayed the decision and took a short-cut back to the bothy-shed, where we made a brew and reassessed the situation.

Chris didn't fancy slogging up Knott and Great Calva, and I'd been up them before, so we resigned ourselves to backtracking down the beck and fording the Caldew at some convenient point. At least I had the opportunity to grab some pics on the way down, and we met a couple of walkers heading up the Cumbria Way. These were the first folk that we'd met, and by strange coincidence the bloke worked for the same company as Chris, albeit in the Netherlands not the UK. A bit later on we met another bloke sweating his way up the beck, we didn't chat for long as he seemed intent on gaining the ridge. Anyway, back to the beck pics...

 

Falls in Grainsgill Beck

 

A beautiful watersmeet

 

Passing the old mines, we decided to read the sign that we'd disregarded on the way up:

 

Don't disturb the rocks!

 

On reaching the Caldew we walked along the service-road looking for a place to ford the river. I was dismayed to find this stash of empties at the side of the road - FFS, if some twats have gone to the trouble of driving all the way up there for a session on the vodka, it wouldn't have been much extra effort to have taken their empties back down in the same car, would it? These lazy inconsiderate arseholes should be banned from the fells, IMHO. If we'd been heading down, we'd have carried the rubbish out, but we had to leave it.

 

Evidence of arseholes


Shortly after that we found a suitable fording-place. I rock-hopped to the middle and balanced on a slippery flat rock, looking for the next dry step, but there was none. With a quick two-step in the calf-deep water I was soon on the far bank, with damp boots and socks but no other ill-effects. I warned Chris about the slippery rock and advised an alternative, but she stepped on it anyway and it got the better of her. In slow-motion she leaned too far, her pack dragged her over even more and she ended up lying in the water. She was fairly-well drenched. I didn't dare to laugh. OK, OK, so I did laugh. Lots. And loud. Being a decent, caring sort of chap, I raced off downstream to retrieve the dropped water-filter bottle and left Chris to find her own way to dry land. She was wet but uninjured, so we sat in the warm breeze and had lunch while she dried herself and her kit. Oh, and we laughed a bit more, just for good measure:

 

Chris drying off

 

We were at the bottom end of Long Gill, and looking at the map we figured that the best thing to do was to go straight up to Bowscale Fell. Redressed and fit to go, we had one last look up the Caldew towards Skiddaw House. A bit further up the river we could see something that looked like a bridge, and Chris gave me some stick based on that impression. Luckily for my reputation, subsequent investigations indicate that there isn't really a bridge at that point, so the soaking wasn't in vain:

 

Looking up the Caldew

 

The walk up to Bowscale Fell was a real hard slog with no paths through the tussock-grass and mossy ground on the unremitting slope. Over an hour later we reached the top:

 

Chris approaching the viewpoint cairn near the top of Bowscale Fell

 

Bannerdale Crags and Blencathra from Bowscale Fell

 

A rare picture of me

 

From there the next objective was a rather more easy proposition, with gentle paths skirting the drop-off and leading up to Bannerdale Crags:

 

Bannerdale Crags

 

The view from the edge of the crags was worth the effort:

 

The viewpoint cairn on Bannerdale Crags

 

Blencathra beyond the summit of Bannerdale Crags

 

From there it was a simple and straight descent to the col at the source of the Glenderamackin...


Heading for the col

 

and onwards to a nice dry pitch on the north-west side of the col, looking down Blackhazel Beck. 

 

Pitched above Blackhazel Beck

 

After another good meal and a lot of rehydration, Chris settled down early while I went out for an easy evening stroll to the cairn atop Mungrisdale Common:

 

Approaching the Mungrisdale Common cairn, with Skiddaw in the background

 

The back of Blencathra from Mungrisdale Common

 

Losing the light

 

After spending a while there appreciating the utter quietness of the place, I headed back to the tent, pondering the fact that we'd only seen three other walkers during the day. I was hoping for a sunset worthy of our efforts, but this was the best that could be mustered:


The sun setting over Lonscale Fell

 

To be continued.

Northern Fells Wildcamping – Part 2 – On The Caldbeck Fells

Posted by BG! on May 20th 2010 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Wildcamping
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After a good night's sleep in very windy conditions we woke fairly early to find that the weather was still cold, breezy and drizzly. The views down to the valley were good but intermittent:

 

Morning clag

 

Great Lingy Hill bothy-hut from the first pitch

 

We had a hearty breakfast and packed away sharpish. After pausing for a photo-opportunity near the bothy-hut...

 

The bothy-hut

 

we branched off the Cumbria Way and took the easy approach to High Pike:

 

Chris starts up towards High Pike


Chris huddled in the shelter, staying out of the icy wind...

 

High Pike shelter and summit

 

while I wandered off to take some pics of the fell and its surroundings:

 

Carrock Fell from High Pike

 

High Pike trig-point, cairn and memorial bench

 

The Bench, in memory of Mick Lewis
The inscription reads:
 HE IS A PORTION OF THAT LOVLINESS THAT ONCE HE MADE MORE LOVELY

 

The next objective was Carrock Fell. We descended to the Cumbria Way and skirted the top of the Drygill ravines...

 

Drygill ravines

 

where we got our first glimpse of Bowscale Tarn overlooked by its guard of impressive crags:

 

Bowscale Fell and Tarn from High Pike

 

After a slog along the wide ridge, taking in Miton Hill and Round Knott, we arrived at Carrock Fell's summit. It's an impressive place with extensive views in most directions, well-worth a visit:

 

Carrock Fell summit cairn

 

Skiddaw and its subordinates from Carrock Fell

 

We dropped back down to Round Knott and had a discussion about our next course of action. We wanted to walk the fells on the other side of the Caldew, but there were a few ways of getting there. There was much procrastination...


The descent from Carrock Fell


To be continued.

Northern Fells Wildcamping – Part 1 – The walk-in

Posted by BG! on May 19th 2010 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Wildcamping
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After the long drag up the M6 we nipped into The Mill Inn at Mungrisdale for a swift beer before parking the car at the road-side overlooking Bowscale Moss (my thanks go to Karl Holden for suggesting this parking-place). After escaping from the marauding locals that insisted on trying to bite chunks out of our kit, we hoisted our packs and set off along the pleasant country road, passing through Bowscale and on towards Mosedale.

 

Chris fends off the pack-munching livestock

 

On the approach to Mosedale we got our first decent view of one of our objectives - Carrock Fell:

 

Carrock Fell above Mosedale

 

After looking at the fell and considering the weather forecast, we decided to change the plan of attack - instead of tackling Carrock Fell head-on and overnighting somewhere between there and High Pike, we opted for the longer walk-in along the valley of the Caldew and up Grainsgill Beck towards Great Lingy Hill. We knew that this would add considerably to our mileage and would mean that there would be much ground to be travelled twice, but we wanted to be near to running water all the way, and we knew that the ridge from Carrock Fell onwards would be dry. As it turned out the walk-in was a pleasant affair with much to see:

 

The view up the Caldew valley...

 

where the gorse was in full bloom...

 

and the trees lean away from the prevailing wind.

 

We saw plenty of butterflies (Green-veined White (Pieris napi), female, first brood?)...

 

and a Red Squirrel that ran the full length of the wall from Swineside to Roundhouse.
Mouseover the pic for an edited version.

 

Remember what you were told about checking for dead sheep when drinking from streams?

 

We did :-)

 

There are many interesting rocks in the bed of the river, here's one that appealed to my geological side:

 

Fold 1

 

Fold 2

 

A while later we reached the bend in the road where it heads off westwards to Skiddaw House, and we ascended alongside Grainsgill Beck until we reached the ridge. After much searching we found a patch of dry level ground and pitched there for the night, within sight of the bothy-shed (formerly a shooting-box) on Great Lingy Hill, within 10 yards of the Cumbria Way and 10 yards west of the beck (so as not to be breaking the law which prohibits camping on the Caldbeck Fells). Shortly after getting set up the weather took a turn for the worse as the wind got up and the rain set in, but we were warm and snug in our "room with a view". During one odd clear spell we thought that we could make out two people at the bothy-hut, but we couldn't be sure. Anyway, here's a couple of pics taken a few minutes before the clag came down:

 

 

 

 

To be continued.

Your starter for ten

Posted by BG! on May 16th 2010 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Wildcamping

Just got back from our annual wildie in the Lake District. There'll be a report to follow as usual.

Here's a pic from the start of our weekend. Would anyone care to hazard a guess as to where we were heading?

 

 

As usual there are no prizes for correct answers, so don't get too excited.

More snippets

Posted by BG! on May 5th 2010 in Annual Wildie, Bargains, Great Escapes, In the garden, New tricks for an old dog, Plugins, Rambling on..., Shiny new kit, Wildcamping

In no particular order...

 

  • The Aku Crodas are wearing-in nicely, they should be ready for a decent walk at the first opportunity. The soles are quite grippy now that the as-moulded shiny slip-on-yer-arse finish has worn off, and the uppers are now a fair fit to my feet.

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  • The Trezeta Peaks are now past their best, the toe-rand having worn through down past the membrane. These superbly-comfortable boots never did make it on a proper hike, but they've served well as wear-dailys for all sorts of duties.

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  • The Scarpa SLs, of course, are always on stand-by. Like dependable old friends, they're always there when you need them.

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  • I've broken a long habit of not wearing any socks other than Thor-Los... I've been trying some cheapo Crane Trail walking socks from Aldi. Tactel-lined and with a light sprinkling of Lycra, they seem to be doing rather well considering the Ā£2.99 price-tag. I doubt that they'll cover the same mileage as my standard KXLs, but that's to be expected when they cost about a tenner less. The STs have been stashed in the kitbox awaiting the next outing of the winter boots.

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  • I'm still managing to resist the temptation of a pair of MSR Lightning Ascents in readiness for next winter. What's the betting that when the snow's back, I'm still snowshoeless?

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  • Likewise, the acquisition of a Scarp 2 has been resisted, not least because I'm still waiting on the availability of a UK-version fly as per the Scarp 1 changes detailed by Martin. Now that Alpkit are on the subs' bench in the tentage game, I'll have to wait and see what their two-person and geo offerings are like.

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  • Talking of outdoorsy stuff, we'll be off for our Annual Wildie together sometime in the next month, with the intention of bagging a few more Wainwrights. Expect details in due course.

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  • Furthermore, two family-rooms have been booked at Buttermere YHA for an autumnal weekend. This worked out quite well, as we're paying with Tesco Clubcard Rewards Tokens, our stash having been boosted by 1218 due to the purchase of a new washing-machine from said emporium.

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  • There's been much ado in the garden - the snowdrops and daffs have retired, giving way to bluebells and to the blossoms of the pear, the cherry and the plum. Remarkably, I've even got off my butt and done my bit - the lawns have been cut twice and even the hedge has been shorn. The old willow-tree is sending out new growth from where we had it hacked, so there's still hope for it.

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  • House-wise I'm back to the hell that is known as plastering. Ella's room needed a revamp, but it seems that the only thing holding up the walls was the wallpaper. Oh well, at least it keeps me off the streets...

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  • Blog-wise there are a few new things, not least the addition of a few user-options for comments. Feel free to test them.

 

All that and no mention of elections, volcanic ash or oil-slicks. Hardly news, is it?

Coniston Fells Wildcamping – Part 3 – Therapy

Posted by BG! on May 3rd 2009 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Illness and injury, Shiny new kit
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Like I said, "In circumstances like these, thereā€™s only one thing to doā€¦ " - we went shopping, of course.

Ambleside was the first victim of my grimacing face and odd gait. I'd been searching for some replacement footwear for some time, as my two-year-old beloved Raichle Fusion Mid XCRs had no sole left on them. After checking out most of the larger shops in search of a bargain we had given up all hope of finding something suitable, but for some reason I was drawn into The Mountain Factor, where I found the following event-lined 3-season beauties:

 

Trezeta Peak, size 8, very comfy


The assistant was surprised at the speed of the sale - I tried them on, walked a few paces and shouted "Sold!" . Apparently all other boot-triers like to spend a lot of time on such activities, but I knew almost instantly that these boots were fine for me. RRP Ā£90, mine for Ā£60. Excellent! I've worn them daily since then, and they've been brilliant.

Having read a lot of favourable reports about the Osprey Exos series of packs, I went into The Climbers Shop to try on the 46 version. There's no doubt that it's a thing of beauty and a nice bit of lightweight craftsmanship, but it wouldn't last five minutes if I used it. You see, most folk use their packs to carry their gear and that's the end of it, but my packs are gear-carriers, pillows, seats, backrests, windshelters, bumpers (especially when sliding down Lord's Rake) and, on occasion, toboggans. Give me a decent grade of cordura or kevlar anyday and I'll be happy, but I'd be too bothered about destroying the work of art that the Exos undoubtedly is. I didn't much care for the hip-belt fitting, though - it's fixed to the pack almost amidships, rather than at the widest part, and I can't see how that's better for stability. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it certainly didn't feel good to me. Anyway, I put the thing back on the rack and walked away. Nice, but not for me.

We made our escape from Ambleside, but only made it as far as Windermere as Chris wanted to get some microfibre bathtowels direct from the Lakeland shop, as they had become unavailable online. There were none on the racks, so we asked the assistants where they were. We were informed that they were out of stock and discontinued, the last few having been sold from the bargain area a while ago. Disgruntled, we stood outside as we planned our next move.

As we talked, my gaze was drawn to the window-display, where there were four of the "out of stock" towels. I nipped back in, grabbed them from the display and took them to the assistants, who were bemused. You see, it works like this: items in window-displays don't show on the stock count, and they're not for sale, as they are there solely to advertise product within the store. The trouble is, they were advertising an unavailable product, and so their purpose was redundant, but the staff aren't allowed to change the window-display in any way until Management issues a decree. Mad, eh? Anyway, after getting the top-brass to see sense, we got all four towels at a rock-bottom price (something like Ā£3 each instead of the Ā£12 standard price) and a great explanation from the staff. They're nice folks in there. Oh, and before I forget, they have free internet access upstairs between the cafe and the loos, so if you're in Windermere and you're desperate for a quick pee, sarnie and surf, you know where to go.

Shopping completed, we made for the M6 and headed home. All in all, it had been an interesting weekend!

Coniston Fells Wildcamping – Part 2 – Twist and Shout

Posted by BG! on April 30th 2009 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Illness and injury, Wildcamping
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The night was mild with just the odd flap of the tent, nothing to worry about. We woke at 05:15 to find the skies almost clear, so I went for a stroll to take a few pics as the sun worked its way from behind the shoulder of The Old Man:

 

A well-concealed wildcamping tent :-)

 

You can't see it from here either, can you?

 

OK, let's make it a tad easier for you

 

The view sunwards

 

Breakfast was a quick and simple affair, and then it was time to strike camp and to filter sufficient tarn-water for the rest of the day, there being precious little available on our chosen route.

 

Water: gathering, not depositing

 

We retraced the short drop back to the Road and then continued up the river of stones to the col between Walna Scar and Brown Pike, passing by one of the old stone shelters:

 

Stone hut below Brown Pike

 

Turning right at this crossroads, we walked up the zigzags into a stiffening breeze, which was cooling us well in the bright sunshine. A few fellrunners were about, but no other walkers had been seen yet. A few minutes later we were at the top and exposed to the full force of the wind as it ripped up the sunward slopes and over the ridge, so we had a breather in the shelter right next to the summit-cairn:

 

The shelter atop Brown Pike

 

From there, we could see the simple short ridge-walk to Buck Pike, the next top on the ridge:

 

The ridge to Buck Pike

 

and there was a good view of The Old Man across The Cove:

 

The Old Man

 

After a snack we set off along the ridge, passing this striking view down towards Blind Tarn and our vacated pitch:

 

Looking down on Blind Tarn from the ridge

 

The further we walked, the stronger the wind became. Each time we passed the top of an open gully we were blown sideways, the funnelled air roaring through the gaps at incredible speeds and playing curious deep tones as it whistled between the crags. At times the wind set up resonances in the rocks, making them hum in an eerie harmony. Rock music indeed!

We made our way over the top of Buck Pike...

 

Looking back to the top of Buck Pike

 

and headed for the first Wainwright of the day, Dow Crag:

 

Dow Crag from Buck Pike

 

The ridge-path passes the tops of several gullies and the view down each was impressive. It was hard to take pics, though, as the wind was too strong to stand steadily at the edges. I managed just the one pic after crawling to the edge on all fours:

 

A view of part of Goat's Water, looking down Easy Gully

 

The summit rocks of Dow Crag were incredibly windy due to their exposed position - this was three-point-contact walking, and it was a dicey affair actually reaching the top-most rocks, which are right on the edge of the cliff, leaving no room for a cairn:

 

The very top of Dow Crag

 

The view down to the glistening surface of Goat's Water was breathtaking, or it would have been had the wind not already stolen our breath away and scattered it behind us as we peered over the edge. Taking a pic of the view was impossible - I couldn't hold the camera still enough with just one hand, and I wasn't about to allow my other to let go of terra firma. Instead, we retired to the lee of the summit rocks for some shelter and to confirm our intended route, and had to be content with the view of the ridge back to the Walna Scar Pass and beyond:

 

Looking back from Dow Crag - a fine ridge

 

The next part of the plan was to drop down to Goat's Hause and then make for Swirl How and its satellite fells via Brim Fell. We were undecided as to whether to include the summit of the Old Man, but seeing as we'd been there before, we chose to give it a miss.

We donned the packs again and headed for the Hause, with our next three objectives (Grey Friar, Great Carrs and Swirl How) in view before us. I was keeping well away from the edge, out of the worst of the wind, but at a narrow place I was uprooted by a vicious prolonged blast which twisted me around in a most peculiar way. I heard the sound of my lumbar region giving way above the noise of the rushing air, and it hurt like hell. I'm not given to shouting in pain, but this was bad.

I knew I was screwed.

The trip was over, I wasn't going to be able to do any more upping and now it was a matter of getting home without causing further damage. We took our time finding somewhere sheltered to sit and while I tried to recover we rehydrated ourselves and planned our retreat. Common-sense dictated that we should regain the car via the path alongside Goat's Water, through The Cove and back to the WSR at the previous day's decision-point. As we sat there, we were approached by a member of the one of the MRTs who was searching for a man who had been reported as having had a heart-attack near Blind Tarn. We gave as much info as possible about the folk that we had met since leaving there, then he carried on up to the top at a cracking pace. A few minutes later the SAR helicopter was hovering above the ridge somewhere near Brown Pike:

 

The SAR helicopter heading past Dow Crag towards Brown Pike

 

We got some great views from the Hause before dropping down the path to the Water:

 

Grey Friar, Great Carrs and Swirl How from Goat's Hause

 

Dow Crag towering above Goat's Water

 

Goat's Water and the path to The Cove

 

Each step down the path was designed to make me wince, and each one did. Eventually we dropped out of the worst of the wind and had lunch behind some large rocks just before the waterside section of the path began. As we ate, the sunlight disappeared and was replaced by dark cloud - rain was heading our way. We made our way out of The Cove as the heavens opened and the thunder started to boom around the fells. Most of the activity was over Dow Crag and The Old Man, and I'm sure that those summits had a few lightning-strikes during that hour - I was glad that we weren't still up there. The rain stopped as we passed Boo Tarn, and by the time we reached the car-park the clouds had cleared to allow the sun to start roasting us again.

We sat in the car, dejected, trying to salvage something from the wreckage of the weekend. In circumstances like these, there's only one thing to do...

To be continued.

Coniston Fells Wildcamping – Part 1 – On familiar ground

Posted by BG! on April 28th 2009 in Annual Wildie, Great Escapes, Wildcamping
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Yet again we had a fairly hassle-free drive up the A5 and the M6, this time to Junction 36. After a quick stop-off in Ambleside for Chris to pick up some odds and ends, we set off for Coniston.

We parked up at the old quarry car-park near Timley Knott on the Walna Scar Road and got ready for action. Packs were hoisted and we were off along the Road, heading for The Cove. This is familiar ground for me - I spent two weeks mapping this area as a Brum Uni geology undergrad way back in '82, and I took Chris there in '98 for a day-walk. Even so, there is still much of interest, geological and otherwise, despite the distraction of the trail of loose-dumped rock that is supposed to be a repaired path:

 

Looking back down the "path" towards Coniston

 

As you can see, the hazy cloud meant that the light was flat, so the pics aren't up to much.

Our first objective was to pitch where we would be able to walk the Dow Crag ridge the next day, and the decision-point for choosing which way to tackle the job was the junction where the path splits below Little Arrow Moor - straight on for Blind Tarn, right for Goat's Water. We weighed up the options... Goat's Water was the easy option, lower and more accessible, but we'd been there before and it was only on our options-list in case we were running out of time and/or light. As we were doing fine for both, we stayed on the Road and soon we reached Cove Bridge, where we stopped for a few pics:

 

Looking up the "path" towards the ridge

 

Cove Bridge and Torver Beck

 

Chris approaching Cove Bridge

 

Chris on Cove Bridge

 

Brown Pike beyond the poser on the bridge

 

After that we continued along the Road, heading for Blind Tarn, a place recommended by a certain Mr. Hee.

The loose-dumped surface started to get steeper as we reached Goatfoot Crags on the lower slopes of Brown Pike, and after much boot-scuffing we found the man-made grassy rake that leads to the high quarries above the natural bowl that holds Blind Tarn. After a few minutes we were at the waterside, and we had the place to ourselves, which is just as well, as there are only a couple of places there which would take our tent with any degree of comfort.

Due to our well-practised routine (we pitch the inner together, then I deal with the outside stuff while Chris sorts the gear inside), we were soon pitched and ready to enjoy the rest of the evening, which was warm and hazy with a light breeze. As the darkness set in the haze cleared and we could see the lights of the coastal towns all the way down to the coast of North Wales - impressive stuff!

To be continued.

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