Archive for the 'Great Escapes' Category

Holiday at Home – Sunday 1

Posted by on August 8th 2007 in Great Escapes

Bradgate Park.

We parked up in the Hunts Hill car-park and walked up to the Old John folly. The route then took us to the war memorial, where the kids spent an hour or so kite-flying while I went in search of the elusive Precambrian fossils that I had been shown when I was a geology undergrad.

While clambering about on the outcrops I met three geo-academics (two from Leicester University and the other visiting from South Africa) and we ended up discussing matters such as the scanning and preservation of the site, and the staff from my days at The University of Birmingham - it turned out that we had some mutual friends, I think that the guy that I was chatting to was amused to get some idea of the undergrad opinions of the staff at Brum back in the early Eighties.

Anyway, we were off again soon, after the kids had done some climbing up the easy rock faces. We walked for a few miles, saw some frogs, some grasshoppers and a magnificent stag, then we went back to the entrance to pick up our picnic, which we carried back up to Old John. After eats, we flew kites again until the sun went down, then we had to leave before the warden could evict us. The only downer on the day came later when I had to remove four ticks from the back of my leg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s our “Holiday at Home” Week – Saturday 1

Posted by on August 6th 2007 in Great Escapes

SWMBO's got the week off work so we thought that we would try having a week holidaying from home, i.e. get out and about all week, but with the advantage of not paying to stay elsewhere.

Initially I wasn't keen on the idea - I thought that we had exhausted our "days out" options long ago, we've lived here for over 13 years and tend to struggle for any agreement when it comes to finding a weekend activity. Anyway, we sat down and brainstormed the idea, and the list just kept growing and growing, we had to call a halt to the process when the kids had added over 30 activities to the list! Some are new, some are do-agains, some are old favourites that we thought were wearing a bit thin but which seem to have become popular again. Anyway, we decided to give it a shot, here's what's been going down...

Saturday: Bosworth Water Trust. We started with a short session in the kids' play area and then went for a walk around the main lake. There was a lot of activity on the lake (sailing, windsurfing, rowing, fishing) and plenty of wildlife around the margins, so plenty of opportunities to use the camera. This was followed by the traditional ice-cream session and then an hour in a rowing-boat paddling furiously against a strengthening breeze. After this it was back to the play area for a while, then a couple of hours kite-flying until it was chucking-out time. The day was rounded-off nicely with fish and chips for tea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Fine Summer Morning

Posted by on July 9th 2007 in Great Escapes, LMAO!, Rambling on...

I woke early to find the Sun was up before me. The low shafts of golden light flooded my surroundings with an unexpected warmth after the stormy weather of the previous days and nights. At last… a warm morning... a calm morning... a dry morning. The prospects for the day were good.

Old habits die hard and this morning was no exception. Water on for a brew, tea and breakfast consumed and then the first ciggy of the day sent curling veils of smoke drifting away on the light breeze. There was a special quietness about the place, the sort that makes you feel guilty when you break it.

I pulled on my boots and stepped out into the world. An extended family of blackbirds were foraging nearby, not minding my intrusion into their territory. Slowly the other resident wildlife announced itself to the new day... voles scuttled around in the undergrowth... a hedgehog rustled in the leaf-litter on a quest for worms and slugs... a thrush had found a juicy snail and was busy thrashing it against a well-used anvil-stone, this latter fact being borne out by the adjacent pile of discarded shell-shards.

I strolled through the long dew-laden grass, marvelling at the variety of wild flowers and seed-heads. Each step sent a shower of silver droplets into the air around my feet, and soon I was wet from the knees down.

I wandered over to a hoary old willow tree and stood beneath its canopy of weeping branches. The ground was drier there, and beneath my feet a multitude of insect lives were going about their daily routines, oblivious to the giant standing amid their microcosm. In the branches above, more birds were waking from their overnight roosts and the chorus was soon in full swing.

This was a place to tarry a while, to soak up the atmosphere, to appreciate the wonders that Nature puts in even the wildest of places. I sat back against the trunk of the tree and relaxed without a care, watching the world go by at its own pace.

I was so engrossed in this place that it took a long time for me to realise that I was not alone. Looking back down the slope I noticed a lone figure approaching. Not wanting anyone to spoil my appreciation of the morning, I slipped around to the other side of the tree in the hope that the intruder would pass by without noticing me, but it was to no avail. When the newcomer reached my place of rest I looked up, smiled and ventured a polite “Good Morning”.

The reply of “Haven’t you cut that bloody lawn yet?” wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Bloggers’ Meet, June 2007 – Part 4 – Sunday

Posted by on June 16th 2007 in Bloggers' Meet, Great Escapes, Lakes Escapes, Wildcamping
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As is pretty normal for me, I didn't sleep much. I snatched a few hours after midnight but woke briefly at about 3am. After a few minutes of taking in the starry sky I slept again until about 4:30am when Lay started taking down his tent. After that I dozed for another hour and then got up and out. Lay was gone but the others were all still snoring away happily.

The sun wasn't quite over the horizon so I made a brew and decided to go out for a circuit of the tarn to get some pics in the early light while the others were still asleep. The tarn was flat-calm for most of the time and the reflections of the sky and fells were impressive. At the head of the tarn I found a couple of good wildcamping spots away from the main track and with decent running water nearby. Rounding one of the moraines I disturbed a heron which was fishing in the shallows. Later in the morning we would sit and watch it being mobbed by some of the seagulls that were in residence at the other end of the tarn.

I completed the circuit to find that some of the others were up and about. Darren was still in his doss-bag so I started off a brew for him and let him finish the job himself. John didn't appear for some time, was it because he was pacing himself, or was he just fed up of our company? 🙂 Anyway, the conscious members of the group started where we had left off the night before... more chat and banter, more brews and food, more photos.

It didn't take long for the day to start to heat up, there were a few light clouds around but for the most part it was very hot. There was general agreement that we should retreat to the safety of the Miller Howe Cafe again, so we packed up, checked that our site was tidy and clean, then set off down Easedale towards Grasmere.

Grasmere was a hive of activity - the place was full of runners and spectators gathered for the "Grasmere Gallop", which is described as "7+ miles over roads, timber trails and footpaths around the spectacular scenery of Grasmere and Rydal lakes". I decided not to join in, as I had errantly left my plimsolls and lycra bodysuit at home, so instead I went for a fried breakfast and a decent cuppa, inside the cafe this time because the sun was just too hot outside and the crowds were hogging the pavement.

Then it was time to start saying our goodbyes, first to John, who was off to other parts of the district for the next few days, then to Duncan who was steeling himself for the long drive back up to Scotland. Darren and Dawn kindly gave me a lift back to my car where we parted company after Darren had been presented with a small token of our appreciation.

So it was back to the tarmac for the drive back home, taking back the memories of a great time spent in the good company of a new group of friends.

 

Lilies and reeds

 

Howes Ridge reflected

 

Morning haze

 

Returning through Easedale

So, now my tally of “Wainwrights” is 160 (not counting repeats), which leaves 54 still to do. I'll update the maps ASAP and do a post-trip round-up sometime soon.

Bloggers’ Meet, June 2007 – Part 3 – Saturday afternoon/evening

Posted by on June 15th 2007 in Bloggers' Meet, Great Escapes, Lakes Escapes, Wildcamping
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We pick up the story at the ever popular Miller Howe Cafe. The others were keen to be off up the Easedale path, but I was still taking on fluids after the exertions of the morning, so I stayed sat down for a while longer to sup up. Lay waited for me while the others went ahead, then we went off in pursuit of the others. It was a good opportunity for a chat about the new forum board and the ways that it could be developed.

Certainly the chinwagging helped the miles pass quicker - in what seemed like a very short time we had passed Brimmer Head Farm and had just got to the top of the first rise when we found Darren chilling in the shade of a tree aside Sourmilk Gill. Nobody was in any rush to be anywhere special, so we all sat there for ages recharging body and mind, there was a lot to talk about, and it was an idyllic place to linger. Many folk passed by on the way up, all were polite, some were appropriately dressed and kitted out, none of them looked as though they had been on an exercise bike or a rowing machine or similar such device.

Passing the waterfalls we found a group of folk that had just been skinny-dipping in the plunge-pool. Judging by the frantic pulling-on of clothes by the young ladies, I reckon we had got there just a couple of minutes too late to take pictures.

We carried on up and over the last rise to be met by a fantastic view of Easedale Tarn. This is an excellent place to come to see glacial features - moraines, tiered hanging-valleys, corrie-walls, scoured side-walls, glacial striations etc.. There was no sign of the others, but from where we were, we couldn't see the full length of the path as it weaved between moraines. There was a quiet spot a few hundred yards along the shore, so we sauntered over to it, dropped the packs and discussed our options for the evening. Darren seemed happy to stay in Easedale, I could have gone up to Codale but was so impressed with my surroundings that I decided to stay and keep Darren company, Lay seemed keen to go on up but he was concerned about Darren. Anyway, we lugged the kit over to a more secluded grassy flat-spot a bit further on, and got a brew on. Lay went off without his pack, I thought he was off on one of his photo-shoots until we saw him a long way off striding up towards Belles Knott on the way up to Codale.

We had some time to kill before we could pitch, so we lounged about taking in the scenery, took some pics and tried a bit of bouldering on a huge rock that reminded me of an elephant seal (vivid imagination required).

Eventually Lay returned - he had found the others up in Codale, and told us that they were coming back down (except for Geoff, who was happy to stay pitched there). We started pitching when we saw the others on the track down, and soon we were reunited and back into the campsite routine, then it was back to the banter, the cameras and the bouldering. The evening meals were accompanied by some in-depth chats about "current affairs", a short session of poetry-reading by Duncan, jokes about buffs (Darren was presented with one, a gift from Spiritburner, but he refused to try it on), and many opinions on many topics were aired. Duncan passed around the sake and the roasted seaweed - top stuff, that.

Darkness started to fall and one by one the others retired, leaving me and Duncan chatting away for a while longer, discussing matters of much import and trying to identify the features of the night sky, but eventually it was time for a final tick-check, ablutions and goodnights.

It had been a good day.

 


Lay and Darren

 


Contemplation

 


Rock in profile

 


Rays and reflections

Nearly finished - just one more part to come - hang in there!

Bloggers’ Meet, June 2007 – Part 2 – Saturday morning

Posted by on June 13th 2007 in Bloggers' Meet, Great Escapes, Lakes Escapes, Wildcamping
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The morning was bright with clear skies, there was a heavy dew which left the big red slug looking like it had been in a downpour. After checking inside for leaks and excess condensation (none were found), I took a few pics of the hills beyond Grasmere from inside the bivvy. Then the Jetboil was deployed for a brew while I wriggled out and finished dressing.

None of the others were awake, and all was silent except for their snoring and the whining of a lamb on the other side of the tarn, so I decided to go for a wander with the camera to get a few pics of the surrounding fells.

About an hour later, Lay emerged and strolled over through the damp grass to tell me that Duncan was pitched up next to him and was sound asleep.The lighting conditions and the misty layers in the valleys were making the surrounding fells look awesome, so we decided to gain a bit of height and take some pics from above the tarn, while discussing our objectives for the day. I had decided to go up to the top of Stone Arthur before the hike over to the pitch for the second night. Lay was leaving his decision until he had consulted the others.

Some time later the others started to regain consciousness and exit their shelters, so I started back down to them while Lay kindly volunteered to go higher up to scan for a route that contoured around from our pitch to Stone Arthur. When he returned to the camp to report no such route, we were well into breakfast.

After packing away the kit, I left the others and went off to tackle Stone Arthur while they broke camp and headed back down to the cafe in Grasmere. The absence of a contouring path meant losing a lot of height before getting to the slopes of Stone Arthur, and the sight of the steep bracken-clad lower slopes was daunting, not so much because of the gradient, but more because of the exposure to ticks.

Anyway, I dropped down the zigzag path from Alcock Tarn to a spot just above a small reservoir and found a path that followed Greenhead Gill up towards a large, impressive lone rowan tree (at the confluence of Rowantree Gill, would you believe?). From there I took a beeline up through the bracken and gained the main path up Stone Arthur a few hundred yards below the summit crags. The view from the summit cairn was impressive, my pics don't do it any justice at all. I could see two of our party just reaching the bottom of the zigzag path that I had descended earlier, so I set off in not-so-hot pursuit, as the sun was unrelenting and there was no breeze to aid cooling.

The lower reaches of the path back to Grasmere were in a bad state, but work had been started to repair it - alongside (and often in the middle of) the path there were many sacks full of local boulders, waiting for skilled hands to assemble them into a decent (if unnatural) rocky stairway. Right at the bottom of the path I found a sign informing passers-by of the rules and regs governing the use of off-road vehicles at Garburn Pass... err... nope, can't figure that one either.

A short while later I caught up with the others at the Miller Howe Cafe. After taking on food and fluids, we made ready for the afternoon walk up Easedale to the intended overnight spot at Codale Tarn.

 


The early morning view from the big red slug

 


Alcock Tarn from above

 

Helm Crag from Greenhead Gill

 


Looking back to Alcock Tarn from Stone Arthur

To be continued...
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