Filed under: Three Peaks, just for fun | Tags: 3 peaks, burnmoor, helvellyn, Scafell pike, wasdale
Just a few words about the other walks we did whilst we were in the lakes…
With Dan and Hat we attempted Helvellyn; it was quite a windy day so we chose to avoid striding edge and opted for the swirral edge approach. We started from Glenridding, heading to the Grisdale valley we started the steady ascent up to the hole in the wall. After lunch in a relatively sheltered spot, we aimed west to red tarn; what a magical place that seemed…such a large yet peaceful tarn set against the dramatic backdrop of the Helvellyn summit was quite a sight. Despite the increasing wind we continued to swirral edge and began our ascent to the summit. But as the wind increased, the path (though it was mostly scrambling at this point) became less and less clear and eventually we lost confidence. We turned back approximately 50m from the top, but were not disappointed for long as the weather soon closed in and we spent most of the return leg to Glenridding battered by wind and rain….a summit for a nicer day, we decided!
A few days later we tackled Scafell Pike in preparation for our 3 peaks challenge. As we were camping at Wasdale Head it didn’t take us long to get to what would likely be our starting point on the 3 peaks. We knew it would be quite a steep climb from the OS map, but I think the sheer relentlessness of the ascent took us by surprise. Basically we just walked up and up and up, on stony paths, slippy paths, rocky paths… I must say it’s not the most inspiring peak I’ve ever climbed, although perhaps there are better approaches, but we did manage to glimpse some good views on the way up, and enjoyed a brief, chilly lunch at the summit. We managed the ascent in 2 hours, and descent in 1.5, which made us feel good about the 3 peaks. Still, it was a little daunting to think that the next time we’d be here would be at 4am in June!
After the more strenuous walks of the preceding week, we opted to finish our holiday with a gentler stroll around Burnmoor tarn; no steep ascents, no scrambling, no freaky weather! This would have been a lovely walk from Wasdale campsite but the ground for much of the way was exceedingly boggy, which somewhat impeded on our enjoyment of the nice scenery and weather. We’d almost forgotten the frustration of walking through such marshy bogs and almost turned back, but we persevered and eventually enjoyed our lunch on a little bridge by the tarn. The marshy conditions underfoot continued as we circled the tarn, taking in the mysterious Burnmoor lodge (so isolated!) and returned to Wasdale. Not the best walk we’ve ever done, but not the worst either.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: walking, Grasmere, Glenridding, valley, Grisdale tarn, tarn
You may remember that on our C2C crossing last August we missed out the section between Grasmere and Patterdale as we arrived too late in Grasmere thanks to a particularly tough trip from Stonethwaite. From our campsite in Glenridding we donned our boots & waterproofs and headed down the road to Patterdale to find our entry point into the Grisedale valley. The weather wasn’t fantastic…
but we’ve grown used to walking in wind & rain and were hopeful it might improve, so carried on regardless. We walked along the south side of the valley, in the opposite direction to how we would have been walking back in August. It’s a nice valley walk, with interesting peaks all around; Helvellyn, St Sunday & Dollywagon Pike. In the first hour or so we saw only one other walker, a solitary gentleman in orange, who assured us it was wet, windy & miserable up ahead. In time we reached the climbing hut (all shut up) and perched on the door step to rest, admire the view & nibble on a pork pie…
As we began the ascent to Grisedale tarn the wind really started to pick up, as did the number of coast-to-coasters! Judging by the time of day they had started from Grasmere rather than Stonethwaite (probably a wise move). We also re-encountered the wind fairies (Canadian C2C-ers we met in the wind near Blacksail) and were all nearly blown off a rock by the gusts coming over the pass. After a rather soggy section around the tarn, we were quite happy to see the good path descending from Hause gap. We had intended to branch off on the path down Little Tongue, but distractions (good path, waterfall & lunch stop) meant we missed the path & so we simply carried on down the valley above Tongue Gill to Grasmere.
We had decided to see if we could have a little adventure on Lake District buses for the return leg to Glenridding, so finding bus timetables was our first priority when we arrived in Grasmere. As we’d found previously it’s virtually impossible to get public transport from Grasmere to Patterdale, so we opted for returning on foot. We’d also pondered doing St Sunday crag, but to be honest we weren’t sure if we’d suddenly flag on the way back, or the weather might worsen again, so we chose the low route to be safe. We stocked up on food (a lovely scone & hot drink in Grasmere plus a cake for the journey), adjusted our waterproofs and headed out for our journey home. We were soon stripping off jackets & fleeces as the sun came out and we got very warm heading back up to Grisedale tarn. The climb back up was pretty tough and we were putting down quite a pace as we didn’t want to get back to the tent too late, but it soon got easier and happily the wind had calmed so we had a thoroughly delightful walk back. We opted for the north side of the valley on the return trip and had pretty much only sheep and lambs for company all the way! It felt quite different walking in the late afternoon sunshine and we were both really pleased we’d walked back; we also felt that by doing it twice we were paying our penance for not doing it on the C2C! Instead of heading home the way we’d come (via the road) we turned north and climbed up to Lanty’s Tarn; what a beautiful site it was, incredibly tranquil and unlike any other tarn we’ve encountered.
Back at the tent we tucked in to our emergency rations (cakes form Grasmere), freshened up and headed to Pooley Bridge for tea. We’d been looking forward to fish and chips, but had to settle for a very sleepy dinner in the pub.
We started our week in the Lake District with a walk to satisfy a few questions left over from our C2C. You may remember that our second day started well, but ended lost in the cloud above Loft Beck: Ennerdale to Stonethwaite, so we decided to re-do the section between Honister and Blacksail hut to see where we went wrong! We started from Honister slate mine and were joined by our friends Dan and Hatti. We headed up to the drum house before branching off West to the top of Loft Beck; this was where we’d got lost last time and it was amusing to see that when we were “lost” we were actually just a few metres from the path we’d been aiming for! That cloud had a lot to answer for; turns out we were just a little to west and north last time; I can’t believe one of us didn’t cross it or spot it. Happy that we’d done the trip properly this time, we continued down to Blacksail hut.
We’d been singing it’s praises to Dan and Hatti, unfortunately when we got there it was crammed full of youngsters, so we were forced to sit outside for our lunch and make do with tea from Dan’s flask. It was nice to shelter from the wind for a while and chat to some coast-to-coasters before we headed up to Scarth Gap and Haystacks. Here the wind got even stronger and it was quite an effort to not get blown over at times! We all thoroughly enjoyed the scramble up to Haystacks and agreed with Wainwright that it’s an excellent little hill 
After a little bog-hopping around the tarns we rejoined the tramway and headed back to Honister for a drink. It was a lovely walk; good to show Dan and Hat some of the C2C and great to satisfy our curiosity as to what the top of Fleetwith actually looks like!
We’re off to the Lakes tomorrow for a week packed with walks, so expect lots of posts once we return. Our plans include Scafell, Helvellyn, Dale Head, Patterdale-Grasmere and a wander around Black Sail & Honister Pass…time will etll which we achieve! Finger crossed for wonderful weather please (we’re camping!)!
This bank holiday Monday we finally managed to dust off our walking gear and stretch our legs. We didn’t stray far from home; just over to Thornden and West Blean woods near Canterbury, parking at Gypsy corner. It was a fairly flat, but pleasant walk through the woodland (a short stretch across fields) enjoying the many bluebells and nice weather. The surroundings were a bit mixed at times, as there were large expanses of deforestation which looked a bit like the end of the world! Despite this is was an enjoyable walk in the sunshine.
Since the 3-peaks is just over a month away it was comforting to find that our boots still felt comfy and familiar, and we had no trouble covering the 7 or so miles in a little figure of 8. We might try to getout on our bikes for a change this weekend, before a much-anticipated week in the Lake District – hooray!
Well our next challenge is in it’s planning stages. After Paddy suggested we attempt the National Three Peaks Challenge we jumped at the chance.
Paddy, Clare and I have started planning it and things are coming together nicely. We’ve got as far as picking a date! That’s actually pretty good for us as a group, usually we’re useless at making decisions.
So it’s all going to kick off at the end of June. Weekend of 27th/28th. We’ve still got a few things to sort out and then we’ve got to get other people involved but so far so good.
Now I wonder how much training I’m going to have to put in?
Sid.
Filed under: exercise, post walk walk, weather | Tags: Kearsney, Kent, Shepherdswell, walking
We awoke to a beautiful morning; sunny, fresh, a little frosty, but not quite as cold as it has been; just the weather we’d been hoping for, and perfect for our first walk of 2009. We hopped in the car and headed for Kearsney near Dover. Looking at the map we felt the best option for parking was Kearsney Abbey, which is happily well sign-posted, so we got there without a hitch. After changing into our boots and taking a few pics we set off towards Sherherdswell (about 10am).
As seems to be all too often the case, the walk started with a long incline. I suppose at least it warmed us up and got our legs moving. We skirted the edge of some woods, following a good clear track most of the way. I skipped ahead to get a snap of Sid on the frosty path and managed to catch him just has he slipped – what timing!
After a couple of miles we turned north, passing through fields and woods before descending briefly into Lydden. It was as we were leaving Lydden that we encountered some rather unusual sheep (in our experience anyway). Rather than running away, these sheep approached us persistently, we’re not sure whether it was friendliness, hunger or they were protecting their territory. Either way, we didn’t hang around long as all we had to offer was fruit.
We ascended fairly steeply out of Lydden, skirted the edge of a rather awkward hole, and headed for the A2. On the way we passed over Lydden tunnel, housing the railway. There was something quite cool about knowing that somewhere far beneath us there might be a train, we also spotted the air shafts. Happily the A2 was easy to cross on a Sunday morning and just a mile later we reached our planned lunch stop; Shepherdswell (or Sibertswold?). Arriving outside the Bell at about 12:05pm we were devastated to see no signs of life despite the sign saying they opened at 12! Eager for food, we headed down the hill to the other pub in Shepherdswell, the Cricketers. However, it turns out they don’t serve food, so in desperation we picked up some provisions from the Co-op before heading back to the Bell for one last check. We were very happy to see it had opened in the mean-time so we headed in for our lunch. We’d planned on having a light lunch as we were having home-made curry for tea, but their Sunday menu was all big meals, oh well… Two roast beef dinners and a beer later we re-donned our muddy boots and headed back out into the sunshine.
From Shepherdswell we joined the North Downs Way for a while, this was where the mud really began. Some of the fields we’d crossed thus far had been quite claggy, but in the second half of the walk the mud took on a whole new character. Due to the cold weather the ground everywhere was pretty hard underfoot, but thanks to the milder weather today, the frosty top layer had thawed to leave a slippy, slimy surface which made every step move underneath us and coated our boots in a very thick layer of “clag” so that they became incredibly heavy! The only highlight of this section was a mysterious tower near Waldershare Park, which really captured our attention, we just couldn’t figure out what it was! When we got home we did a spot of Googling and found out that it’s called the Belvedere tower, built in the 18th century for no particular purpose other than as a garden feature from which to admire the view (big feature!).
After Walderhsare House we turned South to head back to Kearsney and were confronted by a sharp wind and more claggy fields. This section was really hard going and tiring thanks to the combination of wind (Sid’s least favurite weather) and mud. It was a great relief to reach Singledge Lane for a little easy road walking and to bash the mud off our boots!
One more muddy field, then it was back across the A2 (or rather under it) to a steady descent into Kearsney by way of a pleasant woody path. We easily found our way back to the car and were very happy to remove our mucky boots and pop into the tea rooms for a nice hot drink (a very pretty and ornate tea rooms by the way!).
Overall this was a very nice walk (despite the clag), which would be even lovelier on a spring or summers day. There were some nice views, a good variety of paths & surroundings, some points of interest and a couple of options for breaks (Lydden also had a couple of pubs).
After walking in some of the most beautiful parts of the country we’ve been finding it a little difficult to start walking around Kent again. Although Kent is very beautiful in its own garden-like way it’s no Lake District. The problem with Kent is that it’s pretty flat. The scenery is great, the orchards, the historic buildings, the coastline, but it’s no match for the giants in the Lakes. So we continue our quest for the hilly part of Kent that we’re not just going to enjoy, we want the part that is going to stun us.
And so we head for just north of Dover, a little place called Kearsney. The countryside round that way tends to be a little more undulous.
When we stick in our own county we like to try and leave the car at home so when we got the maps out the first point we looked for was a train station. The plan initially was to plot a route along the coastline heading from Dover to Folkestone and then up into Elham into the valley up there. The problem with that though was the lack of train stations. So we changed our plans and now we are doing a circular walk that looks a little like a crisp packet from above.
It’s just over 10miles so it’s not too long that it’ll knacker us but even so we’ve built in a possible train-based shortcut from Shepherdswell if we decide we’ve had enough at lunchtime.
I’m hoping that the weather is going to be cold, cold, cold. I like the way the countryside looks when it’s all frosty. The weather report says it isn’t going to be but I bet we still enjoy it.
Sid.
A friend saw this and thought of us.
Apologies for not blogging much, it should be back soon when we get back out there and stop going to weddings etc.
