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: Glenridding, Grasmere, Grisdale tarn, tarn, valley, walking
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’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!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Well the walk is now over but our walking continues. For me the walking continues in new boots since my trusty Grisport boots gave way on me towards the end of the walk. While I was putting them on at Park House I noticed the soles had cracked and the sides were splitting. They lasted the rest of the walk but now they are in boot heaven along with all the other well walked pairs.
While I was on the walk I got an email from fitnessfootwear.com offering me some free boots in exchange for a link on this blog and a review of their boots and service. I’m not sure whether it was some great coincidental timing or whether they had been reading my Twitter status about the boots but either way I jumped at the chance of not forking out for more boots. They offered Michelle some too so she’ll be following up with a review at some point.
With it coming up to winter and us fancying some winter walking I opted for the fairly sturdy pair of Merrells to the right. And so begins the review…
Their website seems simple enough. I have to admit to not using the payment section but most websites are pretty similar these days. The trouble with websites though is an obvious one, you can’t try on the boots before you try. Every good walker likes to check the fit. I’m not sure what their returns policy is either so I couldn’t tell you if you could get them and then easily send them back if they didn’t fit.
The boots arrived fairly quickly and they arrived by Royal Mail which is always good by me. I hate most courier companies, especially City Link, since if you’re not in the force their own delivery schedule onto you. Royal Mail I can just pop to the nearest delivery office.
Anyway, the boots.
I love Merrell shoes and haven’t bought anything else for about 4 years now except for some lightweight gym shoes so I expected a lot from these boots and I haven’t been disappointed. Looking at them you would think they are heavy but they aren’t. They’re not the lightest boot on the market but they are well worth the weight. The eyelets on the boot are fantastic, having ball bearings so the pressure of the laces are evenly distributed across the whole boot. It does make it slightly more difficult to maintain the pressure across the laces as you tighten them but that’s not too bad. There is one problem with the laces and that’s the lace locks, they’re just not good enough. They’re too small and fiddly so to get the laces into them quickly and easily is difficult. They should be bigger.
The soles are nice and stiff, maybe a little stiff for some but for the amount of weight I carry (115kg + pack weight) they are great. The uppers are stiff too which led to a little bit of soreness around the toe bend when I first started wearing them. They are still softening up but they should be fine.
Breathability seems pretty impressive for a full leather boot. I was expecting my feet to be horribly sweaty after walking but they weren’t any better or worse than my other boots. One thing is for sure, these boots are warm. The walks we’ve been on haven’t been cold but my feet have always been toasty, a little too toasty on a couple of occasions.
These boots also seem to be very waterproof. I’ve purposely put them through plenty of puddles and long wet grass and not one bit of water has got through. Wet grass used to be the worst for my other boots, soaking them rather quickly. It doesn’t bother these ones.
The last thing that I noticed was the grip. First time out they didn’t seem too grippy and I was a bit worried they wouldn’t do too well on grassy slopes. Now that they’ve been on a few trips they seem as grippy as they need to be. The sole clears grit quickly but they weren’t so good clearing particularly clay heavy mud. That day got the old calves working as my boots got a few pounds heavier.
All in all I’m well chuffed with the boots and I’m well chuffed with Fitness Footwear.
We awoke to the most beautiful morning, rather ironic after the miserable fog of yesterday, but much appreciated as it certainly lifted our spirits, which could otherwise have been a little deflated upon realising that our adventure was over.
We did have one last little bit of excitement; our neighbours at the B&B did a runner! We felt really sorry for Jayne, she was a lovely host and didn’t deserve to be duped out of two nights’ payment. Despite this commotion we enjoyed a great breakfast, chatted with some other walkers and then headed out for a mooch around Robin Hood’s Bay in the SUN! Our new found hobby of bench counting was easily continued, as RHB is practically bursting at the seams with them (those at the top of the mega hill being the most popular). Sid’s sister Amy was kind enough to pick us up, so we treated her to a cheese toasty before she drove us back to our little car (we’re too kind!).
After a little lunch we got in the car and drove the 300+ miles home; driving was strange and covering more miles in a matter of hours than we’d covered in two weeks on foot was even stranger! Even though we’d walked 20 miles just the day before, we would both gladly have stopped the car and walked 20 more and couldn’t believe it was really over. We stopped at Bluewater, walked around a bit (for a change), but bought nothing! Before we knew it we were home, sleeping in our own beds and back at work.
So it’s finally over. We’d do it again at a drop of a hat, and really can’t recommend it highly enough.
It was FANTASTIC.
The End
Filed under: Uncategorized
After a good nights sleep and a slightly awkward breakfast for 6, we packed up, had a quick chat about the best way back onto the path and headed outside. Gerry and Wendy came out to see us off and point us in the right direction, which turned out to be steeply uphill! The path back up to the ridge from Maltkiln had been somewhat disrupted by the logging on the hillside, but we managed to clamber up to rejoin the CW.
After reading a comment in our guide book about people rushing by too busy to show any respect, we made sure we visited the summit of Urra Moor: Round Hill. Today was to be a day of interesting boundary stones, the first being the hand stone (below). There were also several with interesting inscriptions or letters on, and of course the famous fat betty! At Bloworth Crossing we left the Cleveland Way and joined a former railway which would take us all the way to our lunch stop. It was a good wide track and the going was easy, but we soon bored of the scenery and unchallenging route.
We continued to trudge along, passing few others, the only ones of note being two young men carrying all their kit who we slowly caught and passed, and would see again much later in the day. The irritating gravelly track seemed to go on for ever, crunch, crunch, crunch, so we were very very pleased to reach the Lion Inn! The pub is obviously very popular, especially a Saturday, but to be honest I felt it was a bit dark and dingy. We refueled with some jacket pots, refreshed by downing several pints of pop and squash and set off for the Fryup dales. Starting off on the road, we then headed back across the dales, passing a few more stones, but few walkers. The path got more interesting around Great Fryup Head, and the sun even came out! The day had not been navigationally challenging, but it was at times difficult to keep motivated on the long, broad tracks. After Fryup we joined another broad track, which seemed to go on forever…the last 2-3 miles felt more like 10!
We got to Glaisdale much later than we’d thought (I’m sure it was more than 19miles!), but happily the B&B was worth the wait. Jean and her husband gave us a very warm welcome and showed us into their lovely home. 
After showers, some very welcome tea and biscuits and a nice sit down, we headed back out to Glaisdale to the only dinner venue available; the Arncliff Arms. We were a little concerned that as there was only one option for food in Glaisdale, that it might not be the best, but we couldn’t have been more wring! The Arncliff Arms was busy and it was clear why…the food was fabulous and it was a wonderfully varied menu. We headed back to Beggar’s Bridge B&B to watch the end of the DVD we’d started watching in Reeth! It seemed strange knowing that the next day would be our last, but we were looking forward to a more varied and interesting day, and hoping for sun!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Clay Bank Top, Cleveland Way, flying ants, jet, Maltkiln, Wainstones
Awoke today ready for the hills ahead; our legs and feet were still a little tired after yesterday’s slog, but nevertheless we couldn’t wait to get going again! As we kitted up we were shocked to realise the state of Sid’s boots, he had holes in the top and the soles were very cracked…I guess the long hard miles took their toll! The day started in the woods where we quickly joined the Cleveland Way which we were to follow until Clay Bank Top, so we weren’t anticipating too many navigational challenges!
It was a very undulating route, with pleasant views, good stone paths and lovely weather! We saw loads of other walkers, mostly those doing the Cleveland Way, but also some more casual walkers. The only bad aspect of the day were the flies, or more accurately the flying ants! All along the stone paths they were emerging from between the cracks, tempted out by the warm, muggy air. There was a lot of arm flailing and a bit of moaning, but we survived. We stopped for a drink and to nibble on some of our lunch in the busy cafe at Carlton Bank. It was a really interesting walk, lots of little summits and heathery landscapes, the Wainstones (which I had great fine scrambling over), views of Middlesbrough and an interesting looking hill. We could see this interestingly shaped hill for much of the day, and it struck me as one I’d really like to climb, little did I know it’s already rather famous and is in fact Roseberry Topping; definitely one to add to the ”to do” list.
We arrived at Maltkiln Houseto find it a lovely, cosy, quaint B&B with very accommodating hosts (more on them later). After our usual showers we took to the lounge for tea, biscuits, a rest and to meet our fellow guests. We had met Moira and Fred from Ireland on the path earlier on in the day, so were expecting to see them again. Moira had had particular difficulty around the Wainstones as she had terrible vertigo and it took all of Fred’s encouragement to keep her heading onwards. The other guests were Roberta and Peter from Canada; all four of them were doing the Cleveland Way, though in rather different ways. Roberta and Peter were taking it day by day, not booking or planning much ahead, doing each stage but not necessarily in the normal order! Fred and Moira were taking a more traditional approach.
Dinner was an interesting affair; there’s not much choice but to eat at Maltkiln as there’s not really another eatery around! Wendy left us chatting in the lounge until dinner time and then we all went down to the dining room. It was like a rather strange dinner party, with three couples who didn’t know each other at all! Once we were seated, and drinks had been poured, Wendy said…
“And now Gerry’s going to give you a little talk about jet”
We all looked at each other and shrugged, more than a little puzzled. Gerry then proceeded to give us a little lesson on the history of jet, jet mining, jet shaping, jet jewellery and Queen Victoria, whilst pieces of jet in various stages of manipulation were passed round…it was a very interesting talk and Gerry is obviously a very passionate and talkative man. I think he felt his speech was cut short when Wendy returned with our starters (lentil soup); I asked if there would be more lessons between the other courses, but alas no. Wendy’s home made fare (chicken stew followed by cheesecake) came as a pleasant relief from all the pub food we’d been eating on the walk, and we all chattered away over the dinner table until bedtime. This was definitely one of our more interesting B&Bs, we retired well fed and satisfied with a good days walking, ready for the penultimate stage the following day.
The shortest post for the longest section fo walk! Why? Because it was dull, dull, dull. Leaving Richmond we headed towards Danby Whiske. I can’t really remember anything between Richmond and Danby Whisk apart from flatness. In the end we just put down a pace to get to The White Swan as we were both gasping for a drink. Unfortunately it was closed.
Apparently it’s been going through some tough times with the ownership and illness but what’s bad for one is good for another and we bumped into a fantastic little roadside cafe 50 meters down the road. We had a sit down in the front garden and ate our lunches and grabbed a couple of drinks. I think the landlady’s name was Jean and she was an absolute star.
After Danby Whisk it was more of the same. Flat, flat, flat. The most memorable part was the very scary crossing of the A19 towards the end of the walking day.
We arrived at Park House B&B to find it empty apart from us. Our legs were aching from using the same muscle groups all day long so it was nice to eat, chill out, go to bed and look forward to getting onto the Cleveland Way the next day.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Clare & Nathan, family, park, Richmond, swimming
It made a lovely change today to get up at a more relaxed time and enjoy breakfast with Nathan & Clare; I still couldn’t believe they were there! We started with a little mooch around Richmond, gradually getting used to civilisation whilst we awaited the arrival of Sid’s family … more visitors! Unfortunately things didn’t start well when the car Sid’s mum, dad, niece and nephew arrived in (ours) had a flat tyre, so Sid and Nathan went off to get that fixed while the rest of us took the kids to the park for some fun. I think Jack and Sian were trying to wear me and Clare out, getting us running back and forth with the zip wire and trying out every bit of kit!
After a nice lunch the family headed home and Nathan, Clare, Sid and I headed to the castle to explore. It was quite interesting, and offered some good views of where we’d been and where we’d be heading the next day.
We fancied using some different muscles and so headed to the swimming pool for a splash around and to work up a good appetite for dinner. Once again it was great to have an actual choice of restaurants and we chose a nice Italian which our B&B hosts recommended. It was a delicious meal and great to have some familiar faces to share it with!
This was a lovely day, though a little more tiring than we’d expected, but we were ready and raring to get going again the following day!
