statcounter

Thursday 3 September 2009

Eel Crag? You jokin' innit?




Following on me and the Bro's failure to get up Eel Crag via the Shelf Route back in July, we thought we'd have another go at failing to get up Eel Crag via the Shelf Route once again.
In this , we were highly successful.
The signs were good from the start - an "improving" weather forecast from the Met office and a really duff one on the Lake District Weatherline. Good so far - contradictions.
Then there was the fog/mist travelling at 60 mph in a Easterly direction on the A66 and giving the high-siders a bit of a shaking...
And finally, when I arrived at Braithwaite, it was chucking it down.
So me and the dawg and John walked alongside the Derwent on paths and an ex-railway line to the boozah at Threlkeld ,where there's a sign outside saying "dogs welcome" - and the place had numerous dogs lurking underneath tables. Its nice to see a pub that welcomes me and my mucky dog - we usually have to drink outside. In the rain. With the wasps.
The Derwent was in full, brown spate and was fair roaring away. A couple of canoeists appeared to be dicing with a serious wetting and hurtled by sideways at one point.
After a couple of pints of Dark Mild, we retraced for a bit and then traversed the slopes and summitof the mighty Latrigg where it was a bit brighter, very breezy and then .... it rained again.
Not many pics - I didnt want top get the camera wet. At this point the other hobo Martin Banfield enquired by text from the foot of Mont Blanc as to how we'd got on. The wonders of modern communications, innit?
We'll have another go. We will get up the Shelf Route one day, some day.... The strategy (or maybe its a tactic...?) will be to plan to go somewhere else, and then, if its a nice day, we could , possibly head for Eel Crag.
Eel may mean "Evil" by the way.
But in the meantime, a highly successful failure due to rubbish weather.
The walk we did have was quite good, though - 8+ miles and about 1100 feet of uphill, two pints and two lunches....
There's a couple of vids, intended to show panoramas.
Its not evil, its a naughty hill.
As for Latgrigg - its a nice, green lump witha cracking view of Keswick and Derwentwater. the last time I was here was back in 1973 when I joined a Ramblers Association protest walk against the Keswick bypass. Ramblers to this day still refuse to use the bypass and will walk around on rights of way.... To be absolutely frank, I went on the protest because it was a day out and I'd never been up Latrigg. I think the bus from Skipton was free..... unethical, obviously.

3 comments:

Tykelad said...

It certainly is a cracking view from the top of Latrigg Mike, I was up there in July (although shamefully I must confess I drove up to the car park!)

The picture in my profile shows me somewhat despoiling aforementioned lovely view. :/

Alan Sloman said...

That's a fine VTOL pooch you have there, Michael

I have unsuccesfully not made the top of Bleacathra (is that how it's spelled) almost (?) three times now. I think we should leave them on our 'to do' lists.

It's better that way.

Mike Knipe said...

It is a lovely view isn;t it? You can see Eel crag, for instance.
Alan - You should see superdawg crossing a stile. He is airborn for several seconds and can reach heights of up to four feet, possibly more. Sometimes he does it just for a laugh, then I have to get him to jump back to the correct side of the fence.