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Saturday 16 November 2013

Bernie, The Bolt! (Bolt’s Law)

walk leader gruntled by wind on bolts law
This was yet another Durham County Council guided walk lead by me (!)
Me and superdawg did the reccy last weekend – just before going to Wales, in fact. Bruno was chuffed when he realised that he was coming across bits of snow on the path, and he got even more chuffter (made up word) when we got to the bit where there was a general, but thin cover of the white stuff.
x wood and snow beyond
bruno chuffed (gruntled)
bolts law summit
The reccy discovered nothing of any dangerous note, except the path from Bolts Law to Ramshaw was in it’s usual disgraceful state – the stiles seem to be in the wrong places, are either decrepit or missing completely and, there’s a general unwelcoming air about a mile or so of the route. All off this will be reported to the authorities and, whilst I don’t like to criticise, whoever put a waymark on a barbed wire fence without seeing to it that a stile was installed and then leaving the problem for posterity and the Alf Wainwright Pennine Journey route needs a career review (in my ‘umble). Anyway, we’ll try to get it fixed.
bolts law flue
On the day (today), twenty people and a small dog turned up – including stewards Steven and Janet and steward-in-training Malcolm. So I was gruntled by this turnout (if you can be disgruntled when you’re grumpy, then surely, when you’re happy, you must be gruntled. Ungruntled people have never been gruntled and somebody who has a natural ability to cheer people up is a gruntler. If somebody interferes negatively with your gruntle quotient, then they’re a degruntler  Innit?)
rob hangs on to bolts law currick
Today, the weather was kind and it wasn’t too cold. All the snow has gone for now and it was windy to the point of being fun and not dangerous on the top of Bolts Law and we managed to find a small area of reasonable shelter for lunch a little way off the top. And the autumn colours around Ramshaw and in Deborah Plantation were specially gruntling. (….what?….)
DSCN0847
For additional excitement, we ventured discreetly over the border into Northumberland, some walkers practising their Northumberland accents in case we were challenged by the border guards or we set off an alarm or something. But it all went without serious incident.
8 miles and 1350 feet of up.

Map shows faulty footpath - West side of the loop is the line of the right of way, East side of the loop shows the actual route which links to a) the crossing of an old leat which is otherwise uncrossable - with footbridge under water and an animal trap on the footbridge plus a derelict stile, b) an electric fence with masonary placed to allow crossing, but insulation on the fence in a different place(!)[but the fence isn't live!] and c) a barbed wire fence with an official waymark but no stile. Area around "shaft" has been landscaped and the map is no longer accurate. DCC definitive map link not currently working, so I don't know the path number at the moment. For ease of location, the top of Bolt's law is just a bit to the South.  What IS a grid reference anyway?

9 comments:

John J said...

The correct term is 'chuftyerer'.
JJ

Reifyn said...

I must say I do love the new words. I shall use them from now on. 'Chuffter' & 'gruntled' belong in the OED. The stileless (there's a word for you) route seems annoying. When I stayed in the middle of the countryside in Cornwall I used the best survey maps I could get. I would use the public footpaths to get about from one village to the next across fields and so on. I was disgruntled & unchuffered to discover that some of the property owners had smashed the stiles and removed the signs (the posts were still present) or even put lengths of chains through the gates that had been used for generations. I used to race my friend with his car to get to his house first from mine; him using the zig-zagging roads of course, and me the straight line of the fields; climbing over locked gates and barbed wire, braving the vicious attack dogs, pit-traps and sniper fire (OK, the bits after the wire didn't really happen...that much.)

Dawn said...

Nice looking country Mike.

Mike Knipe said...

Well, John and Reifyn, your use of the new piedialect is gruntling and I'm chuftest as I've been for a while about it. I'm still ungruntled by the stiles (ironic use of the word "stile" here)
Dawn - It is nice. And there's a few camping spots, but watch out for the keepers.

Paul Crozier said...

Mike, any map showing the unwelcome bit? I'll go stomping across it a few times exercising my rights :)

Mike Knipe said...

Paul - I've added a map. The OS map, though is quite innacurate in this area, showing field boundaries which aren't there and ponds etc which have been landscaped out of existence.
Good luck following the path! (It's not where the map says it is!)
I'll report this to DCC as soon as their website allows access to the definitive map, which it doesn't at the moment - seems to be off-line or something.

Anonymous said...

Now 'Bernie the Bolt' is showing your age - and mine, since I recognise it...........

Peter Crawford said...

I give you shrift. If the opposite of short shrift is shrift. I have never heard of long shrift.

Mike Knipe said...

Chrissie - I'm much older than I look, obviously [koff]

Peter - I expect that you can have any amount of shrift - short, medium, long, extreme, infinite, none at all etc. It would be more efficient to attach a number to the amount of shrift. e.g. "I could only manage level 3 shrift on this one..."