This was very much a last-minute "where shall we walk" type of decision. To climb "The Tongue" (She's a bitch an' she don't suffer fools gladly). So me and my pal Alan - who shares the distinction of having worse heart disease than I do (pacemaker... we are NOT worthy...) and superdawg, fresh from an unauthorised breakfast of cat biscuits he accidentally knocked over this morning... sorry, where was I? Oh yes, so the three or four of us, whatever it was, set out from Mungrisdale City Centre car park (please put £2 through the door of the funhouse, ta!) and soon afterwards were tackling Lawson's Couloir on the towering east face of The Tongue (she's a bitch etc etc blah blah...) This was a mix of steep grass, scree, some bracken and a rock.
Only a mere hour or two later and we were scoffing our turkey butties at the summit cairn (Look, Mrs Knipe bought a job lot of sliced turkey at Asda in Bishop Auckland due to the young (male) deli assistant giving her the eye. We've got tons of the stuff in the fridge. Its all right, but its just a bit too much like Boxing day.)
I hope they don't put the lad on fresh fish, thats all...
After this , we went over the lip of the Skiddaw Glacier over to the summit cairn of Bowscale Fell. And then, through incipient fog to Bannerdale Crags, which has dramatic views of crags and scary things like that.
Having licked The Tongue and failed to get the word "Gum" into this piece, despite trying very hard, we decided not to climb Blencathra on the grounds that this would just be showing off. So, instead, we went down an extremely attractive footpath to the foot of Souther Fell - famed for it's 1745 apparitions of Bonny Prince Charming's army prancing about , playing with their cannons and flaunting their muskets, to some biblious chap who had clearly just spent the afternoon in the Mill Inn, but who nevertheless reported this vision to the local press....
Its not famous for its very fine crop of sedges, which may well turn out to be a pity.
After a coffee stop, we assaulted the Northern Arete of Souther fell and descended the other side "with care".
And back to the Mill Inn for a light libation.
All cracking fun, despite the turkey overdose.
8 miles and 2100 feet of uphilliness and a 60 mile drive over the A66, which was yet more fun, specially as the price of petrol came down during the journey.
Only a mere hour or two later and we were scoffing our turkey butties at the summit cairn (Look, Mrs Knipe bought a job lot of sliced turkey at Asda in Bishop Auckland due to the young (male) deli assistant giving her the eye. We've got tons of the stuff in the fridge. Its all right, but its just a bit too much like Boxing day.)
I hope they don't put the lad on fresh fish, thats all...
After this , we went over the lip of the Skiddaw Glacier over to the summit cairn of Bowscale Fell. And then, through incipient fog to Bannerdale Crags, which has dramatic views of crags and scary things like that.
Having licked The Tongue and failed to get the word "Gum" into this piece, despite trying very hard, we decided not to climb Blencathra on the grounds that this would just be showing off. So, instead, we went down an extremely attractive footpath to the foot of Souther Fell - famed for it's 1745 apparitions of Bonny Prince Charming's army prancing about , playing with their cannons and flaunting their muskets, to some biblious chap who had clearly just spent the afternoon in the Mill Inn, but who nevertheless reported this vision to the local press....
Its not famous for its very fine crop of sedges, which may well turn out to be a pity.
After a coffee stop, we assaulted the Northern Arete of Souther fell and descended the other side "with care".
And back to the Mill Inn for a light libation.
All cracking fun, despite the turkey overdose.
8 miles and 2100 feet of uphilliness and a 60 mile drive over the A66, which was yet more fun, specially as the price of petrol came down during the journey.
.jpg)
.jpg)
