Small Synges at Kentmere

Is it just me that’s noticed that recently, when asked a question by a TV reporter, that interviewees begin every explanation with the word “So”?

So, me and LTD whisked ourselves over to Kendal to collect the Bro, and thus, off to the delights of Kentmere where it was sunny and actually quite warm.

We had a rough, that is to say, approximate plan which was to park the new knipemobile prettily (an often difficult task up Kentmere, were it not for Mrs Black and her field). wander up into a bunch of knobbly hillocks (careful how you read that bit) and have a little stravaig aimed at  the summits  of four or five rocky outcrops.

These were – in order of ascent: Scale Knotts, 360  metres, fairly rocky; Rowantree Knotts 421 metres, rocky, Piked Hows 407 metres, not specially rocky from the bagging route and Castle Crag 490 metres, very rocky and a fine spot for lunch in the sun, complete with small snowpatch for the dog to eat.

Some of these were additionally defended by wobbly walls with wire entanglements for extra excitement. Castle Crag is a specially fine top by the way, and I would encourage anybody who’s not yet been there to incorporate the spot into a round of Kentmere Wainwrights as an alternative to Garburn Pass.

We pressed on – a contouring route handrailing a semi-derelict wall brought us to the finest top of all – Rainsborrow Crag 641 metres. This is the top of a scramble route and has a small tarn a cracking views of the surrounding hills.

Finally, we returned over Yoke and the Garburn Pass to find the knipemobile exactly where we left it (just beyond the sign that says that there’s no parking beyond the sign) (but there is) (but not much). (You have to be lucky)

Parking at Kentmere should ease in the near future, though once the road is widened a bit for the gas exploration peeps who were making test drills in the fields just to the South of the city centre there. We were asked not to mention the word “fracking” for obvious reasons because people often get unreasonably upset by the word. The chaps in the hard hats explained that once the main wells had been driven, that there’s only be a few small buildings and a bit of a narrow pipeline (painted green for ecological reasons) but that the parking areas for the construction traffic would be retained and hard-surfaced to allow more hillwalkers cars to park. (Up to 45 spaces, apparently, and with topping-up facilities for electric cars) And this would be free. So, it’s all good.

We did about 7 miles and 2300 feet of upness. LTD ate 17kg of snow (estimate only)

 

Lord’s Seat at Alwinton

Me and LTD and Dawn visited Alwinton in the Very Lovely Coquet Dale on Wednesday. Due to the general driechness of the dreichivity, we didn’t walk far – just up the 392 metre Tump Lord’s Seat and back down again as it were fixin ter rain a bit heavier than it was at the time. This actually didn’t transpire. But it looked like it would!

Meanwhile the army continued shelling things and firing machine guns. One particularly loud bang scared the bejaysus out of both me and the dog – ju7st as I was taking his picture at Lord’s Seat’s trig point. (This is not on the top by the way)

So we went home.

On the way, I did manage to bag another Tump – Weighill Pike. No lambs or ewes were disturbed since they were all in different fields to us.

5 or 6 easy miles, but with 1100 feet of up.

Upper Coquetdale near Alwinton

LTD lusts after Dawn’s lunch

The top of Weighill Pike

A Simple Desultory Philander in the Borders

I have disposed of the knipemobile due to it’s habit of wearing out CV joints. I had the Old Girl for ten years and was just learning how to drive it properly , that is to say, putting the least amount of stress on the CV joints when going around bends. I got a new one, after buying a lump of money from Barclays Bank at a remarkably low price – that is to say, the loan, not the new car.

I immediately took the new knipemobile to Alston and Nenthead for a visit and then, it struck me , that a bimble up the A68 where there’s a small group or gang of unbagged Tumps might be Just The Thing, specially in view of the weather forecast which was for warm sunshine. People who travel South on the A68 might recall seeing a line of conical hills hanging on the side of the Border ridge just before the bendy bits at Carter Bar. The side road off the trunk road to the start of this walk turns out to be horribly holed, mud-covered in parts and quite bumpy in places. Knipemobiles have to put up with this sort of thing, so it would be a good introduction. The new car is now filthy.

I parked the car near Towford – a deep ford with the Kale Water in semi-spate following several rainy days and quite a bit of snow melt.

Hill number one was Heugh Law, a long and grassy sheep pasture overlooking Plenderleith farm, from where there was an excellent view of the pointy hills mentioned above…

I was quite lucky to find gates where gates were needed and, any cattle were too busy with their hay supplies to bother me and LTD, and only a patch of deep, deep muddy slop , caused by said cows, caused any trouble. This was Up To The Socks. We passed over Knock Hill and avoided some people quarrying stone for a road and were soon on the top of Pointy Hill #1 – Philip Law. This is a fine hill with a cracking view of the snow-clad Cheviots to the East and Ettrick and Manor Hills to the West. So I ate my pie and chocolate-covered ginger cake (dribble..) LTD sunbathed. It was nice and warm out of the breeze.

Next up was Pointy Hill #2 –Goshen Hill. Goshen is proto-Welsh for “covered in cow muck” , which it was. It seems that the top of this hill is a favourite place for the local bovines to do their toilet. Its not the kind of place to stop and eat a pork pie and some ginger cake being grungy all around. So we didn’t. It had all gone anyway.

A trundle through the forestry followed and Hill number four eventually came underfoot – Phawhope Rigg from where a fine and easy tramp over a huge grassy plain brought us to our final Tump, Loddan Hill, overlooking Nether Hindhope where, it seems, the post-bus (or at least a large post-office van) was seen to be visiting.

My utter lack of planning of this jaunt raised a bit of a problem for the return to the knipemobile, which we hoped was still where we left it with the lights off and the wheels on, and this was the crossing of the Kale Water, which was still running high. We descended to a meander which, from above seemed to be a wide spot where, maybe the current would be slacker and maybe the water would be shallower.

I removed boots and socks at my predicted ford, watched incredulously by LTD who really really hates water. The burn was deep and swift and, it looked a bit risky. I prospected around a bit, chose a spot and paddled across. It was just about knee-deep and not quite as cold as I expected. LTD plunged in , swam a few doggy strokes and scrambled up the bank. He seemed overjoyed by what he’d just done. I praised him and this made him even happier.

I finished the last easy mile on the road without socks.

My new GPS thingy said I’d covered 118km at an average speed of 48 kph. I should have reset it before setting off…  dhuhh..

On the way around, we met various animals. Firstly, on climbing one of the hills, I noticed that LTD had spotted something and there, just a few yards away was an elderly-looking badger. He didn’t see us till LTD barked and he disappeared undergound before I could get the camera out.

In other places , there were deer. I spotted seven or eight altogether.

And then there was a lizard. He was moving jerkily towards lTD who clearly wanted to eat him.  If I hadn’t noticed the little fella, LTD would surely have scoffed his first lizard.

And, as a sure sign of spring, skylarks and meadow pipits were all up and singing. Fab stuff.

The walk – made-up as I went along, was just a bit over 9 miles and 2400 feet of up.

Tree Planting at Tow Law and Reccying a Walk

On Saturday me and Dawn (LTD stayed in his pit on Saturday) spent much of the day digging holes, inserting oak and rowan saplings and cosying them all up with plastic tree guards. This was part of a project organised by Durham Wildlife Trust and Wolsingham Parish Council, replacing an old conifer plantation with native deciduous trees and shrubs. The small plantation is on an old quarry site on a  hill-edge with big views of Weardale. We kept digging up green-coloured clinker and the odd half brick and, apparently, this was due to theold quarry being filled with waste from the local steel foundries.

There were lots of volunteers and many trees were planted but as the rain started and some scouts had pinched our lump hammer (for driving in the stakes), we called it a day and repaired to knipetowers to drink tea.

On Sunday, it was time to reccy the third of my new(ish) summer programme Durham County Council guided walks – the one which starts at Baybridge and wanders apparently fairly aimlessly around local gills, pastures and moors. In fact, it’s an old route with a new start, mainly aimed at avoiding a really steep and slippery descent which is probably a bit risky for many of the DCC guided walks punters. The new route is a bit more interesting anyway and it has the added bonus of more contours, thus helping with anybody’s slimming plans or for hardening up their thigh muscles for proper walks in the Lake District.

We  (me, LTD and Dawn) managed to time the first half of the walk with a fine, sunny spring day with sunshine that had hints of warmth. After that it clouded up and drizzled a bit.

The route is fine, though, although I had to report FP no. 1 in the parish of Hunstanworth as blocked by fallen trees. A quick whizz-through with a chainsaw ought to sort it out, I would have thought.

It’s ten miles and the walk starts at Baybridge Pickernick Site at 10:00 on 15 April at a bargain cost of just £4. Bring butties and a drink. I’ll have to reccy it again about a week before and hopefully somebody will have been busy with their little saws and the sheep will have had their lambs. And so on, and so forth….

Next thing is to replace the knipemobile which has developed noises, vibrations and annoying messages about the left hand parking light being out. It’s old age. I’ve had it ten years…  I am in contact with Barclays Bank.

Soggy Stuff Near Swindale

Me and LTD had a little  eleven-mile jolly around the hills just a bit to the left of Swindale (depending on which direction you’re facing).  Parts of the area seem to also go under the name of “Rafland Forest” It’s near Shap.

These particular hills are specially empty and we saw nobody at all on them. They’re also specially soggy hills too, and, probably not because it rained all night the night before. These fells, therefore, are ideal for anybody who needs a bit of space for themselves, or who likes to sing but can’t, or who enjoys wet socks.
And it was sunny and spring-like and almost warm.

The purpose of this toddle was to bag three wayward Synges – Langhowe Pike, Rowantree Crag (which has a holly tree pretending to be a rowan), Great Ladstones and Scam Matthew. Other tops are available in the form of a selection of Wainwright’s Outlying Fells and/or several Birketts. There is, in fact, a lot of overlap between all of these hill categories and this just goes to show just how desperate some people are for something to bag [koff]

Anyway, it was a good walk. Snow on neighbouring fells was seen to diminish significantly during the day and, just to show that spring may well be springing, several small pools were heaving with rampant frogs who seem to be having some kind of party. Strangely silent on the part of skylarks, curlew and lapwings, though.