Legends on the way to Etive

It must have been last Wednesday when I set off for Glen Etive. Whatever it was, it seems a long time ago.
I drove up through the Borders and bagged a little HuMP on the way – a fairly non-descript Boon Hill, quite close to the village of Boon and not too far from Lauder.
The best thing about Boon Hill, apart from the ease of it’s ascent, is the view of the Eildon Hills. The Romans called these hills and the fort at their foot Trimontium. Three Hills, y’see. You can only see two from Boon Hill.
The Eildons are also famous for the legend of Thomas the Rhymer – who, whilst having a bit of a snooze or something beneath a hawthorn tree, was visited by the Queen of Fairies who kidnapped him and made him serve her for seven years, the reward for which was an ability to write poetry. Fair do’s I suppose. Its certainly a warning against dozing off under thorn bushes….
And eventually, I arrived at Glen Etive which, as you can see from the couple of pics, is a spectacularly beautiful place. What you can;lt see is the outrageously high population of vicious and completely mindless midgies who’s only purpose in life is to get a bit of your blood. Most of them die in the process. But they just keep-a-coming.
As we’re on about legends, I ought to mention one Diedre of the Sorrows which has links with Glen Etive – but read a version of the story here http://druidsutterance.net/20060518602/The_Exile_of_the_Sons_of_Usnech_Diedre_of_the_Sorrows
The Glen Etive link isn’t very obvious in the tale here, but there are strong local claims about it.
What isn’t in dispute is the hammering we gave to a bottle of scotch just after Mike arrived. (not me, another Mike….)

Mike was in his camper van and I camped with the midgies close by.

Tales of derring-don't on the local hills follow shortly...

There will now be a short intermission

This is me all packed up and ready to go once again - this time for a few days in Glen Etive for the bagging of a few Munro's, and, perhaps a Corbett. I have to return next Tuesday, cos my supply of some of my many tablets runs out on Tuesday.

I suspect that we'll just be remaining in the Glen for the whole thing - the weather forecast for the first couple of days is now a bit iffy and its possible that instead of walking I might have to return to the Mabinogion (which I misplaced, but now I found it again) So its back to ladies turning into hares and swans and sheep and ..er... stuff...

Ive also packed some plonk and some beer and some scotch, as there isnt a pub in Glen Etive as such. (Not too far to the Kingshouse, though, I suppose...)

Anyway, the point is, I won't be blogging for a while. There's no phone signal there anyway.

I'll be bagging a HuMP in the Borders on the way - one small and grassy lump called Boon Hill. I'll eat me butty on it.

Look - I found a pic of Glen Etive. Nice, innit?

Rainy day women..er planning

Well, I woke up dis mornin’.
An ma woman dun left me

It was chucking it down this morning, so I embarked on a classic hillwalkers fill-a-rainy-day strategy by planning stuff.

I’m off to Glen Etive next week so I’ve planned my Glen Etive target hills and whatever hills I might bag on the way up through the Borders and a couple of alternative little bags for the return journey, one in case we relocate to the East if there’s better weather over there than in the West, and one if we don’t.

I also found a caravan in North Wales for me and Maggie and the dogs for October – and booked it, and then planned my further assault on the Snowdonia Hewitts, Marilyns, Deweys and HuMPs

Next was to plan a route for backpacking in August. I’m quite proud of this one – but I have to thank a commenter on an earlier post for inadvertently reminding me about it – chap called Karl who has a website about his walks at http://www.karlswalks.co.uk/ (nice stuff – have a look)

Any road up – the proposed route is this:

Start at Silecroft near Millom. Black Comb – Corney fell – Ulpha fell – Birker Fell – Harter Fell – Crinkles – Bow Fell – Rossett Pike – Pike O’ Stickle – High Raise – Calf Crag – Dunmail Raise – Helvellyn – The Dodds – Threlkeld – Blencathra – Gt Calva – Knott – High Pike – Caldbeck – Wigton – Kirkbride – Bowness-on-Solway.

Altogether, around 80 miles. It ends with a typical TGO plod to the coast on tarmac.
I think this would be just about a week’s walking, and the first resupply stop is Threlkeld.

Finally, I did some work to the August Howgills diary thingy, which readers of that particular twaddle will be relieved to know will be the last entry.

I did no work on my TGO 2009 tale. I’ve got to day 2 so far. The muse has escaped me, but I’m confident that on the day in Scotland that it rains next week, something will occur to me as I have my 14 hour catatonic-in-a-sleeping-bag-listening-to-the-midgies-trying-to-get-in session.

I might wash the car tomorrow…

But ma baby’s comin back
Wid de shoppin.
Later on.

Pic is the damp and windy path up Lochnagar. Shawn Grund is somewhere on that picture…

Caving in Weardale - Jacob's Well

As well as being a roundabout in the middle of Bradford, jacob’s Well is a small limestone cave in Frosterley in Weardale. I thought I’d mention that first.
Nenthead Brian told me about this event a couple of weeks ago and booked places for me, him and Charlie the ceramicist and Pieblog follower.
The purpose of the event was (I think) to introduce people to Carboniferous Limestone caves as part of the annual Northern Rocks festival of Geologically based public events. As it happens, only one of the five punters who turned up weren’t “underground” people (should we call them “The Trogs?”), which meant that our guide could, to some extent, allow us a little more freedom than he’d first planned for.
Northern Rocks is held every year and is a programme of walks and events with a Northern Pennines Geological theme – which means Carboniferous with a dolerite intrusion here and there and lots of valuable minerals and industrial archaeology….
Its part of the AONB and the European Geopark stuff….
Any road up, it was held at Harehope Quarry at Frosterley, which is run by volunteers as an educational centre for geology, mainly for children. It’s a very worthy thing . they also have free-range chickens (I bought some eggs, laid earlier today…
Our event was to explore a little cave in a semi-natural gorge at the eastern end of the quarry. The cave has been mapped and named by schoolkids , including the naming of the various features inside – eg The Crack of Doom – a large fissure in the floor – and so on. Anybody familiar with the Bridge of Death in Glen Feshie will appreciate that “The Crack of Doom really should be uttered in a mad-professor/comedy horror film squeaky voice…. Others won’t have a clue as to what I’m on about here…
Also – in the gorge, there’s a large area of Frosterley marble. This contains a substantial number of coral fossils and for those who don’t like dark holes in the ground – a good place to see this rock is in the Chapel of the Nine Altars and St Cuthbert’s shrine in Durham cathedral. The theory is that this is, in fact, the very spot where those pillars were quarried – I believe, some 800 years ago.
And so, after trampling all over this valuable stone, we entered the cave and walked and crawled and got muddy. At one point, the main passage has been walled off by a thick wall of brick encased in stone and what appears to be Victorian concrete. At the foot of the wall, a small, round mouse-hole of a hole has been punched through and three of us braved the extreme squeeze to get through to the other side.
And back again.
All good dirty fun.
After coffee and cakes, me, Brian and Charley repaired tp the Hare and Hounds at Westgate to have a short interval of light boozing and taking the piss out of the politicians on the telly post some kind of election they’ve apparently been having (As we’ve not had any local politicians who could be arsed doing any campaigning, safe in the knowledge that their personal fortunes will be safer if nobody was actually aware of their existence, I’m just assuming that an election was taking place. If there were any local candidates, they didn’t make themselves known or if, indeed they had any policies other than establishing large personal pension plans. As they couldn’t be arsed with their bit of electioneering, so could I not be arsed voting for any of them. Whoever they are. It doesn’t really matter anyway, cos they all have the same basic philosophy which concerns attempting to increase happiness by the promotion of the acquisition of new electrical equipment and other white goods. Nothing to do with warmth or compassion or any of that rubbish. There’s no money to be made from that.

Sorry… distracted rant there…..

Anyway, Jacob’s Well Hole is a fun hole to crawl through. We’ll probably go back, I shouldn’t wonder.

Armistice with BT

I got a phone call from India this morning and a pleasant lass (with whom it would be impossible to have a rant 'cos she'd just sympathise till you'd stopped) told me that the email I got was an automaed one and I wouldn't be getting new wires and plugs and software and passwords and phone numbers and that all I needed to do was oay£2 a month less than previously and would it be OK to say that the issue was resolved. I agreed.

I've told the wife as it's she who pays the bill!!!! (bet that took you by surprise) So the war is over before it started. (unless I get a package....)

BT's occupation of the ex-British Empire was confirmed by a second phone call from a lass with, apparently, a South African accent. She didn;t know about the other call. I told it was all right now and that it was resolved.

The remaining mystery was , what was in the undelivered envelope with money to pay?

Rachel - You didn't put a big enough stamp on yer mum's birthday card, yer naughty girl...

I am now searching for another utility company to have a rant at. The Gas people seem to be a fair target. Or maybe the Council. I'll not have a bad word said about BT's customer complaints departmeent. (their auto emails and "contact us" phone number systems are rubbish, though)

Pic shows foamy boots for no good reason at all. Never put washing up liquid in your boots before having a paddle.