After much hesitation, a bit of vacillation and some shilly-shallying I eventually decided that it was time to bag the first bag on my list of Things To Bag for 2013. And in new boots, too…. wot I got from Cotswolds with my 20% Countryside Volunteer discount – I got a fleecy sleeping bag liner too. And I wore spikes due to slipperiness and gaiters for to keep the snow out of me socks.
The Bag to be bagged was the recently (fairly recently anyway) discovered slightly higher bit of Gowbarrow and new HuMP into the bargain. I’d already been up the Wainwright Gowbarrow and the Birkett Gowbarrow and I desperately needed the set, and so, full of porridge and , more dangerously, a few prunes, I clipped Bruno into his ejector seat in the knipemobile and launched off up the A66 to Ullswater to the bottom of today’s hilly victim.
It was a grey morning, but as we climbed the snowy slopes (just a mere frosting compared with Pieland’s blanket), I was sure that the sky was brightening up. As we visited all the little tors and lumps, just to be sure, the sky did brighten and, by the time we’d got to the top (not that top, the other top), the sunshine was quite pouring out of a blue heaven – to such an extent that I was beginning to wish that I’d gone for a walk up some of the bigger hills all around. But this was not The Way Of The Bagger. Determination and a singular dedication to the less romantic or dramatic is the Bagger’s creed. Bugger.
Never mind. We had a nice walk anyway and the views were quite nice. Bruno ate lots of snow and I had a PEK and tomato butty with English mustard (Epistaxis Strength) and a Lion bar.
We did six miles.
We went to Ulcat Row and back along a nice path which visited an ancient Ash tree which appears to have gone through several reincarnations and, hopefully, will survive ash die-back and continue getting yet even bigger.
I’m not doing a map. Can’t be arsed. Its not the alps, it’s an Alf (what’s that woman doing in here?) Wainwright lesser fell with a bit of snow on it.
Just the one walker turned up for today’s walk entitled “Westgate to Bollihope”, mainly, I suspect due to the panic induced by the BBc’s panic-inducing reporting of what is, up to now, a fairly routine winter storm. Maybe they’ve been asked by the Gumment to see if they can keep people off the roads due to some secret fuel supply farce or something.
Anyway, it obviously had nothing to do with the fact that Westgate to Bollihope and back is a really long way, whereas Westgate to Burnhope and back is a much more reasonable proposition, and, probably what I was thinking of when I wrote it in the little boxes in the form for the County Council. In reality, the blame for this mistake is more likely to lie in a slight over-consumption of an eleven year old liquour produced on a Scottish island. In Scotland. Can’t trust ‘em, see?
I did the reccy last week in cold and snowy conditions, whilst accompanied by Bruno. The walk passes #1 daughter’s new house, so I called in for a coffee and was accompanied from there to Wearhead by #1 daughter’s hubby and pet dog.
“Its a good walk” is the opinion I formed on this little trundle, so I was a bit disappointed by the low turnout today and even one of the stewards wasn’t feeling up to par and the responsibility for stewarding was passed to Steve. So three of us set off.
In view of the size of the group, I added a visit to Greenlaws Hush for the lead-mining stuff, and, on this occasion, we went through the tunnel (a bit of a shaky roof, there…) and took pictures of the lovely stalactites made from real frozen water.
There was just enough snow on the walk to burn off just the extra few Christmas calories (yes, folks, they’re still here…)
We called at #1daughter’s again, for a bit of shelter from the nithering outside, and were joined once again by #1 daughter’s hubby and his pet dog Molly – just as far as West Blackdene
Anyway, it’s a good winter walk. I’ll bung it in again next January or February and see if I can double the attendance. Maybe if I got the title right…?
Here’s a map. Its ten miles.
Yesterday was the day for leading another Durham County Council guided walk, and Wednesday’s route was up to the Northumberland border from Cowshill, followed by a rough lurch over the moorland tussocks to Sedling Rake, a quick descent to Weardale and a riverside ramble alongside the..er….river back to the start. A grand total of 8 miles.
It were perishing cold today, too with a starting temperature of about –8C in the lower bits of Weardale, rising to a magnificent –0.5C at the end. people from the Eastern bits of Durham were worried about the snow (there was more in the East than in Weardale as it happens) and in view of the nithering nature of the day, I didn’t expect a record-breaking attendance. Nevertheless, ten of us turned up, including the stewards Ray, Dave (it’s compulsory to have a Dave) and Eric.
Me and superdawg Bruno did the reccy in ever-so-slightly warmer conditions last week. (just around freezing) We went to the top of Middlehope Moor, though, just cos we could. The guided walk didn’t venture into Northumberland but stayed on the other side of the wall. We allowed ourselves to look over the wall for a short period as a special treat. The bridleway that meets the County boundary stops there and doesn’t continue inside Northumberland. This is a fine example of dirty deeds done when rights of way were being registered back in time. The local grouse-shooting gentry of Northumberland clearly didn’t want the unwashed distrubing their fun whilst the politically redder county of Durham seems to have registered more paths. Northumberland are just about to fix the problem, although horses and bikes will still have to stop at the border, making the bridleway a bit pointless for anything other than an out-and-back journey where a saddle is being used.
The ideal conditions for this walk – the ones I envisaged when I first thought of it, are hard neve, which happens up there regularly, often at this time of year, but so far we’ve just had hard frost or (today) a moderate powder snow cover. One day, we’ll get there, though, we just need a blizzard of warm, wet snow to freeze hard for a couple of days and Robert will be your Mum’s brother.
Even so, just like last year, the sun shone most of the time and the views of the surrounding fells was superb – a grand day to be out on the hills, in fact although barely warm enough to stop for long for the consumption of butties and chocolate. Graeme did, however supply quantities of delicious cocktails to warm the cockles at lunchtime behind the wall at Sedling rake. Nice.
On the reccy, there was just the hint of a snow dusting and the top of the hill had been helpfully marked with the word “top”, just to confirm the fact. I also took GPS waymarks of all the key points of the trundle across the moor in case of hill fog on the day. If you got yourself dislocated up here, it could be difficult finding yourself again in the fog. Unless you had a GPS or just decided to walk downhill (this would inevitably lead the walker to Cowshill since the landscape is a big funnel at this point) (See – you get self-rescue tips as well on the pie blog)
The return by the riverside was uneventful although I did detect that the earlier struggles over the moor had taken their toll of one or two of the walkers. It’s good for them, though. Pic of waterfalls by Graeme. I’ve been struggling to get this picture myself for ages.
Good walk, though. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the reccy. Bruno couldn’t come on the actual walk, though as he’s Not Allowed.
More Upper Weardale fun shortly..
There’s a map…..
Extra pics courtesy of Graeme Ferguson. If walkers want to send me pictures, I’ll likely put as many on the blog as possible. It would make a nice change from my efforts!
I’ve spent a substantial part of this afternoon filing in a form with details and dates of all the walks I’m proposing to do for the Durham County Council guided walks programme for April to September 2013.
Phew.
I’m letting it simmer for a while before I can check it and send it off to the Council.
I’m aware that some guided walks customers and a few stewards too read the pie blog from time to time – mainly as some kind of penance, I suspect, but from this they’ll be able to judge the kind of delights we have in store. And take appropriate avoiding action….
There will be repeats of some of the old favourites, these being the Teesdale Fellwalking walk over Crosthwaite fell (in Teesdale!), The Hunstanworth Hobble including my only ascent of Neville’s Couloir on the beetling North face of Bolt’s Law. Ropes will not be used to allow for speed and grace. There’ll be a Wander along by the Elephant trees yet again. Walkers are requested not to feed the elephants this time and we’ll be repeating the Best of Teesdale walk which includes Low Force, High Force, Cronkley Fell, a bumpy walk by the Tees and Moking Hurth Caves and, optionally, and depending on whether or not the mudslide has been shovelled away, Gibson’s Cave too. This walk, though might form part of the North Pennines AONB Pennine Journey walking festival in which case it’ll be in early October.
We’ll be repeating the five circular walks which completes the Pennine Way in Durham on Sundays in July, August and September. This includes beer (or whatever) at Tan Hill and lots of sloppy bogs culminating in a climb up Cauldron Snout, or at least, up the path beside Cauldron Snout.
And there’s some new walks - one around the heathery moors above Bollihope, possibly with an ice cream van at the end and another in Baldersdale around Race Yate and the dry(er) side of the Battle Hill firing ranges.
All of the walks are graded as “Long and Hard” and range from ten to seventeen miles
On top of all this , I’m leading a walk for the North Pennines AONB for the Pennine Journey celebration walking festival from Tan Hill Inn to Balderhead reservoir – a linear walk of about 15 miles involving the provision of transport from the Balderhead car park to the start at Tan Hill. Unfortunately it will be too early for a pint of Black Sheep at the start.
The introductory pic is irrelevant by the way. I just liked it. The horse and goose (sounds like a pub) were seen on a recent walk reccy at Cowshill in Weardale.
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