Wednesday 29 September 2010

Day 0 Travel to Windermere.

Date: Saturday 11 September 2010

Journey 

I met up with A. in Derby as arranged. Now after many months of planning and talking  our 75mlie walk around the lakes was off to an unhurried start with a train journey to Windermere, changing at Crewe on the way.

On landing in Windermere we went along to the Independent Backpackers Hostel and booked in. We were very surprised to find that we had been put in a four bed room (two bunks) with two young Malaysian girls. This was not a situation we were happy about, and I’m certain the girls weren’t either.

After a stroll around Windermere we had a decent meal in an Italian restaurant, then a few beers in the Queens with a large family of guys from Wales who were also at the hostel, who had  walked up Scafell earlier in the day, it was a good night.

Day 1 Summit and Views

Date: Saturday 11 September 2010

Journey 

I met up with A. in Derby as arranged. Now after many months of planning and talking  our 75mlie walk around the lakes was off to an unhurried start with a train journey to Windermere, changing at Crewe on the way.

On landing in Windermere we went along to the Independent Backpackers Hostel and booked in. We were very surprised to find that we had been put in a four bed room (two bunks) with two young Malaysian girls. This was not a situation we were happy about, and I’m certain the girls weren’t either.

After a stroll around Windermere we had a decent meal in an Italian restaurant, then a few beers in the Queens with a large family of guys from Wales who were also at the hostel, who had  walked up Scafell earlier in the day, it was a good night.

Day 2 Bogs and Bridges

Date: Monday 13 September 2010
Area: Lakeland
Distance: 13.8 Miles 22.2K
Start Location: Patterdale
OS Sheet: Explorer OL5 & OL4
Outline: Patterdale – Aira Force- Dockery – River Greta – Thelkeld – Keswick







Journey
Monday started dry but cool and overcast we got out the YHA about 09:20am, nipped into the Post Office for sandwiches and chocolate and walked up to the bus stop to catch the bus (to avoid a long and possibly dangerous road walk) to Aira Force. Already at the stop were  5 yanks from Oregon and we had a great twenty minutes or so chatting about visiting each other’s countries , the Coast to Coast, from which they were catching a bus to Penrith and on to Shap to avoid what they had been told was the hardest day. They were amazed that we were walking in approach shoes not boots, we tried to educate them.

Aira Force had a lot of water coming down it, and I came to realise that if you want to take photos of waterfalls it is probably better walk down hill not up, discuss. From Dockray, we’ve been here twice before but never when the pubs open, mustn’t let that happen again, we walked up the road west out the village. It started raining about half way up and by the time we reached the cross roads at the top, it was pouring. We remained in full waterproofs the rest of the day.

Going straight across the cross roads and on westward along the Old Coach Road towards Keswick we quite quickly picked up the post marking the footpath that crosses Sandbeds Moss, Barbaryrigg Moss, Whitesike Moss and a whole load of other bogs. We were wet up to our calves in water in the first 50 metres, after that it was bog plugging till we reached Lobbs Farm some 2k later.
Passing through Wallthwaite and Guardhouse we eventually joined the path along the River Greta then swapped to the old Penrith to Keswick railway line outside Threlkeld.  Here I think we made a mistake, which had some bearing on the next days walks, with hindsight we should have diverted into Threlkeld  to get something  to eat and drink in the warm and dry and have a rest. We didn’t as we thought Keswick was not too far away and as the YHA is open all day we could go straight in get warm etc.



The railway walk is great, I’ve done some of it before, but this time in the rain it seemed to go on for ever. Even so we were impressed by the bridges, if I remember correctly 8 railway ones over the river, 2 road ones over the railway and river?, a tunnel and the boardwalk diversion.  Also impressive was the state of the river, dingy brown with white foam, with large volumes of water pouring in off the hills. We reached Keswick YHA at about 4:00pm with 13.8mile on the GPS.
Washing done and shoes stuffed with newspaper and put in the drying room we walked into town and had terrific meals in the Keswickian Fish and Chip shop, restaurant (downstairs) opposite the Moot House and had a few beers in the Dog and Gun, it was still raining when we left.

Day 3 Streams and Screes

Date: Tuesday 14 September 2010
Area: Lakeland
Distance: 12.5 Miles 20.1K
 Start Location: Keswick
OS Sheet: Explorer OL4
Outline: Keswick – Braithwaite - Coledale Hause – Gasgate Gill - Loweswater – Buttermere
Journey
Leaving Keswick proved a bit difficult due to some faffing about. First I decided that as I had experienced some pain and stiffness in my left knee while coming down from High Street on Sunday and again while walking along the railway line to Keswick on Monday, and since the next two days included a fair amount of climb and descent, I wanted to buy a cheap walking pole to help the knee, naturally several gear shops were visited before the right pole was found, at the right price. Then half way to Portinscale we both realised that in the excitement of me actually buying pole, after all I said about them, we forgot to draw out money for the next three days, so we retraced our steps back to the Coop to use the ATM, eventually got away about 10:30am.

On the way through Braithwaite we felt compelled to stop at the Café in Scotgate Holiday Park for tea/coffee and homemade cakes and get a brochure for future visits with family. From our quick visit it looked a very good site.

Finally we made it to the start of Coledale, so far the day had been fine and sunny with a gentle but cold wind. Walking up the valley the surrounding hills came in to view and it was obvious that the weather was about to change.  Approached the workings below Force Crag Mine the wind got up and the rain started, so we decided to move up to the mine buildings to shelter and kag up. Passing the ford where the track up to Coledale Hause starts, two men came across dragging a large bundle of what looked like wire fencing, although we exchanged a few shouted comments we got no clue as to what they were doing and they walked off down the valley.

Close by was a very small tin hut which we dived into, through a hole where a corrugated iron sheet was missing. There was a 150mm dia. plastic pipe passing through the hut about waist height and with two of us and rucksacks in it, it was crowded. Then the wind and rain really set in, the hut vibrated and trembled and the noise was at times deafening. The rain was ferocious as it lashed across the hillside. So we stayed put, had a brew and eat our sandwiches. As we looked out we could see the stream rising and watched as several people struggled to cross.




After about an hour the rain subsided, we climbed out the hut, looking around to work out how we could continue. It was clear that we could not cross the ford, people coming down that way were continuing to walk down through the heather on the south side of the stream. We spotted more people scrambling down below a small crag to the north of the stream and on talking to them it seemed that, that was the only way up available to us, one guy said it was a fairly well used route, so up we went. The best I can say is it’s definitely not a backpacker’s route, we scrambled, slipped and struggled but made it, out of breath but in one piece. Then pressing on over Coledale Hause we entered into a different world, Gasgale Gill.

As we started down the Gill with the Liza Beck on our left the sky cleared and the sun came out, Gasgale Gill was simply stunning, I have never seen a more beautiful place in the Lakes possibly in England, it felt almost Alpine and it is nearly three kilometres long.


Due to the rain the beck, which pretty much fills the floor of the narrow, steeply sloped valley, was a living mass of white foaming, steaming, riving water smashing into and over the massed rocks and boulders that lay in its way. The noise was deafening and as the path which clings to the heather, rock and scree is often only a foot or so from the water, with the flying spray, at times you felt you were breathing the water. The heather, crags and screes all form a backdrop to, on this day, the becks master class performance.

After so much noise and excitement the Gill ends in an anti-climax, you cross a footbridge turn a corner and you’re out in the open on a grassy field, the becks gone, its noise abated and a bus trundles by on the road  a couple of hundred meters away. Since getting home I’ve read that Gasgale Gill was once a packhorse route, which surprised me considering how tenuous the path was across the scree slopes and along by the beck.


From here the original plan was to walk west around Crummock Water and along its south side so as to come into Buttermere from the south. Due to the time we had lost earlier we decided to turn east and take the lakeside path and road to Buttermere. This looked to be a pretty straight forward four – five K walk. We went by Lanthwaite Green Farm, through the woodland to the Boat House, then headed east along the shore only to find a fifty metre section of the path was now in the lake, as our feet had been wet for several hours already, we just stepped in and splashed through the waves, back on the path and about a K later re-joined the road. A brisk road walk is great for warming up wet feet so we were feeling fairly happy about things until out of a clear sky we got twenty minutes of rain which ended as reached Buttermere. We got to the YHA at about 6:30pm with 12.5 miles on the GPS.

Although we did our usual washing and put it and our shoes in the YHA drying room, it was not very warm and little drying was done overnight, which was a shame as in all other respects the Hostel and staff were great.

Despite the efforts of a group of about twenty people who disturbed everyone by rearranging the dining area so they could all sit together in one small corner, we had a good meal and a few pints in The Fish in Buttermere.

Day 4 Rain Stopped Play

Date: Wednesday 15 September 2010
Area: Lakeland
Distance: 12.6miles 20.3K
Start Location: Buttermere
OS Sheet: Explorer OL4 & OL6
Planned Route: Buttermere – Ennerdale – Wasdale – Eskdale
Map shows planned route.

Journey

Tuesday night sleeping was difficult. The wind blew, the sash windows rattled as only sash windows can and the rain was near non stop, it even drowned out A’s. snoring , that takes some doing. I wear industrial ear plugs and was wakened again and again as the rain and wind lashed against the window. In the cold light of day things seemed worse, the trees outside the YHA were dancing like dervishes and the fellside across Buttermere was just about invisible.
This day, Buttermere to Boot via Wasdale was the one we had been looking forward to. In 2007 on the Cumberland Way we walked from Wasdale YHA  to Buttermere YHA and it had been one of the best days on that walk.  This time the plan was to walk along Buttermere up to Scarth Gap, down to Black Sail Hut for a brew, then then up to Black Sail Pass and down to Wasdale Head for lunch and on to Boot.
Over breakfast we discussed options, looked at weather forecasts, maps, time tables and pamphlets only to learn that Buttermere to Boot are possibly the worst places to travel between, in the Lakes, if not on foot. The arguments to walk or bus went around but when we got to consider the streams we would have to cross, remembering how ferocious the streams had been yesterday and weighing up how a night of rain would affect them I gave in to public transport, at that point I distinctly felt my age catch up on me.
We caught the bus to Keswick passing through Lorton Vale and Whinlatter to get into the bus station outside Booths, just in time to catch a bus to Workington. This took us through Cockermouth, now I’ve been up and down the A66 before but I’m sorry to say I’ve never been into Cockermouth. Like many people my only knowledge of the town is what we’d seen on TV following the floods. As we passed through I was quite taken with the look of the place and told myself, and anyone reading this, that I must visit it again, properly (is anyone reading this?).
We had a brief look at bits of Workington before catching the train to Ravenglass, as we travelled down the coast the sea state was rough with some hefty looking waves pounding the shore. From Ravenglass we climbed on La’al Ratty and  pulled by a steam engine we trundled to Dalegarth, before walking up to the YHA, stopping at the Woolpack on the way to peruse the Menu.



After sorting out our still wet clothing and shoes in the lovely hot drying room, it’s strange how important these things can become, we went to the Woolpack for a lovely meal and a few pints with Andy and Martin from Hubberton Hikers who were recce’ing a walk, sound like a good excuse. Another good evening.


Day 5 Ups and Downs

Date: Thursday 16 September 2010
Area: Lakeland
Distance: 13.6 Miles 21.9K
Start Location: Eskdale
OS Sheet: Explorer OL6 & OL7
Outline: Eskdale – Seathwaite – Walna Scar Road – Coniston



Journey
We left Eskdale YHA at about 9:30am having had a decent nights sleep and good breakfast, shoes and socks were dry for a  while. We went past the Woolpack to Doctors Bridge and along past Penny Hill Farm. Passing through several fields we started climbing up towards Kepple Crag, eventually joining up with the path from Jubilee Bridge and headed south east across the low land between Ulpha Fell and Harter Fell. The weather was blustery with big clouds and blue sunny patches all of which created dramatic lighting effects on the scenery around Eskdale.
The path alongside Spothow Gill and into the southern part of Dunnderdale Forest was all rocks,  bog and water making the journey a bizarre game of hop scotch with the looser getting another shoe full of black sludge, joy.  As we squelched our way along the path to Grassguards we, met coming the other way a largish group of walkers ploughing westwards. Their movement appeared to be like that of a large liner on the sea, they couldn’t stop in a short distance, so everyone had to give way or get run over, but with a smile. As we stopped and they advanced A. bellowed out “I’m only going to say this once GOOD MORNING” which went down very well with lots of smiles and hellos. And then we were alone again, slopping along.

The plan was to go into Seathwaite for lunch at Newfields Inn, at Grassguards we had a choice of routes, turn right to High Wallowbarrow or left to down the River Duddon by the stepping stones but without crossing turn right along the river. If I come this way again I will take the first option, our way was scenic and interesting but as one does in the checkout queue, I feel that the other way may have been the choice we should have made.
Newfields Inn is lovely the beer, the food, the place, the décor (not quite the word I want) the toilets were all great, I particularly enjoyed reading about the Riots here in 1904, wonderful stuff. I am going to book a weekends B& B here with my wife, she will love it.
From here it was a long slow slog up the Walna Scar road. Why is a never ending road only a never ending when you’re going up it, downhill roads are never, never ending. Puzzling this out kept me going for quite a way up. As we dropped down towards Coniston we were blessed with a double rainbow, possibly to make up for the rain on the way up!. We arrived at Coniston YHA just on 5pm and ended up in the same beds we had in 2008, The GPS said 13.6miles.The drying room was nice and warm, kit and shoes dried out ok.
Can’t remember where we eat and drank in Coniston, I seem to remember Liverpool might have been playing someone on the TV. It was a very dark walking back to the YHA. I was knackered.

Day 6 Trees and Ferries


Date: Friday 17 September 2010
Area: Lakeland
Distance: 10.3 Miles 16.6K
Start Location: Coniston
OS Sheet: Explorer OL7
Outline: Coniston – Grizdale – Far Sawrey – Windermere



Journey
Friday dawned pretty sunny and fair, we left at about 9:30am for a gently stroll to Windermere. Straight down the road to the Coniston Water follow it around the top and taking the path up through the Forest, two hours later we popped out into the Grizedale Visitors Centre, having seen one cyclist, lots of trees and a couple of fleeting views of hills, unfortunately most of the hills were behind us making fleeting views difficult to spot.


 The visitors centre was impressive, if very empty, the food in the CafĂ© was good. We pushed on popping out of the trees now and then, meeting a couple walking, finally arriving at the road down to the ferry to a sign saying Ferry Closed, which rather threw as spanner in the works. Being British we decided to ignore the sign and walked all the way down to the jetty, only to find that the ferry had broken down. We quickly learnt that “they” were fixing the ferry, but it didn’t matter as there was a small launch on Windermere that for £2.40 would carry us to Bowness, saving us a mile or so walk, so we sat and waited and had a pleasant boat trip.



We made our way up to Windermere and the Independent Backpackers Hostel at about 4pm only to find our booking had been lost and we had no beds. So we shot over to the Tourist Information Shop and the chap there did a lot of ringing around for us (Thank You Michael) eventually getting us into a twin room at Denecrest Guest House on Woodland Road, a lovely room, great breakfast, nice people. Distance for the day was 10.3 miles by GPS to the Ferry and about a mile and a half from Bowness.
Today was a pretty much a stress free walk with some nice gentle scenery on the way, not the high hills but a good wind down walk.
In the evening we met up with some friends, who live almost in the Solway Firth, who came down to meet us and do some walking on Saturday and Sunday, had a good meal in an Indian Restaurant and the end of walk a few beers plus in the Queens. No washing or drying got done.

Sunday 5 September 2010

Lakeland Circle 2010

We’ve not walked this weekend, as several things have caught up with Mrs O-n-G and I, so its been a do this, do that, go shopping kind of weekend, with added grandchildren and me helping our son with some DIY.

As previously mentioned my mate A and I are off to walk our 75 mile Lakeland Circle route next weekend so I thought I ought to post some details about us and the walk.

A. and I started walking together in 2003 when we got talking at work about the Coast to Coast Walk, we both wanted to walk it but agreed as individuals we probably wouldn’t do so, but working together we probably could.

Training and planning started in the autumn of 2003, along with buying more and more kit and we completed the C2C in April 2004. In 2005 we went separate ways. A. walking in the Picos de Europa, while I did the Cumbria Way from Carlisle to Ulverston. Since then we’ve done a six day walk every September. In 2006 we walked the Two Moors Way from Wembury to Lynmouth, 2007, the Cumberland Way from Ravenglass to Appleby via Patterdale and Shap, 2008, the Cumbria Way from Carlisle and in 2009, the Westmoreland Way from Appleby to Arnside.

The C2C and my solo Cumbria Way effort were done on a two nights camping then one nights B&B/YHA basis. Since then it’s been YHA’s, B&B’s and barns. This year for the first time it’s Hostels all the way.

The Lakeland Circle is the first multiday walk we’ve designed ourselves, so no useful way marking, it’s also the first circular multi-day walk we’ve done in one walk.

We travel up by train on Saturday 11 September and our itinerary starting on Sunday is:

Windermere – Ill Bell - High Street – Patterdale

Patterdale – Aira Force – Thelkeld – Keswick

Keswick – Coledale Hause – Loweswater – Buttermere

Buttermere – Ennerdale – Wasdale – Eskdale

Eskdale – Seathwaite – Walna Scar – Coniston

Coniston – Grizdale – Far Sawrey – Windermere

Train home……

That should give us about 75 miles of walking with 16,000 feet of climb, day one will be the longest at 14miles and Coniston to Windermere is the shortest at 11miles.

There is a gap on the map below between Patterdale and Aira Force as this is where we catch a bus. Having walked along here before, we know it is not a pleasant on road walk, with a couple of dangerous on road sections. So last winter when we planned the walk, we decided that as both of us will be sixty we would take the bus, using our brand new bus passes, from Patterdale YHA to the bottom of Aira Force, we were wrong only A. has a bus pass. A having reached sixty at the end of May got his bus pass in July, I hit sixty in mid-July but can’t get mine until November, Government regulations evidently.

As my blog skills are still in their infancy, and I have yet to even investigate out how to blog using my iphone, I will not be posting on the hoof but will put up notes, maps and photos when I get home and sorted out.

Friday 3 September 2010

Strines Inn, Derwent, Moscar

Date: 29 August 2010
Area: West of Sheffield
Distance: 10.2 Miles 16.4 K
Start Location: Car Park at Strines Inn. (Strines Bridge Car Park out of use at present)
OS Sheet: Explorer OL24
Grid Ref: SK 2226 9059
Outline Strines Bridge, Bradfield Gate Head, Hancock Wood, Derwent Reservoir, Grindle Clough, Moscar House

For GPX file see Every Trail



Route

These notes are provided to enable the walk to be plotted on a 1 : 25,000 map. They are not walking instructions.

As the car park by Strines Bridge is out of use while large scale logging operations are going on we parked in the back car park at the pub having ask the bar staff first.

Follow the road downhill to Strines Bridge and take the track (Foulstone Road) up the side of the moor to Brad Field Head Gate. Go straight over heading for Bamford House. At the wall turn left steeply downhill through Hancock Wood to pick up the Reservoir side track. Head south past Derwent Dam then just after the bridge over Mill Brook take the track to the left all the way to the top of the ridge and straight over to Moscar House, go up the unclassified road turn left and back to Strines Inn

Journey

What a day, once again this was planned as a slightly different walk, of about 12 miles, but the mornings horrendous rain and the high winds that persisted long after the rain stopped caused us to amend the route somewhat. Funnily enough we have walked similar routes from Stines three times over the last five years and every time we’ve had rain.

At least it gave the waterproofs a good work out, I put my over trousers on the right way this time and the Paramo Velez AL was pretty good as it was the heaviest rain I’ve been in wearing it. I did feel a little damp, which could have been sweat, it dried out quickly once the rain stopped.

There were plenty of people, walking and cycling about especially along the reservoir side track. One cyclist actually had a bell and used to give a bit of warning, why can’t all the bloody others.

The Derwent and Lady Bower water levels were well down, as a result there was quite a lot of the ruins of  Derwent Village showing.


When we got back to Strines Inn it was packed and impressively large meals and puddings were being served, unfortunately they won’t do a portion of chips on their own, you have a sandwich with it. Shame.