A few days walking in the Lakes. Always sounds spiffing doesn't it? And indeed it is. Even when it rains (as it often does of course) and when you have to engineer some half-baked, Heath Robinson type repair as a result of a broken tent pole, in previously mentioned precipitation, for a crappy tent where the inner pitches first and ... oh well you get the picture.
And that is the point. In spite of suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (oh OK I know it's MY fault for continuing to use a crappy, albeit light, tent and, yes, I know it rains a LOT there) the Lake District is ALWAYS spectacularly rewarding for the walker and cyclist.
It's many, many years since I've climbed Scafell Pike and so I wanted to revisit it before next months 3-peaks cycling challenge along with @bruciestokes who is doing the challenge with me. Last time I did the full day route from Eskdale and so the route from Wasdale was unfamiliar and so it seemed a good excuse idea to check it out. The original plan was to load up the bike, take it on the train and cycle to the campsite at Wasdale Head but I'd overlooked the fact that it would be half term and the trains would be packed! I was right and glad that I chose to go with rucksack only and camp on the western edges of the fells within walking distance of a train station. I'll not dwell on the fact that I took a wrong turn and a 1 mile walk to the camp site turned in to a 4 mile walk! I'll also skip over the whole tent pole episode that unfurled upon arrival other than to say that it involved a lot of swearing and then much appreciation to the camp site owners at Shepherds View who had some similar poles that I could fashion in to a useable repair.
The location of the campsite also gave us the opportunity to explore Muncaster Fell. This has to be one of Lakelands best 'little hills' although we didn't have much of a view given the persistent rain from low scudding clouds.
Our route up Scafell Pike the next day started in pleasant sunshine from The NT car park at Wasdale but the view of the peaks themselves was non-existent and so we knew it would be cold and cloudy at the tops. We took the route up via Mickledore which involves a steep ascent up red scree about 2/3 of the way up the mountain. It's very hard work but affords you good views of Lords Rake and Scafell to the right. Well it would have done if we weren't in the clouds by that point. After following the cairn signed path to the summit and regretting not packing gloves we enjoyed the view (!) for a short while, forgot to drink the whisky from the hip flask, and imagined that, rather like the French, we were looking down on England. We descended down the main path to avoid the tricky scree on the Mickledore scar. Using walking poles seemed to definitely help my knees on both ascent and descent and I was absolutely fine the day after too. I don't like using them but this serves to show that needs must when the Devil takes a small crap on your musculoskeletal system!
I'm sure my rucksack felt heavier on the way back to Sheffield but then everything in there was soaked anyway so I'm not surprised. Definitely a sign of a typical trip to the Lake District.
Bit of a setback with a knee injury over the last 7-10 days has meant zero training rides/walks :-( Not brilliant timing when you consider it is now little more than 1 month until the 3 peaks challenge commences.
I've struggled with patellar bursitis for quite a while. It has been a transient problem and hardly bothers me save for trying to kneel down. This time, for some unknown reason, it flared up badly, became very red and painful, with pain spreading down my tibia and infection leading to enlarged lymph nodes in my groin which were equally uncomfortable. 'Like having a 3rd bollock' was Cath's rather erudite observation! Blood tests and some high strength antibiotics (on last day of course today) ensued and at last it is now on the mend with the swelling and discomfort on the wain. I'm not sure the antibiotics actually helped to do anything other than give me a pounding headache. Normally you expect infection to clear up fairly quickly during a course of them but this time it is only on the last day of them that I'm seeing an improvement. Odd.
Anyway, I'm glad that this appears to be no more than a temporary setback. I was slightly worried that it might lead to postponement of the challenge but I'm not contemplating that now. Will rest it for this week and get back on the bike/in to the hills again next week for some gentle recovery stuff to get back in to the groove.
Spring arrives at last! Sun is out, a bit of warmth and leaves on the trees finally making an appearance. In honour of this I decided to pack the panniers and venture out in to the Peak District for an overnight camping trip and a quick skip up and down Kinder Scout for good measure.
I love the Peak District but I don't really explore all of it that much. Most of my walks centre around Derwent, Kinder Scout (my very favourite place) and Bleaklow and so it was no surprise that I didn't spend long thinking about where to cycle out to. The very first thought that entered my head was 'ooh, cycle to Edale, pitch at Fieldhead campsite, walk up Kinder, pint at the Old Nags Head, cook my tea, drop of whisky, sleep, cycle to work in the morning and then onwards back home. Job's a good 'un! I'll try to be more creative next time.
s24o? I've seen the term s24o before. It stands for 'sub 24 hour overnight'. It doesn't seem to be a widely used term in the UK (it's more of a US thing I reckon) but it refers to cycling out somewhere reasonably close after work, camping overnight and then cycling back the next morning. It's a great idea. The general idea is that you don't need to pack much at all but I had to add a bit as I also planned to go for a walk. So I included a pair of trainers (walking boots on an evening like this would have been overkill) and a change of clothes. I knew the temperature would drop to 3 or 4 deg C at night so I also took my bulky 3-season sleeping bag instead of my mini, lightweight summer bag. I also decided to take my stove and some food too as I wanted to avoid spending on dinner and breakfast. Bottom line was that I ended up filling 2 large rear panniers! Oh and a hefty D-lock on top. So much for packing light!
An early work start meant I could finish mid afternoon and I cycled out in warm sunshine on the undulating roads from Worksop through Chesterfield, Newbold and Barlow towards Owler Bar. The climb up Horsleygate Road to Owler Bar had me sweating and grabbing low gears with the relatively heavy load but after Fox House I could enjoy the descent in to Hathersage and on to Hope.
Looking down towards Hathersage
Cyclists were 10-a-penny on the Hope road. All bombing out to do their Winnats/Mam Nick circuit. Needless to say they all passed me easily but did I care? Not one jot.
The Edale road was bathed in sunshine and I pushed along at a leisurely pace knowing that I was in no hurry and wanted to save my legs for the walk that followed.
Glorious spring late afternoon sunshine
Yes I know I'm carrying a lot for a 'one-nighter'!
After arriving in Edale at 5.40 (quite quick for the 35 miles) I had pitched my tent and got changed by 6.20. I had meant to bring a very small rucksack for the walk but had forgotten. No worries - all I had to do was carry a water bottle and stuff camera, wallet, phone and keys in my pocket. The walk was really the purpose of the journey and I was looking forward to it. There wasn't time to do a long trek as I needed to be back down and cook my tea before it got too dark. Plan was to ascend Grindsbrook, follow the edge to Crowden Tower and descend there to the Pennine Way and back in to Edale; something between 6 and 6.5 miles.
The walk was superb. Perfect light and not a soul around. Nothing but the calls of Curlews, Ring Ouzels, Grouse and Meadow Pipits to keep me company. Can't get better than that. The descent along Crowden Clough is beautiful. I've never been this route before but it is definitely recommended. Steep in places but lots of fun. I was back at the Old Nags Head by 8.50 pm and after a swift couple of pints was cooking my tea (chilli and rice) by 9.20.
Looking back down Grindsbrook in gorgeous evening sun
Yes I'm sweating. I'd fairly sprinted up!
Here's a vid from the top of Grindsbrook. I'm sure you'll agree that it was a perfect evening up there:
The path towards Grindslow Knoll
Crowden Clough
Con trails over a Kinder Scout skyline
Well deserved!
After making a dent in the hip flask (Jura Elixir: very nice indeed) and deciding on a Stevie Ray Vaughan playlist on the iPod I was soon asleep. As is the norm, I woke a couple of times in the night, really wanting a pee but I couldn't be arsed to get out of my bag and decided that a full bladder was the lesser of two evils. The nearby rookery woke me properly at about 5am :-( Noisy buggers!
One thing that was definitely a blessing on this outing was my recently purchased Exped Air Pillow. It is super light, compact and very, very comfortable. It made a huge difference to my usual camping discomfort where I simply ram clothes into a stuffsack. Well worth it!
After a brew, a spot of breakfast and another doze I packed up and was on the road back to Sheffield via the great climb under Bamford Edge and Stanage. I thought I might see Ian Loasby on the road but he'd decided on a different route. Hey ho. After sitting at my desk for a few hours my legs had stiffened a little by the time I left for home but a nice tailwind pushed me back in the same sort of time I'd expect to commute anyway despite the full panniers!
So, a 75 mile round trip on the bike, a hill walk in glorious evening conditions, a lovely overnight camp and great training for the cycling the 3 peaks challenge next month. I'll definitely be doing that again soon.
A 40 mile round trip bike commute - even with a couple of decent hills to contend with each way - doesn't really cut it when it comes to:
training for longer distance events
get out and really enjoy the scenery
It all gets a bit, well, samey.
For the first time in ages, I managed to get out in to the Peak District for a longer and hillier ride. The route took in Baslow, Pilsley, Bakewell, Over Haddon, Youlgreave, Stanton-in-the-Peak, Birchover, Winster, Matlock, and back to Worksop via Clay Cross, Palterton, Nether Langwith and Cuckney.
It's a while since I've visited this part of the Peak District and I'd forgotten how steep a few of the inclines were (e.g. up to Stanton-in-the Peak) but I don't recall using my lowest gear on the compact double set-up so either my legs aren't in too bad a shape or I'm exaggerating the climbs. Anyway - here's the uppy-downy profile of the ride to give an idea.
It certainly wasn't a fast ride - 73 miles in just over 5 and a half hours riding (average speed 13.1 mph) - but with 4500 ft of ascent that isn't too bad for me. As usual I forgot to eat during the ride (apart from a small packet of sweets in my pocket). I HAVE to sort that out.
Towards the end of the ride I got caught up in a 10 mile time trial on the Cuckney course. It's reasonably flat along the A60 here with just a few little undulations and so I was travelling along (on my Vernon Barker Audax bike complete with mudguards, rack and rackbag) at about 18mph. Some of the TT riders were absolutely flying as they passed me! Now I'm sure that most cyclists suffer from the affliction of always wanting to chase down/not get dropped by another cyclist on the road but at this point in the ride I was in no shape to even remotely try and keep up. Even if I'd wanted to there is no way I could maintain that sort of speed.
The 3 peaks challenge starts on 22nd June. That's just 2 months away and I'm not quite where I want to be in terms of fitness. Not far off but the next 7 weeks are going to have to be hard work to get me to a point where I'll feel comfortable embarking on it and not unduly worry about injury.
The cycling miles are definitely building up. Over 200 last week and am looking to maintain at least that sort of average. They certainly add up with my lengthy commute but I need to add in a few long days in the saddle and begin to combine rides out in to the Peak District with some hillwalking. Scope to achieve that now that the weather is improving. In fact I really need to include much more hillwalking in the next few weeks. I haven't done enough. In addition to some planned trips in to The Peak District, the Yorkshire 3 peaks is on the cards as is a short jaunt to The Lakes and a recce of Scafell Pike. Both should help.
It's just difficult to fit it in with a busy work schedule!
They really are horrid things. Forget waterboarding. After 45-60 minutes of mind-numbing, lactic acid building, sweat inducing (of apocalyptic proportions), heart-rate killing torture I'd admit to all sorts of crimes I haven't even considered, let alone commit! On the plus side, it's a great fat burning exercise.
I ALWAYS prefer to ride on the road (or trails) rather than on a turbo despite rain and wind but sometimes the freezing cold, ice or recent experience of high levels of muppetry displayed by car drivers persuades me to use this hateful device. I do also use it as a warm up for when I'm doing my weights circuit but I tend not to try and kill myself when doing that. Even then, a 30 minute session creates a health and safety hazard as I turn a garage floor in to a lake of sweat ...
After an early Easter Monday pick up in Sheffield, 3 of us met at Birchin Clough car park on the Snake Pass (my favourite starting point for walks in the Dark Peak) with the plan of a 2 day loop of Bleaklow and Kinder. The roads were clear but there was still plenty of snow around after the recent inclement weather and we knew that this would make for some testing walking conditions. At least the usual peat bog would be frozen so there was a silver lining of sorts.
We descended through the Pine Forest of Lady Clough and followed the path NW to the top of Doctors Gate, already building up a bit of a sweat and deciding to remove a layer of clothing despite the freezing conditions. After a short stretch on the old packhorse route we turned north on the Pennine Way and started to really notice the strong, bitter easterly wind. Both Mark and Grahame are pilots and I thought it would be interesting for them to see the wreck of the B29 Superfortress 'Overexposed' on Higher Shelf Stones so we left the path and trekked across to the trig point and the nearby wreckage. It was bitterly cold by this point and I'd noticed that Grahame hadn't bothered with coat, hat or gloves. I thought he was just a 'hard as nails' ex-army officer but it transpired that he was just too lazy to get the stuff out of his pack!
The wind was biting on Higher Shelf Stones.
Wreckage of B29 Superfortress
Wain Stones, or 'Kissing Stones'
From the wreck site we took a bearing north to Wain Stones and began to notice that, while most deep snow drifts could be easily walked over, some swallowed your legs over knee deep. Funny but hard going. Stove out for a brew at Wain Stones while a bit of weather passed over us and then navigated to Bleaklow Stones and then followed the Alport Valley via Grains in the Water. The Alport Valley is beautiful and my favourite route in and out of Bleaklow but it was seriously hard going with frequent deep drifts and snow covered slopes that sapped energy and required careful crossing to avoid sliding in to the freezing river below. The constant walking off-camber was also starting to play havoc with ankles and knees. We stopped for a rest and some lunch along here during which I managed to nudge my pack and saw it start to roll down the slope. Rather foolishly I instinctively hared after it and very nearly came a cropper! I resigned myself to retrieving it from the river :-( No real damage done though. The worst bit was climbing back up again.
Snow covered slopes in the Alport Valley
Ice curtain. River Alport
Alport Castles
One of the best aspects of this route on to/off Bleaklow is the splendour of the Alport Castles landslip and the lovely afternoon weather afforded us fine views of it. Following the old roman road we returned via the Birchin Clough car park and then descended once again through Lady Clough towards Ashop Moor to find a decent place to camp. A sheltered spot near the river was clearly a spot that had been well used previously and we were a good way away from the road here.
Mark had managed to, ahem, purloin some MoD ration packs and I was impressed with how much they included and the quality of them. You can buy the equivalent of these for about £10 online which makes them FAR better value than the usual individual boil-in-the bag stuff costing up to a fiver in the outdoors shops.
My fave bit of outdoor kit. Primus Eta Packlite Stove
Some Jura Superstition single malt (lovely stuff) kept me warm before escaping the bitter cold and diving in to my sleeping bag. It must have been pretty cold during the night as the water in my bottle had frozen by the time I crawled out in the morning.
Day 2:
After breakfast, a brew and packing up we reclimbed the slope back up towards the Snake Pass and then joined the path through the pine forest to the bottom of Fairbrook. Although we encountered no other walkers, the climb up Kinder Scout wasn't as peaceful as usual as a helicopter made continuous trips over our heads carrying heavy loads (of what I'm not sure exactly) up on to the plateau.
At the top we stopped for a brew and an early lunch before traversing across the plateau to Crowden Head and then Kinder Downfall. Once again the drifts often helped us by filling in the deep groughs but occasionally they managed to swallow legs up to waist deep.
Near top of Fairbrook, Kinder Scout
More drifts near top of Kinder Scout
From the downfall we headed west with the aim of descending at Mill Hill (Ashop Head) and on to the Snake Path. Inattention on my part meant we started descending near Sandy Heys and although we quickly realised we couldn't be bothered to climb back up so walked along the slope towards where we should have been. When we did get to the stake marking the crossroads of the Snake Path and Pennine Way we realised it would have perhaps been folly to descend where we intended as the snow and ice on the steep descent looked perilous. Certainly no-one was going up or down there anyway. From here we returned to Lady Clough and then the car park via the Snake Path. My right knee was starting to become quite painful along here and so it took a little longer than it should have.
Worryingly, my knee has worsened since the walk. I'm pretty sure it is tendonitis with tenosynivitis as I can feel grating in the tendon sheaths at the back of my knee. I was hoping to get out on the bike sometime during the Easter Break but rest and anti-inflammatories are the order of the day instead. Oh well.
