I woke up feeling relatively refreshed, it was overcast and the air was damp, Luca woke about an hour later than me. We packed up and strolled into town for a large, pub breakfast. We then took the ferry up to Ambleside and walked North to begin our walk.
It was a long, steady walk alongside Scandale Beck. It remained overcast and damp, but not unpleasant for walking. We went past a large cave which would have made a great place for a fire. Under a bull which almost seemed poised to leap on us from an overhanging crag. We (well Luca), opted to stick to the valley rather than going over Low and High Pike (which was a shame, because the cloud cleared and it would have been an interesting (though possibly very tiring) route). We went at a pretty decent pace, but curiously a mother and her 2 young daughters seemed to be gaining on us....
We ascended over Scandale Pass and the descended Caiston Glen to continue the rest of the walk weaving alongside the road. It was interesting, but tiring. The main highlight being spotting a beautiful red deer about 80m from the road.
We eventually came to Glenridding where we enjoyed another decent meal. We decided to walk to the foot of Helvellyn to find an interesting spot to camp. The sun was out now and our meal had replenished our energy somewhat. However,it was a relief when Luca spotted a perfect spot to camp - near the path but also in an extremely picturesque yet practical spot next to a stream.
We started to build a fire, but it was stopped by rain. Luca then got in his pyjamas, just as it stopped raining. So an early night was had.
Friday, 31 July 2015
Thursday, 30 July 2015
30/07/15 - Coniston to Windermere - (me, Luca)
Luca and I set off on a sunny Thursday morning for a 3 or 4 day trek through the Lakes. I had a rough idea of a route, but the intention to play it by ear. Sleeping arrangements were to wild camp, but I was a bit concerned that I wasn't sure where we'd be each night and so where we'd sleep...
We parked the car in a campsite near Coniston and set off round the northern edge of Coniston Lake. We had some food with us, but intended to get a lot from cafes and pubs on the way. We stopped fairly quickly at a shop to get some local fudge and shortly after to get some lunch - I couldn't believe how busy everywhere was (the traffic had been pretty horrific too), but before long we were walking through Grizedale forest and the crowds had disappeared.
We wound our way through the forest. I thought it would be a fun to take an off beat route over the top and we ended up following a very old, but overgrown route. It was muddy but fun. It came to a beautiful open marshy plateau which was unlike anything I'd seen before. The light was amazing - I guess because of the reflections from the water in the grass. It looked something from the American prairies (I think). The way was marked by ancient looking stones.
But the way was very boggy and much to Luca's amusement (and somewhat to mine), I took a couple of miss-steps and ended up knee deep in boggy marsh. We were about 3 hours in to the trip and I was already filthy and wet.
We ended up a bit lost, but soon found our way again and wound our way back down. We stopped at a pub (I fought the temptation to have a pint and had sparkling water instead - which turned out to be far more refreshing). Eventually we made our way to the ferry which would take us across Windermere to Bowness.
In Bowness we re-met the crowds, but enjoyed some fish and chips. We now needed to find somewhere to pitch our tents. I'd figured that if we walked up to the east of Bowness and along the Cumbria way a bit we'd be able to find a suitable spot. We ascended the hill and I just hoped that I was right. Luckily, I was and we found a spot where we were reasonably comfortable that we would be undisturbed (and undisturbing), till the following morning.
My mood was somewhat sullied by my cold, damp feet, but a change of socks sorted me out.
We took a bit of a wander round after putting our tent up. The moon was full and the views from the top of the hill were wonderful. The night was topped off by the view of an owl in flight.
We parked the car in a campsite near Coniston and set off round the northern edge of Coniston Lake. We had some food with us, but intended to get a lot from cafes and pubs on the way. We stopped fairly quickly at a shop to get some local fudge and shortly after to get some lunch - I couldn't believe how busy everywhere was (the traffic had been pretty horrific too), but before long we were walking through Grizedale forest and the crowds had disappeared.
We wound our way through the forest. I thought it would be a fun to take an off beat route over the top and we ended up following a very old, but overgrown route. It was muddy but fun. It came to a beautiful open marshy plateau which was unlike anything I'd seen before. The light was amazing - I guess because of the reflections from the water in the grass. It looked something from the American prairies (I think). The way was marked by ancient looking stones.
But the way was very boggy and much to Luca's amusement (and somewhat to mine), I took a couple of miss-steps and ended up knee deep in boggy marsh. We were about 3 hours in to the trip and I was already filthy and wet.
We ended up a bit lost, but soon found our way again and wound our way back down. We stopped at a pub (I fought the temptation to have a pint and had sparkling water instead - which turned out to be far more refreshing). Eventually we made our way to the ferry which would take us across Windermere to Bowness.
In Bowness we re-met the crowds, but enjoyed some fish and chips. We now needed to find somewhere to pitch our tents. I'd figured that if we walked up to the east of Bowness and along the Cumbria way a bit we'd be able to find a suitable spot. We ascended the hill and I just hoped that I was right. Luckily, I was and we found a spot where we were reasonably comfortable that we would be undisturbed (and undisturbing), till the following morning.
My mood was somewhat sullied by my cold, damp feet, but a change of socks sorted me out.
We took a bit of a wander round after putting our tent up. The moon was full and the views from the top of the hill were wonderful. The night was topped off by the view of an owl in flight.
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
14/07/15- Oban....
The weather was gorgeous. I half heartedly decided to get a decent breakfast and then ascend Sgurr Dhonuill, which was is near Sgorr Dhearg which I'd done on the mountaineering course in Feb - usually these 2 are done in one trip.
My heart wasn't massively up for the challenge and I was concerned about having a tiring fail (the tracks through the forest were a bit patchy and I was in a bit of a rush as I had a long drive back), but the weather was the best it had been all weekend, so I dutifully went for breakfast at the cafe in Glencoe. But it was closed. In fact I struggled to find anywhere, but was enjoying driving around in the search. So much so, that I decided to start a slow and somewhat indirect cruise back home via Oban and to sack off my walk plans.
The drive was beautiful. I stopped for a walk on the beach, then for breakfast overlooking a castle in a loch (at first it was the best scrambled egg I'd ever had but it soon descended into an overly rich, sick inducing fest). I ended up doing the distillery tour in Oban and the driving back. A very nice, easy day indeed. The weather on the drive was beautiful all the way to Manchester.
My heart wasn't massively up for the challenge and I was concerned about having a tiring fail (the tracks through the forest were a bit patchy and I was in a bit of a rush as I had a long drive back), but the weather was the best it had been all weekend, so I dutifully went for breakfast at the cafe in Glencoe. But it was closed. In fact I struggled to find anywhere, but was enjoying driving around in the search. So much so, that I decided to start a slow and somewhat indirect cruise back home via Oban and to sack off my walk plans.
The drive was beautiful. I stopped for a walk on the beach, then for breakfast overlooking a castle in a loch (at first it was the best scrambled egg I'd ever had but it soon descended into an overly rich, sick inducing fest). I ended up doing the distillery tour in Oban and the driving back. A very nice, easy day indeed. The weather on the drive was beautiful all the way to Manchester.
Monday, 13 July 2015
13/07/15 - Nevis Range, Around Buachaille Etive Beag - (me, Steve) [mtb]
So we got up for Steve's final day which was due to be a biking day. The first part was doing the lift up and then downhill Red run at the Nevis Range trail centre - http://www.nevisrange.co.uk/activities_mountain_biking.asp . It was drizzly and bleak, visibility was poor and it was surprisingly cold, but we set off up the hill (in a ski lift) and then quickly set off down hill again.
I was somewhat nervous as we proceeded and my nerves soon started to feel increasingly frayed. The boardwalks were high, winding, steep and fast. I struggled to confidently take them at the speed which was required in order to stay on and had a couple of close shaves followed by a pathetic stumbling fall. At first I wasn't sure whether I was enjoying things, but increasingly I became sure that I was enduring rather than enjoying.
Eventually the boardwalk gave way to rock gardens which were enjoyable if taken fairly slowly.
Before much further we came across a group of lads who had stopped. We'd seen them before setting off looking full of boisterous humour and bullishness. Now though one of them was curled up in pain and making various animal type noises. Some of the party looked quite concerned, others were just asking about our bikes etc. We phoned the centre to ask them to send help and carried on our way. Even Steve slowed down a bit now though.
The rest of the trail was increasingly enjoyable, but I still had to stop a lot and walk various sections.
We got something to eat at the cafe and then set off through Fort William for our second, hopefully more serene ride through the valleys around Buachaille Etive Beag.
The traffic through Fort William was horrific and knowing that Steve was on the clock I started to doubt that he'd be up for doing the second ride. As we turned into Glen Etive he flashed me from behind and it was obvious that I was going to be doing the second ride on my own. I decided to throw caution to the wind and carry on anyway. I parked up and took a look at the steep ascent to the col which was the entry to the north valley around Buachaille Etive Beag I walked the first bit and it was obvious that it wasn't going to be rideable, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I ended up pushing and carrying my bike up the ascent, just hoping that the next section would be rideable. It kind of was, but there were a lot of gaps in the path which required stopping - some I could jump over, but some I couldn't and they were every 30 or 40 metres. I was also worried that my back wheel was going to get a snake bite due to the low pressure of my tyres. I had a pump with me but I wasn't confident in how to use it so I decided that I'd try and avoid pumping up the tyres until I reached the road which was my half way point. That way if I flattened the tyre completely I could walk to the car and drive back to pick up the bike.
Then I had my first highlight - riding past a herd of deer and scaring them (unintentionally) with my squealing brakes.
The cloud had been hanging around quite a bit, but visibility was generally good and the sun was making pleasant appearances. I stopped at a stream for some lunch and to generally have a good laugh at myself. I was walking and hiking my bike more than I was riding it even on this section.
I eventually got to the road and decided to pump up my tyre. It went about as badly as I feared. Before long the tyre was completely flat. I very nearly decided to give up, leave the bike and walk back to the car, but eventually managed to wangle a way to get some air into the tyre. After about 40 minutes I was on my way again.
First of all it was a case of following the West Highland Way (a wide, dull track - kind of put me off walking the thing), but before long I turned into the souther valley I passed some walkers who looked in in awe and admiration - but I felt pretty foolish as I knew that before long they'd see me walking my bike along. I was right. The track was (again) very difficult to ride. I started toying with different and inventive ways to hike my bike along and wonder if anyone had invented a shoulder pad to hang your bike off to stop the frame digging into your shoulder.
Despite it all I was enjoying myself and the challenge, but I was still worried that I wouldn't be able to descend the final section into Glen Etive.
I stopped for a while to enjoy the views up to Buachaille Etive Mor. The valleys were as beautiful as I hoped - probably better than the views and scenery of many mountains. This path was decidedly less easy to ride than it had looked from up on high yesterday though.
Finally, I reached the last section - the descent to Glen Etive. It looked like it was going to be doable, but not rideable. The sun continued to make it's presence known and highlight 2 occurred - the view down into Glen Etive was truly spectacular. It looked like something from a renaissance painting. Utterly idyllic. A view that was far less obvious when in the Glen itself.
The route required great skill in descending with bike in hand. Occasionally a small section was rideable. The ground was also quite muddy. I knew that the very last bit was going to be tricky, but I now knew that I would make it no matter what.
I eventually made it back to the car. It had taken about 6 hours. Very enjoyable, but utterly ridiculous - my guess is that I rode about 10 - 15 percent. I think a more experienced ride probably would have ridden about another 10 or 20 percent, but that's it.
A quote from an email sent to Steve at the end of the day "I feel exhausted and elated now though - even though I had to carry my bike on my bike more than I actually rode it! I got through it by taking inspiration from that guy who did the great north run with a fridge on his back - I thought of myself not as being on a bike ride, but actually just being on a walk, but dressed as cyclist and carrying a bike to add to the challenge!"
I finished the day off with a steak from the Kings House Hotel. And then had a couple of whiskies from Clachaig Inn.
I was unsure about the following day - could I face another walk....?
GPX File
I was somewhat nervous as we proceeded and my nerves soon started to feel increasingly frayed. The boardwalks were high, winding, steep and fast. I struggled to confidently take them at the speed which was required in order to stay on and had a couple of close shaves followed by a pathetic stumbling fall. At first I wasn't sure whether I was enjoying things, but increasingly I became sure that I was enduring rather than enjoying.
Eventually the boardwalk gave way to rock gardens which were enjoyable if taken fairly slowly.
Before much further we came across a group of lads who had stopped. We'd seen them before setting off looking full of boisterous humour and bullishness. Now though one of them was curled up in pain and making various animal type noises. Some of the party looked quite concerned, others were just asking about our bikes etc. We phoned the centre to ask them to send help and carried on our way. Even Steve slowed down a bit now though.
The rest of the trail was increasingly enjoyable, but I still had to stop a lot and walk various sections.
We got something to eat at the cafe and then set off through Fort William for our second, hopefully more serene ride through the valleys around Buachaille Etive Beag.
The traffic through Fort William was horrific and knowing that Steve was on the clock I started to doubt that he'd be up for doing the second ride. As we turned into Glen Etive he flashed me from behind and it was obvious that I was going to be doing the second ride on my own. I decided to throw caution to the wind and carry on anyway. I parked up and took a look at the steep ascent to the col which was the entry to the north valley around Buachaille Etive Beag I walked the first bit and it was obvious that it wasn't going to be rideable, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I ended up pushing and carrying my bike up the ascent, just hoping that the next section would be rideable. It kind of was, but there were a lot of gaps in the path which required stopping - some I could jump over, but some I couldn't and they were every 30 or 40 metres. I was also worried that my back wheel was going to get a snake bite due to the low pressure of my tyres. I had a pump with me but I wasn't confident in how to use it so I decided that I'd try and avoid pumping up the tyres until I reached the road which was my half way point. That way if I flattened the tyre completely I could walk to the car and drive back to pick up the bike.
Then I had my first highlight - riding past a herd of deer and scaring them (unintentionally) with my squealing brakes.
The cloud had been hanging around quite a bit, but visibility was generally good and the sun was making pleasant appearances. I stopped at a stream for some lunch and to generally have a good laugh at myself. I was walking and hiking my bike more than I was riding it even on this section.
I eventually got to the road and decided to pump up my tyre. It went about as badly as I feared. Before long the tyre was completely flat. I very nearly decided to give up, leave the bike and walk back to the car, but eventually managed to wangle a way to get some air into the tyre. After about 40 minutes I was on my way again.
First of all it was a case of following the West Highland Way (a wide, dull track - kind of put me off walking the thing), but before long I turned into the souther valley I passed some walkers who looked in in awe and admiration - but I felt pretty foolish as I knew that before long they'd see me walking my bike along. I was right. The track was (again) very difficult to ride. I started toying with different and inventive ways to hike my bike along and wonder if anyone had invented a shoulder pad to hang your bike off to stop the frame digging into your shoulder.
Despite it all I was enjoying myself and the challenge, but I was still worried that I wouldn't be able to descend the final section into Glen Etive.
I stopped for a while to enjoy the views up to Buachaille Etive Mor. The valleys were as beautiful as I hoped - probably better than the views and scenery of many mountains. This path was decidedly less easy to ride than it had looked from up on high yesterday though.
Finally, I reached the last section - the descent to Glen Etive. It looked like it was going to be doable, but not rideable. The sun continued to make it's presence known and highlight 2 occurred - the view down into Glen Etive was truly spectacular. It looked like something from a renaissance painting. Utterly idyllic. A view that was far less obvious when in the Glen itself.
The route required great skill in descending with bike in hand. Occasionally a small section was rideable. The ground was also quite muddy. I knew that the very last bit was going to be tricky, but I now knew that I would make it no matter what.
I eventually made it back to the car. It had taken about 6 hours. Very enjoyable, but utterly ridiculous - my guess is that I rode about 10 - 15 percent. I think a more experienced ride probably would have ridden about another 10 or 20 percent, but that's it.
A quote from an email sent to Steve at the end of the day "I feel exhausted and elated now though - even though I had to carry my bike on my bike more than I actually rode it! I got through it by taking inspiration from that guy who did the great north run with a fridge on his back - I thought of myself not as being on a bike ride, but actually just being on a walk, but dressed as cyclist and carrying a bike to add to the challenge!"
I finished the day off with a steak from the Kings House Hotel. And then had a couple of whiskies from Clachaig Inn.
I was unsure about the following day - could I face another walk....?
GPX File
Sunday, 12 July 2015
12/07/15 - Stob Coire Raineach, Stob Dubh - (me, Steve)
The day was a little brighter when we woke in the morning and I was questioning my stupidity for wanting to leave the night before. Steve was pretty stiff though and only just seemed willing to do a walk. We'd planning on doing Aonach Eagach, but given the weather that was off the agenda. We went for one of the safe back-up options - Buachaille Etive Beag (Stob Coire Raineach, Stob Dubh). Essentially this was the completion of the walk which I'd started on the intro day of my Scottish Mountaineering course.
We went for a fine breakfast in the cafe in Glencoe and then set off from the car park at the base of Buachaille Etive Beag. The visibility was improving and it the chill from the air (and our bones), was dissipating. In fact we soon got pretty warm as we ascended the fairly steep path.
The route was fairly uneventful, but very pleasant,with great views to Buachaille Etive Mor and beyond. I was keen to try and spot the route down from Etive Mor as I was thinking of completing it on Tuesday when Steve would have returned home. However, we were also taken with the view of the path which we could see winding through the valley and wondered if it would be rideable.
The descent was once again aided greatly by my walking sticks,which Steve once again refused to share.
We went went back to the camp site and then walked to the Clachaig Inn on what was turning out to be quite a pleasant evening. We studied the maps to see if we could find a route to ride the path we'd seen and found a potentially interesting route which would start in Glen Etive - this was added to the agenda for the following day. Then, a steak, a beer and several whiskies were enjoyed before turning in for the night.
Munro - Stob Coire Raineach, Stob Dubh
GPX File
Munro - Stob Coire Raineach, Stob Dubh
GPX File
Saturday, 11 July 2015
11/07/15 - Carn Mor Dearg, Ben Nevis (attempt) - (me, Steve)
I left Nantwich at about 8:30pm on Friday to meet Steve at the Red Squirrel Campsite in Glencoe the following day. Due to the late start I stayed at Abbotsford Hotel which was perfectly situated, just North of Glasgow. Had a decent breakfast and set off to meet Steve. He was about to have breakfast in Fort William when I got there so it took about 30 minutes for us to actually meet up. I should have used this time to put my tent up, but didn't. We set off for Ben Nevis in Steve's car, got half way there only for Steve to realise the he'd forgotten his waterproof trousers, so we ended up driving all the way back again...
The weather was pretty bleak when we eventually set off. I couldn't believe how busy the route was - we were starting on the tourist path up the Ben. It was pretty thankless and unappealing for the most part. Eventually we beared to the left where the hoardes bore right and found ourselves more alone. As we rose to the point where we reached the mountain rescue hut the weather had got bleaker still. The wind was up, as was the rain, but the visibility was way down. I warned Steve that if I didn't like the look of the arete when we actually got to it, I wouldn't want to proceed. Steve's risk assessment is decidedly less operationally alert than mine...
The ascent up to Carn Mor Dearg from the rescue hut is pretty steep and gruelling and due to the scree base which you're going up, not without risk. But eventually we reached the top. I was really starting to be concerned that I wouldn't want to proceed, but I was fine to proceed to the point where the arete got sharp so that we could make a proper assessment. Particularly bearing in mind that the walk back to the car would be quite problematic - i.e. we'd either need to descend by the exact same path (which would be very steep and would take a long time), or we'd need to find a more direct way back (which might not be possible).
As if to demonstrate just how bad the visibility was, Steve nearly walked us off the side of the cliff - only stopped by me saying that he was going the wrong way (and him insisting that he wasn't). Eventually we got to the arete - I wish I'd take a photograph because it looked the edge of the world, a place where vikings would have gone to worship the gods. Visibility was down to about 30ft, the arete was sharp as hell, and the top of it was small, loose, wet, angled rock. I took one look and turned straight round, Steve didn't even try and convince me (not that he would have tried anyway).
Fortunately,the way back wasn't too difficult, we essentially retraced our steps, but took a less direct route down the gully to the path. Steve was clearly disappointed that we'd not proceeded, partly because it would have been a much quicker route. However, I was absolutely resolute that it was the right thing to do, and I think he agreed, reluctantly.
I'd bought some walking sticks for the trip and my knees were glad, especially by the time we rejoined the tourist path, for the steep descent. Steve's knees really started giving him some grief though. Stubbornly he refused to borrow one of my sticks.
We eventually made it back to the car and went straight to the Clachaig Inn. We'd missed last orders for food and there was a band on - it was too packed to even get a seat. Steve was so tired he couldn't even finish his beer. We'd put our gear in the dry room, but 20 minutes of drying didn't achieve much. It was continuing to piss it down outside. I regretted not putting my tent up earlier when I had the chance!
At this point I was very near to just jumping in the car and going home. Only 2 things stopped me - 1) it wouldn't have been very fair on Steve and 2) we looked at the weather forecast on the board and it looked like things were going to get a bit better over the next few days.
Luckily I felt better when my tent was up and I was in dry clothes and a warm sleeping bag.
Munro - Carn Mor Dearg
GPX File
The weather was pretty bleak when we eventually set off. I couldn't believe how busy the route was - we were starting on the tourist path up the Ben. It was pretty thankless and unappealing for the most part. Eventually we beared to the left where the hoardes bore right and found ourselves more alone. As we rose to the point where we reached the mountain rescue hut the weather had got bleaker still. The wind was up, as was the rain, but the visibility was way down. I warned Steve that if I didn't like the look of the arete when we actually got to it, I wouldn't want to proceed. Steve's risk assessment is decidedly less operationally alert than mine...
The ascent up to Carn Mor Dearg from the rescue hut is pretty steep and gruelling and due to the scree base which you're going up, not without risk. But eventually we reached the top. I was really starting to be concerned that I wouldn't want to proceed, but I was fine to proceed to the point where the arete got sharp so that we could make a proper assessment. Particularly bearing in mind that the walk back to the car would be quite problematic - i.e. we'd either need to descend by the exact same path (which would be very steep and would take a long time), or we'd need to find a more direct way back (which might not be possible).
As if to demonstrate just how bad the visibility was, Steve nearly walked us off the side of the cliff - only stopped by me saying that he was going the wrong way (and him insisting that he wasn't). Eventually we got to the arete - I wish I'd take a photograph because it looked the edge of the world, a place where vikings would have gone to worship the gods. Visibility was down to about 30ft, the arete was sharp as hell, and the top of it was small, loose, wet, angled rock. I took one look and turned straight round, Steve didn't even try and convince me (not that he would have tried anyway).
Fortunately,the way back wasn't too difficult, we essentially retraced our steps, but took a less direct route down the gully to the path. Steve was clearly disappointed that we'd not proceeded, partly because it would have been a much quicker route. However, I was absolutely resolute that it was the right thing to do, and I think he agreed, reluctantly.
I'd bought some walking sticks for the trip and my knees were glad, especially by the time we rejoined the tourist path, for the steep descent. Steve's knees really started giving him some grief though. Stubbornly he refused to borrow one of my sticks.
We eventually made it back to the car and went straight to the Clachaig Inn. We'd missed last orders for food and there was a band on - it was too packed to even get a seat. Steve was so tired he couldn't even finish his beer. We'd put our gear in the dry room, but 20 minutes of drying didn't achieve much. It was continuing to piss it down outside. I regretted not putting my tent up earlier when I had the chance!
At this point I was very near to just jumping in the car and going home. Only 2 things stopped me - 1) it wouldn't have been very fair on Steve and 2) we looked at the weather forecast on the board and it looked like things were going to get a bit better over the next few days.
Luckily I felt better when my tent was up and I was in dry clothes and a warm sleeping bag.
Munro - Carn Mor Dearg
GPX File
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