BB0630 Relocation, Relocation, Relocation.

8th November 2006

It is a bit early to be doing a review of the year but it has to be said that we have been very lucky with the weather and so it came as a bit of a shock to be faced with the possibility of a wet day for our outing.  Tony even queried whether it was sensible to be going out which brought a one word response from Bryan.  Yes!   However he then moderated it by devising one of his low level specials and informed us that we would be practicing our navigation skills on Blawith Common.

The first problem was finding the right car park from which to start.  After two false parkings we made the right decision and got kitted up.  Full wet weather gear as it was just starting to rain.

Bryan gave Tony and me a map each which was the 1:25,000 OS map of the area marked up with 10 checkpoints to which we had to navigate.  And he gave us a lesson on orientation, relocation and paying attention to the most minute detail on the map that would give a clue to identifying exactly where we were.  We then did a step counting exercise along the road until we found the initial approach.  So far, so good and what's more, it had stopped raining.  Off we went up the fell, noting the position of the accompanying stream and where and how many times we crossed it so that we would have no problem in finding the path that branched off to the left.

A navigation lesson

One Lost Path!

Eventually Bryan ruled that we had gone too far and we had to retrace our steps to find the path.  After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with Bryan also unable to find the path we were forced to conclude that either the OS map had it wrong, or that the path had become disused and overgrown by bracken.  So we relocated, took a bearing and pioneered a new route and after only a few uncertain moments achieved the first check point albeit well behind the time schedule and not absolutely certain we were in the right place.  

However we were able to prove it by relocating with reference to specific features, like a house with a pond by a stream plus a hidden farmhouse that only came into view below a crag as we moved off the top.

Checkpoint 2 was at the south end of Beacon Tarn and that was straightforward but success deserves its reward- Tony was allowed to have an early lunch for once.  Beacon Tarn is a lovely surprise.  Wainwright, in the Outlying Fells book waxes lyrical about this area and its multitude of splendid little tarns and he is not wrong.

Beacon Tarn with glimpse of Stickle Pike -BB0622

Beacon Tarn from  Beacon Fell

 

Beacon Fell Summit

Checkpoint 3, at the top of Beacon Fell was even more straightforward and offered great panoramic views from Dow Crag, Coniston Old Man, and Wetherlam, mostly in cloud to Helvellyn and Fairfield where the weather was much better.  

Now the wind began to blow strongly as can be seen from the team picture.  And then the sky darkened and it started to hail.  At this point Bryan offered us release from checkpoints 4, 5 & 6 which were some distance out to the east and we accepted the reduced challenge of finding just 8, 9, 7 & 10.

8 was quite a test.  It was the top of Green How but there was no easy way of getting there.  We opted to head north until we met the Cumbria Way (fortunately the hail did not last long) then east along a path that skirted Stable Harvey Moss until we came to a small ridge.  At this point we relocated and decided to take the direct route across Mere Moss that would lead to a gully giving easy ascent to the target.  It was with some trepidation that we set off across the moss but it was not as bad as we feared and no one drowned.  Once again there was a superb panorama.

9 was a very small tarn near Inking Knott that could be seen from 8 and presented no problem.  However the route to 7, a point on the far side of an unnamed disused reservoir, presented options.  Whether to take the direct route to the south end of the reservoir across potentially boggy terrain or the "safe" route along the ridge to the north until a path was met that would bring us down to the target from the north?

We favoured the latter but kept our options open as we made our way along the ridge to a point where we could see the alternative and it did not seem too bad.  It was a correct call to change plan and it did not take long to cross the moss and reach the reservoir, another little gem.  

Unnamed Disused Reservoir

Sundown over Blawith Fells

With the sun now out, albeit close to setting behind the Blawith Fells, we picked up the Cumbria Way going south until we met a metalled track and checkpoint 10.  We followed the road south east as it descended to Coniston Water but cut off a corner with a delightful section through a small craggy, then woody and finally boggiest yet area before hitting the road and walking a short distance back to the car.

Although the distance was not great and the highest point only a little over 800 feet, it was a real walk- continually lifting the legs to combat thick bracken or boggy moss greatly adds to the muscles' perception of the distance travelled.

As you can tell, this was a quite different experience to any other BOOTboys outing and congratulations to Bryan for making it fun and introducing us to a mini wilderness of an area that, with a slightly different route and much better weather would make a superb Slipper Stroll.

Don, 8th November 2006

STATISTICS

Distance:
6.85 miles

Height climbed:
1,529 feet

 

Wainwrights:
Beacon Fell

Map:
Click on map to download a (large) pdf file of the route.

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Slipper Strolls:

 

Bootboys

  • BB0631  Coppermines
  • BB0630  Relocation, Relocation, Relocation
  • BB0629  Stone Arthur and a Mystery Plume
  • BB0628  Knocking off Wainwrights.  Oh! Plus Skiddaw!
  • BB0627  Blencathra and the Mungrisdale Round
  • BB0626  The Deepdale Round
  • BB0625  Les Garçons de la Botte
  • BB0624  The Crookdale Horseshoe and then some
  • BB0623  Selside Pike revisited
  • BB0622  Round the Dunny!
  • BB0621  The Malham Experience
  • BB0620  Newlands Horseshoe
  • BB0619  Old Man Succumbs!
  • BB0618  Kentmere Horseshoe
  • BB0617 QH2QH High Street (the length thereof)
  • BB0616 Thornthwaite Beacon
  • BB0615  Fairfield Horseshoe
  • BB0614  High Street Racecourse
  • BB0613 The Coledale Round
  • BB0612  Well, Well, Well, Wansfell and Troutbeck Tongue      
  • BB0611  Carlin Gill
  • BB0610  Whitbarrow, Yewbarrow and a history lesson
  • BB0609  Clough Head and Great Dodd
  • BB0608  The Corpse Road and beyond
  • BB0607  Grim Fell!
  • BB0606  A Bit on the Side.....
  • BB0605  Angle Tarn with Surprises! 
  • BB0604  Hart Cragg via Dovedale
  • BB0603  Islands in the Sky with Brocken Spectres
    (or High Street via Gardiner's Grind)
  • BB0602  Holme Fell, Black Fell and Electric  Eyes
  • BB0601  Ingleborough
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