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BB1333
: Who (or What) Was Blisco?
Friday
27th September 2013
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Who
was Blisco?
He after whom a Pike was named?
This
is no ordinary Pike but one of the very best.
It
is not as fashionable as Harrison or Stickle, probably
as it lacks the dramatic impact from the valley.
However,
I find it to be much more fun and it provides stunning
views all round the valley.
Furthermore,
you can check that you car is still ok in the car park
way below.
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Keep
an eye on your car!
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But
who was he?
Whoever
he was, he should be proud to have this fine specimen
named after him.
- Or
perhaps the question should be what is a Blisco?
- A
type of mineral found in the stone (the western side being
the Red Brick Road
of BB0506)?
- Maybe
the old name for a type of buzzard that nested there?
- Perhaps
a spirit that haunted its early visitors?
Wainwright
thought the name "swashbuckling"! Was
it the hiding place of a Whitehaven Pirate? A
pal of John Paul Jones?
Who
knows? Even the Googoracle is silent.
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Whatever,
there are boring ways to get there but there is one
that is excellent, that directly from the valley below.
Excepting
the view of the scruffy farmyard.
The lower stages are simple; these days the path
is clear and mostly paved. But the upper stretch
involves a number of short scrambles up rock gullies.
No exposure and totally safe unless you do something
daft but the sort that makes you feel a real man of
the mountains. Or at least a sense of what being
a real man of the mountains must feel like.
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Click
on scruffy farm to put it in perspective!
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Harrison
Stickle centre, Side Pike to the right
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Not
all made the top!
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Comitibus
: Pike
o'Blisco
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Crinkles
and Bowfell peeping
Once
conquered, it is a difficult decision where to go next.
The exciting next stage would be the Crinkles
and maybe on to Bowfell but if time (and legs) don't
permit, then Cold Pike presents an alternative, albeit
rather mundane in comparison. That was our route
today.
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From
there, it was an easy stroll down to the Three Counties
Stone at the top of Wrynose Pass.
This is the
meeting place of Lancashire, Westmorland and Cumberland
although today it seemed more like Westmorland, Cheshire
and East Gippsland.
In case you
were not aware, Gippsland is in the state of Victoria which James claims
to be the home of the most sophisticated Aussies.
I know what
you are thinking!!!
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Three
Counties Stone. But which?
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Back
to homeland matters, it
is difficult to imagine how the Tour of Britain cyclists
managed the climb at ferocious speed. The cyclists
we saw were game but struggling.
The
descent of Wrynose Pass, Little Langdale Tarn in distance
After
a dropping down by the road for a while, a paths leads
off around Hollin Crag and across Blea Moss to the head
of Blea Tarn. The south shore offers one of the
most iconic views in the lake district- across the water
to those better known (and recognised) pikes.
Langdales
across Blea Tarn
From
the tarn it is a fairly gentle descent to the ODG (Old
Dungeon Ghyll Hotel) where
magnanimous John, who had shouldered the driving burden,
insisted on buying us beer to celebrate his birthday
of three days earlier.
The
final descent to the valley and the ODG
It
was a grand walk on an increasingly glorious day. However
we still don't know who or what was Blisco. Any
suggestions?
Don,
27th September 2013
Plaques
Please
Steve
G ( BB1217
) has recently knocked off another Wainwright bringing
the total outstanding down to four. He is going
for the record of longest period from start to finish-
currently 42 years!!
The
peak conquered was Hart Side following which he has
posed us an interesting question.
He
observed that Birkett Fell has a summit cairn with a
plaque naming the hill and asks how many more such plaques
are there?
Andrew
Leaney
states that he can't think of any other except Skiddaw
Dodd (which, like Birkett Fell is not a Wainwright).
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Other
lesser peaks having a plaque include Orrest
Head and Heversham Head.
What
about Wainwrights?
Steve
thought that Black Fell had a National Trust
summit plaque naming the fell and the photo
evidence in BB0810
proves him to be correct.
But,
how many more Wainwright summits have a
plaque naming it?
I
have to confess, I can't think of
any.
Can
you?
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Stan
with Black Fell plaque
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| STATISTICS:
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BB1333
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| Date:
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Friday
27th September 2013
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| Distance
in miles:
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8.5
(Garmin GPS)
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| Height
climbed in feet:
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2,944
(Memory Map / OS)
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| Features:
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Pike
o'Blisco, Cold Pike
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| Comitibus:
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Don, James, John Hn, Martin
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BOOTboys
routes are put online in gpx format which
should work with most mapping software. You can follow
our route in detail by downloading bb1333 .
To
discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing
- although it may not be that up to date - see: Which
Wainwright When?
For the latest totals of the mileages and heights (ditto) see: BB Log.
Photos
have been gleaned from many sources although mostly
from me! Likewise written comment. Unless stated
otherwise, please feel free to download the material
if you wish.
A reference back to this website
would be appreciated but not essential.
.If I have
failed to acknowledge properly the source or infringed
copyright, then I apologise.
. Please let me
know and I will do my best to put things right.
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