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BB1336
: Black Fell or Crag or Mushroom
Thursday
17th October 2013
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1968
was the year of the Mexico Olympics.
It
was also the year in which I had my greatest
ever sporting triumph. As much to
my surprise as that of anyone else, I became
the Leeds University Mexico Olympics Bar
Billiards
champion. An achievement even greater
than my Stockport Wolf Cubs football cup
runners-up medal of 1958.
I
was going to relate that latter tale when
a strange feeling came over me. Was
I about to repeat myself?
Yes,
I was. The story is there for all
to see in BB1138!
Returning
to Bar Billiards therefore, I don’t remember
there being any award for my success other
than the glory and perhaps the odd pint
or two down the Union bar.
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The
proud medal winner, 1958
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For
those unfamiliar with the game, it is played
on a surface somewhat smaller than a pool
table, the holes are in the baize rather
than round the edge and some of the holes
are guarded by mushroom shaped skittles.
As
you might expect, you score points by potting
balls and lose points if you knock over
a skittle. The
mushroom to be dreaded is the black one,
the upending of which means the forfeiture
of all points so far accumulated.
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If
you want to know more about how to play, see Rules
.
What
brought all this to mind? Just an old memory revived
by the name of today’s target: Black Crag. This was
chosen in order to add to John Hn’s Wainwright tally
(although AW names it Black Fell) and for Tony’s return
to Scafell Pike training following his foot problems.
It
was supposed to be a showery morning but the forecasters
had let us down. Instead, it was an increasingly
beautiful autumn day. We were somewhat over-dressed.
Still, better that way then the other.
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Tarn
Hows waterfalls
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My
National Trust card (I had remembered to
bring the current one this time) was put
to good use at the Glen Mary Bridge car
park and we climbed up by the stream to
Tarn Hows.
I
think it better to climb by the north side
so that you can visit the impressive falls,
returning by the less adjacent southern
path if you just want a short stroll.
Once
at Tarn Hows, there was a myriad of mostly
elderly folk enjoying a level wander around
this attractive small lake in autumnal splendour.
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There
was a wishing tree where coins had been inserted into
the trunk. I tried to persuade a visitor that
there was at least one golden sovereign somewhere in
the midst but strangely I was not believed!
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Tarn
Hows
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The
Wishing Tree
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We
left the visitors to make a lonely, northerly
trail up to the top of Black Crag with its twin
peaks.
The
twin peaks
The
eastern peak boasts a substantial cairn; the higher,
western one a trig point with the name of the fell,
as mentioned in the Plaques Please item of BB1333.
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Comitibus
: Black
Crag East
Wetherlam
with Coniston Old Man behind, left
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Black
Crag West
Esthwaite
Water
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What
a viewpoint these easily reached summits provide. One
feature to be seen in the distance is very topical.
Esthwaite
Water. Believe
or not, it is currently for sale via E-bay!
Eastern
panorama
Lingmoor
Fell with Bowfell behind to left and the main Langdales
to the right
It
had been a late start and we decided not to punish Tony
unnecessarily so we let him have lunch out of the wind
just below the top before starting the descent. A
new route was pioneered directly down to the Low Arnside
track then, more conventionally, over the road to Low
Oxen Fell. On another day, we might have continued
to Holme Fell but a strategic decision was taken to
continue down along the footpath close to the A593,
round Yew Tree Tarn and back to the car.
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House
with internal garden
Yew
Tree Tarn
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Tony
leaves his card
Don
being attacked by man eating plant
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We
debated where to go and celebrate the afternoon sunshine.
The lucky venue was the Brown Horse at Winster.
How the memories came flooding back. It
must be over 40 years since I was last in there. But
I remember it vividly. Why? Because it is
the last pub in which I ever saw a bar billiards table.
There
was no sign of that table today. We had knocked
off the Black Fell or Crag but, sadly, there was no
longer any risk of knocking over the Black Mushroom.
Don,
17th October 2013
Browser Survey Results
My
thanks to all who took part in the survey which is now
closed.
Contrary to
reports but consistent with my expectation, MS Internet
Explorer remains significantly the most frequently used main browser
of BOOTboys
readers followed by Google Chrome then Mozilla Firefox (a surprise to me) tying
with Apple's Safari in third place. Here are the
results:
To
be fair, I suspect that had the questionnaire allowed
multiple choices to reflect the fact that a person's
smartphone or other portable device might use a different
system, the Microsoft predominance would have been significantly
lessened.
What
have I learned from this? Well, that:
- I
now know how to include a survey in the reports
- Unfortunately
the free poll system that I have used, pollcode.com, does
not always display
the results properly. They may be
partially obscured by adverts! As far as I can tell, that is beyond my control
and is puzzling the company!
- It seems that I
am still compiling for the two most commonly
used browsers. This means that I don't yet have
to upgrade my software but if you do notice
any peculiarities in the display of the reports,
please let me know along with the name of the
browser that you use and I will see what
I can learn from the information.
Now,
over to you. Are there any questions that you
would like put to the audience? Political, religious,
or potentially offensive matters excluded of course!
Don
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Rubber
Soulutions
The
answers to BB1335's challenge about
Rubber Soul references
can be see at:
Rubber
Soulutions.
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| STATISTICS:
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BB1336
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| Date:
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Thursday
17th October 2013
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| Distance
in miles:
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5.9
(Garmin GPS)
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| Height
climbed in feet:
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1.188
(Memory Map / OS)
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| Features:
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Black
Fell (or Crag)
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| Comitibus:
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Don, John Hn, Martin, Roger
B, Tony
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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 bb1336 .
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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