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BB1338
: Half Term Report
Thursday
31st October 2013
It’s
the Half-term holidays this week for Cumbria schools,
an occasion that had little relevance for me until recently.
But
now it means that our child-minding responsibilities
reduce from three children to just one, so a day out
with the BOOTboys
is possible.
Don
tells me he’s in Crete and then informs everyone that
I’ll be leading. Only John takes up the offer to join
me. Did my reputation for doing hard walks precede me?
If so could I take this opportunity to reassure you
all that I can, and do, tailor walks to suit the fitness
and ability of all customers - Honest – just ask Tony
if you don’t believe me!
Anyway
today the trip was arranged so that John could add to
his Wainwright total and get him into a new area. The
forecast was for heavy showers through the day, with
cloud base at 600 metres and strongish winds. So we
headed for Coniston. Seeing the cloud on the Old Man,
I opted to park at Tilberthwaite.
Instead
of going up Tilberthwaite Gill I opted to head towards
Birk Fell and the foot of Wetherlam Edge. It’s a really
nice route up and reaches a sheltered little col with
stunning views to the Langdales and beyond
View
from col on Birk Fell
We
then wound our way through a lovely area of small knolls
and valleys to reach the foot of Wetherlam Edge. The
ground became rockier and steeper with some stretches
of scrambly ground that had become quite greasy with
the rain.
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Looking
to Birk Fell from start of Wetherlam Edge
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John
scrambling on Wetherlam Edge
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Comitibus
: Summit
of Wetherlam
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Eventually
the ground began to level out and we reached
the summit. We quickly got out of the very
strong wind and had lunch – at 11:30 !
A
chap from Leeds stopped for a chat and we
compared experiences of being blown off
hills.
My
worst had been many years ago on Skiddaw
when the wind got in behind my haversack
turning it into a parachute and lifted me
a foot off the ground before being deposited
about 10 feet down the hill.
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I
offered John a choice of a quick descent or a longer
route (note the excellent customer service!). He opted
for the longer route so we headed off towards the Black
Sail ridge. This is another delightful ridge that isn’t
used very often. It took us down into the Coppermines
valley where we had a look in one or two of the old
mine caves.
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Out
of the cloud
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Descending
Black Sail ridge
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We
had an afternoon coffee stop above the valley (more
excellent service) before continuing towards Mouldry
Bank. I had it in mind to return to Tilberthwaite via
the tops of the Yewdale fells, but John found the pull
up to the ridge quite hard work so, rather than press
on along it, we headed straight down to Tilberthwaite
(another example of the caring leader!).
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Coniston
from Mouldry bank
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John
on the last climb of the day
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The
worst of the weather had held off and we had a good
day out. I’ll hope to see more of you when the next
holidays come round!
Bryan,
31st October 2013
The
Alternative Half Term Report
Cretan
weather conditions were atrocious. The relentless
sun forced us to postpone our adventure until late afternoon.
Jamie lives in a small coastal village a few miles
east of Heraklion. Behind it lies a hill that
he had never climbed, one relatively modest in height
but with steep cliffs on the seaward side. Unfortunately
we never discovered its name.
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Finding
the track was a bit of a challenge with
two hazards. The first was a local
who seemed to object to us climbing up what
appeared to be a road, albeit unmade.
Perhaps
he was the owner of the ramshackled hut
and goat farm that we had to pass? Fortunately
his mean looking dogs were behind a wire
fence.
Perhaps
it was his habit to abuse anyone whom he
thought was associated with the relative
wealth above him?
Nestling
below a cliff is a small group of houses-
smart modern ones, one with the Olympic
sign made from coloured tyres.
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Neither
Olympus nor Olympic
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Anyway,
outside the final house was another large dog, this
time an untethered Alsatian who seemed to take an interest
in us and Jamie's dog, Poppy. We gave it a wide
berth, following the track further up the hill, then
turned directly upwards across scrubland to reach the
top where two features awaited us.
The
first was evidence that goats had been having a rave
up there- a wide area of flattened shrub.
The
second was the huge cross marking the summit.
Looking
down to the coast with eyes squinted and a vivid imagination,
we could just see Margaret enjoying the remains of the
day beside the swimming pool, a glass of white wine
in her hand.
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Jamie
and the summit cross
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Sunset
over Heraklion
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Objective
achieved, we reversed our tracks, experiencing no threats
from animals or humans, returning just after sundown
to the calling of the tavernas.
Don,
Wednesday 30th October 2013
Correction:
Actually Margaret was not lazing beside the pool,
she was in granny mode, helping look after Luca, Alexis
and Ellie. Here is the Comitibus in the acquarium:
| STATISTICS:
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BB1338
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| Date:
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Thursday
31st October 2013
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| Distance
in miles:
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8.1
(Garmin GPS)
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| Height
climbed in feet:
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2,898
(Memory Map / OS)
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| Features:
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Wetherlam
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| Comitibus:
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Bryan,
John Hn
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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 bb1338 .
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.
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