BB1507 : Bry's Got An Ology

Wednesday 25th February 2015

There is a website that might amuse those with an interest in the English language and particularly the meaning and derivation of words.  Its name is Wordsmith and one of its features is "A Word A Day".  If you subscribe to this (it's free) you will receive every weekday an email with an unusual word, its uses and origins.  I must confess to having inserted the odd sample into these reports from time to time to demonstrate (falsely) how erudite I am.

Imagine then my delight in discovering firstly that Bryan would be joining us this week and secondly that, as a result of the theme of the week being Words Made With Combining Forms, the Word of the Day was Bryology.  What a coincidence, I thought.  Bryan, of course, was familiar with the term.

We were expecting a fine morning provided we didn't go too high so opted for Loughrigg, Silver How and Lang How, the first two being Ws for Terry and the third being one of my favourite smaller peaks.  Just why it is not a Wainwright defeats me as it is higher than Lang How.  However, unlike the Munros or the Marilyns, Alf had no structured way of defining what would or would not qualify for his guide books.  Typical of the man, it was just his idiosyncratic determination of what he considered worthy.

The route we chose for the first was a new one for all of us which surprised me as I had determined it from the map to be the most logical way up from Rydal Cave.  

I thought Stan and Bryan must surely have trod or run up or down it at least once but not so.

After the Comitibus photo at the cave, we took the path up by the side (actually either side will do) and reached the summit in surprisingly quick time.

Having rejected the unofficial traverse of the YHA grounds at High Close, we dropped down to the Loughrigg Terrace.  The short track to the road has a moss covered wall with a rare and distinctive way of fixing fencing- protruding stones with holes for posts.  

After crossing the road, we picked up the familiar path up by Hammerscar Plantation.  From there, I had chosen the direct route to Silver How, partly because, if the clag did come down, it is easy to navigate thanks to the proximity of a wall (although you do have to leave it for a while to circumnavigate the boggy, mossy area).

The other reason is that it is my favourite way up as there is a 400 foot gully to climb before reaching the top.  That sounds dramatic but it isn't.  It is not so steep to be dangerous and there is zero exposure to unprotected drops.

We lunched near the summit only to find that, whereas we thought there were seven of us, there were actually eight.  Or at least the remains of the eighth.  A pile of his or her glutinous freeze-thawed ashes were heaped below a rock.  I can understand ashes being taken to a favourite view point, as indeed has happened on one BOOTboys outing- Farewell Dave Daw.  But why were they not scattered, as Tony did (or tried to), rather than being left in one unsightly, unsavoury pile?

Don on Silver How

The visit to Lang How was, for me, spoiled by the fact that I chose the wrong tarn from which to photograph it.  I ignored the first one thinking that it was the second higher tarn that gave it the impression of a mini Matterhorn. Wrong. Silly me.  Unimpressive profile from that angle.  Still, the short steep climb to the top was enjoyable.

Lang How as seen from the correct tarn on BB1406

En-route Bryan met a man whom he had seen earlier on Loughrigg where they had discussed the merits of finishing at the Badger Bar, which was our intention. On this occasion the man was with his wife, who was introduced to us.  It turned out that it was their 24th wedding anniversary that day and so, rather than Badger her, he had treated her to a sandwich from Greggs.  Tony was impressed.

It was in the Badger Bar where Bryan was moved to explain to all the meaning of Bryology.  First, however, you must see the photos of the ancient fireplace and the remarkable gent's lavatory ante-chamber.

Now, are you ready for this?  Bryology concerns the life cycle of a dioecious bryophyte as can be clearly demonstrated by the diagram that Bryan pulled from his pocket:

It took a couple of pints for the detail to sink in but then we realised.  It was the study of mosses- of which we had seen plenty.

It reminded me of that Maureen Lipman advert for BT:  Bry's got an ology!

We returned home much the wiser.

Don, Wednesday 25th February 2015

with thanks to Bryan for several of the photos

BOOTboys routes are put online in gpx format which should work with most mapping software. You can follow our route in detail by downloading bb1507 .

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 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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Wainwrights

To see which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing see Which Wainwright When?
This may or may not be up to date!

For the latest totals of the mileages, heights and Lakeland Fells Books Wainwrights see: Wainwrights.
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BOOTboys 2015

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