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BB1827 : The
Penny Farthing
Thursday
16th August 2018
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Not
long into the steep part of the climb, Ian
stopped and called out “Look what I have
found.”
What
had he just found? It was small, brown
and round. It was very worn but appeared
to be a coin. When I looked closely at it,
I was sure that I could see the upper part
of the figure of Britannia. It was
a farthing, we decided. For younger
readers (if any) I should explain that a
farthing was a bronze coin of which 960
added up to make £1.
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They
were last minted in 1960 so the likelihood was that
it had lain there, undisturbed for over 50 years. Maybe
the drying out of the ground over the past few month
followed by the recent torrential rain had unearthed
it.
The
hill in question was Pike o’Blisco possibly the least
fashionable of the Langdale Pikes. Standing alone on
the southern side of the valley, it is one of my favourites,
partly because there are three short sections where
you have to get your hands on the rocks to get up. Nothing
dangerous or exposed but a bit of fun. Also, on a clear
day, it provides one of the best viewpoints for looking
at the more famous Langdale Pikes.
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It
had had to be an early start because really foul weather
was due to arrive mid-afternoon. We didn’t want
to be caught in that. Robin, Stan and I had been
joined by my nephew, Ian and his son, Bradley (he of
the Bryan’s rib-breaking fell race saga of BB0809
). Setting off from the Old Dungeon Ghyll car
park, we soon had to don our cagoules whilst showers
briefly passed through.
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Pike
o'Stickle left; ahead Crinkle Crags in cloud
There
was a spectacular double rainbow.
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Not
long after the discovery of the old coin, Ian stopped
again. "What have you found this time?"
we asked.
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Quite
the reverse- he had decided to leave a five
pence piece lodged in the rocks to be found,
similarly, by walkers in fifty or more years’
time (if walking still exists then). What
a nice gesture, we thought.
We
had another look at the discovered coin.
"That is not Britannia,"
said Robin. "It’s a Robin".
Well Robin should know about Robins.
"That would date it as being
between 1937 and 1960 when production stopped.*"
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We
thought no more about it as we came to the three short
scrambles, nor as we headed to the top.
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Looking
southwest to Windermere
Or
I should say tops? There are two and it is not
easy to tell which is superior. As often happens, when
at the summit of one, the other looks higher. I
thought the northmost one, largely because it has a
spotmark on the OS map of 706 metres and why would they
spotmark the lower peak? However, it seems that
that is what they did. The OS map itself appears
to suggest the other is 5 metres higher but, strangely
when viewed on the computer, at a height of only 683
metres.
Whichever,
we were not going to stay and debate the point. By now
the wind was ferocious. Gusts of up to 40 mph
had been forecast. I think they were stronger
than that. Ian obliged with a Comitibus
selfie then we set off, with considerable difficulty,
down to Red Tarn, wondering just how fierce it had been.
First
I consulted the Windbeer chart, as introduced to the
world in 1734**.
I reckoned it was about a grade 5, somewhere between
“Why did I just trip over my feet” and “I can’t believe
I just fell to the floor”. However the scientific
basis for that scale which compares the equivalence
the effect of wind speed to the consumption of pints
of ale as being somewhat suspect. If true, it
would suggest something of the order of 50-60 mph.
The
Beaufort scale seemed to indicate something greater
than number 7- "inconvenience felt when walking
against the wind". Well, on occasion the
inconvenience was so great that I couldn’t move against
the wind. Beaufort 8 “generally impedes progress”.
That sounds about right. Gale force.
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At
the tarn we had three options:
1.
To continue on to climb Cold Pike. There
was no enthusiasm for that, given the conditions.
2.
To head south into the wind to pick up the road
at the top of Wrynose Pass. There was no great enthusiasm
for that, either.
3.
To have the wind behind us and take the red track
down alongside Browney Gill and into Oxendale and back
to the pub. Unanimous.
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Once
far enough down, we stopped for an early
lunch and a re-examination of the discovery.
Someone
reckoned that it had had a serrated or milled
edge.
Would
that change the perception?
Could
it possibly be an old silver sixpence that
had got tarnished by the iron ore that had
turned all the paths red?
Unlikely.
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The
matter was finally resolved an hour or so later. First
however we had to pass through the Stool End farmyard
where there was a fine cockerel and several odd looking
birds. Someone claimed they were partridges, another
said pheasants. Ian corrected them and explained
that they were a cross breed called phartridges.
Perhaps
the coin he had found was a pharthing?
In
the Old Dungeon Ghyll bar was a very bright spotlight.
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When
the coin was examined under this light two
digits could be seen: 0 0
Could
this mean it was a 1900 farthing? Sadly
not. These digits were the middle
two of four. That put it in the 2000s.
After
further scrutiny, the final conclusion was
that it was dated 2006. No treasure
trove today. It was a modern one "new"
penny piece. Four pence less than
the coin that Ian had left for a future
generation to find.
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Better
luck next time you are with us, Ian!
Don,
Thursday 17th August 2018
*
You didn’t think
I meant AD1734 did you? It was BB1734
!
**
Actually farthings didn’t have a robin on them. It
was a wren!
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