Great British Escapades: Harter Fell

Showing posts with label Harter Fell. Show all posts

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

Two Falls and a Submission

A wrestling analogy seems appropriate to describe how many of us have battled our way through 2016 - but for us "two falls and a submission" is particularly apt. As a kid I remember watching Dickie Davies on World of Sport on Saturday afternoons at my grandparents, with Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks going several rounds with each other. They'd take it in turns to leap off the ropes in what I am sure were carefully choreographed manoevers, to pin each other to the floor -banging out the count with their hands. 2016 has been a lot like, but without all the rehearsals and giant spandex wrestling suits.

The two falls were mine - in May I knocked myself senseless when I tripped running through Bowness for a ferry. The docs told me it would take 12 - 18 months to recover, but I persevered and was making good progress, so celebrated by hurling myself off a footpath along the Eden Valley in October - a smaller concussion this time, but with 3 staples added to the mix.

Steve, on the other hand, is resisting being beaten into submission by a persistent, but as yet un-diagnosed, knee condition, which has resulted in him being on crutches since late August. Not that this has stopped him completing all the photography for two books, planning the pics for a third and hiking up Loughrigg on a frozen November morning. Or break-dancing on Grange prom...

You may think that grounding the two people behind a hiking a travel blog would slow things down somewhat, but it's going to take more than that to stop us - plus we still managed to do a whole bunch of cool stuff in 2016. We've both chosen out top 5 stand out moments of the year to revisit and inspire us to keep battling on - you know, just in case 2017 is getting any ideas or anything...

Beth's Top 5 for 2016

1. High Cup Nick

We'd been meaning to do this walk for a couple of years but I finally got around to it in September and it easily went straight into my top 10 fabulous walks list. Mainly because it's a cracking hike, but also because my background is in geology and the rocks are superb. Of course it didn't hurt that I also discovered some of the finest sloes in Cumbria on the walk which were swiftly turned into several litres of sloe gin to keep us warm during the long cold winter months. Where is this amazing crop? It's...erm...well...it's...sorry - could you repeat the question?

2. Cream tea on Harter Fell

We had SUCH a lot of fun with this one! I absolutely love Harter Fell and the views along Haweswater so the idea of having a full cream tea on the top of a fell really appealed. It's not something I'd try on a trickier fell in unpredictable weather but it was a perfect spring day and we had a ball. We got a few odd/ envious looks, but I wasn't sharing my clotted cream with anyone!

3. Craigievar Castle

This was love at first sight. No - this was love before first sight. I'd seen the photos in the National Trust for Scotland booklet and knew I had to see it for real. It's not easy to get to, even if you happen to be lurking around the Aberdeen area, but it's well worth the effort. The only access to the inside is by guided tour, but this was utterly fascinating and the views of the castle, and from the castle, were absolutely breathtaking.

4. Cheltenham Literary Festival

I'm addicted to both the outdoors and reading so a book festival with an outdoors theme was always going to be a winner. I saw some great speakers but none of them more "outdoors" than Major Tom himself, Commander Chris Hadfield. The way he speaks about seeing the planet from space and the need to care for it is truly inspirational and I was absolutely honoured to have the chance to meet him afterwards. He also inspired my favourite blog of the year, all about why we need to send poets into space...

5. Bum Cloud over Walney Island

Yes it's silly, but memories should make you smile - and this photo always does that. We spent the first 6 months of the year producing a series of walks for Cumbria Wildlife Trust and, on this particular day, had had a wonderful time exploring Walney Island. This photo was taken towards the end of the day when a giant bum shaped cloud appeared perfectly reflected in a small lake, causing us both to dissolve into a fit of giggles. As the title of the Good Life Christmas Special says (essential viewing this time of year) "Silly, but it's fun"

Steve's Top 5 for 2016

1. Wetherlam in the snow

One of the best things about being 6ft 4ins is that I don't sink quite as deep into the snow as Beth does - plus she generally tries to tear off ahead so she makes a useful depth gauge. This was a long and challenging walk and the snow was pretty deep in places, but Wetherlam isn't too tricky a fell and we both got home in one piece - Beth's bum was colder than mine though...

2. Zipworld Caverns Blaenau Ffestiniog

We'd done plenty of zipwires and high ropes courses in the past but nothing had quite prepared us for this - clambering around in a cavern deep underground. Although we knew everything *must* be pretty tightly screwed into the walls, when you're dangling 100ft or so above the cave floor you do feel the need to double check. Of course, I wasn't scared at all and didn't scream like a girl at any point. Not even once. Honest...

3. Snowdon

Technically this was my second time on the top of Snowdon but, as my first ascent was at the age of 4 months in a pram on the train, I'm not going to count it. This time I went up on foot via the Rhyd Ddu route and despite it being early May, it was another snowy extravaganza. Along the summit ridge the paths were solid ice, but that didn't stop several hundred other people also attempting the route. Has to be the busiest summit we've ever been on, but a really interesting mountain.

4. Kendal Mountain Festival - Ullswater Screening

Throughout the year there are Kendal Mountain Festival events and this summer we spent a lovely afternoon and evening on the banks of Ullswater watching a series of excellent films. The whole evening was very civilised with picnic hampers and Prosecco as far as the eye could see. As well as the great films we were also introduced to the songs that became the soundtack to the rest of the year, especially during our extended tour of Scotland - Christine & the Queens and First Aid Kit. Just humming a few bars and I'm back there again now...

5. High jinks in a Hilux

I really didn't expect this to be quite as much fun as it was. I also planned to share more of the driving with Beth but that didn't really happen either. When Vantage Motors asked us if we'd like to play with it for the weekend I'm not sure they expected it to come back with quite as many miles on the clock as it did - we even managed another cream tea, this time in the back of the Hilux on Walna Scar car park. It persuaded us to trade our battered old Freelander in for a rather nice (used) Toyota Rav 4 which will no doubt be popping up in blogs throughout 2017...

We're both now hoping that 2017 will turn out to be a little less painful than 2016 but, whatever happens, we'll still be out there finding fun things to do.

We sincerely hope you all have a very Merry Christmas full of family fun an adventurous New Year full of exciting new challenges!

Sunday, 20 March 2016

A Very British Hike

Perfect spot for a brew!

"If something is worth doing, it's worth overdoing" that's my motto. We needed to come up with an idea for a blog about tea - of course we could have gone no further than our kitchen, or perhaps a pleasant picnic in a local park, but oh no, not me, far too tame, My plan involved packing our rucksacks so we could enjoy Afternoon Tea on top of a 778m fell - obvious really...

It all started with an invite from the lovely folks at Birchall's tea - no they're not Cumbrian but they are a 5th generation owned by the same family company, which is the sort of thing I really rather like. (* See note at the end)

First up we needed to pack the rucksacks - not your average hike, so not your average packing - alongside our smoked salmon sandwiches we were planning to have a cream tea, so decanted some home made jam into a suitable tub and dusted off my posh picnic rucksack.

We thought long and hard about where to head and settled on Harter Fell for its magnificent views of Haweswater. We also needed to wait for the right weather because a) I can't fit a full set of waterproofs and ice spikes in my posh picnic rucksack and b) a cream tea on top of a fell is no fun in torrential rain.

When we arrived Haweswater was looking as lovely as ever with Harter Fell looming large ahead of us.

Haweswater

Harter Fell

Those of you that have followed our blog will know that we never go far without our flasks of tea but it seemed wrong to put such lovely tea into flasks so we took up hot water and a tea pot and proper china mugs. (Having chatted to the nice folks at Birchall's they inform me that Breakfast Tea is the best tea for flasks because the flavours are stronger which overcome the "flaskiness" - I may have just made that last word up.)

To be fair we soon whipped up Gatescarth Pass and up onto the top of the crags - so now it was time for tea, As well as all the proper gear I also insisted on laying out the picnic cloth - though I think referring to Steve as Carruthers and chiding him for not bringing the family silver may have been a step too far...

I was gasping for a brew!

Smoked salmon sandwiches safely dispatched, it was now time for pudding - a fabulous cream tea with a HUGE tub of clotted cream on account of the fact it was on special at Booth's.

Really, all hikes should be this way.

Even though it was a lovely day, by now we were getting a bit chilly so headed down - our route took us over the top of the fell then down along Nan Bield Pass and the views were pretty impressive the whole way along.

On our way down Steve spotted a good spot to pause and enjoy the view - I suggested it would be a great spot for our post lunch digestif of half a bottle of Wainwright and a Kitkat - I am SO classy!

The rucksacks were now considerably lighter than when we started out and we'd been lucky enough to enjoy fantastic weather the whole way around.

Done and dusted!

If, like us, you enjoy your tea then do pay a visit to the Birchall's website where you can order the tea directly. They have a huge variety on offer and, having sampled the entire range, I can vouch for them all (even the fruit teas which I normally hate as they smell divine but taste like dishwater). They're also an incredibly ethical business which these days is hard to find.

Note: As you'll notice we don't host any paid advertising on the blog (Google ads pay naff all and "click bait" ads are generally demeaning to the poor folks involved or telling downright lies to convince you you can loose 2 stone in a week) - we host ads from Leighton Moss and Cumbria Wildlife Trust for free because they're fab and we like them.

We only ever say yes to products we can genuinely say nice things about and also stuff we can have some fun with. (If filling your rucksack with tea pots, china mugs and enough clotted cream to sink a battleship before hiking up a fell can be counted as fun).so hopefully you'll forgive us for accepting the odd freebie in exchange for a few kind words and some nice photos.

Monday, 18 February 2013

Mind, Body & Soul

View from Place Fell

"Wow, from up here you can see the whole world!" Those were the words of an excited dad to his sons yesterday as he stood on top of a snowy fell and took in the view. I'm not sure you could see the entire world, but it certainly was an impressive sight; dozens of snowy peaks disappearing into the distance in every direction. The clear blue skies, the sun with its first warmth of spring and the gentle wind, though cold, only added to the sense of perfection.

Seriously?

With the obesity crisis hitting the headlines and inactivity killing thousands there are no doubt going to be calls for everyone to be more active, and what better way to be active than hiking in the Lake District fells? Of course hiking the fells is fabulous exercise, a 7 hour hike is better than any workout I've ever done, but fell walking doesn't just give you a physical workout, it gives you a mental one too.

"Are we there yet?" is the jokey cry one of us generally utters as we huff and puff up the first part of the ascent; maybe it's my age but it always takes me half an hour or so to hit my stride these days. Stride found, things then settle down for a while as we wind our way upwards with regular photo stops thrown in for good measure, but it's not long before the battle of the fake summit begins and that really can be a mental challenge.

Is there anything quite so disheartening as thinking you're nearly there and then realising there's at least another two peaks to go before you reach the one you're after? To add to the fun between you and the summit of your dreams may lie bogs, streams, howling winds, mist, rain or, as was the case yesterday, soft powdery snow which made conditions rather like trying to walk up a very slippery sand dune; this is when you need to dig deep physically and mentally.

Haweswater & Harter Fell

Shouting in frustration as you fall over for the umpteenth time, swearing loudly and even beating the fell with your walking poles doesn't do anything to help; trust me, I've tried. Plus all of that stuff only serves to wear you out more quickly; a little positive focus is what's needed if you're to get to the summit in one piece. Personally, when I'm done swearing, I often resort to songs from The Sound of Music to push me forwards and, if you're really unlucky, you'll be within earshot when I start belting them out.

Sun through the clouds from Helm Crag

All that physical and mental exertion is generally forgotten when you reach the summit, at least for a little while. However many fells I climb the feelings never change; exhilaration, joy and, on many occasions, a sense of relief that we've finally made it. Of course that's only half the story, descents can be every bit as tricky as ascents plus now you're feeling tired and, if it's been bad weather, you're cold and wet as well but if you stop concentrating mistakes can, and will, happen.

Beautiful moonlight.

Take yesterday for example, during our descent after slithering half a mile or so along a track we realised we were headed the wrong way and had to slither all the way back again; not what's needed but no good ranting, turn around, get yourself on the right path and keep going. As it turned out we were so late that it was dark by the time we got back to the valley floor, thankfully it was a beautiful evening with a moon so bright we didn't need head torches to find our way to the car.

After 7 hours of snowy hiking we were both utterly drained but, on the bright side, we'd had plenty of exercise, seen the whole world, pushed ourselves when giving up would have been easier and had a fantastic day on the fells full of memories which no camera can ever capture, and that's got to be doing us more good than any prescription ever can.

On top of the Howitzer.

Friday, 31 August 2012

50 Shades of Cumbria

I thought I'd give you a break from my inane ramblings for a day and instead turn this blog over to some of Steve's amazing pics. So sit back, relax and enjoy 50 Shades of Cumbria - and only one of them's grey.