Earth, air, water and fire are the basic elements the ancient Greeks used to explain matter. (Not to be confused with Earth, Wind and Fire, the American R&B band who had a string of hits in the 70's and 80's including their huge hit September. You can thank me for the earworm later.)
As Steve had broken his old rucksack, those lovely folks at Millets sent us a North Faceone to play with to see what we thought of it. Well, when I say "we", Steve got to play with it while I was stuck in exciting places like Wythenshawe, Hindley and Ashford (Kent) - as I braved the rigours of Northern Rail, London rush hour and the high speed train to Kent (that thing is SERIOUSLY fast - 140mph - Northern Rail, you could learn a lot!) Steve did battle with the elements on the Cumbrian hills and I wasn't jealous at all. Nope. Not one bit. I mean, why should I be...?
Honestly, you can feel the cold air nipping at your nose here can't you? Steve tackled Helvellyn and while I was snug and toasty in an office he sent me a text saying "on top of Helvellyn but not hanging around as it's a bit windy". He also sent me the photo above. I gazed out of the window at the car park and supermarket and didin't swear once. Honest I didn't. Thankfully he didn't show me the rest of the photos until later. Apparently the rucksack was doing well and he particularly liked the fleece lined pockets which kept his camera batteries warm so they lasted a lot longer in the freezing cold.
Crucial point - the side pockets are big enough
for a flask of tea.
WATER
Standing behind Ashgill Falls
Cumbria has a reputation for rain and we miss it so much that when it doesn't rain we go and stand behind a waterfall to recreate the experience. Ashgill Falls are well off the beaten track and, to be honest, I was a little disappointed when Steve told me that there wasn't an evil lair or a stash of hidden treasure tucked away behind the falls. Or maybe he just didn't look hard enough... Of course he tried to make me feel better by telling me he was working, He was. He was working hard, but his work looked like this and mine, on that particular day, looked like and office on a trading estate with a view of an air conditioning unit outside the window...
See - I told you the tripod strapped nicely to the outside
Having scaled the heights of Helvellyn and hunted for hidden treasure behind waterfalls, on day 3 he decided to keep his feet firmly on the ground and take a wander along the Langdale Valley. (For the record, I was in another office with a view of another car park, but I was being supplied with an excellent selection of biscuits & cakes). We both love the Langdale Valley - the views are immense and it's such a peaceful place to be, especially at this time of year.
The other good thing about the Langdale Valley is that you can see the weather closing in on you. You could run for cover when you see a snow storm approaching, or you could stay and photograph it like Steve did. Nutter.
FIRE
Whether you've been on top of a windy fell, ducking behind waterfalls, dodging storms in the Langdale valley, working in an office or simply strutting your funky stuff to a disco classic (honestly, Let's Groove was way better than September in my book), there's nothing quite like putting your feet up in front of the fire with a proper Cumbrian pint. Sequins and spandex tights optional.
With thanks again to Millets for the lovely rucksack - which withstood all of the elements Cumbria could throw at it. 😀
As you know, sometimes manufacturers send us nice things in return for a review on the blog. This is not one of those occasions. Today we had snow in Grange-over-Sands and Steve came up with the genius idea of sledging but as we don't have a sledge we needed to improvise. We raided the cupboards for plastic bags and, having come up with a good selection, decided to review them Gadget Show style in case you find yourself in the same situation.
The contenders are:
Windermere & Ambleside Wines
Asda bin bag
Keith Singleton Compost
CoOp Bag for life
Debenhams clothing bag
M&S coated canvas bag
5p Nisa carrier
First up Debenhams...
This had its merits but was, on the whole, disappointing. The handles were on the wrong edge and the bag wasn't shiny enough to give sufficient glide.
Next the Co-Op bag for life...
I'll be honest, this was an early leader - a good size and nice and shiny. Good effort from the Co-op and definitely a top 3 placing.
Steve showing his delight with the performance of the CoOp bag
Then came Nisa - and the least said the better.
Too thin, too flimsy and too slow. Windermere and Ambleside Wineswere next - we had high hopes for this one, a good substantial bag from a shop which stocks our favourite wine - and we weren't disappointed. Good and shiny it flew over the snow setting a high bar for the others to clear.
I thought the plastic coated canvas bag from M & S would take the lead - the handles were good and substantial and definitely in the right place - but ultimately it failed the shininess test. Too much friction and not enough glide.
It's almost like I set the entire blog up for the next line, but I swear I didn't. The binbag was rubbish. :-)
It had everything except, perhaps, handles. It was big and it was shiny. Big was a key factor here - as you can see from the videos we had to lean back a lot and this provide excellent all round coverage. A worthy winner and, if this really were the Gadget Show, this bag would definitely get 5Gs.
With the sensible and serious business of reviewing the sledges done, it was now time to have a little fun.
First there were races.
Then there were GoPro action shots without the GoPros.
His view...
My view...
And of course it wasn't without incident...
And just in case you thought we were only out there messing around in the snow, here are a few shots of the lovely views too.
Having provided this valuable public service we're both now covered in bruises and enjoying a well earned afternoon in front of the fire.
It's January and the UK is currently gripped with snow fever. As I type around 1mm of snow is sprinkled across the track outside the house but still it makes the news. In an hour or so I shall fire up the flasks and head for the fells, but not before I've passed on some of my top tips for hiking in the snow.
(NOTE: Whilst some of these are light-hearted hiking in the fells in winter is dangerous and should NOT be attempted without all the proper kit and experience!)
1. Snow is cold. Really cold. Don't be fooled by the blue skies; you think it's cold when you get out of the car - just wait till you get to the top of the fells. Load up with as many layers as you can. This is not a time to be fashion conscious, this is a time to be safe. The Michelin Man look is de rigueur for winter hiking.
There's a path under here somewhere...
2. Snow is wet. I know this might sound obvious to many of you but plenty of people seem to miss this fact and head out without waterproofs because the forecast is dry. Well the forecast may be dry but the snow will be wet. And cold (see above). Any part of your body which comes into contact with it will become cold and soggy which, if you happen to be me, means your boots, socks, gloves, trousers and backside will spend the day in a state of soggy frozen numbness.
3. Snow is slippy. It might look all soft and fluffy but that's just a ploy to lure you out there. Hiking in snow involves slipping over, which is perhaps the main reason why it's a good idea to stick to the safe routes. If I'm going to fall over I'd prefer to only have a few bruises to show for the experience. You may just be here for the weekend with a plan to bag a bunch of Wainwrights but trust me, the fells will still be there the tomorrow, you may not. (For winter hiking it is essential to invest in proper walking spikes. We have Pogu Spikes and would strongly recommend them.)
"Off piste"
4. Snow hides all the good paths. Well at least it does at first, by lunchtime most of the main routes have become icy bobsleigh runs leaving you with two choices. Either slide your way down the main route or get a slightly better grip just off the path but risk vanishing up to your thighs in a drift. Which brings me to point 5.
5. Snow is deep. It has this knack of lying in a lovely flat looking blanket and covering up all the dips and troughs in the landscape. One second you're walking on solid ground, the next you've vanished up to your thighs in a drift. This is largely good fun but also a little spooky at times. Not to mention frustrating and energy sapping if it's towards the end of the day.
6. Snow disguises landmarks. The fells look stunning in the snow but they also look different. Red Screes becomes White Screes, cairns get covered and shelters drifted up. We can recognise and name most of the fells and are pretty handy with a map & compass, but the snow makes everything look different and that can be disorientating. Stick to routes you know or use a GPS system to stay safe.
Challenging conditions on Helvellyn
7. Snow comes from clouds. Big thick clouds, which often return to the fell tops during the day. Nothing is trickier to navigate through than thick snowy mist on top of a thick snowy fell. To put it bluntly, if you don't know how to navigate don't go up there.
8. Snow nicks all the good lunch spots. You may have packed a big flask of hot soup but you'll be hard pushed to find a spot to eat it. For a start it's incredibly cold so you won't be wanting to stand still for too long and secondly all the flat surfaces have snow on them. You can scrape it off but believe me you will have a numb bum within seconds of sitting down. Snow hiking is about short frequent snacks to keep your energy levels up.
Winter hiking rocks!
9. Snow wears you out. Do not expect to complete the same distances in the snow as you can on a fine day. The combination of all the factors above make it an energy sapping experience. The cold on its own can drain you much more quickly than you realise and once you're tired you are much more likely to make mistakes.
10. Snow is fun! I don't want to be a doom monger - I love the snow. Snow is perfect for pelting Steve with snowballs and for making snow men and snow angels and for sledging on and for a million other excuses to act like a five year old, just remember it can also be dangerous. Right, time to fire up the flasks and head out there!
