Archives for May 2016

Yewbarrow and Seatallan

29th May 2016 by James Stone Leave a Comment

This is the last of my blogs for May 2016. I seem to have been fortunate to have been out in the hills a fair bit this month. This one covers an iconic hill, a further Marilyn and a good day out by Wastwater. I left home pretty early so as to get around to my start point at Overbeck Bridge by 6.30am. It is a bit of a trek from home to get to this part of the Lakes. But this was made up for by the scenery on the way round and the promise of a good forecast.

Though the photo below was taken towards the end of the walk, it shows the classic view of Yewbarrow standing proud over Wastwater.

Yewbarrow looks like a pyramid from this angle, but it is actually a long ridge with summits at each end. After a relatively gentle start, it rears up and, if you look for it, provides some easy scrambling through some rock bands. Some I had to help the dog through.

But as height was gained, the views became better and better. No wonder that Yewbarrow features in Trail Magazine’s top 100 mountain’s of Britain. Wastwater stretched away with Illgill Head and its screes on the other side of it.

We were soon at the top. This was the view along the ridge. We were soon joined by a couple who had come along from that direction. They were nearing the completion of the Wainwrights. They also warned me of a tricky descent off the far end of the ridge.

In the meantime we enjoyed the views across to the Scafells before we set off again.

Then this was the view back to the main top. The top at the far end is not at the obvious cairns but at a rock before they are reached.

Great Gable stood out to the east.

And here is Pillar to the north.

So it was time to see what the descent was like. For a (short) while it was OK if steep. Then it became a scramble and I had to guide the dog down, sometimes holding him by the scruff of the neck to ensure he could land safely on some very small landing areas. Anyway we made it and the terrain became easier and easier as we approached the col at Dore Head.

Here we saw some more people, including a guy who was running and being paced by three others. We followed them up the south ridge of Red Pike for 100m (330ft). When the contours relented slightly we broke off in a south westerly direction above Gosforth Crag.

Here is Yewbarrow, now behind us.

We had 500m of rougher ground before we descended down towards Low Tarn. We could now see our next objectives – Seatallan to the right and Middle Fell to the left.

The rough ground continued down to the tarn and along the south side that we continued beside. Towards the far end I found a rock to sit on and to have lunch. Jet took the opportunity to have a swim. It was warm though tempered with a light chill breeze. Seatallan and Middle Fell were looking closer.

After our rest, I took us to the outflow from the tarn and we followed this for a few hundred metres before turning right to cut down towards Nether Gill near its junction with Ash Gill which come down from the dip between Seatallan and Middle Fell.

Nether Gill was easy to cross and we crossed the bridleway on the far side and started up the slopes on the true left hand side of Ash Gill. A thigh burning 150m (500ft) of steep grass followed. I was glad to reach the broad expanse of the col.

Seatallan was next on the list. There was no obvious path where I emerged so I continued on a slanting rise almost due west and soon hit a narrow trail that then led straight up and easily to the dome of Seatallan. The Scafells and Great Gable were now looking somewhat further away. Yewbarrow which can be seen side on in front of the Scafells was now 3km (2 miles) away.

Because of the flat area around the trig, the views are less good here. There is also a shelter to keep the weather off. But it remained warm despite the breeze.

The true summit is not at the trig, but rather 55m away to the north east towards another cairn. Sellafield was obvious to the west. Seatallan is another Marilyn. I now just have one more Lake District Marilyn to do. I also saw my first people since cutting across country via Low Tarn. But considering the weather, it was hardly heaving – they were three in number.

It was time to move on. We followed our route up back down to the col. It was quite wet but a path up the north ridge of Middle Fell could be seen from afar. It is about a kilometre up the easy angled ridge. Things were becoming busier. A family group of eight passed me. On the top there was a single man and slightly below a couple were sunbathing.

Wastwater had come back into view.

And Sellafield could still be seen.

The final top that I was aiming for was Buckbarrow, some 2.5k away – a Wainwright I thought I may as well do since I was in the area. Buckbarrow has no significant prominence and is really only an appendage of Seatallan. I found a direct, if slightly unsatisfactory, way off Middle Fell by walking south for 100m or so and then just bailing off down the western slopes. The ground was a little more broken than the map indicated. But we safely made our way down to Greendale Gill.

I stopped to let Jet have a drink. I then started flicking water into the air from the stream and Jet (as is his wont) decided to try to catch it.

That fun over, we went south west over the expanse of moor.

Soon, in the distance, I could see what looked to be a rock or cairn sticking up. I made my way up to it. It was a cairn. It seemingly marked no particular point and was not marked on my (admittedly) old map. It was obviously well constructed. I found out later that it had been built by Joss Naylor as a cairn to mark the death of the Queen Mother.

So it was on to Buckbarrow which has a view of the screes but Wastwater is a little shy from this spot. We did not stay long.

And so we went slightly north of west to Tongues Gills. There is a path here (not marked on the map) that leads you down to Greendale Gill and the continuation of the bridleway that we had crossed over en route to Seatallan. We followed the bridleway down to the valley bottom and could look back up to the crags of Buckbarrow.

From there it was a walk along the road down to the Lake and then 2.5k on the road along the Lake itself. The place was now very busy and people had filled up most of the parking and picnic sites. Barbecues were being had, photos were being taken, sunbathing was being indulged in etc etc. Back to the reality of the Lakes on a sunny day in late Spring!

Beamsley Beacon and Round Hill

21st May 2016 by James Stone Leave a Comment

Beamsley Beacon is a well known landmark near Bolton Abbey and a prominent feature above the Wharfe valley. Round Hill is higher but less obvious except, perhaps, when view from the east as one approaches Blubberhouses Moor. I had been up Beamsley Beacon a few times but had never made my way on to Round Hill. So today was the time to rectify that.

Both Beamsley Beacon and nearby Old Pike have large Bronze Age mounds, probably used as burial chambers.

There is a parking area on the minor road to the west of Beamsley Beacon where we parked. It is a short 750m horizontal and 150m vertical to the top.

Old Pike is another 400m further. Strangely the public footpath ends here but there is a permissive path across the bleak moor with Round Hill only slowly coming nearer on the trudge across. Here I was walking along the boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

In a couple of places there are boundary markers.

It is straightforward if occasionally wet. We were overtaken by 3 fell runners. We came to a wall with a pedestrian and a vehicular gate. Here a bridleway passes north to south. This was the view west back the way we had come.

The summit is at a small pile of stones with a view of the golf balls of Menwith Hill and the very distant North Yorks Moors. To the north was a vast expanse of moorland including Simon’s Seat. To the south were hints of urban areas plus Ilkley Moor and The Chevin.

We followed the bridleway south across Middleton Moor Enclosure and then followed a line of grouse butts back to Old Pike and then over Beamsley Beacon back to the car.

That took just over two hours for the round.

Billinge Hill and Winter Hill

15th May 2016 by James Stone Leave a Comment

This is a short post on my climb up these two hills – though “climb” is perhaps a bit of a misnomer for Billinge Hill.

I used the opportunity following dropping Julie off at Manchester Airport for her Australian adventure to visit some hills a few hours away from home.

Billinge Hill is a Marilyn and also the highest point of St Helen’s Unitary Authority and of the County of Merseyside. I was able to park about 500m from the top and there was a pleasant stroll with Jet along the public footpath on the edge of a field with a golf course on the other side of a hedge. Although it is not strictly a public right of way, the farmer has cleared a track across the field to enable access to a tower and trig point at the top.

There are extensive views out to the south west over St Helens and Wigan. Apparently Snowdonia and Blackpool Tower can be seen, but not today. But in other directions the views are relatively limited, other than to the Pennines to the east and the sprawl of Manchester to the south east. Winter Hill, my next target, could be seen peaking over the foreground. There are a number of communications masts nearby.

The tower was built in the 18th century and is little worse for wear.

A guy on a mountain bike came up as we were there. We had a brief chat. He was on his usual early morning circuit. Jet and I then returned to the road. As the high point of Wigan Unitary Authority was only ten minutes’ walk away, I decided to go there. It was a rather uninspiring corner of a wet field with very little prominence – so no photo.

We then drove the short distance to Winter Hill. The start point was Rivington Hall, now owned by the local authority. Further up the valley to the north there are a series of reservoirs created by flooding the valley in the 1850s onwards. There is plenty of parking here and, being a weekend, it was fairly busy.

My first objective was Rivington Pike, the site of another tower and beacon. The climb was steep and wound its way up paths through woodland and terraced gardens that had seen better days. Emerging from the trees, the tower on the Pike could be seen. A rough road that runs just below the 300m contour is crossed before the final steep climb. The tower dates back to 1733 and is in slightly better condition than that on Billinge Hill, but the door and windows are blocked up. It was originally a hunting lodge.

The Pike is at 1,193ft (363m). Being the site of a beacon there is a grand view. To the east is an expanse of gently rising moorland leading to the top of Winter Hill. This is Rivington Moor. I was going to circumnavigate this in an anti-clockwise direction. To the west the reservoirs can be seen nearby and beyond lies the Lancashire Plain and the conurbations of Wigan and Bolton and, further away still, Manchester.

The Bolton Wanderers stadium could even be seen!

I briefly had the top to myself. But, like the car park below, there were plenty of people about. Many were fell runners. I wish I had the energy and strength!

The next destination was the intriguingly named, Two Lads. This lies 1.5k away to the south east and can be reached either by returning to the rough road or more directly across the moor. I chose the latter. Here is a look back to Rivington Pike. This route could be quite a wet alternative after rain.

Two Lads is a feature at the south east corner of Rivington Moor sporting a couple of cairns. According to one story the cairns mark the spot where two children of a Saxon king lost their lives in inclement weather. The views are similar to those on the Pike.

The way on becomes more straightforward once the service road to the masts that litter the summit of Winter Hill is reached. More fell runners and mountain bikers were encountered along this stretch.

The summit of Winter Hill was a further 1.5k away. It marks the high point of Blackburn with Darwen MBC. But before then I took a slight detour to a point a little over 400m south east of the summit trig point to visit the high point of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton! This is marked by a cairn on an imperceptible rise. You wouldn’t bother unless you were in the area anyway!

Nearby is this memorial plaque.

Apparently the weather at the time of this crash was so severe that no-one working in the nearby transmitter station was aware that it had occurred. Winter Hill has a bit of a reputation for being a magnet for aircraft mishaps with at least 10 other crashes having been recorded on the hill or nearby.

But that is nothing compared to the UFO sighting in 1950. According to ufoinfo.com there was the following report:

“The witness, R Chapman sees a dark flat iron shaped object hovering close to the ground. Suddenly out of nowhere a “majestic” being appears. He is tall, well built, with black hair and beard, dark eyes and very pale skin. There is telepathic contact between Chapman and the humanoid for several minutes. The humanoid then turns around and glides back to the UFO apparently decreasing in size as he did. After he enters the craft the UFO leaves leaving a vapor trail behind. The witness apparently encounters the same being again at the same location. (No details on that).”

It was obviously time to move on and the trig point leaves you in no doubt as to the county you are in.

I was now on the northern edge of the moor. Here it falls away in steeper slopes, quite a contrast to the gentle slopes to the south seen here with Rivington Pike in the centre.

The distant Yorkshire Dales can be made out to the north. A chill breeze was blowing so I did not stay long. Another couple of mountain bikers cycled by. The next objective was Noon Hill at the north western edge of the moor. This is a far less frequented section. Although there was an eroded track it was very boggy. So some hopping over wet ground was needed.

Although it is described as a “hill”, Noon Hill has no real prominence. It is of archaeological interest though as the summit of Noon Hill is home to a protected Bronze Age burial mound. There is another such mound near to and to the west of Winter Hill itself. Here is the view back to the top of Winter Hill.

and down to the reservoirs

I sat here a while and had an early lunch, looking at the views. It was only 11am. But the wind had died here and it was warmish. Eventually we moved on, following a trail through the grass west to the rough road whicih was only 300m or so away. We turned left on reaching this. In another 750m we came across this tower (which looks as though it has a face!)

This is the Pigeon Tower, a folly used as a dovecote and a part of the Rivington terraced gardens. There is a speedy, if steep, way down to the car park near Rivington Hall by the side of this tower.

This walk was an enjoyable one with a number of points of interest in a part of the country I would not normally frequent. Thank goodness for Marilyns!

Ben Nevis – a day to remember

6th May 2016 by James Stone Leave a Comment

I first climbed Ben Nevis in 1981. It was on my honeymoon. We were not well equipped. Although we had great views from the top, we were soaked through on the way down – the cagoules we had at the time being totally inadequate for the job, and we had no over trousers. And as reported elsewhere on this site, we left a damp trail of footprints through the hotel reception as we skulked back to our room to sort ourselves out.

The second time was a solo ascent in October 1993. It was a day of leaden clouds and no view from the top. I was on a top bagging mission that day and visited both Carn Deargs (each over 1,000m) from which I recall some watery views before making way to the summit.

The third time was in May 2007. I dragged Julie, the kids and Laura (the daughter of friends of ours) up – to be fair Julie and Laura were quite willing! We were accompanied by Caroline and her (also less than willing) son, Ruaridh. We were also supposed to be with my brother, Peter, and his family but they decided to set off before us and so we passed each other on a big snowfield 20 minutes or so short of the summit. It was a nice day, though the top 30m or so were covered in cloud until just as we were leaving. But the views were great nonetheless.

Each of these ascents were by the Tourist route from Glen Nevis – the one that 95% (if not more) of ascensionists use. And the one that a car (a Model T Ford) was driven up in 1911 (and again in 1928 and, sort of, again in 2011). If you don’t believe me then look here.

It had long been a wish of mine to approach Ben Nevis by the less frequented and far more interesting Carn Mor Dearg arête. Fortunately this was a route that Ciaran also wished to take. Finally, we had a forecast of good weather after our decidedly mixed week. As I did not want Ciaran and I to feel rushed, I determined that we should start the day at a reasonably early time and so it was that we left the North Face car park at Torlundy shortly after 6am. There was one other car there before us.

If you could have chosen the weather, then this day’s would have been it. At that early hour there was a lot of low cloud drifting around but you could tell that it was quite thin and would most likely burn off. As there was still a fair amount of snow around for the time of year we went equipped with ice axes and crampons, just in case.

We followed the signed trail up through the trees. A steep section warmed us up and got the heart rate going with slightly heavier packs. Eventually we reached the edge of the forest, passed a bench and went around a bend where we had our first view of the north face of The Ben. Nice!

We were soon at a gate and stile which marked the end of the forest. We followed the path onwards with the Allt a’Mhuillinn splashing to our right. Here the path rises at a gentle rate. Our route today would take us up Carn Mor Dearg before we tackled the arête.

In the photo below the arête is the snowy dipped ridge directly ahead and the broad open slopes of Carn Mor Dearg are to the left.

A small cairn marks the start of the path up towards Carn Mor Dearg. Here we had a brief rest for a drink. At least to start with, the route of the path up is obvious if a little wet in places. There was nothing to it but to grind one’s way up. There was around 2,000 feet (600m) of ascent to tackle. In fact we found that we gained height relatively quickly.

Soon we had good views back to the narrows between Lochs Linnhe and Eil at Caol.

And the clouds provided atmospheric views across to Ben Nevis.

On we continued with the slopes continuing to be steep, but the way now a lot drier. And it was now becoming warmer, the early morning chill disappearing notwithstanding the increase in altitude.

The North Face continued to open up. We could hear a lot of helicopter activity that seemed to be coming from near Half Way Lochan on Ben Nevis. Then we heard a loud crack and a bang as an avalanche came off the North Face and crashed down near the lower part of the Ledge Route. This was probably triggered by a cornice collapse but possibly by the helicopter activity. I hoped that there was no-one in the vicinity of the avalanche. Snow continued to funnel through a gulley for a fair few minutes even once the main event had come to an end.

The other excitement on the climb was that I dropped my GPS. I thought I would not see it again but fortunately I had only just done so and Ciaran spotted it.

The path passes below Carn Beag Dearg and then loses itself amongst bouldery terrain. I took a direct route towards the ridge between Carn Beag Dearg and Carn Dearg Meadhonach whilst Ciaran continued to contour a bit to reduce the gradient for himself.

I arrived at the cairn on Carn Dearg Meadhonach and took a second rest whilst waiting for Ciaran. This was the view back to the narrows.

Looking the other way, this was the view to Carn Mor Dearg. It has a pleasant pointy shape from here. It is just that it is dominated by The Ben’s North Face. Carn Mor Dearg was the Munro where I finished the Munros first time around in 1991. That was a hot day with a hot dehydrating wind that sucked us dry. Peter, Derek and Cathy had come over Ben Nevis from the campsite in Glen Nevis and met Julie, Sue and me on the summit. We ended the day fried and celebrated after the event in the same hotel where we had left the footprints 10 years earlier.

It was a contrast to my second ascent in the winter of 2003 with Caroline and John. On that occasion we had come over Aonach Mor and up Carn Mor Dearg’s shapely east ridge, then a fluted snowy feature that arrowed straight from the col below to the summit. On that occasion we descended the slopes that Ciaran and I had just ascended.

Ciaran arrived and we had a bit to eat and drink. I suggested to Ciaran that he go ahead and I would take some pictures of him ascending the final slopes of Carn Mor Dearg.

I then followed on.

We were soon together on the summit. to the west were Aonach Mor and Aonach Beag.

In the foreground of this picture is the top part of east ridge.

But one’s gaze was always drawn to the imposing face of Ben Nevis opposite. The clouds were still providing atmospheric vistas.

And from here the arête could be seen. The initial drop off is quite steep and then it narrows considerably. As can be seen from the photos it was still in fairly wintry conditions. We debated whether or not to put on crampons. I decided not to do so. Ciaran followed suit, but part way down the initial steep slope he had a change of heart. These were not conditions he was used to. So safety was paramount. I probably should have put mine on too but I gingerly made my way down.

Soon it became a bit rockier. I was able to use the rocks but there was enough snow for Ciaran to step on for his crampons. Eventually the crampons became a bit of a nuisance and Ciaran took them off.

Here is the first part of the descent.

with a look back

The traverse required a lot of concentration to ensure that any snow was stable and to avoid ice that was still there hidden in shady parts. Slowly we made progress with Ciaran gaining confidence as we progressed. And the views slowly changed.

And a further look back

Part way along we could see another couple of people following. We stopped for some more sustenance. The air was practically still. How often is that the case on this airy perch? What a day.

We then had a further 15 minutes or so before the narrowness stopped at a level section just before the final 650 feet (200m) of ascent up on to Ben Nevis’ summit plateau. I think Ciaran greeted this point with a mixture of achievement and relief. I guess that going over the arête is not an experience he will soon forget. So here he is reaching his haven.

At this point a cairn has been constructed. And here it is with a foreshortened look up the final slopes.

The other pair had caught us up by now. We had a further guzzle of liquid and a change of clothes. It was now hot. We followed the others using their footprints to help find footholds in the slush that the snow had become having by now had hours of sunshine falling on it. We did not like the length of the paces they were setting so I took over breaking trail. In no time we were emerging on to the plateau. Here is Ciaran with Aonach Beag behind.

As he caught up I was approached by a German couple who had ascended by the tourist route and who enquired about the route we had taken. They were well equipped and I gave them some idea of the conditions and timings. Off they went but we were to see them later on the descent because they had been put off the initial steepness down to the arête.

Having seen only two other people up to now, the character of the climb now changed with the expected throngs in the summit area. That I was able to take this selfie without someone in the immediate background was remarkable!

As remarkable was the fact that there was still hardly any wind. Wow!! It was a stunning contrast to the previous occasions that I had been up there. After a good look around at the views it was time to depart.

Here is a look across to the Mamores.

The snow remained soft so there was a fair bit of slithering and sliding on the descent. People were still on their way up. Of course, many did not seem appropriately attired. But the risk of them getting anything more than wet feet did not seem too great on a day like this one. There is a line of cairns to help with navigation.

Here is a view to one of Ben Nevis subsidiary tops.

and finally a panorama again to Lochs Linnhe and Eil.

From then on it was a question of following the tourist path down to Half Way Lochan and then cutting across to its northern end and making one’s way down the open hillside to the Allt a’Mhuillinn. We found a crossing point near the stile to the forest and it was then a question of making our weary way along the forest tracks back to the car. It had been 10 hours including all the stops.

We rewarded ourselves later with dinner at Russell’s Restaurant in Spean Bridge – recommended!

A day to live long in the memory.

Beinn na Lap

5th May 2016 by James Stone Leave a Comment

Beinn na Lap is quite a fun Munro to tackle. It is very straightforward and is often left as a “final” Munro by those who complete them all. I first climbed it in February 1987 when, as part of a quite challenging winter walk, Julie and I started at Corrour station and walked out to Tulloch over Chno Dearg and Stob Coire Sgriodain finishing in the dark. The second time was with Kirsty when she was 11. The conditions (in May) were quite different with a stiff breeze but dry and bright. And, indeed, we came across a completion party on the summit.

Most ascents are made from Corrour station. This adds to the fun as the start of the day is by train (from north or south) through some grand scenery. The station is the highest in the UK and there is no public road to it. The station house has been used variously as a “restaurant with rooms”, a youth hostel and various types of café. In 2016 the property had been brought back in hand by the Corrour Estate and was being run by them as a café.

And very welcome it was too as Ciaran and I alighted from the first train south that day.

We had started from Spean Bridge station

and received a cheery goodbye from the train guard as we left the train.

The weather was still showing little sign of improvement. The forecast was for showers and a strong wind. We had both. Another thing about organising a climb of Beinn na Lap or indeed any of the hills accessible from the station is knowing which train you are going to catch back to “civilisation”. For us there was a choice of tearing up and down Beinn na Lap to catch a return train less than three hours after we had reached Corrour. Or we could have a somewhat more leisurely seven hours between trains.

We opted for the latter and went into the café for a cup of tea!

Suitably refreshed we set out along the rough road leading towards Loch Ossian. Beinn na Lap does not look too exciting from here.

Once the road is left a worn peaty and sometimes wet trail leads straight up the side of the slope ahead. The view soon starts to open up over Loch Ossian.

And the station merges into the vastness of Rannoch Moor.

Here is a zoom from the same spot.

It took less than two hours to reach the top.

The wide ranging views were partly obscured by cloud. Here are shots to Ben Alder

Chno Dearg

Distant Schiehallion in the gloom

And Glen Nevis

Finally a shot of the cairn. No completion party today!

The wind was very strong. Whereas it had pushed us up the hill, it was in our faces on the way down. It was strong and cold enough to hurt the face. But once we had left the ridge line it calmed down. We were soon down to the road. It was the week of the Fort William motorbike trials and whilst we had been up high a staging post had been set up. We stopped briefly to chat with the guy manning it.

Soon we were back at the station – with plenty of time for a leisurely lunch (we both had venison burgers of generous proportions) before our train back to Spean Bridge. That’s the way to do it!

A nice leisurely day before our big day in the morning.