BB1328
: It's Langdale, John, But Not As We Know It
Thursday
22nd August 2013
Tony
is in training for Scafell Pike. John wants to
do all the Langdales and has so far done about half
of them.. What could be more obvious
than to knock off a few more of them?
What?
In the middle of August? Aren't those narrow roads
going to be congested and the paths full of trippers?
Not
at all, We were visiting Langdale but, as Mr Spock
might have said, not as we
know it, John.
This
Langdale is in the north end of the Howgills, an area
not exactly known for its visitors.
A much quieter area to tackle in
school holiday time.
Initially
we thought of doing the full Langdale round but that
would be around 11 miles and 4,240 feet of climbing.
It's further and higher than Scafell Pike! It
would also include what sounded like a hairy drop and
climb between two peaks.
Consequently,
we resorted, for the first time in ages, to Wainwright
and his Walks in the Howgills. A more modest 9
miles and 2,000 feet
of climbing if you follow his route.
Although
the valley in question is undoubtedly called Langdale,
the hamlet is shown on the OS map as Longdale. It
would not be the first time that the OS had things wrong and AW
insists that "Long" is incorrect but seemingly the villagers
do not agree.
His
route descriptions are in such tiny print that despite
his simple handwriting, they are very difficult to read,
even when enlarged. There is a market for someone
to produce scalable typed versions! You heard it
here first. No fee.
Burned
out farmhouse
Bridge
over Langdale Beck
We
set off following his scanner-enlarged instructions
but after passing a burned out farmhouse we ran into
some difficulties. Things on the ground are not
quite how they were 40 years ago and some reinterpretation
was needed. Once resolved, we climbed up the west
side of Langdale beck and along an old track till we
reached the open moor. Here I lost my wager. I
had told BetFred that we would meet no one on those
fells and was given good odds. Lo and behold,
two men were walking up the track to cause me to lose
a fortune. Do you think they were ringers?
Anyway,
we continued along the fell path but it became increasingly
a traverse over uncomfortably steep ground. A
democratic decision was made to climb directly up to
the ridge. This meant a few added feet but, after
a stiff climb, eased the burden on the legs.
Langdale,
Churchdale and Uldale
Rispa
Pike provided a coffee stop and Uldale Head lunch, both
afflicted by pesky wasps, but the latter providing views
not dissimilar to last week of the distant Lakeland
fells, the M6 and a new one of Carling Gill and its
side valleys.
Distant
Lakeland fells
M6
Black
Force and Small Gill
Docker
Knott (low centre) and Simon's Seat, left
After
the steep descent to Blakethwaite Bottom, we looked
for the Blakethwaite Stone where each participant had
a decision to make regarding the Comitibus picture.
The stone itself is unremarkable other than the
fact that it divides what was Yorkshire from what was
Westmorland. Each had to choose which side of
the line they wanted to stand. Martin, John, Tony
and I chose Westmorland. Philip opted, Vicar of
Bray-like, to have a foot in each camp. What a
good job that none of Bryan, John PL and Pete were with
us. Fisticuffs or worse might have ensued!
It
was a steep climb up to Docker Knott and a similarly
steep descent to Great Blea Gill. Here we crossed the
stream and climbed up towards Simon's Seat. More
traversing and more steepness to overcome.
From
Simon's Seat onwards it was a gentle descent of Middleton
down to the ancient bridge over Langdale Beck.
Top
of lower Langdale
Looking
downstream.....
Hereon,
the path was in much kinder countryside,
gently leading along the beck through light
woodland then fields, hampered only by gates
that were not intended of the likes of us
to pass through.
Eventually
we emerged at the hamlet where we had left
the cars.
So
that was Langdale, John. As we now know it.
.....
and upstream
lower
Langdale
And,
to Tony's delight, it will be a while before we return.
The trouble with the Howgills is that whilst the
area has its charms, the hills all look more or less
the same with their featureless, energy sapping tufty
tops, steep sides and stream gullies.
Two
lots in two week is enough for the time being.
Don,
22nd August 2013
We
Come In Peace- Shoot To Kill
Just
in case you are puzzled by the "not
as we know it"
reference above, it is a misquote from a
Star Trek episode in which Mr Spock says to
Captain James T Kirk:
No
life as we know it
"It's
Life, Jim, but not as we know it."
stems from the song "Star Trekkin Across
The Universe"
(as does the heading of this section); a 1987 hit single by The Firm.
If
you don't remember it (or even if you do
but want a laugh) click on the play button
below:
It's
life, Jim, but not as we know it
It is brilliant!
But be
warned, you will have this going round your head all
day long!
If
you see an advert, you might then want
to click on the tiny x at its top right
hand corner in order to remove it.
Pressing
the full screen button at the bottom right of the picture
is highly recommended.
Caption
Competition
Philip
likes to have his photo taken pointing at something
and inviting suggestions for its caption. Here we see
him looking down the Langdale valley. But
at what is he pointing and what is he telling us? I
am sure that Philip will stump up a modest award for
the best entry!
BOOTboys
routes are put online in gpx format which
should work with most mapping software. You can follow
our route in detail by downloading bb1328 .
To
discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing
- although it may not be quite up to date - see: Which
Wainwright When?
For the latest 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. A reference back to this website
would be appreciated but not essential. .If I have
failed to acknowledge properly the source or infringed
copyright, then I apologise. . Please let me
know and I will do my best to put things right.
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