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BB1541
: The Township Revisited
Tuesday
13th December 2015
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The
challenge to Martin when he volunteered to plan our
last outing of the year was to make sure we climbed a minimum of
922 feet.
A modest target but vital if we were
to pass the 100,000 feet mark- the first time
that would have been achieved since the glory year of
2010 (albeit an Everest lower than then). Last
year we failed by just 404 feet.
We
weren't that bothered about trying to compete with 2014
on mileage- it would have taken a 16 miler to beat last
year's total (and over 100 to match 2010).
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Comitibus: plus
Diana
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Back
in October I thought we would have easily achieved both
objectives but the recent awful weather has intervened.
The
main constraint today was not the ascent required but the
state of the ground. Raging streams were best avoided
for fear of your life. Most of the Lake District
would be exceedingly damp underfoot even if you were
not washed away. And that assumes you could get
there in the first place- it will be a long time before the
road along Thirlmere is in action again for cars.
The
solution, of course, is limestone and as he lives on
the edge of Whitbarrow, it is little wonder that
this was where he led us.
Mention
has been made before about Martin's involvement with
the charitable trust that maintains the Township, as
the enclosures on Whitbarrow are known. See, for example,
BB1324.
or BB1509.
He
was keen that we should see a new and controversial
feature- a cairn with a large plaque that is a memorial
to Skippy, presumably a dog and not a kangaroo, complete
with biblical reference.
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In
memory of Skippy
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It
is no casual placing of a painted piece
of slate.
The
plaque has been firmly fixed to a large
slab of limestone and a cairn erected,
all without permission of the trustees.
In
isolation, this might not seem too much
to worry about.
However
the concern is the potential proliferation
of the practice with both animal and
human tributes (and remains) littering
the area.
A
decision will need to be made.
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Meanwhile
we had a decision to make. It wasn't supposed
to rain but it did. How long would this last? Hoping
that putting on cagoules would cause it to stop, we
did just that and the tactic more or less worked. It
was colder and damper than we had expected but we didn't
get soaked.
In
the distance we could see the Lyth Valley, still considerably
flooded.
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Looking
across Lyth Valley to Scout Scar
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After
reaching the Lord's Seat summit cairn,
this one with a legitimate plaque in
memory of Canon Hervey, the founder
of the Lake District Naturalists' Trust
(not Naturists'!), we initially continued
south.
Soon,
however, Martin had the idea of exploring
an area known as Pether Pots.
This
involved crossing many limestone clints
and grykes before we found the required
track- nowhere near so pronounced as
it appeared to be on the map.
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Terry
& James pay homage to Canon Hervey
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We
discovered an old iron fire grate. This confused
us until we realised that the nearby remains of a stone
structure must once upon a time have been a workman's
hut.
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The
iron fire grate
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Looking
across the flood to Helsington Barrow
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The
track led us down to Rawsons then round to the spectacular
White Scar cliffs and the huge slabs, partially covered
in debris from the recent storms.
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White
Scar cliffs
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Looking
down the slabs
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Foulshaw
Moss
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The
Kent Estuary
Unlike
the trail shown on the map below that reflects the temporary
disorientation of my gps, we took the sensible route
up and over the Township, following the track north
past Lord's Seat and then by some very friendly cows-
Welsh Shorthorns, I believe.
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Windswept
tree
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Welsh
Shorthorns?
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James
tests their friendliness
Back
at Martin's with statistical objectives achieved, Diana
treated us to festively sparkling flapjacks whilst Maisy
looked on hopefully!
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Sparkling
flapjacks
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Maisy
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A
fine way to end an invigorating walk and the BOOTboys
year.
Don,
Tuesday 29th December 2015
More
Stats:
This
year's number of
qualifying outings is 43 (don't be fooled by
the today's reference number BB1541- we have had an "a"
and a "b" plus a "i" and a "ii").
Total
height climbed tots up to 100,910 feet, an average of
2,347 per outing. The equivalent distance figures are
435.7 and 10.1 miles.
The
total number of participants, 18, is a little down
on previous years but, paradoxically, the average number
per event is a record 4.8.
Regarding
Wainwright baggers, John
has now passed the halfway point although
logistically the remainder will be more complicated
due to the travelling involved, especially for such
time as Dunmail Raise is out of commission. Terry has also
made great strides (pun intended) in his W quest.
| STATISTICS
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BB1541
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| Date:
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Tuseday
29th December 2015
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| Distance
in miles:
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11.0
(Garmin)
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| Height
climbed in feet:
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1,888
(Garmin / OS)
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| Features:
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Whitbarrow
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| Comitibus:
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Don, James, Martin C,
Terry
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BOOTboys
routes are put online in gpx format which
should work with most mapping software. You can follow
our route in detail by downloading bb1541 .
To
discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing
- although it may not be that up to date - or for the totals of the mileages and heights (ditto) see the Excel
file: BB Log.
You
can navigate to the required report via the Home
Page
Photos
have been gleaned from many sources
although mostly
from me and other BOOTboys. Likewise written comment.
I apologise if I have
failed to acknowledge properly the source or infringed
copyright. Please let me
know and I will do my best to put things right.
Unless stated
otherwise, please feel free to download the material
if you wish.
A reference back to this website
would be appreciated.
Wainwrights
To
see which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing
see Which
Wainwright When?
This
may or may not be up to date!
For the latest totals
of the mileages, heights and Lakeland Fells Books Wainwrights see: Wainwrights.
Ditto warning!
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BOOTboys
2015
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