|
BB1633
: Schafe können sicher weiden
Wednesday
21st September 2016
"Have
you seen them?” he said.
"What?"
we replied.
"The
orange sheep."
No
we hadn’t but we would keep an eye open for them.
Mind
you, for the first part of our outing it would have
been difficult to see sheep whatever colour they were.
It was supposed to be nice this morning but, not
trusting the forecasters, we eschewed the opportunity
to go high and instead sought to satisfy Robin’s wishes
to visit territory unfamiliar to him and knock off a
few Wainwrights (although I didn’t know he was on the
bagging trail).
We
parked by the Watermill Inn at Ings and headed off up
the lanes and bridle paths onto Mickle Moss which Robin
likened to the African Savannah.
x.jpg)
Mickle
Moss Savannah
x.jpg)
Hounds
in full flight
|
An unexpected
sight greeted us. Not lions or tigers or camels
(nor old ale and sandwiches too) but hounds in full
flight. Had the weather been better I might have
been able to show you some fine photos but it was very
gloomy.
Not
so our spirits. We climbed Caple Howe and then
advanced to Sour Howes. I remember the trail from there
to Sallows to be a pleasant trip round the head of a
valley and I am sure that on a good day it still is.
|
b.jpg)
Hounds
at the gate
|
However today we couldn’t see it until we got quite
close.
.jpg)
Sallows
from Sour Howes !
Objective
achieved, we dropped down onto the Garburn Pass and
continued to Troutbeck. Bryan had recently been
on
a tour of the village led by an enthusiast
who could explain the history - geographically, structurally
and socially - of this interesting linear
village. Unfortunately Bryan could remember little of
it other than gems like “the man mentioned something
about this house”.
Well,
this man (me) mentioned something about the café that
now exists in the old Post Office and had already suggested
that, rather than carry butties, we stop there for lunch.
So we did. Bacon and Brie Paninis we ordered.
Unfortunately others had beaten us to the bacon so ham
and cheese or tuna and something had to suffice but
these were all enjoyed. It was then that the proprietor
informed us about the orange sheep. No, we hadn’t
seen them, we told him. What’s the story? It
seems that after some instances of woolly rustling, the
farmer had decided that if he painted his sheep orange,
the thieves would be unlikely to target them.
|
We
were not absolutely sure whether this was true or just a
shaggy sheep story. We checked our change to make
sure we had not been fleeced then set off in search
of the orange ovine.
It
soon became evident that he was right. The sheep
had been painted a fetching shade of orange. Some
had also obviously been Tangoed by the Tangerine Tup; evidenced
by the mark left on their backs.
|
b.jpg)
The
orange ovines
|
x.jpg)
Tangerinally
tupped!
|
b.jpg)
The
Great Wall of Wansfell
|
Our
objective was Wansfell- the far end, Baystones- and
as we climbed we saw more examples of the orange sheep
although they were too far away to tell if TT had had the pleasure.
It
was still a gray day but clearing somewhat as we
turned south along a mini version of the Great Wall
of China.
Perhaps
the colour of the sheep was Mandarin!!
|
At the Ambleside end of the ridge
is Wansfell Pike. On a good day this is a splendid viewpoint but
not just yet.
x.jpg)
Windermere
from Wansfell Pike
|
The descent to Ambleside is
on a recently laid stone path.
These are very helpful
for the ascent but I find them hard on the heels when
descending.
However
a slippery off-piste diversion proved hard on the bum so back to
the path I went.
Down
in the town we decided to catch the bus back to Ings
to give us more time at the Watermill.
|
b.jpg)
Comitibus: Wansfell
descent
|
This is one
of those locations where, to my mind, the floods have
been kind to the owners or at least the customers. My
recollection is of soggy carpets (caused by beer not
river). Now there is a smart floor flagged in
slate from the local stone merchant. The beer
too was good.
In
the corner sat the farmer supping his ale and humming
happily.
We couldn't quite make out the tune but
it certainly wasn't "I'll never find another ewe".
Then I recognised it from my piano lessons as
a child. It was Johann Sebastian Baaaach's
Schafe können sicher weiden
otherwise
known as "Sheep May Safely Graze". Of
course!
Don,
Wednesday 21st September 2016
sssssssssss.jpg)
|
Hues
of Ewes
Terry
is now on the lookout for different hues
of ewes.
Here
are some pretty pink ones that he found.
Let
me know if you see any other interestingly
coloured sheep.
|
|
| STATISTICS
|
BB1633
|
| Date:
|
Wednesday
21st September 2016
|
| Distance
in miles:
|
13.8
(Garmin)
|
| Height
climbed in feet:
|
3,072
(Anquet Harvey's)
|
| Features:
|
Sour
Howes, Sallows, Wansfell
|
| Comitibus:
|
Bryan,
Don, Robin, Terry
|
Map
shown: Harvey's
BOOTboys
routes are put online in gpx format which
should work with most mapping software. You can follow
our route in detail by downloading bb1633 .
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!
E-mail addresses on this web site are protected
by
Spam Trawlers will be further frustrated
by
Spam Blocker:
help fight spam e-mail!
BOOTboys
2016
|
x.jpg)
y.jpg)
y.jpg)
y.jpg)
s.jpg)
-copy-4s.jpg)
s.gif)
s.gif)
s.jpg)
yyyy.gif)
zzzz.gif)
xxx.gif)
