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BB2223
: An Even Harder 'Ard Day's Hike
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Thursday
4th August 2022
When
I was young, so much younger
than today…..
Help!
I’ve slipped into the
wrong Beatles song.
But
we were so much younger. It
is thirteen years since BB0928
: It's Been An Ard Day's Hike
when Stan, Bryan and I last
tackled today’s objectives.
The
Ard in the plagiarisation of
A Hard Day’s Night was, and
still is, a hill in the North
Western Fells.
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click
on picture for song
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Today’s
revisit was for similar purpose, namely
reducing the number of outstanding Wainwrights
for Stan and me. I remember saying
at the time that I’ll be back for the next
round. I should have known better
than to think that it would only a couple
of years!
Bryan
was with us, as per last time. This
time, we were also joined by TV Mike and
Brian who hasn’t been with us for ages.
When I saw him the other night I asked
him to tell me why. He explained that
he had taken advantage of Covid lockdowns
to complete his Wainwrights solo and is
now blasting through the Outlying Fells
book.
He
was traveling in the front seat with Stan’s
dog between his feet. "She’s
beautiful," he said "and I love
her". "She’s a he,"
said Stan as Brian fed Pedro a biscuit.
Pedro looked at Brian as if to say
you can’t buy me love but if you don’t give
me one, I’ll cry instead.
When
we got out of the car at Newlands Hause
I realised I had made two mistakes.
Firstly
I would have to abandon the intended song
for this report: Garmin & Si Funkel’s
Hello Misty Robinson. It wasn’t. We
could see Robinson and all his pals clearly;
the earlier cloud had lifted.
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Second,
and more importantly, Bryan and Stan were
in their running shoes. I had opted
for my heavy boots as I knew we had a big
bog ahead of us on Robinson. If only
I had re-read BB0928 when we were all wearing
running shoes! Your feet get wet,
your feet get dry. Anyway that is
what I am blaming for my slowness. It’s
nothing to do with age or lack of fitness.
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To
be fair (to me) the initial climb up to
the boggy area didn’t seem so bad. Bryan
had a cunning plan that would by-pass the
bog but unfortunately it didn’t by-pass
as much as I would have liked. On
the other side thereof it was a straightforward
climb to the top.
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It
is an undramatic summit area but it makes
up for that with its views.
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Had
I read BB0928 I would have picked up on
the word “challenging” for the ridge down.
There were indeed a few places where
ingenuity was needed to descend. What
if I fell? Actually there was nothing
particularly dangerous- just very awkward.
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Rather
than continue along High Snab Bank, we dropped
down to the small and delightful Scope Beck
reservoir.
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What
followed was the long trek back to civilisation.
And how civilised. A house that
would put many of the “grand design” programme
properties to shame. I made a mental
note to see if I could find anything about
it when I get home.
This
was our turning point. Should we stop
for lunch? Should we press on? I
wasn’t bothered. Any time at all would
do for me.
We
debated whether to reach Ard Crags via the
nose of Aikin Knott or by taking the long
and seemingly gentle path above Rigg Beck,
around the side of the Knott where there
was a not too severe or long climb up to
the summit. "Please don't make me go
up by the nose," someone said. "You
can't do that to me." As a result,
we chose the latter which might have been
a mistake. I was not the only one
to find the unrelenting loose stone path
to be hard work.
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The
ridge walk via Knott Rigg was much more
pleasant. We could see our car with
the Moss Force waterfall not far behind
the parking place. It was a simple
descent even though the legs were tiring.
Sad to think that thirteen years earlier
we had been fit enough to have taken in
two more hills before calling it a day.
Stan and co. probably still are.
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Celebrating
later at the Brewery at Staveley, Stan made
comment about the music that was playing.
"Stan," I said, "I’m
happy just to dance with you." " What?"
he responded, taking a step or two
back. "Beatles, Stan," I
said. "That’s what they are playing.
It’s off that LP." "Ah,
I know which one you mean," he replied.
"It’s Been An Even Harder Ard’s
Day’s Hike."
And
that's my record of the things we said today.
Don,
Thursday 4th August 2022
PS
Did you spot all the Hard Day’s Night song
titles?
Click on Extra
for the answers.
Thanks to TV Mike for sveral
of the photos.
Comitibus: Bryan,
Stan, TV Mike, Brian (with Pedro), Don
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