A “B” Good Weekend.

A “B” weekend.
Books, Bloggers, Beers, Banter, Buddies, Bed and Breakfast, Berries and Basking. Not necessarily in that order.

Fellow blogger,  TGO Challenger, Worldwide Wanderer and all round good egg Martin Banfield messaged a few lucky folk to join him and Sue for a weekend in Leyburn, North Yorkshire. The underlying reason was the launch of Martin's book on the GR.11 route across the Spanish Pyrenees which took him 49 days.
Then there was the walking, drinking, eating and sun bathing. Yes, sun bathing in England in November. Temperatures climbed to the dizzy heights on Sunday afternoon of 24 deg. C.

The crowd arrived on Friday evening at Eastfield Lodge in Leyburn and consisted of:-

• Martin and Sue, 
• Myself and Sheila, 
• Sue and Ali from Newtonmore Hostel, 
• Blogger, LDW and multi book writer Conrad (AKA Sir Hugh), 
• Blogger, Pyrenean walker and TGO Challenger Alan Sloman, 
• TGO Challengers and Pyrenean walker Graham and Sue Brooks, 
• TGO Challengers, bloggers and multi long distance backpackers Mick and Gayle, 
• Martin from Berlin who was walking the GR.11 same time as Martin B. 
• Richard and Jenny, regular walkers and Martin and Sue’s house sitters. 
• And arriving on Saturday was Blogger and TGO Challenger JJ.

Friday evening went all too fast and consisted of a good walkers meal of stew and backed potato. Followed by lots of Gin, Whisky, Wine and beers whilst chatting to excess and putting the world to rights.

Saturday dawned gorgeous with just a hint of the fact that it was a winter morning. A temperature inversion stayed low in the valleys until around 9.30am but it was a warm and calm blue sky day.
After a very hearty Yorkshire breakfast or Full English as it is better known, the day sacks were packed, coffee made and away we went.

Martin had put together the walking route, he likes to do it you see and we are happy to let him. The fun part of it are the meanders, cough! We know where we are but not on quite the correct line. Its all part of the fun and can entail some fence climbing.

The leaders, heading out of Leyburn across numerous fields towards the railway crossing 

and onto the village of Wensley.

Before long the fleece jackets were being removed and i was so pleased i chose to walk in shorts and tee shirt. 

Many electric fences were negotiated and then the quiet village of Wensley entered. We had already had one meander btw.
There is a Candle Factory within the village but we saw no signage but there again we didn’t look for it either. 

Crossing the road we had our second meander when we realised we had taken the rather obvious footpath towards the grand Bolton Hall. Our planner said we should have headed further south towards the river. We would have ended up in the same place, so no harm done.

Bolton Hall and grounds are quite splendid. The Hall itself is a re-build after a fire in 1902. Originally built in 1678 after the village of Wensley had recovered from the plague. The building was built by Charles Paulet who went on to be Duke of Bolton.

Wensley’s village church was used for the wedding of James and Helen Herriot in the TV series All creatures great and small.

Bolton Hall

Once through the park grounds of the estate, the West Wood became a good spot to have a coffee. A mixed woodland area with Elderberry trees in full fruit. Very nice they tasted too.

As you can see everyone was listening to Martin’s every word. It started “In the beginning….

Ripe and juicy Elderberries.

We basked in the sun for a little while, chatting and drinking coffee like it was a spring day but we eventually had to keep going. The path along the river bank opened up the views of the River Ure. The path being quite high up gave us wide views and combined with the autumn colours and dry leaves gave some good images.

The Autumn colours surround the River Ure

The path through the woods ended too soon and led to a number of field systems where we had another little meander. It was quite funny but three people with electronic devices pointed that we should be going in three different directions. This was an easy mistake due to the fact that the three didn’t know the route.
Martin retraced the steps and found the hidden style located at the back of a tree. We were back on track. At this point we got our first glimpse of Bolton Castle in the haze.

Bolton Castle in the haze.

A few more electric fences to get past and a small lane which had numerous flooded sections brought us into the village of Redmires.
Here there were options. We had a choice of going up to the castle OR alternatively going straight to the village pub. I considered it for a second or two and decided to go to the Castle as i hadn’t been there before and go to the pub after. It was a good decision.
We did have a couple who chose the pub option but i will remain silent to who they were. No i won’t, it was Conrad and Mr Sloman.

So we went to the castle.

On the way we found a sleeping Dragon that had just had a snack.

And a good bench for lunch.

Bolton Castle was built between 1378- 1399 by Richard, First Baron Scrope of Bolton. Mary Queen of Scots was moved here in 1568 from her prison in Carlisle. Mary left Bolton Castle in 1569 for the last time and taken to Tutbury in Staffordshire for execution.
The castle is currently owned by Harry, the eight Baron Bolton who now lives at Bolton Hall.

Being now completely rested our route to the pub at Redmires, interestingly called The Bolton Arms, was an easy stroll through the village and across a couple of fields. On route we came across a fine bunch of fungi. Not sure if we could eat this variety, we left them in peace.

The Bolton Arms was quite busy with lunch time food customers but no problems getting served with a fine pint of Black Sheep Bitter. Conrad and Alan were sat outside and only on their second pint so we were led to believe.
JJ hadn’t turned up yet and phone calls were being made.
Eventually JJ trotted in after about a 7km jog from the B and B in Leyburn.
Graham and Sue decided to get the train back to Leyburn.

Most of the crew.

Fully refreshed we headed off back to Leyburn, again through Redmires village and then across the Wensleydale railway line. Upon reaching a minor road Martin wanted to do a short detour, not a meander you understand. For those who wanted to take a slightly shorter route there was an option.
Conrad was feeling a bit off and so Alan S went with him on the shortcut.
The sun was now dropping fast and the colours and shadows enhancing. Some cloud had started to roll in and towards the east we could see what looked like a sea fog.

We quickly and quietly passed through the lovely village of Preston under Scar on our way up onto the scar or escarpment proper. Gillfield Wood was particularly wet but only a short distance before gaining a minor road. The scar views were stunning and the path excellent.

Gillfield Wood

Walking pace increased due to the good path and the group became stretched. Richard, Jenny and Sue must have been able to smell the Gin and Tonic’s as they were well in front. Or it may have been the candy floss from the fairground in Leyburn.

Autumn berries along the Scar.

The sun in retreat, clouds coming in.

The Scar, Conrad and quite a drop off.

Ali Ogden and Sue Banfield.

The Last Rays of the day.

Back at the Lodge, a quick shower and cup of tea then off to Thirteen Restaurant.

A very enjoyable night, good food, good service, nice beers and wine and good company. What more did we want.

Saturdays route was 20.8km according to Satmap.

A bit of Nostalgia.

Years go by faster than we think and we take lots of photo’s that stay out of sight. Then one day you come across a few and have a laugh or cry as the case may be.
So here are a few of mine that bring back great memories. The images are not as good as today’s digital as quality gets lost with scanning and also years ago we didn’t seem to mind too much.

 Hiking in Cradle Mountain National Park. Tasmania

 Sun going down in Wasdale.

 Hiking in The Outer Hebrides.

 Sheila’s Mum and Sister’s first experience of camping.

 The best campsite in Wasdale.

 Fully loaded on Wainwrights Coast to Coast.

 Never to be forgotten. My visit to Hiroshima peace park.

 Hiking across Norway. Besseggen Ridge.

 A very cold night out Hiking with Sheila and Martin Banfield.

 Finishing the 2014 TGO Challenge.

 2 photo’s above. One of the most windy nights i have been camping in. On the slopes of Cadair Idris.

 Our Special Day.

 When i was fit and used to fell run.

 After a rainy ascent of Crib Goch we came out to a wonderful experience on Snowdon.

 Our two girls.

Lisa, youngest daughter. Fell running in Hiking boots. Sat at the summit of Scafell.

Where did all that time go.

Shock and Awe

I read an article in the Manchester Evening News last night that seriously shocked me. I am not surprised by what i see around me but the numbers are frightening.

It said, 917,000 new National Insurance Numbers were given out in 6 months this year to foreign nationals. That’s close to 2 Million for the whole year if the trend continues.
Its no wonder the NHS, our trains, buses, roads, etc are so busy and are at the point of collapse.
To put that into some sort of perspective. That’s more new people than the combined populations of all the Islands listed below.

Islands	Population
Isle of Man	80000
Anglesey	69000
Jersey	89300
Guernsey	59710
Lewis and Harris	19918
Isle of Sheppey	37852
Isle of White	132731
Shetland	17550
Skye	9232
Arran	5045
Walney Island	11383
Orkney Island	15315
Bute	7228
Islay	3457
Canvey Island	37479
Hayling Island	16887
Portsea Island	147088
Mull	2667
Alderney	2294
Mersea Island	7182
Achill Island	2620
South Uist	1818
Scilly Isles	2153
Gibralter	30000
Falklands	2932
	810841

Figures courtesy of Wikipedia.

Can you just imagine what would happen if all these islands decided to move to the mainland all in one go? Well it seems that it’s kind of happening, but in a different way.

Merino NuYarn Tee Update

I did an initial review of this new Merino material back at the end of August 2015 when the Tee Shirt arrived from New Zealand. Here. 

I have been quite surprised at how much interest it created and how many folk have messaged me to see how it was holding out.

I’ve worn it quite extensively both on hiking days and also just for everyday wear. 

The material is new and isn’t widely available yet here in UK. However the manufacturers claim some fantastic features over the standard Merino that we have become to love or hate as the case may be. 

I for one like Merino but i’m not overjoyed with the feel when its sweaty and i have found that it is easy damaged by rucksacks. I have numerous Merino tees and so the comparison i make is against various companies offerings. Icebreaker, Trekmates, Katmandu for example.

The Nuyarn is said to have the following advantages against std Merino.

• 35% Comfier. The material is said to loft better.
• 35% Stretchier.
• 5 x Faster drying times.
• 35% Warmer.
• 47% Stronger.
• 120% Tougher seams.

As a customer who paid for this garment himself i have no reason to make it out to better or worse than it is. My view is purely from a users point of view and not under lab conditions or controls. 

35% Comfier. 

The loft is far better and it feels in some ways that its a double layer. That’s the best way to explain it. It is great to wear on it’s own as a Tee Shirt, rather than it just being a simple base layer. 

If the % is only 35% better, then to me it feels more like 50%.

35% Stretchier. 

I think the amount of stretch in this material is amazing. Again if its only 35% then to me it feels more. I would say that choosing the size that suits the individual is going to be a “Try before you buy”scenario.

5 x Faster drying.

At this i disagree greatly. 

When you expect the garment to dry 5 times faster than a std Merino tee then you are almost expecting the water to disappear in front of your eyes. I have tested this out against all my tee shirts and of varying weights and the difference is minimal. I would even go as far as to say there is no difference. So where the 5 times faster has been calculated i don’t know.

I did find that it wicked sweat away from the skin better than std Merino and you don’t get that hard feeling in your armpits.

35% Warmer.

I can go along with this. It seems about right. An ideal base layer for winter and a good all rounder for the rest of the year. If you feel the cold then this top will suit you as part of the layering system.

47% Stronger. 

I am surprised that it’s only 47% stronger than std Merino. It certainly feels much stronger. My thoughts are that it’s pretty tough and rugged. I do wonder what would happen if it got snagged and torn? I wonder if the hole would just get bigger and bigger. This is just a thought after all there is a lifetime guarantee with this Tee shirt.

120% Tougher seams. 

I was a bit disappointed that ALL the seams are not flat locked. Some are, some are not. This may vary from company to company as more garments become available. However, the raised seams havn’t bothered me one bit. I have never felt any negativity towards them. They are fine. As for the strength of the seam i have no opinion. Its not easy for a customer to check this out.

In summary, the only thing i have found to disagree with is the drying times. The material is far better in all other aspects than std Merino. It doesn’t Pill either. I wouldn’t hesitate in getting another one.

Hog Low Pike 383 metres and Calf Hey reservoir.

With a clear Saturday, something that is quite unusual for us, we headed off to Haslingden with the purpose of getting to Hog Low Pike Trig point. Where ever the route took us after that was just a finger in the air and go.

We parked up just north of the reservoirs (SD754228) on a Pay and Display carpark that wasn’t working and so parked for free. Bonus.
Plenty of chatty people about but mainly out to walk the dog. It was a calm clear day with just a slight nip in the air.

Just before we crossed the dam between Calf Hey and Ogden reservoirs, a sign read NO OPEN FIRES. So some very bright people decided that it would be ok to set their barbecues alight on top of a plastic picnic table. What is between the ears of some folk beggars belief. Calf Hey reservoir is the top one of three reservoirs in the Grane Valley which were built in 1860.

Just before we crossed the dam an old 20” sluice gate is passed.
Good views all round we headed up the grassy and muddy slope towards The Rossendale Way path, here we turned west and on a raising path. Quite a glutinous ascent into a mixed wooded gorge where numerous narrow sheep tracks caused much head scratching as to which was the correct route. The ferns were quite high and never having been here before meant plenty of stopping and checking the map.

 20 inch diameter sluice gate.

 Calf Hey Reservoir

Calf Hey and Ogden reservoir in the background.

Fortunately the ferns and grasses were dry and so no need for waterproof over trousers. The clough is quite a hidden gem and worth a visit to explore more another time. Reaching above the tree line we got our first view of the trig point on Hog Low Pike.
A good stone path leads almost to the top where the views are excellent.

 Hog Low Pike 

 Trig Point number S4555.

 View West with Winter Hill on skyline just left of centre and far right is Jubilee Tower at Darwin Hill.

 Coming off the top we planned to follow the county boundary to where it meets the corner of Broadhead Rd. Sheila mentioned how boggy is was and that it must be cows. I though it was nothing, just like Scotland really and never gave it another thought until we were face to face with a herd of the horned critters and worse still they were all watching us. The brown one in the photo below was particularly interested in us and so we gave it a wide berth. I didn’t see any calves and so thought we would be fine passing them. It wouldn’t have made much difference if it wasn’t fine as there was no walls to get over just open boggy moorland.

 Unusual Snow Fungus. We found 2 fairly large patches of it.

 Obviously the cows use this route, a lot i guess.

 We had lunch just before reaching Broadhead Rd. The wall being a perfect height to sit and take in the surrounding. Across the way, maybe a few hundred yards we could see this large standing stone. It wasn’t far off our route and so went to see what it was about. It was just a disused quarry. It was also noticeable along this small road that people in cars use the verges as rubbish dumps instead of going to the tip.

 Back on route we squelched our way on what looks on the map as a green lane. Quite deep in parts and care had to be taken not to go knee deep in the black stuff. Cresting the hill the path improves and the views open up down the Grane Valley. I guess we were on the old pack horse route from one valley to the other which has now become neglected. Numerous old gate posts still stand showing where enclosures were many years ago. The walls now just traces and robbed out.

 The reservoirs come back into view. Taken from near Boardman Close. 

After a little map reading we made our way down through fields without a marked path until we came to the Rossendale Way. Here we passed an abandoned farmhouse of some size. Another winter should see the gable end fall down. The marked path from here enters the woodland but it didn’t bear any resemblance to the map. Still we followed it to a deep clough with a footbridge, again not marked on the map.

 Mushrooms of the inedible type.

 Footbridge not marked on the OS 1:25.000 and very nice it is too.

Back at the track around the reservoir we decided to continue in a clockwise direction instead of re tracing our steps. I’m glad we did or we would have missed the history boards telling of how it used to be before the reservoirs were built and who lived in the properties.

 It’s great the way the footings have been preserved although i bet the occupants were a bit dis-chuffed at the time.

View down the Grane Valley. and almost back at the car park.

Our route. Only 7.5km but delightful.