Lauder to Dunbar- The Herring Road. Pt1 of 2.

Day 1. Friday

 JJ,Judith and I arrived in Lauder mid afternoon Friday 5th April and within 10 minutes met up with The Pieman Mike.
We were told rather commandant like that for health and safety reasons we had to pitch tents 6 metres apart, that’s 6 metres not 5 you hear, or you will all be toast in the event of a fire or something silly like that. We were on Thirlestane Castle caravan park. God forbid.

 JJ took the opportunity once the tents were up to have a little snooze. Well it was deserved as he had done the driving for 4 hours. Mike took the opportunity of photographing JJ catching flies.
 We left JJ dreaming whilst we made off into Lauder for a look round, try a quick beer and find somewhere for tea. Mike was more concerned about sorting out a good breakfast for the morning but we only came across a bakery that did bacon rolls.

 Should we wake JJ and tell him we are off for tea. A dilemma. We better had we thought so walked back and woke him up. It was wasted as far as tea was concerned because JJ was having his own nosh and would meet us later for a beer.

 So back to Lauder for some really nice food in the Eagle pub and then we met JJ in the Black Bull where they certainly know how to charge for a beer, even if it was English.

 Walking back to the tents it was noticeably colder and although our anti freeze levels were topped up nicely, it was going to be a cold night.

Day 2. Saturday.

 It certainly was a cold night. -7 degrees C. The tent was iced up and frost flakes dropped off the tent inner as i moved to open the door. I hadn’t realised just how cold it was when at around 4.00am i felt a bit chilly. I wasn’t wearing clothes in the sleeping bag and i grabbed my belay jacket for extra warmth.
My sleeping bag was a PHD Minim 500, and i now know that it’s a sound bag down to -5 and if needed would use it down to -10 C with an extra layer.

 Once all were up it was obviously going to be a nice day. The sun was blazing at 8.00am but unfortunately it was behind some trees and would probably take another hour to move round enough to thaw out the tents. Being a brilliant excuse, we headed off once again for Lauder where, on entering the village from a different road we came across the Leader leisure centre which did wonderful full breakfasts. More tea, coffee and toast, and then more. It was becoming quite a challenge to actually get going.

A quick snack before setting off. At the Leader leisure centre.

 JJ informed the local constabulary that he was dumping parking his car for a few days in the village.
Then it was tents packed away and off we went. It was 11.45am.

 The route of the Herring Road for the first part at least follows what is now the Southern Upland way. So we headed on past the home of the Duke of Launderdale and a nice place he has too.

Thirlestane Castle, home of the Duke of Lauderdale.

 Thirlestane Castle has its origins in the 13th century. It was rebuilt as the Maitland family home in 1590 and greatly enhanced by the Duke of Lauderdale in the 1670s. In 1840, it was extended and refurbished with the addition of two new wings. The Maitlands are a famous Scottish family who first came to Britain from France with William the Conqueror. As the seat of the Earls and Duke of Lauderdale, the Castle has at times held a central role in the history of Scotland. Now in the care of a Charitable Trust, Thirlestane has been carefully restored to its former splendour. 

At first the going was easy but once passed Park Hill the snow depth increased and remained with us for most of the day. Tough walking in parts.

The first snow bank with the Eildon hills on RHS.

 Strangely it was the route, the actual track, that had the most deep snow. Ranging between ankle and knee deep. But where there was an obstacle, ie a fence or wall the depth of snow increased and slowed us down.
We varied walking between the snow and the rough heather moorland but both were equally bad in there own way.
 Dropping down to Blythe water and a rest from the snow we took the chance to have a brew and a 5 minute break in the sun.

Brew stop next to Blythe Water

 Then it was up and back into the snow. When Twin Law 447m came into view it seemed miles away but that was the next target. The path winds it’s way up and it seemed to take us ages to get to the cairns.
 In one of the cairns there was a tin box with a log book and a few sweets. A geocache of sorts. Time passed quickly and the temperature which had been hovering between 6 - 9.5 degrees C was now falling rapidly and a stiff breeze was chilling us. We needed to find a campsite soon.

 Checking the map, we were going to cross a decent sized stream in about 20 minutes and so we headed off downhill. Looking to the South East there was great views of the Teviot hills and the wide expansive tweed valley. 

 Not on the map was the new windfarm road that now severs the landscape. But it was clear of snow and made for a fast decent to Watch Water where just beyond an archeological site we found some reasonable if a bit bumpy places to pitch. It was 7.00pm. I think we were all quite tired at this time.
 A hot drink and food was called for and then bed as darkness fell.

 We saw lots of wildlife today. Curlew, Lapwing, Skylark, Meadow pipit, Buzzard and many many Grouse. Also more Hare’s than i have seen anywhere else.

Twin Laws. 447 metres.

 Not sure what JJ ate from the Geocache but he was turning into a time lord!

This photo was as happened. It has not been doctored. Strange.

Judith at Twin Law trig point.

  Camp site day 2 Watch Water.

Pt 2 to follow.

The Lammermuir Challenge

 We are now back home after our short backpacking trip. The first one of this year, which tells it’s own story about how bad our weather has been.
Our 4 nights away started in Lauder and finished in Dunbar. The area is called the Lammermuirs.

 This region of Scotland between Lothian and the Scottish Borders is not particularly high but it’s steeped in history.

 When Mike put out messages that this was the area he wanted to base his TGO Challenge training route, i admit that i was unsure exactly where it was. I remember reading about the area in the TGO magazine of many moons ago. It wasn’t an area on my radar and without this little sojourn i doubt if i would have planned a route there myself.

 Having now completed the trip and a successful one too i may add, it is without doubt a wonderful area, as long as you can blank out the hideous and unbelievable amount of wind turbines which blight this otherwise quite lonely and pretty area.

 Mike’s plan, hmm, the original plan, that’s plan A i think, was to do 70km. There was also plan A+ and there’s always a plan B. But we also had plan B+ and - and a plan that if all else failed we could just stay in the pub and cafe and then go home.

 Just as i was packing i noticed David Linton’s fine post of a walk he did the Sunday before Easter in our proposed area. The snow was deep, very deep. I thought, 70km in 3 days in those conditions with a full pack and no snow shoes would be a bit too much. I think that we need a revised plan.

 I sent out tentative emails, so as not to be strangled for being a wimp, and asked if we should consider an alternative route skirting the deep white stuff and reducing the length of the walk to about 50km. Back came agreement and a plan was hatched, i think it was Plan B, to do a walk called the Herring Road.
 It seems, from a newbie’s point of view to this area, that many years ago the fishwives of Dunbar carried huge creels of fish into the interior for sale. And this was the route they took. All very interesting. And so we had a plan but no map apart from Mikes. Then Judith bought some maps but didn’t know the route. I had a GPS and so i knew where we were but not where we were going apart from Dunbar 50km away. And that was that.

 We got there anyway, Dunbar that is. On route it was bitterly cold and at times a fierce biting wind. Temperatures varied from -7 degrees C to +8 degrees C. We had hard frost, snow covered tents, good sunshine, clear views, black threatening clouds, deep snow and very deep snow. Frozen boots and more.

 The wildlife was such a pleasure, although very noisy in the early morning. It’s no wonder they want to shoot those grouse. Winter coated hare were in abundance, buzzard, curlew, many geese, lots of fox tracks, barn owl and more.

 Some gear worked and some surprisingly didn’t. Our last night in a very posh bothy was a treat unexpected and the trip proved excellent in good company.
 Thanks ever so much Mike for the organisation and to JJ and Judith for good company and Becky of course.

 More to come.

It's all in the preparation, so i'm told.

 It was kind of Mike Knipe to invite me on his TGO challenge training walk this year. And now it's not far off at all.
 I'm not doing the chally myself but the others doing the walk are. They are all bloggers and so I will let them write their own thoughts.
 Our training walk is from Lauder to Dunbar in Scotland's border country. Not an area i have walked in before so i am looking forward to it immensely. Just a shame that Sheila has to work, again.

 With less than a week to go, I have been trying to find all my bits and bobs that have basically been redundant and scattered around in different places over the last few months. Then deciding what to take,  considering the incredible weather we have had recently i need to pack for very cold and very wet.

 Then deciding what I need to buy. You would think that after all these years I would have it all off pat. But no, the memory plays tricks. Now where is that list.

 Should I take gas or meths or both. Choices, choices. Which stove? Which sleeping bag, which mat? You know what it’s like.

 So today I packed, emptied, changed a few things and repacked. Seems really heavy I thought and I still need to put some food in. Geej.

 I better do a training, training walk and see if my back, knees, ankles, hips etc can still carry it.

 I set off.  Luckily we live where there are plenty of up's and so I didn't need to travel anywhere to find out what I already knew. It's hard work this “up" business with a 90% full pack.

  Our walk in Scotland includes one day of 28km. Oh joy. I hope it’s sunny.
Today I did about 13km. So to do double that amount is going to be tough considering the lack of backpacking fitness.

 But that is what the training walk is all about. Making sure the muscles get used to the weight, the mileage can be done, the gear choices are correct and it all works well.
 I’m sure the others will be thinking similar to me.
 But bring it on, I'm really looking forward to my first nights of the year under the stars. It will feel as though spring has arrived, even though it’s now summer. There is still plenty of snow around and forecast. The temperatures forecast for the weekend and beyond are not encouraging with -11C wind chill on one of the nights.

 According to my New Years resolutions we should have had 3 weekend backpacks done by now.
But at least this, hopefully is now the start proper, of a good years walking.

Carn Kaiteur eVent Boots - user review

 Disclaimer: These boots were purchased by me and i have no associations with Carn.

 I purchased these boots back at the beginning of January 2013. The reason i bought them was because i had been suffering for a few months with a sore Achilles tendon. I wondered if a pair of boots with a padded heel area would relieve the soreness.
  I already own a pair of Carn trail shoes and although i wear them quite a bit on a day to day basis, i don't particularly use them for longer hikes. I prefer my Inov-8's or my Meindl Softline's.
 The quality of the Carn trail shoes are very good, so when i saw these boots i had no hesitation in buying them online.

 Price £34.98  Click on the price to go to the link.

 When i received these boots i couldn't believe the quality. Considering the price of them, they exceeded my expectations by a long, long way. My review is based on having done  ≻ 225 km in them and maximum day walking of 23km.

 What do they consist of:-

 The outer, is Cocona fabric. This is the first time i had come across Cocona fabric in a pair of boots. What you notice is how well water beads off it. The best i have seen from a fabric type boot. The way it cleans after use was also a bit of a shock. Even now, after the mileage they have done, they still look as good as new. I now feel the fabric needs a spray of waterproofer as the beading has subsided some. However, there is absolutely no sign of any water penetration.

 The gusset tongue is well designed and comfy. Sewn into the outer with additional reinforcement are 8 good metal closed lacing hooks and 4 strong open collar hooks. The heel has a pulling loop and the laces provided are round nylon braided.

 The outer fabric dries exceptionally fast, which i like. For me, when backpacking, there’s nothing worse than that first few minutes in a morning when you put your feet into wet boots.

 The Cocona also breathes well ensuring that the foot stays cool and dry. It’s treated to keep odour at bay too.

 The sole :- these use the Approach and Trecking C1 sole unit, the outer rubber sole, is named uTRX or ultimate traction.  It looks like the old Vibram style or commando style sole configuration with deep lugs that are a good distance apart, that do a decent job of shedding debris.

 It works well on all ground except on wet slab rock, moss covered or ice covered. Under these conditions it performs no better than any other rubber tread sole. For ascents or descents it performs well and there is some flex in the forefoot but not overly so.
 The heel does a good shock absorbing job and also lateral support is excellent. At the front is an solid toe bar and a decent rubber rand protection.

(I’m not sure what the C1 equates to in the sole description but i am not stating here that they are C1 crampon compatible. I think the toe flex is to great for a C1 crampon and could result in either the crampon slipping or the attaching bar breaking. (Hopefully i can find out a bit more info).)

Amendment after confirmation from Carn.

The C1 reference given in our listing is indeed a sole unit model number. 

Depending on the planned usage(for short periods of time), a C1 crampon(the
semi flexible type) will fit our C1 sole unit as used on the Kaieteur boots.
Besides the rubber outsole and nylon shank this boot has also been fitted
with a Bi-Fit board which keeps 3/4 of the boot rigid but does allow some
flex in the forefoot. 

Of course C2 and C3 crampons will not work on our outsole, these being for
mountaineering/climbing boots.

 Arch support is not that great but can be improved with a 3rd party insole of the type which suits you best, and of course we all have different feet. What doesn’t suit me could well be perfect for others.
 The insole supplied is actually a decent one in its own right being Poliyou. You don’t usually see Poliyou on boots of this price.

 The rear foot midsole is PU whilst the forefoot is compression moulded EVA.

 The waterproof membrane:- This is eVent, and does a good job. I’m sure there is no need for me to expand on eVent to readers. The inner cushioning is good, breathes well and dries fairly quickly.

 Here are some more photo’s.

  From new, they were comfy and i havn’t had any blisters. They took approx. 20 miles before i felt that they were moulded to my foot. They are like slippers now.
 I have no complaints at all and i can recommend them. For the price they must be hard to beat.

The Kaiteur’s are available in both men and women’s styles.

Update October 2013.
Sheila's boots which were replaced in May 2013 have now let water through the membrane. Not just a little bit making the socks damp. But completely soaked through both boots. Mysteriously she has only done about 150 miles in total in them. On the other hand mine are still ok and must have covered 300 miles.

After the disappointment.

 Last night was quite boring, what after the disappointment of not getting up to Cumbria and then suffering about 9 minutes of the England footy before i switched it off.

 This morning we had a covering of snow with quite a strong cold wind. We donned our gear and set off straight from the house. It wasn’t long before we were into spin drift.
 It was a chance to try out a couple of new jackets we had very kindly been sent for review.

 Both jackets were in my size (M), but it was too good an opportunity to leave one at home, so Sheila wore the other, although she is size (S).  Half way through the walk we swopped jackets to see how windproof/breathable we found them and what our first impressions were.
I will do a separate post on the jackets when i get the go ahead from the manufacturer and done quite a bit more serious bad weather walking, but i’m quite excited about them i must say.

  We passed one of our local farms en route and we always check out his barn for newly born calves. Unfortunately today we noticed a dead one with the mother stood over it. The birth sack still attached to the mum. I knew the farmer would have known about but i called in just to make sure. Sure enough, he knew. He checked it at midnight and all was well but at 2.00am the calf was gone.

 The lanes were unfit for vehicles and it was incredible the difference in snow conditions in such a short distance from our doorstep.

  The fierce wind whipped up the snow and drove it at us with such force. Occasionally close to blowing us over and then 5 minutes later, all calm.
 When we entered the park we were the first footprints. It was eerily quiet which surprised us. Usually kids and big kids are out sledging here with the voices carrying loudly on the wind.
 There’s a coffee shop in the park which is about mid way through the walk and it was here where we were going to swop jackets as well as have a cheese and onion toasty and a mug of coffee.

  It was funny watching the birds struggle against the wind. All our feathered friends were at ground level and getting blown over like rag dolls.
 The drifts were getting quite deep although general ground cover was no more than a 30cm. In some places we had to struggle through 1.5m of snow on the trail. Snow shoes would have been very useful.

 As it was we sank down, waist deep and still not finding solid ground. It was easier to roll through it rather than take steps.

 It was all good fun and we did about 8km.  It brought it home to us just how bad the conditions would have been if we had set off to Cumbria yesterday. It was a good decision to stay put.

Just typical

 Would you believe this weather.

Our plan this weekend was to get up to the Duddon Valley in Cumbria, see friends, do some walking, etc etc.
Then we get an email to say Please don’t come up. Phones not working, internet in/out. Roads closed.
Trees down, road signs blown down, lots of crashes on roads that are open, tons of snow.

 So, disappointment or what.
All the gear is in the boot of the car. All fueled up and nowhere to go.
Fortunately i have had a couple of jackets delivered for testing, so getting out locally in our more moderate snow will happen tomorrow and Sunday. (More to come on the jackets subject over the next couple of weeks.)
Ho Hum.

Karrimor lightweight Gilet

 Looking in Sports Direct yesterday i came across this Karrimor Gilet. It was very light, down filled and cheap. £18.

 I had seen it prior to me going into town for a look round. I had actually thought about getting one just to supplement my TNF Zephyrus pully, for when the temp dropped down but not cold enough to use my PHD Minimus. I also didn’t have much of a budget to spend. Getting one, would give me a choice of cross over gear depending on conditions.

 So it was really disappointing to find that the zips are absolute rubbish. I know it’s only £18 but the RRP is £59.99. 

 I was hoping that this came from the Japanese stable of Karrimor, but obviously not. 

Out of 6 gilet’s on the rack none of the zips worked well. Some worked poorly, some of the hand warmer pocket zips didn’t work at all. Shame because the outer material was nicely down proof which was a bit of a surprise.

So not even worth £18 in my book. I will keep looking. 

Dunsop Bridge, a short walk.

 Sheila and I decided that we had just enough time today to do a quick walk around this beautiful part of Lancashire. Dunsop Bridge lies at the southern edge of the Trough of Bowland. Supposedly the centre of Great Britain.

 We were running short on fuel as it took us a bit longer than we expected to arrive in the village. I thought i would have enough fuel but it wasn’t the case. So i paid the most expensive rate for fuel that i have ever paid £1.55 per litre at the station in the village.

 Parking is plentiful, although it's pay and display. Still the rate for parking is very reasonable at £1.80 for 8 hours, or £1.00 for four hours. Toilets are open and clean. There is also some places where “Free” parking can be had.

 There was a bitter wind, cutting right through us. Certainly a day for layering and although i had a Merino base layer on i still felt the chill. The temperature was around zero degrees C but with the wind chill it certainly felt like minus 6.

 Our plan was to follow the Dunsop River and contour Middle fell Knoll (Thanks Conrad) and return by the path on the opposite bank.
 United Utilities are doing plenty of work on the river and even today, a Sunday, they were working in numerous places. The Forestry people have also been busy, with the clearing of the west  side of Beatrix Fell which looked quite untidy. Why do they never clear up after felling?

 We passed plenty of people out today, all well wrapped up. It is obviously a path well used by locals for exercising the dogs. As we got further up the valley the numbers diminished. Obviously the cold was putting them off, and understandable.

 The fell tops were clear and inviting. But not for us today. Plenty of snow had fallen on the fells overnight and it looked great against a blue sky. We found a track into open country that isn't marked on the OS 1:25,000 map, so that was mentally noted for the future. For anyone who might be interested, the access point is just north of the wall enclosing Calder Moor Forestry and rises to the ridge of Whin fell.

 So, here are some photo's of the area. We will be back for further walking here and maybe a backpack too, soon.