Nine Standards Rigg, as well.

I should have been backpacking this week with Martin and Sue B. But a slight back problem put paid to that unfortunately. Sheila had already booked a week off work and so we did a last minute search for a place to get away to.
We found a good spot in Kirkby Stephen and that’s how we managed to do a very nice walk on a very nice day.
As the hail pounded the windows of our rented cottage and turned our world white we thought about M and S and hoped all was well.
The weather on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was poor to say the least with everything thrown at us, mist, hail, sleet, snow, torrential rain etc, temperatures were very low at times and the ground very water logged.

A walk per day was done despite the weather and more on this bit of adventure will be written about in due time. It’s something i have been meaning to do for quite some time.

Thursday, the forecast was for a glorious day throughout the UK and a perfect opportunity for us to get aloft. I have been to the top of Nine Standards before but Sheila hadn’t and was enthusiastic about wanting to do it. So as the saying goes “A willing volunteer is better than 10 pressed men” or something like that.

We started from the watershed on the B6270 road. As it happened the whole of the Nine Standards Moorland was shrouded in cloud but the South West side of the valley was completely clear with blue skies and visibility across to the high Cumbrian fells. Their tops white.

We took the opportunity of going up onto High Pike Hill 642 metres and then across to Fells End. It’s a steep start to the day and a warm one. The last of the cloud rapidly burned off as we ascended.
Reaching the cairn the views were wonderful and the sun was making progress clearing the cloud on Nine Standards.

Taking a very vague track North led us to Fells End with expansive views.
On the journey back down to the B6270 we chatted to a chap with a friendly Border Collie for a few minutes. He was here for the same reasons as us, because the clag was down on Nine Standards.

 Fells End 

 High Pike Hill, centre.

 Cairn on High Pike Hill with Wild Boar Clough in the background.

 View North from Fells End.

 Cloud burning off the fells.

Our luck was in today, on reaching the road the last remnant of cloud was disappearing. The tops were clear so we will get a view. The alternative route of the Coast to Coast was our track. It’s a wide grassy path leading through a fenced off area of limestone pavement. There are many shake holes and deep shafts in this area which thankfully are also fenced off. 

 Dropping down slightly to Duckerdale gave a photo opportunity of this fine valley and Rigg Beck.
Following the wall round to Rollinson Gill is the start of where the boggy walk begins. A number of locals we had spoken to in Kirkby Stephen didn’t have a good word for the walk up to Nine Standards. Never again, bogfest, Wellington boots, dire were words used as well as others. They were not wrong. Once onto the plateau the morass is extensive and care is needed to pick out a descent line. In poor weather this would be awful.
Crossing the direct Coast to Coast path by the broken signpost with the finger board missing to Nine Standards, Sheila went down knee deep in the green and black smelly stuff. Just like Scotland this i said and laughed. Good job it was sunny.

 At a point where Sheila was expecting to see the high nine stones coming nearer, there was nothing, just bleak moor with Skylarks laughing. Then after a few more minutes the column which is the official viewpoint came onto the ridge line. The high stones now visible at the end of the fell. It’s a strange phenomenon that the stones are visible from all around the valley bottom but on the ascent you only get to see them right at the end.

 On such a wonderful day with no breeze and no flies we had the top to ourselves for the entire duration. Lunch was had along with good fresh coffee.

 It isn’t 100% certain why the cairns were built or when or by who or indeed why they are all different shapes. It certainly took a lot of work in such a remote and windswept location. There are a few ideas but nothing absolutely certain.

To the south of the viewpoint there is an Ordinance Survey trig point but for some reason there is no identification plaque. Just as we reached the trig point a flock of Plovers took flight. I guess around 15 of them. Great to see.

As it had been such a boggy ascent i decided that we wouldn’t retrace our steps but take a direct line back down to the quarries above Rollinson Gill. This proved a good choice as the ground was firmer although with deep peat groughs reminiscent of Kinder Scout, which had to be steered around.

On Tailbridge hill the paraglider's were out in force trying to find the thermals. We watched for a few minutes.

The protected limestone pavement.

Route around 11km.

No prizes for guessing where we are.

A fantastic days walking.

More to follow.

posted from Bloggeroid

Ponsonby Fell. Cumbria. NY 08198 07026

The blog has been quiet of late. It has been an enforced quiet due to a long standing problem with my back. It’s never perfect and it cannot be repaired, according to my Neurosurgeon.
For some reason over the past month it has been playing up and it’s been too painful to walk more than a couple of km.

However, a while ago we booked a weekend at Gosforth Hall in SW Cumbria and with the good weather forecast decided to go anyway and just do a short walk or two.

I decided that Ponsonby Fell fitted the bill as it was easy walking and not too far if i had to make a early retreat. So that’s just about the crux of the post.

Ponsonby Fell is in the Wainwright Outlying Fells book and stands at the unremarkable height of 315 metres or 1033ft if you prefer and is classed as being part of the Pillar family of hills.. Wainwright does the walk as a circular route through Bleng Forest but we had done this section many times, and with all the logging that takes place in this area i decided not to chance it and chose my own easier route.

If you collect tops Ponsonby Fell is also a Birket, Synge and Tump. Wonderful names.

Leaving Gosforth Hall on a lovely spring morning we went east towards Wellington Bridge, passing Dorothy’s previous residence which still looks in fine fettle and then leaving the main road to go left along a minor road following the river.

This minor road is quite steep in parts but is a quiet backwater and pleasant enough, passing some manicured gardens to admire. At the junction for Hurlbarrow, NY07070473, signpost accompanied by a wellington boot for some reason, we joined the land rover track north.

Reaching and passing Hurlbarrow Farm we inadvertently scarred a few sheep that bounded off from some outbuildings as they heard our voices which then set the farm dogs off barking.
Unfortunately for us the haze was increasing and visibility of the surrounding hills was reducing to just an outline. Our goal was still not in sight.

Reaching a gate and then across Scargreen Beck the route had to be checked. The obvious way, especially if in conversation, can be easily taken and bends away to the west towards Scargeen, but this is not the route. We needed to go NW, which on the ground is not an obvious path as a low wall is crossed and then a second tributary of Scargreen Beck is crossed before following a hedgerow above on the left hand side.

After another couple of fields and stiles we joined a land rover track leading to Laverock How.  After a hundred yards at a new gate on the right the “path”, again not obvious on the ground follows the boundary fence NE. Now on open fell the ground becomes more tussock grass and boggy in places.
The views open up and our top is visible. It’s a shame that the extensive views of the higher fells cannot be seen. To our west the sun is dropping fast and the Power Station can only be made out by silhouette.

At this point i guessed that Dorothy was getting a bit tired but we were close enough to carry on rather than call it a day. My back was holding up and i wanted to get to the top. Across the valley we could see the ruin of the Farmery, an isolated farm which dates back a long way. It was certainly a working farm in the early 1700’s but i cannot find out when it was built.
Through a gate in the boundary fence, across another boggy section brought us to the final gate before the last uphill section.
The bog was deep here and especially so around the gate itself which had to be waded. Another couple of hundred yards and we were into knee deep bleached grasses for the last section to the small rocky cairn.

The “top” has two distinct high points and the cairn is on the southerly one. Normally we would have great views from here but today Haycock, Seatallon and the Wasdale Screes were nowhere to be seen.

The return route was the same as the outgoing except when reaching Wind Hall we left the road and took the short cut path back to Gosforth passing the Holy Well.

Route Map. The walk was a surprising 10.5km and had taken us a slow 3.5 hours. 

Approaching Hurlbarrow farm

 Crossing Scargreen Beck

 MF 860 Backhoe Loader.

 The abandoned and ruined Farmery

 Approach to the last gate and Ponsonby Fell. Cairn on RH Top.

 Ponsonby Fell Cairn

 Visible Swainson Knott

Before the descent. A well earned 5 minutes.

One for Conrad.

Brother, BRS-3000T Hornet Titanium Stove

Here’s quite an interesting little stove for all the lightweight gas stove backpackers.
The Brother, BRS-3000T Hornet Titanium Stove. Made in China.
It weighs just 25 grams on my scales and exactly what the specification says it should.
It comes in a tidy bag that weighs 2 grams.

This Photo showing thread connection and valve needle.

The stove fits onto common butane/propane/iso butane mixed canisters with the EN417 screw threaded self sealing safety valves.

The specification says Titanium and the majority of the stove is, except for the regulator and jet which i guess is brass, the regulator grip which is spring or stainless steel and the burner mesh cover which again looks steel or aluminium rather than titanium. So the weight of 25 grams is quite remarkable.

Power wise we are looking at 2700 watts, 140 grams of gas per hour, which for a small compact piece of kit is excellent. In comparison my Primus Express spider which is just 2000 watts and my Alpkit Kraku at 2600 watts.

I gave the stove a quick run out when the ambient temperature was  minus 2 degrees C and it boiled a 500ml cup of water in two and a half minutes with the regulator on full power.

The regulator is impressive and does simmer well.
For anyone interested in seeing how the flame performs, there is a YouTube video here.
https://youtu.be/WJb5arv76DA

One of the obvious things i noticed was that when used with the Primus wind screen the pot support is quite low down and so limits the useable pan width. The width of the screen is 111mm and so a pan width of 100mm is about as large as you want to go. Anything wider will cause oxygen starvation.

The Optimus screen has a larger diameter and would suit the stove better in my opinion.
Or you can MYOG to suit whatever pan you backpack with.

I bought this stove from Lixada on Amazon UK for £11.99 with free delivery. It took 5 days from order to delivery. I did expect a lot longer for delivery as the web page suggests but Lixada have a UK base and that made me a happy bunny.

Kuiu Storm Star 4 season 2 person tent.

A little while ago when i did a review of the Kuiu Mountain Star tent i flagged up the problem of flapping door material and opposing doors.
Read about here.

Most of the time, gear designers take no notice of end users as they know best. So it was a nice surprise to see that Kuiu’s new addition to the product range has incorporated a change which completely solves the problem of door material flapping and they have done away with opposing doors so that each person has protection from the wind rather than just one person.

The latest tent is a four season, 2 person tent called the Storm Star.

Here are 2 photographs showing the change made to pole attachment. The New tent is basically a 4 season version of the Mountain Star.
Well done Kuiu for not just listening but taking the issues on board.

The original Mountain Star tent which shows the tent pole attachment to the tent being quite high from the ground. This causes the door material to flap badly as it cannot be tensioned properly.

The new Storm Star which now has pole sleeves at the base of the poles that will allow the door material to be tensioned and drastically reduces material flapping.

(Pity the photo is superimposed onto a snowy background though)

The writing is on the wall.

Probably like most readers of the blog i wish the clock could be turned back. Back to my twenties when the body worked well and nothing was any trouble. Stupidly heavy packs, no mileage too much. Playing football, squash and climbing without a thought.
I eventually stopped playing football and started more serious climbing. It was a big mistake, at the time i didn’t realise how fit football matches and training was keeping me but once you lose that ‘Yard” you never get it back. I loved climbing though and used to climb all weekend without pain or a twinge and the harder the climb the more i loved it.
Eventually Sheila started climbing and she was very very good. Better than i was in fact. Ralph our friend and lead climber was twenty years older than me but as fit as a butchers dog, has many firsts accredited to him and could run up the routes we struggled with. He is sadly no longer with us but he would have been proud of us yesterday.

We started climbing again.

It has been a good 15 years since i last touched a rope and i was a bit apprehensive to say the least. Climbing was about the ratio between power and weight, like a good sports car. I used to weigh 66 kilos when i was in my twenties and now i weigh 76 kilos. The power wasn’t a problem in my twenties but now in my sixties it sure is. So lifting 76 kilos with no strength was going to be challenging.

We had booked a beginners course at Manchester Climbing Centre and we also had my daughter Lisa and son in law Andy with us.

I thought a climbing wall would be much easier than being on actual rock but it isn’t, i can assure you of that. We got kitted up and i found out that bowlines are no longer used to tie on. I had to be instructed on using a double figure 8 knot and was told bowlines were old school. Oh well. All things change.

We set off on a horizontal warm up wall before progressing to belaying each other and getting used to the gear and the different grades of wall attachments. All good fun except that i was immediately noticing  the lack of upper body strength. My legs were ok but my fingers and shoulders were already complaining.
I managed to get to the top of the first wall which i guess was around 30ft or so, the rest of the team did as well and Andy and Sheila were loving it. Lisa struggled a little but considering she has Fibromyalgia  i was impressed with her.

Then we moved up to single climbing on a wall about 50ft high and i didn’t make the top. I just didn’t have the energy to get there and fell off safely. Andy fell off as well and almost took me out on the way down. We were all struggling but laughing about it too. We eventually realised that it was going to take more than one session to get some upper body strength back.

Looking around i was the oldest person in the centre by a country mile. It was good to see so many youngsters and female youngster to boot doing so well. There were some good climbers in there.

Before our session ended Josh our instructor took us into the bouldering room. We found it quite difficult. Maybe because we were all knackered.
We were so knackered that when we had to sign the papers to say we had done a training session non of us could write, we were shaking so much and our fingers wouldn’t work.

But what a good time we had and a beer went down a treat. Oh and the lobster curry.
Here are a few images of the afternoon and thanks everyone.
Boy do I ache today.(Sunday)

The start, Josh on the left.

 Sheila on her way up.

 Sheila reaches the top. Well done.

 Lisa and Me giving the big wall a go.

 Sheila abseiling.

 Self climb and belay wall.

 The main hall.

 I think is was looking for the exit door.

 Andy bouldering.

 Lisa showing good style bouldering.

L-R. Me, Andy, Lisa and Sheila.

Lobster curry at the Spice Lounge, Manchester.

Brooks Cascadia 10. - for info only.

Just thought i would pass on this info as i know numerous readers do like Brooks Cascadia’s 10 trail shoes.

As i walked through TKMax in Manchester something grabbed me by the collar and turned me round to face a whole shelf full of these selling at £29.99. Lots of sizes but only in blue or red. Stores in other places may have more colour options and i guess TKMAX have them because Cascadia 11 is now out. (Obviously the 11’s came out after M and G did a review here.)

So i now own a pair of the C10’s.  I did need them and couldn’t pass up a bargain. Hopefully they last longer than Micks.
Don’t linger, they won’t be there long at this price.

Along the straight and narrow.

Thankfully after being unwell for a few weeks and lacking pretty much all motivation and energy needed to get outdoors i am slowly getting back to normal. Whatever my normal is, may be decided over the next few weeks with some tests that the doc has put me in for.

Anyway Martin B sent us an invite to join him and Sue on a slow 18km walk around Macclesfield. Please put your hand up if you have ever been on a slow walk with M. No takers then i presume.
Rumour has it that even when he is asleep the legs keep going and Sue has them attached to a turbine which powers the fridge freezer and the front door bell. Just thought i would mention it.

As it happened Sheila had a bit of a mishap at Metafit class and pulled a muscle in her side which kiboshed any idea of even a slow walk at the weekend. Why do we put ourselves through hell to keep fit.

So i broached the subject with M of maybe a curry walk before they fly out to Canada on Friday for more jollies. All spur of the moment stuff but it happened today (Tuesday) and JJ came along too, which was good.
It was decided to walk into Manchester from Timperley which is around 15km and on the straight and narrow Bridgewater canal.

After 2 hours of public transport travel i eventually reached Timperley. The distance from my house to Martins house it is approximately 14 miles. That’s how bad travelling in Manchester has become at rush hour. 7 miles per hour.

A reviving cup of coffee to fend off suicidal tendencies was had and then off we went. I had packed full wet gear as per last nights BBC forecast which was wrong, it was a jolly nice morning, clear bright and sunny but with grey clouds in the distance and in the direction of our walk.

I didn’t take many photographs as this route has featured on numerous occasions on the blog. However we had a bit of a meander towards the end and the photographs below are from that meander.

These curry walks are always good for banter and catching up on numerous topics from Investments right across the spectrum to backache and back again. And much about gear and the TGO Challenge of course.

Where the Bridgewater canal lock joins the Manchester Ship Canal (Lock 3) we dropped down to walk along what was the bustling Pomona Docklands area. On the North side of the water much redevelopment has taken place but on the south side only dereliction remains. A footpath of sorts was constructed a while ago with decent stone and fencing but has lapsed into decay. The path terminates at dock 3 where a bit of a muddy scramble up an embankment brought us back to what used to be a dockland service road. The skies were looking ominous and i though we would get a down pour but it held off.

Much work has been done around this Pomona area to fence people out but not enough to actual stop them properly and so the old service roads are still used by walkers, joggers and dog walkers. Some actual ground works seem to have started at the Manchester end. The land is owned by Peel Holdings, Network Rail and GMPT. The area is a real mess with much fly tipping and the like so it will be interesting to see over the next few months whether they make it a park land for the people or will it be more financial. Knowing Peel Holdings background i doubt it will be park.

Coincidentally i read that in 2011 the Greater Manchester Ecological Unit did a survey of the Pomona area. They suggested that the site should be considered as a site of Biological Importance. For nature conservation. However, in January of 2011 90% of the trees and vegetation on the site was removed by the owners and so rendered the survey moot. Nuff said. (Info from here.)

It has been many years since i had walked along this short section of canal and it was good to see that the old Woden Street footbridge (built in 1873) is still standing. This is more widely known as Mark Addy bridge and the original rather than the new one which passes above the Mark Addy pub in the city centre. This is the point where the River Irwell and the Ship canal combine and where you can see the River Medlock join.

This area was also the site of where The Ordsall Beach was going to be. A tongue in cheek story of giving the land back to the people of Salford. They called the bridge Ha’penny bridge. Was it once a toll bridge i wonder?

Leaving the canal beyond the viaducts of Rochdale Canal Lock 1, we walked through Manchester’s Roman History in Castlefield, another area where intentions we well meant but have not really taken off. The area is well supplied with food and drink but still shows industrial tiredness. The building work of the massive viaducts and the cast iron bridges are magnificent and need to kept in good order. Lots of people were taking photographs rather than just passing snaps like us.

Across Manchester we made it to This and That curry house where Sheila joined us and we had a very nice mixed curry.

 New builds on the North Shore. Manchester Ship Canal Exchange Quay.

 View down towards Pomona Docks. Manchester Ship Canal.

 Ominous skies at Pomona No. 3 dock.

 The graffiti along this wall covers the names and plaques of all the mill which used to be here.

 Approaching Woden street Bridge, 

 Walking into Castlefield, Manchester

Birds Merchant Bridge with the old Whitby Bridge behind and the ugly Beetham Tower hotel.

Martin B’s blog post is here with more images.