News from Santon

Not a lot to report, other than another lack-lustre performance in a Lakeland fell race. This time it was the Middle Fell Race; a straight out-and-back from the Screes (a Robinson's house) to the eponymous fell; 6.6 miles and 1,699 ft of climbing.

The first 2 miles follow a flat cross country route to Greendale. From there it's up the fell via the Joss Naylor descent, round the cairn and back home. Greendale on the way out saw me in next to last position. I passed Black Combe Karl and a geriatric from Northumberland FR on the climb, but the Geordie passed me again on the descent and I finished two places from last. Time to Greendale 21 minutes, 37 for the climb, 19 for the descent and another 21 to the finish, making 1:38 in total. Simon Booth won in 55 minutes. Conditions were fine to start, but we experienced cold rain on the fell, with lying slushy hail above 1,000 ft, making for a slippery descent.

Good to see Paul Dugdale (he of 7 Pike Race wins, when he wore Horwich colours) in third place.

Interesting to compare my fell times with the descent at the end of my Joss Naylor, which took 39 minutes. So Saturday saw me climbing faster than that descent, and descending more than twice as fast. Some of you may recall my sorry state on that day.

This panorama was taken from the Birker Fell road, at the start our our return to Grimeford Grange.



Scafell centre stage, with Great gable just peeping over the parapet to her left, and then left again to Pillar. Makes you want to get back up there.