The Last Ten Miles were the Worst!

Yes, NLN, hats would have been a good idea, my scalp is a bit sore this morning. Also, as you suggest, Shaly Dingle is also off my list of routes for the some time. No, 'we' didn't do 25 miles. TM and I did 24.9 and YJ increased this to 25 by running twice round the car park. Thank you for the wonderful photos, they really capture the day, especially the cotton grass on counting hill.

Stage by stage then:-

To Noon Hill - 23 minutes - standard route, nothing to report.

To the Pike - 14 minutes (Elapsed time (ET) 37 mins) - via the high, direct route, damp but generally good underfoot.

To Two Lads - 19 mins ET 56 - cross country.

To Whimberry Hill - 40 mins ET 1:36 - via Holdens farm and a clough that perhaps TM can remember the name of.

To Egg Hillock - 4 mins ET 1:40 - a nice, mostly downhill stretch.

To Counting Hill - 33 mins ET 2:13 - TM and YJ took the old route striking off south west direct from the top and reaching Counting Hill a good 5 minutes before NLN and I, who went via Shaly Dingle and met some serious opposition from bracken with attitude!

To Winter Hill Trig - 15 mins ET 2:28 - straightforward, but that pond really needs a gnome.

To Hordern Stoops - 12 mins ET 2:40 - early paths a bit overgrown with bracken - curse the stuff!

Refreshments - 10 mins ET 2:50 - retrieved my stash and traded some provisions with the White Bear marshalls.

To Old Adam's Hill - 32 mins ET 3:22 - NLN left us as we struck off right for Old Adam, to continue along the wall to Spitlers. As we approached the summit we met with two obstacles, a new barbed wire fence and a herd of cows policing the top. Rather than risk three lives (the cows may have read recent press reports about how dangerous they had become) the daft one was sent over the wire and into the fray to claim the summit, whilst the udders watched.

To Spitlers Edge - 16 mins ET 3:38 - straightforward.

To Darwen Tower - 68 mins ET 4:46 - a long, but uneventful trek, via Piccadily.

Refreshents - 10 mins ET 4:56 - no stash here, but we were carrying our own provisions and TM shared her jelly babies with her two elderly charges.

To Great Hill - 56 mins ET 5:52 - feeling we were now at least moving in a homeward direction, this stage seemed to pass more quickly, despite the steep climb to the top.

Refreshments - 7 mins ET 5:59 - TM retrieved our stash, and we shared the summit with a gaggle of well-mannered DoE'ers.

To Round Loaf - 15 mins ET 6:14 - a good, direct route selected by YJ.

Healey Nab - 52 mins ET 7:06 - a bit of uncertainty finding the best line to Dean Black Brook, but no time lost. Leather on willow under way at White Coppice. YJ once again showed off his superior route selection, with a sidestep to the bridle path a little further along the road to reach the top a couple of minutes before TM and me.

Back to the Barn - 55 mins ET (for YJ and me) 8:01 - we think TM, who appeared to go faster by the mile, but was that just me going ever more slowly, probably finished just inside 8 hours.

A great day out, super conditions, which only threatened to cook us now and then, in wonderful company; thank you one and all. We must do this again, next decade!