Chipping Trigs - Saturday 27th August '16

Although there had been quite a lot of prior interest in this adventure, only three of us reached the start line:- Nic'O, YJ and yours truly. The Settlers were absent due to their leader having fallen down and subsequently gotten up again with injured ribs - could your Angels not have reported for duty leaderless, Chris?

So at 9:15 (not all the delay being due to me) we dauntless three set off for Fairsnape. The weather was warm and dry and for most of the day there was sufficient breeze to make the conditions comfortable. YJ, in his eternal search for extra miles and climbing, approached target no.1 via Parlick summit, but Nic'O and I bypassed it and we regrouped before the col, reaching the trig on Fairsnape an hour and 19 minutes after leaving Chipping:-

In the distance between my companions you can see clearly the tree covered top of our next objective - Beacon Fell.

Descending Fairsnape towards the spreading fields of Bleasdale, we found that parts of our course had been marked:-

Nic'O seemed unsure as to whether we should follow the tape or her GPS, but in the end we agreed to follow our noses.

The route to Beacon Fell did not include too much road and we reached the top an hour and 35 minutes after Fairsnape:-

Looking back, Fairsnape is obscured by me and Parlick by YJ.

Succumbing to the temptation of a coffee shop just a few hundred yards away, it was another 27 minutes later before we set off for our final summit.This included the longest stretch of tarmac (6 miles) that we had to endure and as the weather became slightly too warm for comfort, Nic'O declared, on the stretch called Bedlam Road, that she was losing the will to live. YJ, on the final steep (very) climb up Jeffrey Hill (still tarmac), demonstrated his remarkable climbing ability, leaving us both trailing in his wake. The moorland stretch from the top of Jeffrey to the summit involved very little climbing and we reached the trig two hours and 8 minutes after leaving the Beacon Fell cafe:-

This was probably the best viewpoint of all, with Beacon Fell to the left of YJ's head, Fairsnape the long high ridge to the right of the pillar and Chipping nestling in the centre middle distance.

From there we set off back to our starting point, YJ opting to retrace our steps back to the top of Jeffrey and to stay on the road all the way back, whilst Nic'O used her GPS to help us follow footpaths most of the way back to Chipping. YJ caught us up on the final tarmac stretch and we reached the cars six hours and 54 minutes after leaving them.

Nic'O clocked over 19 miles for our journey and YJ managed to rack up over 21, by avoiding all shortcuts and staying on tarmac wherever possible.

All in all, a fine day out, although for two of us at least, just too much road, especially when surrounded by so much fine hill country. An outing to be repeated - but not just yet!

The biggest disappointment of my day was that the Cobbled Corner Cafe in Chipping had closed at 4:00, just before our arrival back  at 4:09.

Wasdale Wanderings

Precision picking the best weather of the summer, Nic'O, SN and myself headed up to the Achille Ratti Hut in Nether Wasdale.  Arriving Monday afternoon we settled ourselves in before heading up into the evening sunshine for a run over Buckbarrow.  Returning via  Greendale Bridge we chatted with Joss and his daughter and accepted the offer of a beer in the garden.  The weather continued for the next two days with wall to wall sunshine.  A good time was had by all.  Back home to torrential rain at the weekend : )

Looking down to Wast Water and the Scafells from Buckbarrow

The Screes from Buckbarrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The run down to Greendale Bridge

At Greendale Bridge

Snack at Sty Head

Great Gable from Kirk Fell

Scafells from Kirk Fell

Pillar and Scoat Fell with Steeple behind from Kirk Fell

 

Heading to the 'path' up to Wind Gap

 

The view down Mosedale to Wasdale Head from Wind Gap

Steeple for Lunch

Heading back over Pillar summit

On Looking Stead

Enjoying the views

The legs have it - sign of the sunshine!

Chipping Trigs Saturday 27th August

Meet on the Chipping village car park behind the Cobbled Corner Cafe, ready to run at 9:00.

Head northish to Fairsnape:-

Thence south westish (these are orienteering terms) to Beacon Fell:-

There is a coffee shop on Beacon.

Then eastish to Longridge Fell:-

No snow at this time of year?

There's a fair amount of road between each of them, so trail shoes advisable.

Then back to Chipping, where I'm planning to eat a (late?) lunch in the cafe.

Total distance perhaps 16 miles, with the opportunity to head back to Chipping whenever you choose.

I'll be leaving Grimeford Lane about 7:50 and can fit in up to three passengers, four if they are tiny.

Saturday 20th August

I'm UTUPing and hoping for company.

Three Peaks

On Saturday September 10th I am going to run (very slowly) the Three Peaks of Yorkshire. If anyone fancies joining me for part or all of it, you would be very welcome. Accommodation on the Friday night can be provided.

BOFRA

Last Saturday I ran my first ever BOFRA race at Arncliffe gala. For those of you who are not familiar with BOFRA races, they tend to be short, sharp and brutal, and Arncliffe was no exception.
Now short sharp races are not really my thing but Arncliffe is near here and the BOFRA Chairman is a friend of mine, so I entered. The race was only 1.7 miles but had 500 ft of climbing. The first quarter of a mile was along a muddy lane then it ramped up. At the top of the climb there was a tricky half mile circuit around a rocky summit before the plunge back down.  The mathematicians amongst you will have worked out that the climb was about 0.35 miles long and therefore very steep indeed. However, living up here my descending skills have improved, so it wasn't too bad and afterwards I reckoned that I had enjoyed the experience.
One interesting point, there were 12 V60s in a field of 98, showing that old fell runners keep going on and on.

Coope's Dozen

I enjoyed a brief outing on the route last Saturday, great to see folks.  A few pics from the day below : )

 

Rivington Trail Half Marathon

JtE has asked me to post this:-

"I think that I once mentioned to you that my granddaughter, Vicky, as a member of Chorley Ladies Football Club who marshall this event, ropes me in to help with the marshalling. I have consequently become aware of the quality of the event and have thought how suitable it is for members of our gang to participate in. I have noted that, for example, Tony Hesketh and Suzanne Budgett always participate. The course covers an area well known to us. You can find details by going to www.209events.com and looking under latest uk events listings, or by Google going to Rivington Trail Half Marathon 2016 Race Details Half Marathon List. The event takes place this year on the 1st. October."

I understand that Chorley Ladies FC play at quite a high standard, but further progress is currently inhibited due the the lack of facilities at their ground. They receive recompense for their provision of marshalls, and whilst I imagine that won't made a lot a lot of difference to their overall financial position - every little helps.

Over to you guys.