Winter Hill Round

 Steve Pearson and I missed the original run and so we decided to make our attempt on Sunday. Actually we had originally picked last Wednesday but Steve had to pull out, and the weather on Friday brought out the southern wimpiness in me, so we settled on Sunday.

I picked Steve up en route to the Top Barn and we set off just after 10.30. We decided that ploughing through long grass would be difficult so we followed the path from the car park into the woods and then uphill on a distinct track up through the trees to George's Lane and the first of our fence climbs. Noon Hill was ticked off and we managed to avoid the worst of the swamp by following a quad bike track to the trig on Winter Hill. 

Winter Hill

We followed the path to Counting Hill and then made a serious error of judgement. We opted for a direct line to Egg Hillock which proved problematical with long grass, tussocks and bracken all making progress difficult. (I suspect in winter the best line might be more obvious) Eventually we reached the col between Egg Hilock and Whimberry Hill, polished them off and followed the track south to find our first new CP, Lomax Wife's trig. Locating it was easy, getting to it a lot harder as we had to climb two fences.( that's three if anyone is counting). Someone had left some flowers on the trig, probably in memory of a loved one, so we eschewed the photo opportunity and followed a distinct track that led us out to Coal Pit road after another fence climb. We looked for the path marked on the map but decided that it was too overgrown and instead used the track past Hampsons Farm and out onto Colliers Row.

There now followed  a longish section of road running interrupted by a brief climb up from the car park to Matchmoor Lane. The next trig point was again difficult to get to because of a deer fence but we persevered and found it.

Matchmoor Trig

Exerting our right to roam, we cut across country to White Brow with yet another fence climb for good measure. Adam Hill proved problematic, not because we couldn't find it, but because there was a herd of cows with big horns and Steve doesn't like cows. As a result we had an extra two fence climbs before we reached the mast road and the easy run up to Two Lads. Here an unpleasant sight greeted us: some idiot had clearly vandalised it and the cairn was surrounded by green fencing.

Two Lads

Down to Sportsman's Cottage, along George's Lane, and the final two summits. Neither of us had been up Brown Hill and so from the summit we took a direct line to the Pike. Now apparently we should have carried on to north to a gate which would have avoided our final fence climb, our eighth, and saved me getting a  couple of nasty scratches from the barbed wire. The Pike was busy, so after the obligatory photo

                                                                      The Pike

it was downhill back to the barn., which should have been straight forward but since neither of us were familiar with all the renovations in the gardens, we didn't pick a good way down. 

Our running time was 2hrs 25 mins for 10.8 miles and 2000ft of ascent, which is not too shabby given that our combined age is nearly 140! My thanks to Steve for his company and to Ed for devising the route. If you haven't tried it, I strongly recommend it - a great day out.

The Three Peaks

 

On Friday 23^rd of September, I ran the Three Peaks of Yorkshire to raise some money for Ukranian refugee children. First of all, a big thank you to all the people who sponsored me: your generosity was overwhelming and the fund now stands at £1300. A number of people have asked me why did I do it, especially at my age. The answer is two-fold: I love fell running and I wanted to do something to help the Ukrainian refugees. So why not combine the two?

The weather could not have been better. Blue skies, very little wind and not too hot: ideal running conditions with the bonus of outstanding views. Roger and Eleri arrived at my house at 9am, and Paul drove us to Dalehead for the start. Pen y Ghent was straightforward and we were ahead of schedule when we arrived in Horton, to be met by Anne and Gordon, and flasks of tea. I should explain that I am physically incapable of going for more than a couple of hours without black tea.

 Eleri had to leave us at this point as she was going away for the weekend, but Gordon replaced her so we were still a gang of three. The ascent of Ingleborough is long and at times tedious, but it was enlivened by discussions on an eclectic mix of topics from the Royal family to Brentford FC. The descent proved problematical. I have known Gordon for well over 30 years and he is a top bloke (he had driven up from Horwich to join my run) but he is not a good descender. So Roger and I got ahead going down the first steep bit, and after running along the ridge we realised that Gordon was not behind us. We surmised that he must have taken the tourist route instead so we carried on to the Hill Inn where Anne, Peter and Shelagh were waiting with food and more tea. After 10 minutes anxious wait, Gordon appeared having taken the tourist route as we had guessed.

At this stage I was feeling a little tired and decided to press on, telling the other two (mere youths in their 60s) to catch me up. The ascent of Whernside was a slog: the sun came out and it was very warm. In addition, there was a charity walk going the other way which led to some awkward manoeuvres on the steps. Eventually I reached the ridge where things became much better. I soon reached the summit to be joined by Roger, and then Gordon. The descent was straightforward, although we had to be wary of tripping, easily done with tired legs on rough ground. Down past the viaduct and the finish was in sight. The support crew were there with the finish tape, and more importantly, more tea. We then went to the Station Inn for some well earned food and drink.

It was a very enjoyable day and my especial thanks go to my support team and my fellow runners, without whom none of this would have been possible.

'All' the Winter Hill Tops - Saturday 17th September 2022

Just eleven of us assembled at the Top Barn for this inaugural tour of Winter Hill; Paul and his two buddies set off to run the route, seven (plus two dogs) of us planning to walk and Young John just there to see us off, before his road run.

It turned out that Hazel had a date with 22 footballers at the Bolton Wanderers' Stadium, so just stayed with our main group until the top trig, where she took this photo:-

From the left - Leon, Debs, Yours Truly, Jim, Steve, Daisy, Julie and Nicole - thank you for this, Hazel. From there Hazel skipped the furthest south eastern six, planning to finish with Two Lads, Brown Hill and the Pike.

From there we continued, pausing for refreshments in brilliant sunshine beside Lomax Wife's Trig. Mainly due to my slow pace, we began to realise that we were running out of time, so we left the Matchmoor Trig for another day, likewise Adam Hill, finishing off with Two Lads, Brown Hill and the Pike. Total time about six hours, for the ten out of twelve.

Heard later that Paul's Posse covered the dozen in about 2:45.

Thank you to one and all for your company and to Julie for her help with the navigation. However, with the job not fully completed, we will be going back - won't we?

Upcoming Weakened Warrior Event - Walk or Run "Th'ole 'Ill"

 Being twelve named tops on the Winter Hill Massif.

It's about ten miles, starting from the Top Barn at 9:00 on Saturday 17th September. I'll be walking it (doctor's orders) but I'm hoping someone will lead a running posse, and set the inaugural record.

Email me on (at?) edswift@btinternet.com for brief details.

Checking In

 Hello from bonny Scotland! 

Just thought I'd check in and see how you're all doing?  How's the running going?  Mine isn't great due to still having foot problems but I'm just plodding around enjoying the scenery with my new dog, Geoff.  

Have to say, I'm missing the varied terrain of Horwich and surrounding areas, I tend to mostly run around Forestry Commission land up here and never seem to get very muddy.  I miss the mud! 

Trying to take up cycling and bought a lovely bike which is great for all the country lanes and fire roads but I'm struggling to take to it.  It's just not the same as running.  You have to go out for a LOT longer to feel the same burn.  

Open water swimming is fun though and there are so many places to go.  The loch I've been swimming in is almost black - you put your head in the water and can't see a thing.  Full of peat! There's also lots of sea swimming to be had around here too.  

Anyway, enough from me - I'd better get back to work!  

Stop by if you're ever in the area!  

TM

White Bear Way Challenge

I realise that it is the morning after the quarterly do, but is anyone up for partaking in this excellent challenge event organised by Adlington Scout Group, and if the same as pre-pandemic, much of it by the Kaye family.

There's a choice of 21 miles which takes in Blackrod passing the hostelry we shall be at on the QD, then down to Liverpool Castle, via Tiger Clough to Georges Lane, over t'Pike to Horden Stoops, then Bomber Memorial, Healey Nab, Black Horse at Limerick, and back along the canal to Adlington.

Walk or run, and there is also a 10 mile option. Web page here.

Black Combe

 YJ and I are planning an assault on Black Combe. As usual, it may not be easy to find a Saturday that suits all interested parties, but we'll try - so, anyone fancy it?

If you're not familiar with it, just look slightly west of north from the Pike or Winter Hill on a clear day; it's the roundish hill projecting furthest into the Irish Sea, and it's a little less than two hours drive away.

Anglezarke Amble 2022

This used to be a regular runout for many of the wfdbwgua members,  but as we grow less athletic (some of us including me were never athletic to start with), we see less participation. With the pandemic, it wasn't run in 2021. I walked the 25 mile route in 2020 in 8hrs 45, still recovering from my cruciate ligament injury. Prior to that it looks like my most recent run was 2018 in 7hrs 08.

With my latest spate of injuries my plan had gone from running the 25 mile course down to walking the 16 mile route. Maybe I could have walked the long route but I suspected the lack of fitness would start to tell in the final miles. There were many recognisable faces at the start including Steve Pearson who although at the walkers start, looked dressed for running. As soon as we started, I had a slight concern that I had not got my drinking cup so stopped to check and was re-assured. By the Top Barn I had caught up with Steve and  guy from Achilli Ratti who is well acquainted with TLoB. We fast walked up to the Pike and even then I was feeling the pace. The descent of the Pike was run and then along to the first checkpoint at Pike Cottage. The checkpoint had been moved from Winter Hill now that Mast Road is at last closed to unauthorised vehicles by a barrier. I bade my farewell to them heading up to Two Lads as I needed a slower pace. I was also wearing walking shoes rather than fell running shoes.

I reached Winter Hill just inside the hour, well inside my target pace of three miles per hour. On the descent to San Marino, a few more ran past me (walkers start!) and then I chatted to one young lady called Angela who runs for Skelmersdale but is a frequent visitor to the Rivington area. She had caught up with me then decided to go at my pace down the ramp. I thought she was in her 20s or 30s but she assured me she was not far off being able to go for a Joss Naylor Challenge. We encouraged each other to finish in a pleasant decently paced walk to finish in 5hrs 16. I did find it tough climbing Great Hill from Piccadilly and it was quite blustery on top of Great Hill. 

Albert and Michelle came past us just after White Coppice having run the 16 mile route on the runners' 9am start. Albert doing the short route? Well he has just completed the Spine Race which he reckons is the hardest event he has ever done - it could well be the toughest event in the UK. There was no usual food at the hall : instead we were given a ticket to take to the Tea Rooms were I enjoyed a very tasty Pea and Ham soup sharing company with that most prolific of fell racers, Darren Fishwick.

As I headed for my car, Tony Varley arrived having run the 16 mile route in around 4hrs 45. I also see. that Mark Sammon completed the long route in 5hrs 35.

If Storm Eunice has passed by tomorrow morning, I may try running the 16 mile route to see if I could potentially take up the offer of a substitute place in t'Hobble.

70th Birthday Run

 I will be 70 next Tuesday (18th) and to mark the occasion I am running up Ingleborough from Clapham, starting at 10am. If any wfdbwgua people would like to join me, it would be great to see you.

 Challenges for 2022

The New Year is with us so it is time to think about planning for some challenges over the coming 12 months.

I remember we discussed at the Autumn Equinox at the Rivington Bar & Grill about completing the Joss Naylor Challenge. For some of us it would be a first (TLoB,  Carl, Lurdes? and me), for others (Ed), a revisit. Was Kev there and expressing an interest?

To my embarrassment, I have never even supported anyone on a JNC or BG, so it is new ground for me and although my limit is now a generous 24 hours, it is still a fair old challenge for someone who has had more than enough injuries over the last few years and is rubbish at descending. I prefer to minimise running in the dark so would want to complete in around 21 hours, a similar time to what I took over the Grand Raid Pyrenees 80k in 2014, which had a similar amount of climb although at higher altitude and with only just over 13 hours daylight.

Ideally I would be looking at a May or early June completion. How does this fit with others? Could we do over successive weekends to enable supporting each other. I know it's not encouraged but as Ed, TLoB have fairly similar pace, that may open up ideas. The same for Carl and Lurdes? 

The former Mayoress and I have a week booked in the Newlands Valley in March so I hope to get some decent training in then, although not really close for recce, with a mix of bagging some Wainwrights, another challenge I have set myself. I hope that by then I will have recovered from my current injury (shoulder rotator cuff) which is not stopping me from running but means I am even more hesitant on uneven surfaces so I don't fall.

I have set the ball rolling. Responses please?