Suggestion for April 2024 - Black Combe (unfinished business)

On the 15th July '23 Steve, Kev and I met on Silecroft Beach, intending to 'do' the 'Two Trigs Sea to Summit' route up Black Combe. Others had shown an interest but were put off by the poor weather forecast.

The first trig is only a few feet from the beach, so that was ticked off without difficulty. However, the worsening weather and my lack of fitness resulted in me running (chance would be a fine thing) out of both energy and enthusiasm at about 1,600 ft. Kev continued on to the summit and the second trig, whilst Steve kindly accompanied me back to the beach. Kev caught us up with about half a mile to go.

So, this unfinished business has  to be finished!

I have asked a couple of the 'gang' to propose a Saturday date in April for a second, hopefully successful, attempt - watch this space.

wfdbwgua Lives On!

It's a long time since anyone posted here (see below), but I'm hoping to bring it back into use as a vehicle for organising group outings.

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?

Christmas 2021

 The Lord of Brentford and The Lady Anne would like to wish all their friends at WFDBWGUA a very happy Christmas. It would be good to see people (covid permitting) in 2022 and the Settle Seven awaits.

I had hoped to be inviting you all to my 70th birthday party but unfortunately we have decided that in the current circumstances it would be unwise to have a do next month. Perhaps later in the year.....

In the mean time, I hope you all have a good time and stay safe.

PS t'Y and TF, have you changed your email address? I have tried to email you both but the reject message came up with invalid address.

Coope's Dozen '21

This year's Dozen will be 'run' on Saturday 31st July, starting from the Top Barn at 9:00 hrs.

Email me for further details if required:- edswift@btinternet.com

Ingleborough - Wednesday 2nd June '21

It had been a long time since we'd had a 'team' outing, so it was good to see seven of us assembled at the northernmost point of the hamlet of Cold Cotes, south of Ingleborough on this warm and sunny morning . Amazingly, we set off just a few minutes after the planned time of 11:00 a.m, although even this prompt(ish) start still was unable to prevent the exchange of details of the most recent ailments suffered by the more elderly members of the squad.

Chris , our designated pathfinder led us off (did he tell you that Brentford are going up? - is the Pope Catholic?), taking Lu (see later) and the Yorkshireman with him. This left Hazel, Kev, his Garstang mate, Paul and yours truly trailing in their wake. At this point I feel that as the slowest member of our little B team I must thank thank my three companions for keeping me company throughout most of this expedition - thank you guys. We did manage one full re-grouping about fifteen minutes after the 'off', but that was the last we were to see of the fast trio, until the pub!

This is two thirds of the fast group hightailing it to the top; photo by the other third of the fast group:-

The top of Ingleborough- 2,373 ft -  is unusual for its flatness. There are two large untidy cairns, a fine wall shelter and a trig point, and here is the slow group, wandering and wondering which of these marks the actual top:-

 

You can see the flatness here, but not the features (photo Hazel). We roamed around the top a bit, so we were fairly confident we had  visited the top - but who's to know.

This one seems to be a selfie, taken by Lu with her amazing invisible camera:-

Here Lu is standing by the TP, with one of the untidy cairns in the background - Lu likes to take selfies. (She had found me on the Leeds/Liverpool Canal towpath a couple of months earlier, part way through her Lands End to John o' Groats virtual race and sort of adopted me.)

From there we continued northwards, intending  to visit Park Fell, but although Hazel and I found ourselves on the wrong side of a wall, Paul and Kev managed to pay their respects - but failed to submit photographic evidence.

We hit the B6255 just yards from the Station Inn - where we found Lu and Gordon; Gordon  enjoying a pint and Lu insisting she hadn't. As soon as he had finished, Gordon gave Kev and me lifts back to Cold Cotes to retrieve our cars - a big thank you to Gordon, who had previously finished his run at Ingleton, before legging it back to CC to retrieve his car - well done that man!

Whilst we were on this errand, Hazel had a photoshoot with the viaduct - eat your heart out Glenfinnan:-

Then we all headed to our various homes - I'm told a good time was had by all - made possible by each and every one - thank you all. 

Re-Union Saturday 17th April 2021

As per usual, an elite (!) but predictably small gathering for yesterday's get together, just TF, YJ, Portuguese Lu and yours truly reported to the Bottom Barn at about 8:30. We set off in the general direction of Healey Nab and with a degree of mixing and matching en route and picking up Nic'O we finally regathered back at the Barn for coffee with Mary and latecomer Andy.

A good time was, I believe, had by all.

YJ with protective head gear, PL in foreground with selfie stick and yours truly trying to look ready for action.

Re-Union Saturday 17th April

 UTUP - followed by refreshments at the Bottom Barn - bring a friend.

No predetermined run route, and no need to run.

(for the uninitiated - UTUP = Usual Time, Usual Place = Bottom Barn 8:30 a.m)

Howdy Strangers

 Hi, long time no speak!  I hope you are all well and managing to stay sane during the pandemic.

I just thought I would let you all know that Duncan and I are moving up to Scotland in the near future (no set date yet but our house is sold and the sale is moving very quickly).  

As most of you will know, it's something we've wanted to do for years now but, due to lack of jobs up there, have never been able to make the leap.  However, the pandemic has brought one silver lining to us in that we are now working permanently from home and have been told that we can continue to do this.  We'll be popping back now and again for work meetings and such so hopefully I'll still see you all from time to time.  I'll definitely be coming back for Pike Race every year (although not running it of course).  

We've not bought a house up there yet but have our eyes on a couple of lovely secluded cottages.  You'll all be welcome to stay over if ever you fancy running/walking in the Dumfries and Galloway area. 

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas if I don't see you beforehand!

TM

The Settle Seven saga

The obvious date to run the Settle Seven Summits would have been September Seventh but as I was busy that day, I thought I would run it on the Second instead. Now people who know me are aware that the 2nd of September is not a good date for me and so perhaps I should have thought about that before setting off, but I figured that since the year didn't end in a 1, I would be ok.

I have run this route a few times and always clockwise, so I decided to go anti-clockwise for a change. I suppose it is the equivalent of doing Healey Nab first on Coope's Dozen which as far as I know has never been done. So first up the very steep ascent of High Hill, followed by the Sugar Loaf, Warrendale Knotts and Tit hill. Four down, three to go and as I had arranged to meet Anne for a cup of tea at the café, I was feeling quite relaxed as I started down the steep stony track by Catrigg Force. Here disaster struck: I was going quite fast (well what passes for fast nowadays) when I caught my foot on a stone and went flying. Unfortunately there was no grass or mud to cushion the blow and I did quite a lot of damage - some very nasty cuts to hands, arms and legs, and what turned out to be a bad sprain to my right wrist. With the help of a very kind walker I managed to get down to a road and thence to Airedale Hospital where x-rays confirmed nothing was broken. However, I had made quite a mess of myself and of course my back wasn't too happy, which in total meant six weeks of no running.

Fast forward to yesterday and I decided to finish off the route. This time I did not tempt fate and went clockwise to pick off the last three summits, Giggleswick Scar, Pott Scat and Smearsett Scar. In total it took me 67 days to run the 14 miles which must be some sort of record. However, it is a good route and I hope some of you will come and run it when we allowed to travel again. We will of course be going clockwise!

Tri Winter Hill - 29th August 2020

 A larger than usual entry this year, probably a record; and, for the first time, including a relay team.

From the left - Liz, John K, Ed, Paul, Mary, Izzy, Martyn, John S and Bob. John S and Bob are my brothers and formed the relay team. John did all the running and Bob swam and cycled.

The morning was bright and a bit chilly.

We set off remarkably close to the planned start time, with Bob driving close to the swim site, having been banned from running, due to a new hip. Mary had probably been banned from running, having two new knees!

I very soon assumed my rightful position - way behind everyone else - which made it a bit difficult to put a comprehensive report together, but here goes:-

Martyn seems to have been first out of the water and started back to the main transition just 37 minutes after the gun. Then it was Paul, Izzy and Mary. However, Mary had lost sight of John and lost time peering into the distance for him, and then, with great relief, dragged him out of the water as he completed his return swim!

Then I think it was Liz, followed by (no wetsuit) Bob. Arriving res-side as most of the field was emerging from the water, I was already beginning to lose heart, and then, stripped for action I got both feet wet and, I'm ashamed to say, decided that enough was enough and awarded myself the white feather!

 I saw nothing after that, but Martyn's bike time of just over 44 minutes was probably the fastest of the day.

I've received lots of photos, too many to use in fact, so apologies if I haven't included your best one/s. Most are from the finish, but here's Paul, in full flight, 

John K soon after leaving Winter Hill Trig:-

John reports that the water temperature was 11 degrees, which according to BTA regs requires the wearing of wet suits, and is on the very margin of allowing the swim to take place at all!

And here's Paul (in best selfie mode) with the other two podium occupants - well done to all three, in fact to everybody, except me.

All the ladies seem to have enjoyed the event, or perhaps just enjoyed finishing:-

Liz - do you think she's happy?

Izzy - also happy!

And Mary, preparing for for a Riverdance audition!

We don't seem to have any piccies of the relay team, but this seems to be John S wondering where his cyclist has got to:-

Final times, as submitted:-

Martyn - 2:35

Paul - 2:45

Izzy - 2:52

Liz - 3:09

Mary - 3:12 (ish)

John K - 3:14

John S & Bob - 3:36

Ed - DNF

Well done everyone, and thank you for your support.

Just for completeness, the distant hill in the midst of the wind turbines was (and I suppose still is) Knowl Hill:- http://www.racemaps.org.uk/RTDEDay3.htm