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Date & Time: Easter Tuesday 10th April 2007. 10.45 am start. Location of Start : Main Car Park, Glenridding, Ullswater, Cumbria, Uk. ( NY 386 170 ) Places visited : Rattlebeck Bridge, Little Cove, Birkhouse Moor, Hole in the Wall, Bleaberry Crags, Striding Edge, Helvellyn, Swirral Edge, Catstycam, Red Tarn Beck, Greenside Mine, Traveller's Rest. Walk details : 8 mls, 3125 ft of ascent , 7 hrs 15 mins. Walked with : Fourteen members of the OFC (including ourselves) plus eight canine members. Weather : Cool and overcast with low cloud on the tops. It threatened to clear the summit at one point, but gave up and Helvellyn had cloud all day. A cold and blustery, westerly breeze in exposed places. It was Angie's big "0" birthday the evening before . . . so cake and candles were ordered. Nine of us dined at Oak Cottage prior to the walk the following day. |
Jo. Jill, Angie and Ann - - - o o o - - - On Tuesday John Paterson invited all those that were able to join him on a walk to complete his second round, and Polly's first round of the 214 Wainwright Fells of Cumbria. 22 OFC members and friends (30% of which were from the canine section) assembled at Glenridding. Paul, Myself, Gill, Peter, Andrew, Ann, John, Jo, Terry, Fred, Joanne, Angie and Carl. Photo by Hilton for those who are counting heads. Hilton's the one in the red hat by the way, as we leave the road at the start of the Little Cove path.
Sunshine on the slopes of Place Fell as Angie climbs higher above Glenridding. Looking north east along Ullswater towards the cloud covered Pennines.
In the background of the right hand photo, Helvellyn is well covered in cloud and Catstycam is the triangular peak Polly and John are aiming for. Following the Birkhouse Moor wall again as we make our way over to Striding Edge. The cloud is lifting nicely and the prospects look good for a nice afternoon.
It was here that we parted company, for a short while, with Paul who decided that he was not fit enough for the complete round walk including the edges, so he set off to visit Red Tarn which meant that he could take his time and enjoy his walk better. The rest of us then set off up on the next leg of our walk . . . Low Spying How on this end, High Spying How in the middle, and then the steep climb to Helvellyn. This is collectively known as the "Striding Edge" route, on the southern side of the Red Tarn corrie.
A short while later we were on our way. In the mean time the weather decided to change back and the cloud descended to the point that we lost the views again. Navigation was not a problem though as there is basically only one path to follow, and the low cloud actually added atmosphere to this superb part of the walk.
The cast iron memorial is on the right in this shot looking back along the edge. Looking forward, a lone figure disappears into the mist.
Striding Edge is a really interesting part of the walk, and deserves it's reputation as being a wonderful high level scramble. It also deserves it's reputation, however, as being a potentially dangerous place. The rocks today were slippery due to the mountain mist but there's usually a lower route that could be followed. Everyone negotiated the Edge choosing their own preferred route over, under or between the crags, and agreed that it was one of the excellent highlights of the day. Andrew, John, Hilton, Carl and Joanne eating lunch at the summit shelter.
No time to linger in a cool place, so we continued along our way, passing the summit trig point as we went. Everything that goes up, must come down so we found our way to the far end of the summit plateau and started down into the mist covered Swirral Edge.
Catstycam ahead as we reach the lower part of the climb down. Swirral is a wider "Edge" than Striding Edge but it needs equal care as the path is rough and the surface loose. No place to lose concentration. The drops are not as steep, but the rock is just as hard if you do. Cassie and Susie follow Ann, John and Fred down the path Below is a grey looking Red Tarn. Andrew and Terry on the last soft shale crag before the bottom, then we start the gentle ascent of our final peak . . . . . . where we final John and Polly and a bottle of something bubbly to celebrate the occasion. This is Polly's final Wainwright Summit, the last of John's second round of the 214, all done within the last 10.5 months. A great achievement.
Time to go - leaving Catstycam by it's eastern ridge, back towards Ullswater and Glenridding.
Group photo, excluding John and myself, on the footbridge above Greenside Mines.
Joanne, Carl and Bailey outside the Travellers Rest. Peter talks to Paul H after meeting up again at the pub. Ann, Jill, Jo and Angie - two tired dogs, Bethan and Harry - plus Megan. |
- - - o o o - - - Technical note: Pictures taken with a Canon G7 Digital camera. Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder. This site best viewed with . . . a cool beer to re-hydrate, and a hot chocolate to re-warm the insides. Previous walk - 8th April 2007 Grasmoor via Dove Crag Arete A previous time up here - 16th August 2006 Birkhouse Moor, Catstycam but no "Edges" Previous walk - 12th April 2007 Haystacks with Gavin Bell
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