Campervan Fun

My lovely wife, Helen, has always wanted a campervan. We’ve looked at various makes and models for a number of years, even taking an old Peugeot for a test drive. However, earlier this year I was left some money, which we decided to put towards a VW Campervan. A 2017 model with less than 45,000 miles. Bright yellow.

Friday 16/2/2024

We’ve named him Custard. Northern custard not southern custard. He’s amazing. We were supposed to pick him up at 1 pm, but phoned the dealer to see if we could pick him up early as we were so excited. There was a squeak in the engine that the dealer assured us they will sort out when the garage has time.

We drove home and found that the mirror on the driver’s side doesn’t push in. With Gordon in tow we returned to the dealer. After a lot of faff, and being ignored, the offending wing mirror was gaffer taped up and we were told that a replacement would be ordered and fitted the following week.

We drove to Morecambe, via a petrol station as the tank was almost empty. We parked up and went for a walk. Custard looked great.

Saturday 17/2/2024

I created three walking routes from the Great Langdales as Helen had booked us into a National Trust campsite. We all went to Lancaster parkrun, me to run and Helen walking around the park with Gordon. On the way back, Gordon was more than happy to sit on his own on the back seat. Also on the way home, Custard decided to mess about. The engine shut off when I was stopped at some lights, and I didn’t stall. Custard did it again when we arrived at the barrier for the campsite. Also, only half of the touch screen for the Sat Nav/radio worked. We’ll add them to the list.

At the campsite we raised the roof and set up the awning before heading off for a walk up Lingmoor Fell. Heavy rain stopped the walk early. Back in Custard, and there was a small leak at the back and the larger gas ring doesn’t work.

As we dried off, Helen cooked fried haloumi with fruity couscous. Delicious, washed down with a beer, or two. The fold out table had grass on it. Shoddy cleaning from the dealer, and the water tank hadn’t been filled up either.

Gordon needed a poo and Helen fell over hurting her back when she took him out. Not funny. I then bashed my head reaching behind the back seat. Helen suggested that I know looked like Mikhail Gorbachev.

Feeling a little annoyed at the dealer we headed to bed fairly early. Helen climbed into the top and I followed, but we weren’t sure if the roof was strong enough for our combined weight. Also, Gordon didn’t like that we’d left him. We returned to the main bed, which was fairly hard and Gordon decided to sleep in between our sleeping bags. Not a great night’s sleep. We’ll need a mattress.

Sunday 18/2/2024

Early coffee sat in the van enjoying the lack of rain. We then went for an eight mile walk up Rossett Pike and back.

Obligatory selfie with the beautiful Mrs B.

We were both feeling a little sad about Custard and his various problems, and we almost quit the walk. We were both very pleased that we hadn’t as the views from the top were stunning. It was also an easy route to follow with no scrambling. Gordon’s second Wainwright.

The sun had dried out the awning and the pop-up top, which we stowed away just before it started raining again. Gordon enjoyed looking out of the window from “his” seat.

The campsite was excellent and we will definitely be visiting it again in the summer. As for Custard, his list of ailments are:

• Squeaky engine
• Broken wing mirror
• Engine randomly stopping
• Only one key
• Sat Nav/radio touchscreen
• Small leak
• Gas ring

We will be visiting the dealer during the week to move forward with the various problems. I’ll keep you informed of how we get on.

Apart from the minor or major problems, we absolutely love having a campervan and we should have bought one years ago. We are incredibly excited about heading off on adventures at least every other week.

13 Valleys Ultra

In partnership with the Lake District National Park, the 13 Valleys Ultra is an epic adventure in the stunning landscape of the Lake District National Park, with four distances to chose from.

13 Valleys celebrates the 13 unique valleys of the Lake District National Park which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site status, by linking them all together. You can choose between one trail distance: 2 Valleys (21km) and three ultra distances: 5 Valleys (55km), 7 Valleys (110km) and 13 Valleys (180km). Each of them will take you through spectacular trail running around the magnificent lakes and valleys of the Lake District. (Taken directly from the website).

My lovely wife, Helen, sent me a link to this particular ultra, and I have entered the 5 Valleys distance with an early bird discount. For me, this race seems perfect. The 7 and 13 Valleys are way too long for me, and the 2 Valleys wouldn’t be enough of a challenge.

The route for the 5 Valleys starts in Ambleside and finishes in Keswick. Almost half of the route me and Helen have walked or run in the past, which should make navigation easier. However, the 5 Valleys distance is fully waymarked, and the GPS route can be downloaded, which I will do.

From Ambleside, the route heads to Troutbeck, skirting Wansfell. From there the route follows a well used trail all the way to Thornthwaite. Last year we walked up that fell, but for this race the route to the top and down from the top are different from what I’ve done in the past. Until the route drops into Hartsop, there is a 7 km section that will be new to me, followed by another 3 km that I’ve also never done. However, there is a 20 km section from Glenridding to Threlkeld that I’ve also never done. Over the course of the summer I will hopefully attempt this main section.

As the name of the race suggests, the route doesn’t always traverse the highest points or the fell summits. High Street and The Knott are just two Wainwrights where the official route misses by less than 100 m. I don’t suppose that anyone would mind if I was to run a little extra, although I would expect by race day that me and Helen will have “bagged” those two pesky Wainwrights.

The race is at the end of September, giving me eight full months to train. I have to say that I am incredibly excited by this race. The distance of 55 km will be challenging, as will the hills, although, as I said, the elevation could easily have been a lot more, with it “only” being 2300 m.

If you’re interested, the official website is https://www.13valleysultra.com/. I don’t know when the early bird discount will end, or when entries have to be in by. I also don’t know how popular the event is. The Lap, another ultra run/walk in the Lakes, sells out in a couple of weeks, so for me, this is the perfect alternative race as I was too slow to enter the run around Windermere.

Anyway, if you have entered, I’ll see you there, or possibly in the Valleys reckoning the route over the summer.

Four More Wainwright’s

Another Sunday and another adventure with my lovely wife, Helen, although this particular adventure was back in February. I haven’t found the time to write about it, even though it was bordering on epic.

We drove over the top of Kirkstone Pass and parked in the small hamlet of Hartsop. Our walk headed almost directly up as we climbed towards the summit of Hartsop Dodd. We climbed 400m in the space of less than a mile. Even Nelly thought that the first climb went on a bit too long.

From the summit there was a small downhill section before a long gentle climb into the clouds to reach the top of Caudale Moor, which is also known as Stony Cove Pike, depending on which guide book or map you’re looking at.

From there we had a short steep scramble down before a short steep climb up to the top of Thornthwaite Crag. We bumped into three hikers who were doing exactly the same route as us, but in the other direction. (We all walked into the carpark at the end at the same time.)

By this time the clouds were really low, with visibility down to not very much, although it was easy to know when we’d reached the top.

It was an easy and gentle slope down as we walked towards our fourth and final Wainwright of the day, Gray Crag. As we descended we left the clouds behind, giving us a stunning view through the valley and across the southern tip of Ullswater.

The final descent was almost as steep as our first climb, but this time the wind had picked up, nearly blowing us over a couple of times. A little lower down the path became quite wet and I managed to slip onto my bum, sliding a few meters down the hill dragging Nelly with me, much to the amusement of Helen. With my back, bum and legs covered in mud we made our way back to the car with Helen chuckling most of the way. I even went into Tesco on the way home looking like that to buy a chicken and some roast potatoes.

The full route took us four hours, even though it was only a little bit over six miles. In better conditions it is probably one of the best walks in the Lakes, and one where there probably won’t be too many other people. The carpark isn’t very large so I would suggest getting there early.

Raven Crag, High Tove and Armboth Fell

Our adventuring has been lacking in the past few weeks. Both me and my lovely wife, Helen, needed a day out. Wainwright bagging it is then.

I looked at our Wainwright map while Helen opened Wikiloc. A suitable route was found starting from Thirlmere Reservoir. There is currently work being carried out on the dam, which means that it isn’t open to vehicular traffic. I ignored the warning sign and we parked in a small layby close to the dam.

It really is amazing that it was built so many years ago simply to supply water to Manchester.

The original water pipe passes close by Lancaster at the base of Clougha Pike.

We crossed over the dam and found the footpath that would take us up to our first of three Wainwrights. It was a steep path, twisting and turning, finishing at a deer fence. There followed a short out and back section to the top of Raven Crag. It is difficult to put into words how extraordinary the top of the crag was. A wooden platform had been built with views across Thirlmere and to the larger forbidding Helvellyn range of fells.

Early in the morning on a fairly bleak day there were still at least a dozen other walkers making their way either up or down the flight of steps to the summit. I expect that it is one of the more popular fells in the summer.

We made our way around the back of the fell along a forrestry track, before turning off towards High Seat, a Wainwright that we’d climbed back in December. With High Seat looking down on us we tramped across some very boggy fell to reach High Tove. It was a little disappointing, mostly because the clouds were blocking most of the view. I bet on a clear day it is amazing.

We dropped down and across more boggy fell towards our final Wainwright of the day, Armboth Fell. It was another fairly low lying fell.

From here the route, as expected, headed down, slowly dropping below the clouds.

The last mile of the route was along the banks of the reservoir, which allowed us to let Nelly off the lead for a scamper. We can’t risk letting her off on the fells as we don’t know where she might go. It is the way of the Pointer.

Back at the car and my feet were soaked. I definitely need to purchase a new pair of walking boots.

Another fantastic little adventure with my adventure family. Love my life,

Garmin Expeditions

I like challenges. I like Strava challenges and I like the ones contained within Garmin Connect. Very recently, Garmin have added Expeditions to their challenges. Each one is worth a different number of points, from one up to eight, depending on how tough the expedition is to complete. There are two types, hiking and climbing, both can be completed walking/hiking or running. No cycling ones yet.

So far I have managed to complete four of the shortest hiking challenges, but I am only 24% of the way through my first climbing challenge. However, I joined one of the tougher challenges with almost 7,000m of ascent required.

To note, you can only do two challenges at the same time, one hiking and one climbing. If you end a challenge before completing it, you lose everything you’ve done so far. However, if you complete a challenge and then start a new one the same day, anything that you’ve already done that day gets added to the new challenge, hence why I’ve managed to complete a few of the shorter ones so quickly.

Have you started any of the Garmin Expedition Challenges?

Black Fell and Holme Fell

Sunday is adventure day, so my lovely wife, Helen, sorted out a route, which included two of the lowest Wainwrights, namely Black Fell and Holme Fell, located to the south west of Ambleside.

Amazingly, it took less than an hour to get to Tarn Hows car park from Lancaster. The car park is owned by the National Trust, and because I’m a life member, I can park for free all day. I like National Trust car parks. We pulled into the car park just after 8, and we were the only people there. I joked with Helen about how full it will be when we return.

Our route headed north around one side of the Tarn, which had a notice to say that swimming was prohibited so as not to damage the leeches. I’m guessing that would put off most people.

From the Tarn our route gently climbed, past a group of placid cows and onto a higher fell. We suddenly found ourselves at the top of Black Fell, which seemed very easy. Our starting point was quite high up. From Black Fell the plan was to follow a farm track onto the A593, which we would cross so that we could head up Holme Fell. Unfortunately, the farm track was for authorised access only, so we had to detour and walk along the A593 for a short while. It wasn’t too bad as most drivers were very courteous.

Off the main road we started to climb, summiting a number of smaller unnamed ridges all joined together, as we slowly made our way to Holme Fell. I have to say, that at only 315m high, it was proving to be quite a tough climb. When we did reach the top we stopped for a snack and some water, only to look across a small saddleback and realise that we were at the top of Ivy Crag.

Ten minutes later we were at the top of the correct fell.

We then dropped quite steeply down to Yew Tree Tarn and back across the A593. From here the route followed Tom Gill as we climbed up past the Tom Ghyll Waterfalls. It was quite a sting in the tail, and we were fairly worn out when we reached Tarn Hows again.

Back at the car park it was complete chaos. It was overflowing with people and cars, and was a little intimidating. We fed Nelly and as we did we were asked if we were leaving. Nelly doesn’t take long to eat and we were soon back on our way home, narrowly avoiding a complete tosser of a driver who overtook a number of cars at extreme speed as we drove past Ambleside. The vehicle must have been stolen, the driving was that dangerous.

Anyway, our route was 12.5km with 600m of climbing, and ticked off another two Wainwrights.

Sour Howes and Sallows

Friday morning the weather was icy cold but sunny. Me and my lovely wife decided to take our silly old pooch for a short walk in the lake district, ticking off two Wainrights, Sour Howes and Sallow.

Starting off from the village of Troutbeck we headed up an initially steep trail, which soon levelled out to a gentle slope up. We’d walked part of this route last year in the other direction. After a mile we turned off the track onto a very steep footpath, navigating a difficult ladder stile, difficult for Nelly, followed soon after by another tricky ladder stile. We were know up on the higher fells, enjoying great views over Windemere. We stopped for an obligatory selfie.

We continued up in the sun until we reached the summit of Sour Howe.

We then did a quick little detour to the summit of Cappel Howe, which isn’t a Wainright but it seemed a shame not to add in an extra mile.

We followed our trail back to the top of Sour Howe and continued in a circular route up the gentle slope of Sallows. At the top we again admired the views and had a snack. We then followed a steep path back down to a wider but very icy track.

We hadn’t seen another person all morning, until suddenly we were inundated. Two runners, chatting as they ran uphill, followed by a mountain biker and then loads more walkers.

We followed the track back into the village. Our six mile walk had taken exactly 3 hours with 500m of climbing. An excellent little walk where we were back home before 1pm, and two more Wainrights ticked off, only another 190 to go.

Helm Crag, Gibson Knott and Calf Crag

Wainwright bagging has begun. As I wrote last week, my lovely wife gave me a Wainwright Bagging book and map (read about it here), so we set off towards Grasmere to tick off three more fells.

Once again we were blessed with amazing weather. It was cold, but there was very little wind and no rain. Setting off early we parked in the main carpark in Grasmere and started walking in the same direction as when we’d walked to Easedale Tarn (read about it here). However this time we turned off our previous route and began climbing.

The next mile was a very steep climb with amazing views as we eventually reached the summit of Helm Crag, famous for an outcropping of rock at the top called The Lion and the Lamb.

There were a number of other walkers and runners enjoying a rare day without rain as we continued over the top and across a saddleback towards our second Wainwright, Gibson Knott. Before we reached it we past a second outcropping of rock called The Howitzer, as it vaguely resembles a large shell stuck in the ground. There was a man who had climbed up to the top. We waved and declined to join him.

There’s not a great deal to say about Gibson Knott, except that we stopped to eat a ham sandwich before making our way towards our final Wainwright, Calf Crag.

At the summit of Calf Crag we patiently waited for another pair of walkers to vacate it so that we could take our turn taking photos. Looking back we could see both of the previous summits and the valley for our return route.

Off the top we turned sharply and steeply down into the valley. If we’d continued we would have eventually reached a number of other Wainwrights, including High Raise, Ullscarf and Sergeant Man. We were now out of the sun and it was colder as we continued down, picking our way over icy sections until we reached the valley floor for the last few miles back into Grasmere.

Grasmere was busy, and despite wanted to find a cafe for a brew and cake, none of them felt particularly welcoming. A number of cafes had signs saying No Dogs, so we continued back to our car. The car park was chaos as it was overflowing with visitors, so we quickly headed on home.

Our walk had taken a few hours even though it was only 9 miles, mostly because of how steep the main ascent and descent had been. However, we ticked off another three Wainwrights, leaving only 196 remaining. It might take a while.

Wainwrights

There are 214 Wainwrights in the lake district, named after the famous walker and guide book writer, Alfred Wainwright. These are the hill tops or fell summits that are included in his series of books covering the lakes. I will ignore that towards the end of his life he wasn’t a particularly nice person, and instead concentrate on the fells.

Me and my lovely wife like to go walking or running in the area as often as we can, but quite often we chose low level routes. When we pick higher routes we don’t worry about if the hill is a Wainwright or not, or even if we reach the summit.

However, this Christmas Helen gave me a Wainwright Bagging book and a map.

My wife knows me very well, and knows that I like to tick off items. A few years ago she gave me a Stobbart spotting book which lives in the car. You can imagine my disappointment when we overtake a Stobbart lorry on the motorway only to find that the cab isn’t a Stobbart.

Anyway, first job was to check Strava to see which of the Wainwrights I’ve already climbed and tick them off the book, as well as any that I’d done before Strava (if a thing even exists). One problem was that I couldn’t find Coniston Old Man. We’d walked that a couple of years ago but it didn’t appear to be in the book. I looked under C, and then I looked under O. I found it eventually under T, for The Old Man of Coniston.

After all that, I could tick off the huge amount of 15 Wainwrights. That is all I have summited. 199 to go, which should keep us busy for a few years.

High Cup Nick

When the weather is as unseasonably warm as it has been, the only option is to go on a mini adventure. My lovely wife, Helen, had bought me the latest edition of Trail magazine. There was an article all about staying in Ravenstonedale for four days and completing a walk in the Howgills one day, the next day in the lakes, another day in the Yorkshire Dales and the last day in the Pennines. The walk in the Pennines was up High Cup Nick, which is part of the Pennine Way.

We drove out to the small village of Dufton and found the Pennine Way without any trouble. The first mile was on tarmac, but as we went through a gate, we began climbing up on a well-trodden path. The views going up were amazing, and we hardly saw another person all day, although we did hear a lot of shooting across the valley.

About halfway up we encountered an older man walking his dogs, one of which was remarkable. Apparently, it was a Russian Wolf Hound and was very distinctive.

We went through a couple more gates and allowed Nelly off her lead as there weren’t any sheep. And then suddenly we could see High Cup Nick.

The photos don’t do this amazing feature justice as the three sides of the steep valley drop away.

We sat down on a handy rock to enjoy the panoramic view.

We then ambled our way back down to the car. It might have been only an eight-mile walk, but it was one of the most stunning walks we had ever been on. It also made us realise just how amazing the Pennine Way is, and while we might not want to walk it, there are plenty of long-distance footpaths that do appeal to us. One possibility that does appeal to us is the West Highland Way.

Anyway, if you’re ever in the north Pennines, we can recommend the walk up to High Cup Nick from the village of Dufton.