#201 – Quinag – a nice day for a dog walk

Posted on 31/05/2016 by Paul Shorrock
A nice day for a dog walk

A nice day for a dog walk

Visitors from abroad probably look at our modest mountains in the UK and wonder what all the fuss is about.    True, our mountains are lower in height than the peaks of Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, but our more northerly latitude often catches out visitors.  In addition, we tend not to waymark our paths as they do in, say, the European Alps, which sometimes causes problems for visitors.    It’s a fair generalisation though, that for a long mountain day in the UK you need to go to Scotland.

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Posted in 1. Scotland | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

#200 – Parlick Pike and Fairsnape Fell

Posted on 11/05/2016 by Paul Shorrock
The ridge from Parlick to Fairsnape

The ridge from Parlick to Fairsnape

For me, this was the beginning.  For all my adult life, the hills and mountains have been very important to me, and this is where it all began.  When I was 14 I cycled to these hills with a mate – when the road came to an end we carried on walking.  We didn’t know about maps and compasses, let alone carried them, we just walked for a while then turned round and went back.

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Posted in 4. Northern England | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

#199 – Mysterious Lancashire – Pendle Hill

Posted on 02/05/2016 by Paul Shorrock
“Pendle, oh Pendle, thou standest alone, 'twixt Burnley and Clitheroe, Whalley and Colne”

“Pendle, oh Pendle, thou standest alone, ‘twixt Burnley and Clitheroe, Whalley and Colne”

map

Pendle Hill has an air of mystery about it.   The hill dominates the view in much of Central Lancashire, but stands separate from the Pennines, the Bowland Hills and the Yorkshire Dales which surround it.    At 557 metres (1827ft) altitude it falls short by 53 metres (173ft) of being classes as a mountain, but Pendle doesn’t really care about that sort of nonsense.

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Posted in 4. Northern England, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

#198 – Heather Terrace – A walk round Tryfan

Posted on 04/04/2016 by Paul Shorrock

#198 – Heather Terrace – A walk round Tryfan

Border Collie ‘Mist’ having fun on Heather Terrace

Border Collie ‘Mist’ having fun on Heather Terrace

Tryfan in North Wales is one of my favourite mountains, and I’ve never had a bad day there yet.   The classic route is the North Ridge, starting by the Milestone Buttress just above the A5 road – continuing over the summit from the North Ridge down to Bwlch Tryfan, then up Bristly Ridge and on to Glyder Fach, gives a mountain day made in heaven.

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Posted in 5. North Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

#197 – Winter wanderings in the Carneddau

Posted on 21/03/2016 by Paul Shorrock
Winter in the Carneddau

Winter in the Carneddau

Winter in the mountains usually means playtime in the snow, but this year the snow in North Wales has been infrequent and transitory, so when the weather settled down and the gales stopped blowing, it was time to get out in the white stuff.    No better place to start than the East side of the mountains of the Carneddau.

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Posted in 5. North Wales, Aircrash Sites, Bothy days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

#196 – Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) by the PYG Track

Posted on 07/03/2016 by Paul Shorrock
Yr Wyddfa – Snowdon

Yr Wyddfa – Snowdon

The problem with weather in the UK is not that we get the extremes that occur in some parts of the world, it’s more of a case that we get such a lot of it!   I generally avoid the hills when it’s ‘blowing a hoolie’ as there isn’t much fun in being buffeted around a mountain top, but eventually things calm down a bit and it’s time to get out.   A fair day in February gave the opportunity, so the question was where to go – it didn’t take long to decide on Snowdon, or to use the correct Welsh name Yr Wyddfa (The Tomb)

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Posted in 5. North Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

#195 – Mam Tor – The ‘Shivering Mountain’

Posted on 22/02/2016 by Paul Shorrock
Mam Tor, the ‘Shivering Mountain’

Mam Tor, the ‘Shivering Mountain’

About 4000 years ago, the slopes of Mam Tor in the Peak District of Derbyshire would not have been a good place to be.    The hill is mostly sandstone lying on top of unstable shales, and 4000 years ago the southeast face started to slide down into the valley in one of the largest landslips ever to have occurred in the UK – what’s more, it’s still sliding, earning the hill the name of ‘The Shivering Mountain’

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Posted in 4. Northern England | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

#194 – The Pennine Way in winter – twice as much fun for Javed

Posted on 08/02/2016 by Paul Shorrock
Winter on Cross Fell – Javed Bhatti on his way to Edale

Winter on Cross Fell – Javed Bhatti on his way to Edale

On 16 January 2016, the fifth Montane Spine Race ended at Kirk Yetholm in Scotland. Of the 68 racers who had started only 24 reached the finish, adding to the myths surrounding ‘Britain’s most brutal race’.    One of the last to finish was Spine veteran Javed Bhatti, but he wasn’t in any kind of a hurry.  Instead of joining the celebrations with the other finishers he had other plans – he was about to turn round and reverse the 268 miles back to the start point in Edale!

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#193 – The Spine Race 2016, as seen from Gregs Hut

Posted on 25/01/2016 by Paul Shorrock

1The Spine Race – 268 miles on the Pennine Hills – In winter!

Every January for the past five years, a hardy bunch of ultra-athletes have set off from Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District with the intention of racing the 268 miles of the Pennine Way in seven days, in the worst weather that a British winter can throw at them. With the UK sitting in the path of Atlantic gales, ready to dump rain, snow and hail on the Pennines, the conditions up there are best left to the imagination.

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Posted in 4. Northern England, Bothy days, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

#192 – Here we go again – The Spine Race 2016

Posted on 11/01/2016 by Paul Shorrock
The 108 mile Challenger event (AKA the Fun Run!) sets off at 7 o'clock in the morning

The 108 mile Challenger event (AKA the Fun Run!) sets off at 7 o’clock in the morning

It’s that time of year again – the Montane Spine Race started on Saturday 9th January on a cold misty day in Edale.   The racers have one thing in mind, and that is running the length of the Pennine Way National Trail in seven days – that’s 268 miles and in winter!

It seems that some of the runners have their own view though, with previous winners Paval Paloncy and Eugeni Rossello Sole teamed up with Irishman Eoin Keith, and approaching Swaledale after only 32 hours!

Could be an interesting race this year – I’m on safety cover out at Greg’s hut on Cross Fell, a lonely, cold bothy at 700 metres, together with old mate John Bamber and young doctor ‘Pip’ together with Border Collie ‘Mist’.   Hear more in two weeks time when it’s all over for another year.

Start of the Spine Race, 'The Most Brutal Race in Britain'

Start of the Spine Race, ‘The Most Brutal Race in Britain’

Text © Paul Shorrock – Images © John Bamber

 
Posted in 4. Northern England | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments