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Monday 19 August 2013

A recce of leg 1 of the Bob Graham...... in the pissing rain of course!

I was supposed to be supporting leg 4 of Gareth's Bob Graham attempt on Saturday morning but got a text while camping overnight to say that he had jacked in at Dunmail after the second leg, having got too far behind schedule. That left me and fellow leg 4 supporter Carol stuck for a run so we decided to run over Skiddaw, Great Calva and Blencathra following the BG leg 1 route and then trot back to Keswick following the disused railway line. Harry and his springer spaniel friend Wallace were with me too and we all had a great, albeit rain drenched, time in the hills while my daughter Lauren was left hunkered down in our tent all morning (she's only just begrudgingly forgiven me!) 

Carol and Hazzer at the summit of Skiddaw

Through the bogs on the way to Great Calva half hidden in the mist
Wallace swimming the Caldew

Harry on Blencathra

Carol on top of Blencathra

Our route - about 18.2 miles by my watch

The weather was fantastically wet and windy and the photos don't come close to doing it justice so I took a very brief (and slightly crap) video of Carol coming down Doddick Fell which, I'm sure you'll agree, gives much better impression of the weather!


Wednesday 14 August 2013

Supporting Adnan's Bob Graham and Weebling up Wetherlam

Last Saturday me, Harry and Hester had volunteered to help Adnan out on the Wasdale to Honister stretch (leg 4 in Bob Graham parlance) of his Bob Graham. Adnan had been along for the '12 frigging hours of freezing, horizontal, hammering rain' stretch of mine and Gav's forlorn Bob Graham attempt in June so it was great to help him back. As usual we parked up at Honister Slate Mine and trotted the 6 miles over to Wasdale before meeting up with Adnan and the rest of his support runners and meandering back over 9 peaks, almost 11 miles and 6,000 odd feet of climb to Honister. Adnan was ahead of schedule when we met him and well ahead when we left him to the final leg back to Keswick from Honister - he eventually cruised in to finish in a fabulous time of 22 hours and 10 minutes. Top job!

Hester on the way to Wasdale

Wasdale ahoy!


Commencing leg 4 of Adnan's Bob Graham and leaving Wasdale behind

Not far from the top of Yewbarrow

Emma (the dot on the horizon) viewed from Steeple

The crew climbing Kirk Fell up Red Gully - Adnan in the white hat

The not inconsiderable blob of Great Gable to get over

On Sunday, after camping in Braithwiate, it was just me, Hes and Haz off for another run out and we weebled* up Wetherlam from Coniston, then along to the summit of Swirl How and then followed the ridge line to the top of the Old Man of Coniston before trotting back for tea and cake at the Bluebird cafe on Coniston Water, followed by a swim for the boy in the lake. Another fantastic Lakeland weekend!

* The verb to weeble -> Hester trying to run with achy legs 

Hester 'weebling'

A view from the summit of Wetherlam 

Hester with a shower coming in beyond

Hi viz or what?

Tuesday 6 August 2013

A doddlesville weekend

This last weekend me and Harry decided to take things easy with just a couple of dawdly runs. On Saturday me, H and H went for a gorgeous run from Dockray (having first visited the Potfest in the Pens in Penrith), down past Aria Falls and along the northern side of Ullswater to the very Narnia like Swinburn's Park woods and back, followed by a fine pint of King's Forest in the Royal. And on Sunday me and the boy went for a rambling run from the Lion pub on Blakey Moor in the North York Moors (in toe of doom recovery mode) while Hester blitzed the Blakey Blitz fell race. 

Hats off to Hester - the Lakeland 50 last weekend, the Gribdale Gallop fell race in the week and the Blakey Blitz on Sunday; she's just a racing machine ☺ and she was still bouncing about after the Blakey Blitz!

Gorgeous!

Me and Haz in Narnia

Harold showing off his fine profile

Mossy dead tree

Peak a boo!

Harry at his most handsome

Geometra Papilionaria unless I'm very much mistaken

Below Aria Falls

Aria Falls

North York Moors ahoy!

Mine and Hazzer's trod

Navigating my way back to our start

Off path

Hester Blakey Blitzing