2023: A Year in Review
I started writing this before the New Year, but it's taken longer than I expected. So here we are, deep into January and I am finally posting my review of 2023. It has been a good year as far as getting outdoors goes. I hammered last year's Wainwright tally. The wild camps have been a bit scarcer this year, with only two recorded. I had my two annual trips to camp sites, one the National Trust site in Langdale and the other Low Hollows near Threlkeld. This year I made my first foray into fellrunning, doing an 8 miler on the moors of Todmorden and the Yorkshire Half Marathon. At the end of the post, I write about some of my plans for 2024.
Fell Walking
I'll start with the non-Wainwrights, which categorise the minority of fells conquered this year. I began early, on New Year's day, with the miniature Billinge Hill, a wooded hill accessible from Witton Park in Blackburn. This small hill is noted for its Wainwright monument a short walk away from the summit (Wainwright was a native of Blackburn). On the actual summit, there is a worn blue black informing us that on the 15th May 1429, it was on this hill that the three weekly court of the Blackburn Hundred was held. A couple of days later, I walked up Hamledon in East Lancashire near the village of Hapton close to Burnley. Another "local" fell ticked off this year was Lad Law on Boulsworth Hill which is situated to the north east of Burnley, the town I work in.
In February, I made a trip to Rivington near Wigan. It's pushing things to call Rivington Pike a summit. It has a meagre prominence of 50ft and sits on the lower slopes of Winter Hill. I walked Winter Hill a couple of years ago and wrote about it at the time. It was an organised walk in commemoration of a mass tresspass which took place on the hill after the landowner closed access. Rivington Pike is perhaps more well known than Winter Hill, owing in part to the "tower" on its summit which makes it stand out as a local landmark. It is also very accessible, with a series of steps leading up to the summit. The landscape here is slightly spoiled by too much interference through, with fencing surrounding part of the summit area.
The Yorkshire Dales is an area that I have neglected in my time rambling. I ticked off a fell called Penhill in West Witton, right on the eastern extremity of the dales. I have a family connection of sorts to this area. More accurately, someone who shared my surname, a Mr. Bartle, who may or may not bear some genetic relation to myself, was forced to endure one of the worst kinds of punishments. The same one to befall the Guy we all like to burn every 5th of November: Mr. Fawkes. Mr Bartle, however, did nothing as grandiose as attempting to burn down the houses of parliament. No, it is said that he was known to partake in sheep rustling. Though to the inhabitants of West Witton this must have been an offence of equal severity, for like Mr Fawkes, his effigy is burned every year and "burn the Bartle" day has become an annual tradition. I visited West Witton a couple of years ago with my mam and we walked the "Bartle trail", a walking route around the slopes of Penhill with tiles depicting the fate of poor Mr. Bartle. Another point of interest concerning this hill: pen hill is a bit of a misnomer. It literally means "hill hill" as pen is just the old Celtic word for hill.
I revisited my old haunt, the Forest of Bowland, back in summer. I'd already ticked off the main fells in this area. The last of the major ones was Wolfhole Crag. This is a very remote and solitary fell, known for the infrequency of its visitors and also has a reputation for being quite difficult to access due to the peat bogs on route. It wasn't as difficult as its reputation suggests. My starting point for this walk was the small parking spot near the cross of Greet, a high point in the road between Slaidburn and Bentham. There is no longer a cross here, just the base socket which may - or may not - have held one (some believe there wasn't a cross here to begin with, but rather that it was a plague stone). From here, I proceeded over moorland to White Hill, a peak I summited last year. There is a trig point at the top of white hill and nearby there is a small structure which at first glance looks a little like a folly, but was in fact used as a viewing point during the construction of the Haweswater aqueduct which tunnels through the hill, constructed to to supply Manchester with water gathered from the Lake District. From the summit, I plowed over a few more miles to Wolfhole Crag. It is quite an impressive summit, with fine views and some interesting rock formations, which also provided a convenient spot to perch with by jet boil.
This year I primarily focused on ticking off Wainwrights. I managed to tick off 43 Wainwrights this year, bringing my tally to 100. I kicked my year's tally off with Sheffield Pike and Glennridden Dodd during my winter camp in January. In March, I tagged onto a family holiday in Keswick for a couple of days. From the small village of Braithwaite to the west of Keswick I completed a circular walk of fells forming the Coledale Valley, including Barrow, Outerside, Causey Pike, Scar Crags, Sail, Eel Crag, Wandope, and Grisedale Pike.
In April, I went camping in the Langdales at the national trust campsite. I made a trip to Thirlmere lake, where I ticked off Raven Crag. I was hoping to tick off a few more here but due to road closures around the lake I was unable to. I subsequently found out that the closure has gone on for a while now and there is an active campaign to reopen the road. So instead I journeyed a little further north to St John's in the Vale and ticked off High Rigg. From there I went south of Thirlmere lake and ticked off a trio of fells to the west of the Langdales: Steel Fell, Gibson Knott and Calf Crag. Later that evening, I went on a lovely evening stroll up Lingmoor fell.
The following day yielded poor weather. It was raining for the most part and misty. I walked along the road next to the camp site past the old Dungeon Ghyll hotel. The road bends to the left and a steep section follows. I left the road to ascend Pike of Blisco. This felt like a bit of a slog and seemed to take ages to get to the summit. There were some interesting bits along the way, I think it was just the tiredness and poor visibility which made it difficult. From the summit I descended to red tarn then ascended Cold Pike. I was feeling better by this point. The visibility was still poor, but my mindset had changed and I saw it as more of a challenge to complete the walk in these conditions. I sat for a jet boil lunch before proceeding.
The following two fells I summitted are by all accounts Lakeland classics and although I did not see them at their best given the visibility, they were still very impressive, and on the occasional break in the mist, I could see down the valley. The first was Crinkle Crags and the second, the mighty Bowfell. Both fells host dramatic crags and rock formations. Most notable for me being "the slab," a large rock face that juts out of the fell with a flat slope leading to a ridge. The mist was very bad at this altitude and I was a little concerned about navigating my way off the fell. My next stop was Rossett Pike. I looked at the OS Map and saw that after a short walk from the summit there is a path that leads steeply down to the east of Angle tarn. In the mist I could not locate it despite my OS map app telling me I was on it. In the mist it just looked like a sheer drop. I had my trusty paper map with me of course. I continued ahead to Ore gap between Bowfell and and Esk Pike. Here there was a much steadier path down to the west of angle tarn. Visibility was better at Angle Tarn and the view up to Bow Fell was highly impressive and when I saw the steepness of its upper flank I could understand why I found it so difficult locating the path given the conditions. Definitely not the kind of descent you want to attempt in poor visibility. I then made the short climb up to Rossett Pike then down Rossett gill leading through Langdale Valley and back to the camping spot.
On my final day, I ticked off some of the remaining Langdale fells. From the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, I went up to Loft Crag, Pike of Stickle, Thuncar Knott, then descended via Pavey Ark (which I have summitted previously.
Fast forward to May, I had a two night stay at Low Hollows camping site just off the A66 near Threlkeld, overlooked by Blencathra. I'll keep this brief as I wrote a more detailed post at the time. On day one, as I travelled from Langho to the Lakes I ticked off a few fells on route. I started at the village of Hartsop next to Brothers Water. On this walk I ticked off Hartsop Dodd and Caudale Moor. Back in the car, I travelled just north of Ulswater, on the road passing the car park for Aira Force near the small village of Dockray. From here it was a fairly east walk up to Gowbarrow Fell. I then descended and stopped in at Dockray for a quick pint. After travelling to Low Hollows and setting up camp, I took a short drive to one of the nearby fells: Little Mell Fell, before returning back to my abode for the night.
Day 2 was less sporadic. I had a clear plan in mind. To tick off the remaining fells of the Skiddaw range. On a previous outing to Keswick, I ticked off fells on either extremity of the range: the ever popular Latrigg in the east and Dodd in the west. This was a few years back now. I remember being at the summit of Latrigg and seeing that all the range except Dodd were shrouded in mist. These fells were my objective on this walk. I awoke early that morning, feeling quite fresh, so I decided to fit in Great Mell Fell beforehand; as the name suggests, this was just nearby Little Mell Fell which I summited the previous evening. Next I headed over to Keswick to tackle the Skiddaw range. I passed alongside the slopes of Latrigg avoiding the summit before ascending Lonscale Fell. I then summitted Skiddaw Little Man on route to Skiddaw itself. I then ticked off Carl Side, Long Side and Ullock Pike, before descending to Mellbeck. I then followed the road into Keswick before returning to Low Hollows.
In June, I went on a wild camp with my friend Alex. Sometimes, if we are not scheduled to meet until the afternoon, I will set off early and tick off a couple of fells on route. The plan was to wild camp on Grasmoor and we were set to meet in Buttermere. I chose a couple of little fellas: Sale Fell and Ling Fell that I ticked off from Whythop just off the A66. I met Alex at Buttermere for our wild camp. After a couple of pints we set off up the slopes of Whiteless Breast then to the summit of Whiteless Pike. From here we went up to Wandope, a fell I ticked off earlier in the year. From here we made the short descent to the plateau between Wandope, Crag Hill and Grasmoor. We made our way to Grasmoor and set up camp for the night. We knew there was a chance of bad conditions. Late into the night, the thunder and lightening began, as did the rain. We could see it dramatically unfold out to the west coast. Alex became quite concerned and at one point seriously proposed decamping and returning to our cars. I didn't think this was the safest option. This was around 10pm and it was dark. The walk back would be a tricky descent in the dark and it would take a couple of hours to get back to the car, all the while being exposed to the weather. The safer option, I suggested, would be to sit it out, which we did, and fortunately, the weather calmed throughout the course of the night and we awoke to dry tents.
My final trip to the Lakes in 2023 was in July. I was set to be travelling back to County Durham to stay with family. The plan was to hit the Lakes first and tick off the Kentmere Horseshoe. However, this did not go to plan. I was stopped on route to the village of Kentmere by roadworks. The walk was long enough anyway and I could see no alternative route up that wouldn't rack up significant mileage. So I opted for a change of plan. I took out the trusty OS Map and looked for alternatives. I'd been wanting to summit Holme Fell for quite a while. It sits just east of the Coniston range and to the west of Black fell. After summitting Holme Fell I made my way to familiar ground in Langdale to tick off some of the remaining fells there. I took my usual route up Dungeon Ghyll. At Stickle tarn I bore right to tick off Blea Rigg. I then turned back on myself, heading north west to tick off Sergeant Man and High Raise.
Fell Runs
Prior to Christmas last year, I decided to book onto a couple of fell runs. I have been a runner for most of my life, but more recently, I've been plagued by injuries. Refusing to let this hold me back, I thought I'd throw myself into the challenge of fell running. I bought myself the kit: some walsh fell running shoes, taped seemed waterproof bottoms and other bits and bobs. I started my training. Increasing my running mileage every week or two. I bought a couple of fell running books and jumped head first into it.
The results of my fell running experiment were mixed. I managed to finish both runs before the cut off which is at least something. The first was the flower scar fell run in Todmorden, a town next to Hebden Bridge in north Yorkshire. This was back in February so technically a winter fell run, which meant I had to carry more gear with me. The second was the Yorkshireman Half Marathon, starting in the picturesque village of Haworth, known for its association with the Bronte sisters. Prior to this year, the longest I had run continuously was 9 miles. But this year, I managed to run my first half marathon in training. A few weeks after this I completed the Yorkhsireman. It was difficult. The weather was very hot and one of the other fell runners needed to go to hospital for treatment. At the end of the race, exhausted, I was given a can of soda from one of the race officials. Probably wasn't a good idea to drink this. I arrived at one of the pubs a few minutes later, started supping my pint and a feeling of nausea began to overwhelm me. Seldom do I leave a pint unfinished, but on this day I had no choice. As we were leaving the pub, the sickness became worse and I hurried back into the pub to the toilets. Lady luck was on my side as the cubicle was empty; if it were not, the bathroom would have looked like a crime scene.
Not the most romantic finish to my first half marathon, but the incident confirmed to me that I really did push myself. I want to do more fell running in the future and I am determined to run a marathon at some point. The problem is that I keep getting plagued with injuries. My Achilles tendon tends to play up once I start upping my weekly miles. When I ran the Yorkshireman I was already in daily pain as a result of this. I also get niggles in some of my other joints. It's a shame, as I do love running, but sometimes the joy I get from it does not outweigh the pain it causes. We'll see how things go. I haven't done much running since the Yorkshireman, but I have recently started putting in a couple of short runs a week. I've also incorporated jump rope into my fitness routine in the hope that this will help correct the issues I'm having with my ankle.
Looking toward 2024
I've written this a little late. 2024 has already begun and I have ticked off my first Wainwright of the year. A nice walk up to Tarn Crag via Easedale Tarn. I was really pleased with my Wainwright haul last year; it was a significant increase on previous attempts. I'm not optimistic that I'll be able to maintain that number due to time constraints. With a baby at home free time is scarcer. I usually use my two annual campsite trips to tick off the Wainwrights, but as I will outline now, I have different plans this year.
I might not have mentioned this before, but I love snooker. Just over a year ago, I watched my first live event, which was the Champion of Champions in Bolton and as luck would have it, given I'd pre-booked the tickets, I managed to see my favourite player Ronnie O'Sullivan play in the semi-finals; he would later go on to claim the trophy. Anyway, back to the point. This year I managed to get tickets for the big one, the World Championship, at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. Being close to the peak district I thought I would tie it in with a bit of fell walking. I've only visited the Peak District the once when I climbed Kinder Scout. My plan is to camp the night in the Peak District and tick off some fells then stay in Sheffield the following night.
For my other camping trip, I have decided to go on my first cycle tour. The plan is still in its infancy, but the main idea is for the ride to span three counties and two National Parks. So I will be starting from my home in Langho, Lancashire. On day one I aim to travel from here up into Cumbria, possibly staying at Kendal. On the second day I aim to go east to Yorkshire, then on the final day back home. The two national parks involved obviously being the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. It will be noted that Kendal does not fall within the national park proper. I do aim to dip into the national park before staying at Kendal. I just felt Kendal would be a nice place to spend the evening before heading off the following day. I also hope to tie in some Areas of Outstanding National Beauty (AONB). I'll likely veer into the Forest of Bowland on route north from Langho, then after stopping at my old haunt of Lancaster I can pass through the Arnside and Silverdale AONB on route to Kendal. There is a possibility of hitting Nidderdale AONB at some point in my Yorkshire stretch. Anyway, the details of this are yet to be ironed out but I'll have more to say about it in future posts.
There is plenty more in the pipeline. I have my first wild camp lined up later this month with my old pal Alex. I'm staying in Wales later in the year and have plans to summit Snowdon, the last of the national three peaks for me to complete. I am also hoping to get the Yorkshire Three Peaks done this year. I've been saying it every year and it never gets done so I think this year I just need to crack it off. Anyway, I think the Northern Rambler has rambled on long enough now. I'll be in touch soon. All the best.
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