SO another academic year has come to a close and it now
gives me the time to get stuck into the blog and get regular content going
again.
With summer now upon us, TeamFell are counting down the days
until we get into the Lakes. We have a nice two-week period of time to conquer
summits and enjoy the hospitality of Cumbria and if the weather is good that
would be a bonus!
We are heading up to Birchbank campsite, which is just south
of Coniston and we are going to try and cover a lot of the southern fells. Some
of which we have already done but the main focus will be on the ones remaining.
Birchbank is a fantastic working farm with a campsite and
cottage on the grounds, for us it is a pure Lakeland experience and an article
will feature in our Hidden Gems section of the site to tell you all about this fantastic place. It is two miles from the
main road and is tranquil, traditional and tremendous!
Updates
We have been working on a photo album containing all our
Wainwright summit shots (shown above). We are going to continue this until we
have all 214 photographs. Fingers crossed!
Viggo has lost loads of weight and he is now what he should
be for his breed. Here is a lovely photo that illustrates the difference, taken
from Viggo’s very own twitter, @ViggoTheSmooth .
AS some of you may know, in October TeamFell took a short break and headed up to the North York Moors. Since returning my writing and uploading routine has gone out the window, but take it as a good sign that I am sat here with a pen once again in hand. That’s not a false claim either, I write everything out initially on paper.
In the three weeks of being back at home, we have a dog, Viggo to be precise, a three-year-old Smooth Collie, on Twitter be sure to follow: @ViggoTheSmooth. Other than that, we have had family and friends coming to stay for the other two weekends so time to get stuck into some writing has been some what hard to come by.
Great Ayton bathed in autumnal sunshine.
But change settles into routine and all is returning to normal with the addition of a fantastic dog. Back to our break anyway! As some of you may know from a previous post we stayed near a village called Great Ayton, in the tiny village of Ingleby Greenhow.
After setting out on the friday night after work we flew up the A1 and A19 in pitch black conditions. An hour and half after leaving home we were greeted by the warm light glowing out from the glass door of Farrier Cottage.
Part of the family had arrived earlier in the evening and good old mum had got a curry on. The building is a converted farm structure and is renovated beautifully within. The stone flag floor was kept toasty by the brilliant underfloor heating which was powered by the biomass boiler on the farm.
The exposed stone of the walls and the earthy colours of the wooden trim ooze cozy country cottage but the mezzanine upper floor gave this place a modern edge too. It was kitted out with a kitchen dining room, lounge, level access shower room, two bathrooms and three bedrooms as well as a double sofa bed. This accommodation was perfect for us and ideal for you if you have plenty of family to share this lovely place with.
Whilst away we visited Whitby on 3 occasions. The first of these was part of a beach walk from Sandsend , just north of Whitby and at this time of year the beach is dog friendly, so Jasper had a great time doing the three mile each way wander. What we enjoyed was a cracking portion of award winning fish and chips from the Magpie Cafe.
We were also lucky enough to catch the seaside town preparing for is infamous halloween weekend, the streets were full of eccentric fancy dress so even a quick look round the shops packed some fantastic atmosphere.
And the charming Falling Foss tea garden.
There was a nice short walk that we discovered at a spot called Littlebeck where a path followed a woodland stream and eventually ends up at the Falling Foss tea garden and its namesake waterfall.
On a beautiful day we had a pop at the area’s dramatic looking peak Roseberry Topping. The 1,050 foot hill took only thirty five minutes to scale but admittedly we did take the simple route from the main road. Other routes from Great Ayton via Captain Cook’s monument or from Guisborough forest looked to provide a better more fulfilling climb. Nonetheless the view over the surrounding valley was lovely, punctuated with towns, moors and the sea.
All in all we had a fantastic rest and spent the rest of the time together as a family, so who can complain.
Last thing, if you haven't followed our dog Viggo, do it now! @ViggoTheSmooth
HOW do I know about a little peak on the southwestern coast of the lakes? And what is it that keeps pulling me back to it? What makes this a hidden gem?
Well, first it is important to offer a few facts, standing at 2,000 feet Black Combe is no giant, but it is certainly no slouch either. It stands some ten miles from any higher ground and is just four miles from the Irish Sea.
Jasper on Silecroft beach with Black Combe behind.
Childhood Memories
From a young age my family would go unto the lakes for a holiday and stay at my grandparents static caravan in the village of Silecroft. Silecroft boasts a cracking beach (shingle when the tides in and a vast expanse of sand when the tides in), a compelling golf course (which my grandad, dad, cousin and I would play), a train station, The Miners Arms which serves food, the caravan site and the pony trekking centre.
One thing, above all else excited me back when I was young just as it does today when in Silecroft was looking upon that mountain. Exiting the caravan would result in being greeted by the awesome presence of Black Combe, punctuating the skyline, sometimes brooding, masked in a clouded guise. Peaceful and serene in the still sunlight, but colossal and forboding when skies grey and tempest comes.
Puerile Pioneer
For a number of years I never managed to attempt a climb as I was simply too young. All in good time though, my dad, sister and I had a effort at Black Combe and got what I believed to be at the time to be about three quarters of the way up.
In retrospect it was more like less than halfway! At that point having got past the steepest part of the ascent and come between a pair of thigh like spurs, the cloud came in and made visibility very limited. We ate our butties and headed back the way we came for Silecroft.
Adult Accomplishment
It was a fair number of years until I reattempted and conquered the Combe. I’d stared at it from the beach, from the car when weaving along the A595 under it’s mighty foothills, and then finally in 2013, as a precursor to TeamFell, we traversed on a pilgrimage to Whicham church, where the ascent begins. In homage to years of imagination and vivid recollections of it’s stout silhouette we reached the summit.
Black Combe and all it's intricacies will be covered in far more detail in the Summits Tackled section. But here and now I want to describe to you what makes this climb is different to other more well known peaks.
On the first leg of the climb you rise up between two root like spurs and hit a steep section that gets the pulse up and while having a thirty second breather, turning round instantly gives you a staggering perspective of the Duddon Estuary. In good weather it gleams and shifts peacefully with Morecambe Bay behind it to the south. In truth all the way up the views are stunning. The Isle of Man is a westward landmark, while it is not until the summit (if coming from Whicham) that you see north and east. When you do though, it is well worth the wait.
Jasper in a mac, on the summit of Black Combe.
From this cornerstone, the view is cinematic, Black Combe is a guard standing vigil, protecting its taller inland counterparts to the north and west. As previously noted, Black Combe is ten miles from any higher ground. This gives you a feeling of status, topping a column far enough from interfering neighbours to harbour a full 360 degree vista. In my opinion it is worthy of far more recognition and visitors. I say this hesitantly, as one of the lovely things about walking Black Combe is the tranquility. It’s a little off the beaten track and so the desolate quiet is refreshing. In other words don't all go at once, this one is definitely best served chilled.
This pleasant walk has views in abundance, wildlife, peace and fun all wrapped up in a 2,000 foot package. Every year there is the Black Combe walking festival led by local guides who give even more background to the area and the mountain. It is absolutely worth making a note of the late summer weekend event for next year!
On their website, www.walkingfest.org.ukthere’s loads of really good walking guides with maps, including a good looking Black Combe circular. Ive also embedded a video from their site below as you can catch a glimpse of Black Combe in all its glory behind a couple of interviews regarding the tourism in the area.
Finally, thank you for letting me share one of my favourite places with you and I hope I have done enough to get you to try it, and find it equally as fascinating and compelling as me.
It’s just special.
What Haystacks was to the great Alf Wainwright, Black Combe is to me.
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