Lots to do in around and Keswick in a weekend, Latrigg, Derwent Water and Threlkeld

Biking round Latrigg

A quick spin up the old railway track and around the back of Latrigg. It was a beautiful Friday evening after my first full week of work at George Fisher, exploring trails and paths I’ve not been on before. Hardly a sole around, just a few sheep, and when I reached the summit there were two paragliders taking off and soaring around the skies above my head, brilliant!

Trip on Derwent Water

Saturday afternoon out with Zac, we took the Keswick launch along to Lodore Falls Hotel and walked back to Keswick along the shores of Derwent Water. A lovely warm summers day, with lots of people around and everyone enjoying the sunshine.  Some out on the water, it looked inviting, I stuck to the shores whilst Zac took many swims after sticks!

Cycle to Threlkeld for a cuppa

View-from-Threlkeld-Coffee-Shop

View from Threlkeld Coffee Shop

Sunday afternoon cycle with Zac up the old railway line to Threlkeld and a cuppa tea in the Threlkeld Coffee Shop, it has a great view!   I decided not to return the same route on the old railway line, instead I cycled through Threlkeld and up Blease Road and past Blencathra Activity Centre onto the footpath through the forrest and onto an old single track tarmac road which went along the front of Latrigg and came back into Keswick over the motorway and down past The Calvert Trust stables.  I crossed back over the River Greta and joined the last part of the old railway track again till I got home.  A nice ride exploring trails I haven’t been on before.

 

Sunday wander up Catbells

We parked at Nichol End Marina and walked from there through the forest to the foot of Catbells. Instead of following the crowds up the popular footpath we walked round the foot of Catbells and up the Western flank to the coll between Maiden Moor and Catbells. From here we walked up to Catbells summit for some amazing views out over Derwentwater to Keswick, Skiddaw and up the valley to Bassenthwaite Lake and beyond.  We took the busy and popular route down along the ridge.

 

Moving to Keswick

It’s happened, I’ve made the move to Keswick and I was greeted by some lovely summer weather (for the most part)!  It’s been a busy first week, taking in the sights and sounds of Keswick as a resident and sampling some of the coffee shops!

Night in a local bothy

A 15 minute drive from Keswick and a short 10 minute walk into the forrest and we were at an old foresters hut for the night.  No-one else around, just us the dog and thousands of Lakeland midges… We made a fire in the hearth and enjoyed the peace and quiet with a few beers, till the wind got up and the midges went away, then we could sit outside and take in the views through the trees to the hills, I mean the fells, I need to learn the lingo, not in Scotland anymore!

Bike round Thirlmere

On the evening of the hottest day of the year, a friend took me for a spin round Thirlmere in the cool of the evening, great ride and the first of many I will enjoy!

Walk up Latrigg

Another beautiful day, I took myself on the short walk up Latrigg behind Keswick to survey the land and take in the views of Derwent Water and Keswick.  Starting up Spooneygreen Lane, it took me an hour and a hour round trip, stopping for photos and a snack on the bench at the viewpoint. An easy walk and accessible by all, it is a nice way to see the Borrowdale Valley and surrounding fells and a tick in the Wainwright box!

Tulloch to Fort William on the mountain bike

We loaded the bikes onto the train at Fort William, and took it to Tulloch station.  From here it was a few miles along the main road, where we turned off at Monessie Gorge and crossed the bridge into farmland.  We followed the muddy farmland tracks and path along the River Spean back to Spean Bridge, then up through the forestry to Leanachan and Nevis Range, and then along the cycle path back to Fort William.  The views along the route were great, I just had to remember to look at them, when not concentrating on the uneven ground I was crossing!

Mountain bike from Calluna to the Lower Falls and back

I took a spin straight up the back from Calluna and joined the Cow Hill path up to the mast and then down the Peat Track to the forestry road and up to the Lower Falls.  It was a great cycle, cloudy but cold, with frost on the ground, made for some interesting slips along the way!

 

Quick spin to the Commando Memorial

Lovely Autumnal Sunday for a bike to the Commando Memorial and back.

Quick spin to Glenfinnan

First spin on my road bike since I got back, a quick trip from Calluna to the Glenfinnan Monument and back, in lovely warm September weather!

Freshnlo Pedal for Scotland 2013

Freshnlo Pedal for Scotland 2013

Susan and I at the start

On Sunday, September 8 I took part in the 2013 Freshnlo Pedal for Scotland, 47 mile challenge ride (there is 110 mile sportive ride) from Glasgow Green to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.  You can check out the exact route I took on my Strava profile.

The weather forecast had been for rain, but luckily, it turned out to be a nice sunny day!

Everything was very well organised, we put our bikes in the transport lorry at Murrayfield Stadium and got on the organised coach through to Glasgow Green, where we successfully collected our bikes of the truck.

We had booked into the 09:30-10:00 start wave, so we got in the line up of people and moved towards the start line.  Then it was 3-2-1-GO! We started off in a group of maybe 50 people, there was no problem with space.  Some of the roads we cycled along had been closed to traffic and where they were still open there were police directing the traffic and marshals all along the way.  There was also an emergency number you could call if you broke down (bike wise or physically) and you could be picked up.

We got to our first stop at Drumpellier Country Park around 9 miles, which had flown by!  The next stop was the longest stretch at around 23 miles to Avonbridge Station.  Then on to the main lunch stop, which was in the grounds of Linlithgow Palace.  Each of the stops had toilets, first aid and bike maintenance tents, I think some even had massage tents.  The stops had cereal and chocolate bars, bananas, soup, water, the Linlithgow stop had sandwiches and each stop had as much Freshnlow as you could drink! There was a further food stop at Kirkliston Leisure Centre, but we decided to continue on to the finish.

The finish line was very cool, it was inside Murrayfield stadium! On finishing we got a medal and a goody bag, with you guessed it, more milk! Just as well I love milk !

You can view lots more pictures from the entire event on Cycling Scotland’s flickr page.

Summiting Mont Blanc for the first time

From Chamonix we (my Dad and I) drove to Saint Gervais, left the car there and took the Tramway du Mont Blanc up to Nid D’aigle (2362 m). The tramway was a beautiful hour long trip up the side of the valley, with fantastic views across meadows up the Chamonix valley and up the Glacier de Bionnassay.

From Nid D’aigle we walked 3 hours up to the Te’te Rousse Hut (3167 m), where we had dinner and an early night. The hut was ok, but didn’t have any running water, although you were able to buy bottled water and we treated ourselves to some cake!

We had a 2am breakfast and set off with our head torches across the Grand Couloir, which is notorious for rock fall, but with the recent fresh snow it was held in place better, hence the early start to avoid the snow melt. Then up the ridge to the right of the couloir to the Gouter Hut, where we left some of our kit which we wouldn’t need for the rest of the day, this lessened the weight in our sacks and we were staying at the Gouter Hut that night in descent anyway.

From the Gouter Hut we followed a snow ridge and field with crevasses (a deep crack in an ice sheet or glacier) and seracs (a block or column of ice) towards the Dome du Gouter, which we went around on the NE (left) side, then across the Col du Dome onto the Vallot Hut (this is used as a bivouac refuge in bad weather). From there the snow slope narrows into the Bosses ridge, which had some very steep exposed sections, keeping left of the Rochers de la Tournette onto another narrow ridge leading to the summit!

Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe at 4810m and what a wonderful feeling having made it to the summit for my first time with my Dad, who has climbed it many times before! The weather was absolutely perfect and the views were spectacular! We spent about half an hour sitting on the summit, we took some photos and had a bite to eat, just enjoying the moment and the total peace and quiet! This was my third attempt, previously bad weather and fitness were to blame, but not this time.

The descent to the Gouter Hut was very hot with the sun beating down on us and reflecting off the snow, but the photo opportunities were massive, so we made the most of it. We arrived back at the new Gouter Hut (3835 m) which just opened in July 2013, replacing the old hut. There were two floors of dorms filled with bunk beds and a floor for the dining area. We had a nice dinner, then went to bed and slept a solid 12 hours!

We had a late breakfast at 7am, and after we successfully crossed the Grand Couloir in the cool of the morning, we headed back down to Chamonix for some rest and relaxation in the sun!

Britannia Hut and the Allalinhorn

Because we had stayed in Saas Grund for the night we were given a Burgener pass, which allowed us free transport within the valley for one day, so we left the car in Saas Grund and got the bus up to Saas Fee. From there we caught the Felskinn teleferique and walked to the Britannia Hut, which was only about 45 mins. We headed to the glacier in the afternoon to look at the beginning of our route for the morning and do some safety training.

The Britannia Hut was’t quite as good as the Almagellar, but still great for an Alpine hut in the mountains! I’ve stayed in it a couple of times before when I was younger, it has been extended and modernised over the years to accommodate the number of people visiting.

The next day we woke at 4am with a plan for breakfast, but there was a foot of fresh snow outside, so we went back to bed till 7am breakfast. We walked back to the Felskinn teleferique and took the Metro Alpin to the top station, from there we walked to the summit of Allalinhorn (4027m) on the ordinary route, it took us about 3 hours. Then we went back down to Saas Grund to pick up the car, and we were lucky enough to be able to take a quick shower in the B & B where we had stayed, before we drove round to Chamonix.

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