We asked you to tell us what you did at the weekend and send us some pictures and a load of you did, so exactly what do OUTDOORSmagic members get up to of a summer's weekend?
What do OMers get up to at the weekends? A quick jaunt down to the
Alps maybe? A spot of DIY? Things so bad we daren't even mention
them?
Well, we were wondering too, so a few weeks back - no, really, it
was just a few weeks ago and not the six months you may suspect - we
asked OUTDOORSmagic members to tell us what they got up to on
particular weekend and, if possible, to supply a digital snap.
Well, a load of you did, so this, courtesty of you lot out there,
is a collected slice of OM weekend... Thanks to everyone who took the
time to write in, and apologies that it's taken quite so long to
compile. Top weekend, or maybe 'weekends'.
The Welsh 3000s - Nigel Thomas
My two mates and I, Pete and Dan did the Welsh 3000' challenge. We
bivied (sp) on Snowdon and set off at 0430hrs. We had great weather,
fine but with high cloud cover. As usual Elidir Fawr was a long drawn
out slog which took it's toll. We finished on Foel Fras at 2130 hrs
which was not bad considering some of the sporadic pain Pete was
experiencing with cramp from Llyn y Cwn onwards. Sunday we hobbled
around Caernaravon!
This is Y Lliwedd from Crib Goch approx 05:00.
Buttermere Round And A Riot... - Cath Sullivan
On Saturday, we got up unspeakably early to drive to Buttermere
(attempts to get up there on Friday night after work having been
hampered by motorway mayhem on the M60 and M61). Having met up with a
couple of friends and pitched the tent at Sykes Farm Campsite we -
stupidly some might say - set off to walk the full ridge around
Buttermere.
We started with Robinson and Dale Head and then headed down to
Honister Quarry. Then we went up onto Grey Knotts, Haystacks, High
Crag, High Stile and Red Pike and finished off by heading down
towards Scale Force and staggering back to the Fish Inn.
Once in the tent, we slept too soundly to hear the riot that we
later learned had erupted on the campsite that night - noisy louts,
broken tents and mallets at 20 paces, apparently.
On Sunday morning we woke up to beautiful blue skies once again.
Given that you should never waste a day of good weather when you get
one, we decided to punish our aching bodies a bit more with a short
trip up Grasmoor from the side of Crummock Water. Initially, we
planned to go more or less straight up and down but once we got to
the top, the ridges towards Crag Hill and Whiteless Pike seemed too
inviting to ignore so we stumbled along to Crag Hill to admire a
spectacular view of the Coledale Horseshoe before heading back down
Whiteless Pike and down Rannerdale.
A Damp Sunday In Northumberland - Colin 'Freefall'
Matheson
... and a highly educational sign too...
Donelgau Precipice Walks And More - Ben Jobson and
friends...
Ben and co. fled London on the Friday, went rafting in Bala, then
on to Bedgelert for some mountain biking and the treat of being
'eaten alive by midgies', stayed overnight then over to Coed y Brenin
to tackle the Karrimor mountain bike trail - 'great scenery and
weather could have been in Canada or Europe but we were in Wales!
Midges not as bad...'
Pictured left to right Ben, Andy, Jan and
Rob
We walked up a water run off... - Daniel Jones (Trust in God but
padlock your bike)
Three Cliffs Bay, Gower - Alison Stockwell
The climbing trip that almost never was when husband Bob was
forced to bail at the last moment and the kids followed suit - "I
hate the seaside; the crabs will bite my toes."
Fortunately Alison's weekend was saved by the internet and her
mate Gareth agreeing to come along at short notice and they reached
the camp site at Three Cliffs Bay in time for a friend's birthday
barbecue complete with bubbly... Nice.
Alison continues: 'The next day we waited until low tide at noon
to start our route. We chose the East Ridge of Great Tor because it
is the only climb that is vaguely alpine within our grade in the
area. It's a 240 foot V. Diff; a beautiful ridge line with stunning
views across the bay.
'The second pitch was tricky and two teams in front of us diverted
left onto the south face. I was not going to be deterred, and
employed my usual tactic in these circumstances; I put in loads of
gear and hung off it to test it first. The highest nut was the most
dubious, because I put it in at arms reach by feel.
I found the pitch hard; b****y hard, but with a lot of heaving I
eventually struggled up. I was gratified when Gareth also found it
hard, but most of his cursing was not at the difficulty of the pitch,
but at my top piece of gear that was so firmly wedged it took ages to
release. Later I checked the guidebook. The correct route goes round
to the left on the south face. Oh well...
'After that the climb was straightforward, and we stopped for
photos at the top. The views were lovely and the weather held fine
all day. The descent involved a short abseil, and Gareth took a photo
of me just before I had to scuttle back up again to release the
abseil rope that had jammed fast.
'Finally we took the sandy path back to our campsite, happy and
satisfied after a perfect afternoon. We got back in time to exchange
stories with our companions before the drive home. Everyone had had a
great day, and I was so happy to have been there. The photos did not
come out very well. Photography is not my strong point, but even poor
photos bring back rich memories.'
The Howgills, by mountain bike - Andy Gudgeon
Route: Howgills Killer Loop - courtesy of mbr magazine.
Location: Howgills on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales
Distance: 38 km or 23.5 miles
Description: Starting in Sedbergh there's little time to accustom
yourself to the terrain before things start to get very 'upwards'. It
was then a long slog up to the summit of the calf (approx 1800 ft of
climbing). From here headed towards Bowerdale on a track/path that
has been referred to a 'The' best single track, but personally I'm
not convinced. Now about halfway and time to start the trek back to
the car. Return route encompassed more road and yet more hills.
Fantastic section when I headed across a field and down into a wood,
trees covering the path, the track rutted from the rain water that
has used the path.
All in all an excellent ride but don't let the mileage lull you
into a false sense, bloody hard work.
Below: the summit of The Calf, Howgills.
Running The West Highland Way... Peter Keith, David Watson
Possibly the maddest OM weekend was the one enjoyed by Peter Keith
of Magicalia - OM's parent company - and some friends. For reasons
best known to themselves, they decided to run the West Highland
Way... Thus proving themselves to be utterly bonkers. That's Keith
down there, in green, checking that his feet are still attached to
his legs. Respect... The other chappie is some fella called Ben
Nevis.
Picos Des Europa - Ellis Organ
More mountain biking from Ellis Organ: 'Just back from a week's
mountain biking in the Picos de Europa (N Spain) with Skedaddle.
Absolutely awesome riding, scenery, food wine etc. On Tuesday (I
know, its a bit more than a weekend), caught the cable car from
Fuente De up to about 1800m, rode over the top of the pass and then
spent the next 3 hours descending - what a blast.'
Walking In Country Mayo - Tim Forshaw and Michele
At the weekend we took it easy and headed down to County Mayo in
Ireland where we toured the beaches and hills. We are both regular
hill walkers but this weekend our plan was to relax and take in the
scenery so our walking was confined to beaches and dunes.
The scenery was fantastic and the weather excellent, we also had a
little fun on the beach in our Honda HRV, first time off road for
it!
County Mayo comes highly recommended if you like the outdoors,
lots of mountains, beaches and rivers and the town of Westport is a
great location to explore it all from.
The Tarmachan Ridge - Geoffrey Neill
After months and months and months of being away from the hills,I
went with a bunch of mates to do the Tarmachan ridge on Saturday.
After months of lardiness and expanding waistline, I had a
gut-busting, heart-pounding struggle to keep up with the others to
start with. Thankfully I soon broke through the pain barrier and
picked up the pace.
A couple of sections tested my friends nerves and one steep
scrambly bit led to a friend doing a spot of grass surfing! He was
fine apart from a soggy posterior but the others ended up taking a
lengthy detour to avoid that section.
After the last top, we had a very lengthy slog back to the car
park through some really boggy sections before joining a path and
then another 2 miles hike back to the car park. All in all, I had a
really excellent day. My legs are in sheer agony but it's worth
it!
Sharp Edge, Blencathra - Henry The Hiker
OM's smallest and furriest member writes: 'I popped up to the lake
district and took on Sharp Edge. No mean feat when your legs are only
3" long. I had a lovely day and managed to bag the summit. Hey
Ho!'
Erm, weren't you incinerated some time ago? Just asking.
Circles from Seathwaite - Lorraine Grunday
On Saturday, Andy (fellwalker) Wallace, me and Carolyn walked from
Seathwaite, up Sour Milk Gill, onto Base Brown, Green Cable, Great
Cable and back down past Styhead Tarn to Seathwaite. Andy has written
up the report on his website, with photos as usual.
I've attached a photo of me and Carolyn going up the side of Sour
Milk Ghyll
Scafell and beyond - Rochard Maiden
'I set off from a friend's house in Sheffield and arrived in the
Lakes at 6.30am (thats right am!) with intentions of going up to
Bowfell from Seathwaite. Even at that time the sun was hot and the
sky clear, so a slight change in plan saw me include Scafell and
Scafell Pike because though I hate them both I have never seen the
view because of cloud. Was it worth it? Judge for yourself.'
This, by the way, is Derwent Water viewed from Scafell Pike and
the answer is...
Central Buttress of Lochnagar - Colin
Since the weather was so nice, I did this! Central buttress of
Lochnagar - an exellent day it was too.
Beinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers and An Stuc - Terry Thompson
On Sunday (29/06/03) I got up early, drove down to Perthshire and
after 3 1/2 hours in the driving seat ascended Beinn Ghlas, Ben
Lawers and An Stuc on what turned out to be a very warm day. Getting
there early avoided the weekend masses and by going over to An Stuc
allowed them to complete Ben Lawers and leave by the time I got back.
I met a grandfather/grandson on the ascent and the latter was the
ripe old age of 9 (nine) but already had completed 19 (nineteen)
munros. A great day on the hills with splendid views all round.
The picture I have attached is of the approach to Ben Lawers from
Beinn Ghlas.
The Three Peaks Challenge - Graham Hardy
Me and a group of four friends have been doing the Three Peaks
Challenge - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. Got in just under
the 24 hours which was pretty good going considering we took 2 1/2
hours longer on Scafell Pike than we should have done.
Here is a snap of us in the beautiful Scottish weather.
|
Millstone Edge - Tom Phillips
Had a grand day out at Millstone Edge - My mate Leo did a
great lead on Time for Tea (he's decided it's time that he
did some E3's) - only taking one 15ft plunge when resting on
the small crimps.
We then had a great bike ride on Sunday morning before
seeking the shade at Chatsworth Edge! (and some brutal
jamming ensued)
|
|
Bikes and Beers - Jon Doran (OM Editor)
A weekend of contrasts at OM HQ - on the Saturday I 'nipped out'
on the mountain bike for a six-hour cruise around the Peak District
taking in Glossop, Hayfield, Jacob's Ladder - downhill - Edale, the
Edale Station caff, up to Hollin Cross, along Rushup Edge then back
down to Hayfield via Roych Clough and Mount Famine, then back, over
the 20 Trees trail, to Glossop.
Sunday, stomped gently along the back edge of Kinder from Hayfield
with OMer Alex Ford, getting wowed by the mad rock formations, and
meeting barely anyone. Lunch and a pint at the Nag's Head in Edale
then back over Jacob's Ladder - up this time and on foot - and back
to Hayfield via Edale Cross. Top day...
And the rest...
And that was just for starters - meanwhile other OMers were doing
other less extravagant, but worthwhile stuff. Stephen Collins
took a stroll from Sheffield across Houndskirk Moor and Burbage Moor
then down to Hathersage for lunch.
Irishman Danny Eagan helped out as a 'ball person' at the
Special Olympics in Dublin - ' It was absolutely amazing, and I met
some of the nicest people I've ever met.'
Dermot Mayock 'jumped out of a perfectly good plane at
11,000ft and fell out of control until 4,000ft.' Not, he says,
something he wants to repeat in a hurry.
Cath Ranson did the Gower Gallop, 'organised by Swansea
Outdoors Group in glorious sunshine with an assortment of intrepid
Explorer Scouts from Cwm Newydd District - well done lads and lasses
- 12 miles of stunning Gower coast and countryside - with options for
19, 25, 30 or 35 miles. .... Missed it this year? look out for
details of next year's challenge at www.swanog.org.uk.
Jeannie
Conley 'spent Sunday on Ilkley Moor bah't 'at with my Silver Duke
of Ed group doing some last minute micro-nav practice before their
assessed expedition next week in Ribblesdale and survived: nettles,
rogue bracken, thistles, nesting grouse and a cheeky curlew. Not to
mention all the day-trippers, bless 'em'.
Kevin Callender headed for the Beacons and sent us a very
nice phone pic of the Severn Bridge.
Mark Schaffer headed over to Snowdonia for a rock climbing
course at at the Welsh National Mountain Centre, Plas y Brenin - '
Excellent weather so lots of time out on the rock, of course woke up
this morning almost unable to move, but there you go....'
Zac Gribble of Freestyle spent the weekend working, poor
thing, at a 12-hour endurance MTBrace. 'The weekend was a blast and
even though it was hot, people were chuffed to see a good product...'
Zac is, of course, utterly unbiased.
And last but absolutely not least, OMer Gary Taylor took
his little lad to meet the Emus at Drayton Manor Park near Tamworth.
That's the emu in the background.
Thanks to the dozens of OMers who mailed us words and pics, we
think we included everyone, but if we missed you, we're really sorry.
What a top weekend :-)
