The Cumbrian DIY - 200Km - 18th October 2018

For my 3rd BR(M) of the month I was planning what turned out to be a near reversal of the Fred Whitton Challenge, which having discovered I'd need to divert my Whinlatter climb due to road works, and asking on YACF about the diversion and a "I think this might be over ambitious" statement in my post, Paul Revell suggested I could adapt his "The Cumbrain" calendar event to suit.


I was staying at the Yorkshire Ramblers club hut at Low Hall Garth for a long weekend with my hiking club, having arrived as Wednesday turned to Thursday I knew I was getting only a short sleep before getting up to set off.

The Kling Klang of Tour De France woke me in the bunk of the hut and I set down for my Weetabix in the cold communal area.  I had set the route to start and finish on the main Ambleside to Coniston road so I wouldn't need to ride from the hut or from the start of the tarmac at Stang End. I drove out to the road end in the darkness, as dawn started to break I mounted my Orange steed and descended into the inversion, I shivered on the bike struggling to make enough heat as I rolled though Skelwith and onto the Ambleside one way system before picking up the near deserted main road down to Troutbeck Bridge where I would start my ascent to the Kirkstone Pass; the road I climbed had felt steep in Robbie's Hire Van after Brant and Slape but I found it reasonable going at this early stage of the day. Past the grand buildings of the hotel and youth hostel then into the hamlets built of slate before the Kirkstone pass proper, all the time the temperature rising as I escaped the chill of the inversion.

374m in 11km, the Kirkstone Inn showed signs of life, but no open doors to tempt a cyclist in for a second breakfast, the struggle plunging down into the inversion over Windermere.  I plunged too but down into the inversion in Patterdale, before climbing back out and over to the other Troutbeck.
Blencathra stood in front of me, as did hordes of ramblers, standing in the middle of the road waiting for their group hike to start, too distracted by their chatter to observe another road user.  The loop of Blencatra and Skidaw saw my first stop at Hesket Newmarket at the shop there for sweets and water, sadly Bassenthwait village needed dodged due to a road closure that I'd scoped out on the county council website in advance (I was once again following a mandatory route as I hadn't been able to stop google trying to make me do CX riding for an advisory route) which mean a fairly boring spin down to Kewsick on the A road.

I nearly passed the Filling Station Café in Keswick but turned back to stop in for a cooked breakfast which I was just in time for (they switch menu at midday) though I was toying with the stack of pancakes I stopped that madness in favour of a protein load.  Next up was the Newlands pass over to Buttermere, I was climbing fine until the last sharp dig near the top where my legs decided they'd had enough and forced me to walk.  It was around 23% at this point but it's disturbing to think that only a year ago I got up the Cockbridge ramp on the Lecht without resorting to walking, but this year not only had I walked that but I'd walked a lot more too including this.

As I descended towards Buttermere I was forced to hang back a bit as a car crawled some sections where I could have had a bit of speed up, a drone flew overhead controlled from a van at the top of the pass.
I now turned for that famous landmark of Cumbria the Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station visible as soon as I'd climbed yet another rise and got a sight of the Irish Sea. Although better known as Sellafield there are two sites there, Calder Hall and the Windscale piles not operational since the fire in 1957 it will not finish decommissioning until 2040!

Thankfully Cumbria's hidden hand is just round the corner, in Wastwater and Wasdale, if anywhere in England does not deserve the Lord George Gordon Byron's call of "England! thy beauties are tame and domestic" it is here, steep hillsides lead to England's summit at Scaffel Pike and the lake at the foot gives you a scene that could place in his playground of youth.
I rode up to the Wasdale Head inn with enough time in hand for a coke, crisps and pork pie but little else and as I set off again my average was back down in the concerning zone, particularly as I could see there was 3 big lumps to drag myself over.

That first great lump was Birkerfell, from Eskdale to Ulpha, this I scaled with only a grumble of complaint as my tired body and mind took in the last of the daylight.

Then it was time for Kilnbank Cross, Dusk was coming in and the climb was relentless and steep, my momentum was broken by a cattle grid on the climb, enough dig to get over but not to then make the sharp uphill turn it launched me onto, I was walking again.  I walked a while as I struggled to find a hill section shallow enough to get going on. I finally summited with a bit of light left and entered my light bubble on Old Rake, thankfully a gentle climb on the Coniston road.  I rolled through Coniston in the dark finally reaching the Stang End Road with 12hrs 23m on the clock, just over an hour and a half in hand for the minimum 14.3km average speed (14hrs 7m) maybe I could have eaten more in Wasdale after all.

I decided not to head down to the hut but instead needed to visit a shop, the Co-Op in Ambleside would do but I spent the best part of half an hour trying to find a parking space that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg for the 5 minutes it would take.

I returned to the hut with my sweets and next days lunch food and planned a gentle hike for the following day. I had great weather for my gentle hike to the shop ni chapel stile and then up Silver How and back, but heavy drizzle and compass bearing visibility for Wetherlam on the Saturday with my club mates, the Sunday started off a washout so I sat and read until the sun came out. Only Dom and Amy did sport that day and I set off late afternoon for home.