Edge
20th June 2010 There may have been wonderful sunny summer weather visiting us over the last few weeks, but goings-on in my professional life have meant that I haven't made the kind of use of it that is habitual for me. That's not to say that there haven't been restive escapes during the hurly-burly. In fact, lengthening my cycling commute on the homeward leg has afforded the spending of some quality time among still fresh greenery.
Not inappropriately given the prospect of a major change to my work circumstances (a change of job is looming on the horizon), some of those peaceful interludes have had me poking around the National Trust property surrounding the escarpment that is Alderley Edge. The result was that some aimless exploration took me in directions that I mightn't have followed while if I had a map with me! Even so, no harm came from them and you need to break out from the constraints of modern life from time to time anyway. The area is a confined one that I know well enough so not too much can go awry. Still, there are plenty of paths for a stroll and it's under tree cover much of the time too, a perfect antidote to the hot bright strong sunshine that occasionally makes its appearance around this time of year. Trees may be things with which I have a love/hate relationship but they have their plus points too and the National Trust's broadleaved collection near the edge offers plenty of shade when it gets as warm as it has been on the way towards midsummer.
Looking further ahead, it doesn't look as if this summer will get the customary longer break that has tended to happen every year in recent times. Nevertheless, there are some days' leave coming to me that I plan to use as well as I can. It's a matter of using what is available rather than having all that I'd like to possess. Ambitions may require control (the sort of Hebridean adventure that I enjoyed a few years ago is out of the question for now but you never know what the future might bring) but one or two possibilities are coming to mind regardless. Despite the constraints that I face, I should get more out of the summer than I did during the one when my career was first set on its faltering course a decade ago. Its next phase is ahead of me and I hope to keep up my wanderings through hill country. They have afforded respite from life's toils up to now and it is unlikely that the need will disappear.
Still distracted
14th June 2010 Last Saturday should have seen me go further afield, but another matter meant that I stayed at home. However, I didn't waste the wonderful weather that came to us entirely because I got out my bike and travelled along some of the local lanes; it's not the first time that the handy machine afforded a quick escape for a few hours and I suspect that it mightn't be the last either.
Places like Prestbury, Wilmslow, Adlington, Pott Shrigley and Bollington were encountered on the way as I took in some new lanes too. Prestbury's parish church invited another photo while newly-weds were being photographed on their special day elsewhere in the churchyard; I didn't disturb them and silently wished them all the best.
Rhododendron bushes were in bloom and that's why I went around by Pott Shrigley. Well, there's a certain view of Pott Shrigley that I have had in mind for a photo of the picturesque village, so I hope to get there one morning before their time expires; my evening arrival had the sun in the wrong place while it was being engulfed by cloud; meaning that another trip is warranted. Well, having another excuse to get out in the open air never can be faulted.
Catching some sun in Munster
28th May 2010 Last weekend, I crossed the Irish Sea for a more social visit to the south-west of the island where my parents live. While there was a spot of lawn-mowing, hedge-cutting and other bits and bobs to be done, there were chances for limited immersion in hill country too. Friday saw us heading to Gougane Barra in West Cork. The sun was playing hard to get until later in the day, but that didn't spoil any enjoyment derived from poking around Coillte's forest park in the Valley Desmond. There remains one trail that I would mind doing but it's best never to exhaust the possibilities of anywhere. In any case, having had good weather for photography on a previous visit meant that it didn't matter on this occasion.
If I had been dissatisfied, Saturday was going to rub it in with its cloudless skies and strong hot sunshine but I wasn't to be bothered. The sun did change my colour as I attended to lawn edging and other tasks but it was nothing that a rub of after-sun soother couldn't sort. It turned out that Sunday was going to offer more of the same, so hat-wearing and sunscreen were my defences against the attentions of strong sunshine. Letting down my guard wasn't an option.
Though many were heading for the coast, we struck on for Killarney. With the heat that was to be felt, it wouldn't have been the wisest to embark on a long hike without acclimatisation but it was not going to be that sort of day. In fact, the time was taken up with driving from spot to spot and strolling around them too. The locations included Looscaunagh (where the old disused pub is now for sale; who's going to buy a derelict building in the middle of nowhere in these times?), Moll's Gap, a stop to the west of Ladies' View, a lunch stop by the Upper Lake and Muckross House and Gardens. Though coach parties were being conveyed, Moll's Gap didn't feel overrun and it was only as we came downhill again that more and more other folk were being encountered.
Though there was a suggestion of haze, no cloud occupied the sky. Not was that a complete change from the last time that I was around there, but giving the sun unobstructed access to the countryside had a dramatic visual effect. In fact, I really have to think back in time to pick out a visit to Iveragh that was blessed with such good weather. The last one must have been on a Sunday in September not long after the turn of the century, when we were celebrating a family occasion with a ride out from Ross Castle around Lough Leane on the Waterbus. Before that, my memory is taken to 1995 by photos that I took that long ago. A few years before that, there was a drive down the rough track into the Black Valley and on to through the Gap of Dunloe. Maybe I need to visit more often to even up the odds of getting optimum weather.
With my luck with the weather around Killarney, it might be that 2010's visit will stick in the memory for being a photographic sweet shop. Only the chance of having an earlier start or a later finish would have made it even better. As it was, I had to contend with high sun and the risk of lens flare but I came away with something better than anything that I got before regardless. The viewpoints were by now familiar to me so I had ideas as to what to do with them and there was no fumbling in the ever strengthening sun. That's not to say that I wasn't open to anything that came my way and I now have quite a few photos to organise.
Apart from a longer out and back walk down the spit of land that separated Muckross Lake from Lough Leane. It was all short strolls for me, but that was no bad thing with temperatures hitting up to 25º C. That's not to say that some weren't embarking on longer journeys with a charity cycle in progress and a good of folk out on (hired?) bikes. Some of the latter were later found with their feet in the cooler waters of Muckross Lake, and who'd blame them? Others were loafing around in front of Muckross House as I caught it catching the sun for the first-ever time.
As good as the day was, I left with ideas for the future, with the main one being the prospect of a walk all around Muckross Lake. That would need more time than I had and figuring out something to occupy less patient souls while that is in train will be a must; I ended up most of half an hour late on returning from my walk and it sounded as if every minute was an eternity for someone, not good but I was at peace and I didn't let it get to me. An ice cream stop in Barraduff put that behind us and I got to capture a view of the Paps between the more urban paraphernalia too.
The day after couldn't have been more different with its foggy greyness, but things got ever brighter as I continued north to Dublin as I commenced my eastward return. It had taken over well by the time that my flight took off into the air. On the way over Wales, I spied the hills of Snowdonia and made out gashes like the Ogwen Valley and the Llanberis Pass. They were helping me to draw distinctions between the Carneddau, the Glyderau and Snowdon itself. In the midst of all this, I even tried looking for Moel Siabod but without enough certainty whether I had picked it out from the surrounding bumps though the Conwy Valley was unmistakable. Apart from recollections of Welsh hill outings, all this was reminding me that I am in the middle of giving the Snowdonia photo album in the photo gallery a makeover. That's not finished yet and new photos of Kerry already are in mind as is doing something with the uncertainties of the bank holiday weekend that is upon us. All this is the sort of activity that has to take second place to the necessary tasks of everyday life but it never stops in its own way either.
Those Irish strolls may have been short but I was left feeling so at ease that I ended up thinking that I don't go over there often enough. That's an old problem but resolving it could be interesting if perusals of recent issues of Walking World Ireland are to have any effect.
Pondering shock absorption
18th May 2010 There are many things that I like about my Meindl Burmas, but one niggle always been how harshly they treat my feet over hard surfaces like tarmac, gravel or dried out grassland. Softer surfaces are fine, so traipsing fields is fine most of the time. My recent foray into the Scottish Borders was another reminder of this, especially on the last stretch from Galashiels to Melrose, and I now am minded to look for a solution.
What I am not planning on doing is buying another pair of boots and the Burmas fit well anyway, so alternatives to the provided footbeds are what I have been seeking. Have had a bit of a poke around the web (there's an interesting article on the subject at OutdoorsMagic), it looks as if I'll be giving something from Superfeet a go.
Nevertheless, the option of using cheaper shock absorbing equivalents as volume adjusters in my Scarpa ZG10's sounds an intriguing idea, though those boots are largely in semi-retirement now. Another curiosity that I encountered was the idea of using tongue depressors from Superfeet to make lacing more effective. While it all may prove too unwieldy for real world use, it is interesting to learn that these things are available.
Curiosities aside, I do believe in getting boots that fit me in the first place, though there was that one experience when it didn't work out as planned. For now, I'll stick with improving my Burmas feel, and I feel a bit of experimentation coming on.
It may be that I find a way of getting rid of the Scarpas yet; after all, no one buys an expensive pair of boots for their semi-retirement. That handover probably would be a better way to go, and the lessons can be kept on file for future reference. On this occasion, the in-store boot fitting did not work out; it is better to have the fitting before choosing the boots.
Back savouring the variety of Scottish Borders countryside
15th May 2010 It's been a while since my last trip up there, but last weekend saw me back in the Scottish Borders and sampling more of its attractive countryside. 2006 was when I last frequented these parts and so decided that it was high time for a return. Then, it was the turn of St. Mary's Loch and Ettrick Head while on a trot west along the Southern Upland Way. That followed a reconnaissance visit based in Lockerbie that involved a poke around Moffat on a largely cloudy weekend. That's not to say that the sun hasn't been out either with previous hikes around Peebles, Traquair and Innerleithen being blessed by blue skies.
Last August's visit to Edinburgh had the unfulfilled ulterior motive of an outing to Melrose to savour the delights of the Eildon Hills. However, a forecast of rain raised the prospect of not seeing them at their best and that was one reason why they have lain on the ideas shelf since. It was that and thoughts of seeing Melrose Abbey that drew my mind to the area again.
Everything may have looked sunny in Carlisle, but Selkirk was cloudy when I got there. It stayed like that as I left the town to cross over Ettrick Water as I headed for the Philiphaugh Estate. The possibility of using the Borders Abbeys Way to get to Melrose was set to one side in favour of using the old right of way between Selkirk and Three Brethren before following the Southern Upland Way first to Galashiels and then to Melrose.
To my surprise, the Philiphaugh Estate has set up trails for visitors to follow and a leaflet to go with them. While it may not have been my intention, I ended up sampling a track through forestry that gave me a sneak preview of my surroundings from an elevated vantage point. After retracing my steps, I followed the vehicle track named the Corbielinn (or Corbylinn as the OS has it) Road until it left woodland near a reservoir.
Beyond that, it was onto the slopes leading away from Long Philip Burn with a spot of track hopping until I found myself on one leading me straight towards the Three Brethren. The sun was making a better fist of peering out through the cloud cover and caused me to stop a lot on gradients that otherwise weren't the unkindest. The views were changing all the while too as I gained height, keeping my mind occupied and warding off any sense of impatience. This observation leaves me wondering if it as unchanging surroundings that were the cause of any rising impatience during my long walk on the Isle of Man, but there may have other factors at play too.
The three cairns that are the Three Brethren came into sight soon enough and grew steadily larger as the approach to them grew ever shorter. They caught the sun too as it ducked out from behind the broken cloud cover sporadically and I started to think it to be a pity that someone placed a fence through them. Once beside the cairns, the line of the old drovers road that now carries the Southern Upland Way stretched out to the east and to the west. A useful signpost confirmed that Galashiels was nearer than Traquair, verifying the sense of my route.
With the highest point of the day behind me, I began to lose height as the day grew ever better; it had all the hallmarks of being one of those delightful late spring and early summer evenings of the kind that I met once around Peebles and never have forgotten. There was no doubt about the way to be followed though I found yet another signpost and it included the option to return to Selkirk if I so desired, via a track that I left further down as it happened, but I was bound for passage through Yair Hill Forest.
Mercifully, some forest clearing allowed greater views of what lay ahead of me. Yes, there was the sight of wind turbines that no doubt would annoy some but they weren't all over the place either and enough was left in an unblemished state for unperturbed enjoyment. Woodland wandering demanded good attention to a map but any waymarks that I met were a useful backup too, not that they made good map reading unnecessary. Without going around in any circles, veering off track or any other difficulties, I found myself at Yair Bridge for a crossing over the Tweed as planned.
From Fairnilee Farm, it was all pastoral wandering in pleasing sunshine. There was height gain but it was fairly gradual and views back towards Selkirk opened up behind me; it looked as if it was stuck in constant shadow. Sheep and lambs abounded as did stone wall field enclosures. You'd be forgiven for thinking that you were further south in Britain than Scotland as I crossed from field to field.
In time, the views over Galashiels came too, first from a large neatly constructed cairn much like one of the Three Brethren. From there, it was downhill again as waymarks draw the wanderer closer and closer to Gala Hill. The Southern Upland Way chooses to go around it and skirt Galashiels in doing so. Saying that, there are plenty of paths on Gala Hill shown in Explorer 338 and Galashiels has its share of waymarked paths too, some of which use part of the Southern Upland Way. Though it would mean gaining some height again, I can see the point of including the woods around Gala Hill and the trail gains height after Galashiels anyway. The Galashiels variant can be left for anyone who wants it but I think that having the SUW going over Gala Hill would bring its own rewards too and cut down on any urban walking.
Having to face more ascent was not welcome to tired limbs but it did offer recompense in the form of more views of Eildon Hills, this time with the added interest of Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott's former home. After the last loss of height for the day, I was to find myself on the opposite side of the Tweed from Abbotsford and among trees for a last fling before urban walking was to take hold. More river crossings followed with one of Gala Water coming before another of the Tweed.
The latter brought me along a former railway cutting and the tarmac underfoot was taking its toll on the soles of my feet; is it time to get better insoles for my Meindl Burmas? This part of the SUW is shared with part of the National Cycle Network and the distances on their signs did everything that they could to dispel and impression that Melrose and Galashiels are right beside each other. With sore feet, not seeing much in the way of progress can be dispiriting and it was with relief that I gained one final stretch by the Tweed with hard dry grassland underfoot. When that was behind me, there was the matter of pavement pounding until I found my lodgings for the night, but that didn't seem to take so long.
The next morning began with blue skies before a rain shower came my way and there were a few more before the day set to improving steadily. After the one before, it was to be one of gentler pursuits such as relaxed inspection of Melrose Abbey. Other than that, there was a taste of St. Cuthbert's Way before I stopped to soak the views that any gain in height revealed. Not having the time to use that trail to continue in among the Eildon Hills, I left the idea of exploring them for another time and subsequent map inspection revealed a possible alternative itinerary that would achieve that end. Following St. Cuthbert's Way from St. Boswell's to Melrose not only would take me through the aforementioned hills but also near Dryburgh Abbey too. It only needs one excuse to return to any place and I have found it for the Scottish Borders. Let's hope that it doesn't as long to get back as it did before.
Travel Arrangements:
Return train trip from Macclesfield to Carlisle. Outward bus journey onward to Selkirk and more buses to bring me back from Melrose by way of Galashiels.
