With Mark off sunning himself in Cyprus, the rest of the Red Harrows got up at 6.30 for an early departure on Sunday morning, the sun was already warm. We were meeting for a Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) event with a start at 8.30
and, according to Littleborough Lion's Circular Boundary rules, we had to set off by 9am.
This didn't leave much time for registering, donning boots and
making last minute kit decisions.
All over suntan lotion was one
requirement - only Lee did without. Polly's aim was to get maximum sunnage
on the route...well, how often does it feel like you're training in the
Pyrenees while in the Pennines? A feeling that
was intensified by the sometimes dusty, sandy tracks we were to be
walking on.
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| The M62 in all its glory |
Nevertheless, we managed to leave on time and were
the last of the day's Challengers to start, many of whom set off at the
slightly cooler time of 8am.
It is an annual event taking in a fantastic circular route of 20 miles
with spectacular scenery-although I'm not sure in the cold mist of last
year we would have been so smiley by the end.
A good part of the 1st
section constituted a steady climb, much of
which was into headwind. Albeit that we were dressed for the Med, so we
can't really call it cool, the wind still kept conversation to a
minimum and our sweat no sooner produced than evaporated.
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| Look - a mobile phone mast! |
As we headed
East we stayed pretty much parallel to the M62,
up to Windy Hill check point (valiantly living up to its name), before
crossing over at the highest point of motorway in the UK. From this viewpoint we were reminded of footage of 1960s daytrippers watching high speed
cars from deckchairs with flasks of tea...
From there we continued to climb to the high point
of the route, Blackstone Edge, a rocky outcrop that wouldn't be out of
place in a sci-fi, but providing excellent views. After the
obligatory kiss-the-trig stop and photo op,
we were on the move, down to checkpoint 2.
It was somewhere round here
that the game invented by Polly near the start got corrupted by Lee and
Martin. Having realised that we were setting a good pace, and overtaken
another group of Challengers soon after
setting off, we thought we'd have a wager on how many groups we'd pass
on the course.
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| An excellent view |
When it was clear that Lee and Martin's guesses of 5 and 7
were far off the mark, desperate number-reduction-rules were hastily
put in place. The once simple idea got modified
(if at checkpoints it doesn't count) and modified (if standing still,
doesn't count) and modified (no walkers with dogs) in a desperate
attempt for Lee and Martin to stay in the game, against Polly's more
realistic guess of 10 groups...
But what is "fair"
when it competes with the tyranny of numbers?? Call it "democracy" if
you like, but it's a corrupt form.
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| Lee and Polly caress the trig point |
Feeling bolstered by the goodies at checkpoint 2,
we passed a succession of reservoirs before dropping further, steeply
down to the canal marked by a stone noting the Yorkshire / Lancashire
divide, taking another quick sandwich break at
what was about halfway. This seemed to replenish Polly's energies as we
strode off and up again to checkpoint 3.
From here on the route took
several twists and turns, including across a spectacular winding sandy
track cutting across sweeping green open hillsides,
not unlike the approach to Devils Dyke at Checkpoint 7 of Trailwalker.
By now the wind had dropped, our ear drums returned
to normal and conversation became less shouty. However, it wasn't long
before we bemoaned the passing of the coolness it provided...and wished
for just a little of the breeze to return.
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| The Border - Passports please... |
When we came down from here the next stop was
checkpoint 4: the scouts meeting hut, complete with - for the second
time that day - tea, bananas, soreen, mars bars and even sandwiches and
salad. Top notch.
So with a little more than an hour to go, with our
goal of sub-6 hours for 20miles still in sight, we set off for the last
stretch with about 5 miles to go. The last part was pretty much head
down as our conversation stores ran low.
Around this point, we passed one older Challenger
with a walking stick (not poles), who was completing his 10th event,
confidently telling us that this one "isn't a hard one". I wonder what
he classes as hard?!
We did make one small diversion in the last mile,
mistakenly dropping down to the lake and finding ourselves amidst
slightly amused Sunday sunseekers, pushchairs and family strollers.
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| Martin - the last boy scout... |
We
had become complacent in following the pieces of
tape blowing helpfully in the wind at every awkward fork and stile.
Somehow one or two pieces must have been relieved of their duty by
someone with nothing better to do than confuse tired walkers...
While it didn't add much to our overall distance,
it did cause amusement of the older guy who wondered how we'd managed to
come in after him?!
No sooner had we checked back in at the club house,
did we make use of the bar and sit down to some grassroots cricket in
the blistering sun and assess our red patches, heat rash and blisters. A
good day was had by all.
Amazing !
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