2
a.m. and a beautiful start on Pooley Bridge. A mild night and,
despite the lack of sleep that evening courtesy of some
over-enthusiastic camping neighbours at Park Foot, we were ready to
go. John Bamford & Nick Coombes (both M60) were supported in
their attempts by Nikki Carr and Steve Baldwin, all members of
Scarborough Athletic Club. Nerves jangled at the off and it was good
to get going.
The
steady pull up to Arthur’s Pike saw us arrive not just on time, but
a minute to the good. Excellent! Then off we trotted confidently, in
the darkness, on a path too far to the right. A few minutes later we
realised the mistake as it fell away off the hill and already a
twinge of panic kicked in. We plodded left up the hill and across
tussocky awkward slopes to find the correct trail, but time had
already slipped. Loadpot - 8 minutes adrift. The pairings gradually
split up – by prior agreement we’d said each to their own pace –
and Nick and Steve pulled ahead of John & Nikki. An unexpected
headwind made us work a bit harder but as the sun came up it
eventually eased.
Gradually
the deficit was eroded, by a couple of minutes each leg, and by Stony
Cove Pike Nick and Steve were back on track, with John & Nikki
moving well but still a little down. The hurried scoot down from
Stony Cove via Pike Howe saw us arrive at Kirkstone with a few
minutes in the bank – a really good feeling.
Our
plan had been to follow the 18hr schedule from the website, but only
take 10 minutes at each checkpoint, to give us a little leeway. As
leg 2 unfolded it was pleasing to see the gain increase bit by bit.
The weather was more than kind: sunny with cloud to keep it that
little bit cooler, winds dropped to a gentle breeze, perfect
visibility and dry underfoot. We arrived at Dunmail 17 minutes up and
feeling hopeful. Steve passed the pack onto Danny Walls for legs 3 &
4. By this point John and Nikki were still going well but a bit
behind schedule overall. Nikki handed over the support role to Ricky
Parrish, a last-minute stand-in following illness on the Scarborough
team. He’d just been doing a support leg on the BG!
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| Dumail Raise - Nick in yellow |
Nick
never saw Steel Fell – he stared at his toes the whole way up,
Danny calling the shots on pace. Amazingly, and with constant feeding
and encouragement from Danny, the hills kept getting climbed and we
continued to gain on the clock. Styhead – 37 minutes up! Danny felt
confident; Nick still wasn’t sure. Not a single chicken was
counted. 3 more SAC team members joined us for Leg 4 – Jane Hamp,
Julie Clayton (freshly arrived from Cyprus!) and Alan Whelan. John
made the decision to call it a day on arrival at Styhead, and he and
Ricky headed off with the rest of the support crew (Chris Wood &
Dave Eatherington) down to Wasdale for a well-deserved rest and a
pint or two.
Great
Gable, Kirk Fell & Pillar came and went and the clock showed a 47
minute lead on the schedule. Finally it was time to start believing!
Seatallan provided a sting in the tail but time was securely on our
side. Getting to the top of Middle Fell at 18.35 was such a brilliant
feeling of relief! We enjoyed the luxury of a walk down off the fell.
Looking for figures on the bridge we could see no-one, and I prepared
for arriving without the thrill of meeting Joss. Down through the
ferns we ran in the last few hundred metres, and as we rounded the
cottages to reach Greendale Bridge an unmistakable figure stood
before us. Joss was there after all – we just hadn’t been able to
see him. What a treat; what a brilliant end to a magnificent day. 17
hours and 12 minutes. Sore feet and battered legs – who cared.
Great friends and memories to treasure, and some funds raised for
Mountain Rescue. A grand day – aye – as someone might say.
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| Greendale Bridge |
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