Easing back to the hills

Tarn Crag above Easedale Tarn

Monday, 30 June 202

Ascent:         560 metres
Distance:      12 kilometres
Time:            4 hours 20 minutes

Tarn Crag     549m        1 hr 56mins   

I had survived yesterday's 10-kilometre walk, including 400 metres of ascent, on a walk to Little Langdale and back, including a climb over Yew Tree Crag to the quarry. It was my longest walk since February, and apart from a strained groin caused by a foolish attempt to run last week, I felt ok, tired, yes, but that produced a good night's sleep. 

It was time to climb a hill, Gregor and Emily gave me a lift to Goody Bridge in Grasmere, from where I followed the Far Easedale path on a clear day with grey skies and high humidity. My objective was Tarn Crag, the only Wainwright Hill that I have still to climb on this round of Wainwrights. The path is part of the Coast to Coast route, and there was a fair number of walkers heading eastwards. I stopped to talk to a woman who was on her fourth day and intended to finish phase 1 of her walk at Grasmere. She had just spent a night in Barrow House Youth Hostel, her first such visit, and was full of praise for the 'youth' hostel and the like-minded people she had met there. I wished her well and continued up to the new wooden bridge over the Ghyll at Stythwaite Steps. A steep path forks off to the left and eventually leads to a narrow path that climbs steeply as it winds through the bracken towards Tarn Crag. After climbing for about 15 minutes and emerging from the bracken, I stopped for a drink and a late lunch, perched on a large rock overlooking Easedale Tarn. I needed the break; my legs were fine, but my groin injury was not helped by the big vertical stretches.

There was another half hour of climbing required as I edged upwards at a more sedate pace, laced with occasional stops for chats with walkers descending. I had made it in less than 2 hours, which, in the circumstances, was fine. I took a rest before deciding to take a longer route back via Coledale Tarn, Eagle Crag and Easedale Tarn. Two older men were wild swimming in Coledale Tarn and drying themselves as I passed. They were cousins and had recently taken to wild swimming. When I asked them if they were trying to collect all the Lakeland Tarns, they were a bit flummoxed and said they hadn't thought of that, but it could make a good book. I told them it had already been done and could be found in a Lakeland bookshop. When they heard where I was from, they revealed that their grandparents came from Plean, and they had a cousin living there. It was time to move on; I headed to Eagle Crag and found the path to Easedale Tarn. There is a steep rock section that was wet, slippery and slow going before the final kilometre to Easedale Tarn. I had not been here since we had dragged the children up on an equally grey day, and despite its popularity, I have yet to discover its undoubted charms.

I crossed the Sourmilk Gill on leaving the Tarn to begin the path down, not discovering until well down that it was the path back to Far Easedale Ghyll. It would add an extra kilometre or so, but I would still be down 30 minutes before my pick-up time. My limp was getting worse, but once on the better-graded path, I discovered that walking faster helped. I made it back to Grasmere by 5:45pm, my lift was waiting, so back for a shower, Wimbledon and a lazy evening. I was delighted to have managed 12 kilometres, my legs felt good, but my groin strain was not happy. A rest day tomorrow.

Ascent by Far Easedale Ghyll

Easedale Tarn from the ascent of Tarn Crag

Coledale Tarn and Langdale Pikes from Tarn Crag

Descent down Eagle Crag to Easedale Tarn

EVs

I had been hoping to go electric for a few years, but the cost and range anxiety, as few cars seemed to be capable of more than 200 miles in real-world usage, had made me wary. And who charges a battery to 100%? My day trips for walks in the Cairngorms or beyond Fort William (Knoydart, Glenfinnan, Grey Corries and Laggan) require up to 280 miles; anything less than a range of 300 miles would mean time spent recharging at the end of long days on the hills. My existing car had belonged to Aileen; it was over ten years old and had been trouble-free for 65,000 miles. It was still working fine and very economical (50mpg), but Gregor needed a car for his park and ride(or run) to work. I offered to pass on the car to him and buy a hybrid, I had missed having satnav and space for carrying a bike since selling my previous car two years ago. I spent January test-driving several options (Audi, Skoda, Toyota and VW) and was about to purchase a car when Trump made his Presidential acceptance speech. "Drlll, baby, drill." My reaction was 'he doesn't know what the F... he's doing'. So, stuff any oil burners, it's time to go electric. 

There were some amazing lease deals available at the time, and after some research and scuffling around car dealers to size up the options, I found a car with a range of 379 miles that was the European Car of the Year in 2024. There would be no need to spend capital or take out a loan, and the cost over a couple of years would be far less than the anticipated depreciation on a new EV. I ordered in February for a March/April delivery. It was shipped into the UK in late May and arrived at my door in early June.

So, after a couple of weeks, what do I think? The car is a bit overwhelming in its range of options and functions, and I am still learning all the possibilities. I have made several local trips and longer trips on motorways to Glasgow and Braehead, and to test it in early morning traffic jams en route to Little France in Edinburgh. The next morning it took half an hour to travel 3 miles from Little France to Lothianburn in the damnable early morning Edinburgh traffic, but at least I was not polluting the city.  EVs are certainly more relaxing than ICE vehicles in ultra-congested zones. 

I have charged it three times so far during sunny days with electricity from the solar panels. The night rate for charging with Octopus is 7p per kWh, about a tenth of the price of petrol. It seems to be giving a range of 325 miles. But most important is that it is enforcing safer and better driving. Bleeps when exceeding speed limits, insisting on signalling when switching lanes, no clutch, no handbrake to release, rapid acceleration for entering main roads and overtaking, a functional satnav for finding new destinations, and a steering lock to turn on a sixpence. The car has cameras to make reverse parking easier, and a keypad means that the doors open on approach to the car and lock as you walk away from the car. It has Apple Play,  I can access podcasts, and no doubt there are lots of other features that I have yet to discover, like heated seats.

I have yet to use the charging network, but a trip in the next few weeks will force me to use Zap Map and pay the equivalent of petrol prices to charge the EV.  I am still searching for the downsides of an EV other than the fact that it can drive better than I can.

Torrie Forest

Jogging Path

Friday, 20 June 2025

On these warm summer days, it is best to be out early. I had not been near a hill for over a month, hardly having the energy to contemplate such an outing. I knew I needed to break the abstinence, so I decided to try a walk in the Torrie Forest, which is only 3 miles away and provides trails and twisting, narrow paths through the forest. I often visit it in winter on foul, wet, or icy days and nights when the hills have no attraction. Today, it was a case of recharging my quads and glutes after next to no exercise since February. 

The outing was perfect, with the distant views of Ben Ledi and Ben Vorlich a reminder of where I should be on days like these. The sinuous path that takes you deep into the forest was embossed in every shade of green, although the forest adjacent to the start of the path was being harvested. I took the trail road to the distant edge of the forest and went out and back before making a loop back to the start. I managed to achieve a decent walking pace on the undulating paths and trails. It was the first time I had taken photos in Torrie Forest, it is usually dark or wet or both when I venture out on this more forgiving exercise ground.

The morning sun was a welcome treat, and I managed a steady pace, forbidding myself to run, which I had done a few days ago with resultant damage to my groin. Recovery from injuries is no longer measured in days. I have always been negligent when it comes to stretching and warm-ups, and whilst it never seemed to affect me in my younger days, it is maybe time to start. I will be going to the Lakes in a couple of weeks and had hoped to get close to finishing the Wainwrights, but I will need to restrict myself to a few smaller hills, assuming I can acquire a modicum of fitness over the next week or so.

Ben Ledi

Ben Ledi to Ben Vorlich

The trails

Pine wafted skies

Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorlich

Almost done

 

Gravelfoyle

Gravelfoyle Aqueduct Trail 

Loch Ard Rob Roy Cave loop

I was in the Ribble Bike Store in Clitheroe last October, eager to purchase a Gravel Bike after being urged to do so by a friend during rides up gravel trails to some of the remotest Munros. She had one of these lean machines that was only half the weight of my 20-year-old Mountain Bike. The carbon fibre bikes were the lightest and looked the best, but they were not set up for panniers, and I had a notion to cycle the Western Isles as a reprise of a trip I did almost fifty years ago. I couldn't decide between steel and titanium, and the delivery time for a Ribble bike was 3 months. Additionally, there was a £300 charge for choosing a colour.

A fellow customer from Derbyshire encouraged me to get the carbon fibre frame, which had the best colour range. He told me that he visited Gravelfoyle in Scotland every year to enjoy the amazing bike trails there. "Where's that?" I asked, thinking it was a name for somewhere in Dumfries and Galloway. "It's in Aberfoyle, near Stirling, that's where I go for my cycling holidays on my Gravel bike, it has miles of trails". I had lived in Aberfoyle for thirty years and usually would run on the 200 miles of "Gravelfoyle" trails in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park at least four times a week. There were a few other runners, and when our children were young, the only cyclists other than us were local families out for rides on bikes that were meant for surfing the asphalt. 

I bought a Saracen Mountain Bike in 1990, mainly to access distant hills when climbing the Munros, but I used it on the local trails on days that I did not have the inclination to run. When the back stays broke, I bought a heavier Trek Mountain Bike with front suspension and it is still serving me well, although it has worn out lots of tyres and is a real heave to get on the roof of the car. I was keen to purchase a new bike, but time passed, and I gave up the notion in March after a viral illness that left me listless and legless. I have even had to stop my morning run/walk up the local hills. The six weeks of sun-blessed spring weather, perfect for hillwalking, were spent in the garden repairing patios, chopping trees and planting hedges.

My daughter and family came up for half term, and on the only decent day, we decided to visit Aberfoyle and hire some bikes for a ride on the trails where I had run over 20,000 miles on the forestry trails that were now referred to as Gravelfoyle. The Queen Elizabeth Forest Park had been my playground, gymnasium and escape from the daily grind of work. I knew all the routes, but they now have names and are visited by legions of trail bikers. My daughter and grandson had to hire bikes so I decided to hire a Gravel Bike rather than take my faithful but heavy Mountain bike. The son of Cindy, an excellent physiotherapist and potter, was working in Aberfoyle Bike Hire shop. He kitted us out and sent a message to his mum saying we might visit her after the ride. He provided me with a featherweight GT Gravel Bike to snake the trails. 

We had three hours, and I decided that we should use the route I used to run when preparing for marathons or mountain marathons. An easy cycle through the village and Manse Road and on to Lochan Spling and Duchray Castle. It was hilly at first and then segued into a series of gently undulating sections towards the aqueducts over the Duchy Water that carried the water supply from Loch Katrine to Glasgow. The cycling was perfect as I shuffled through the gears and enjoyed watching the others as they revelled in cycling somewhere totally different from their normal rides on the London bike lanes. We stopped for a snack by Duchray cottage, and another cyclist zoomed past on his descent to the aqueduct. The only other cyclist we saw all day. There was a route sign for the Aqueduct trail, the very same route I had used when training for the Snowdonia Marathon in 1988.

We began the return journey by dropping down to a bridge at Blairvaich over the Duchray Water, where locals bathed in the Black Linn waterfalls on summer days. The sun had emerged as we headed back on the Statute Labour Road towards Loch Ghleannain. Kit had got his second wind, fuelled by an apple and some water and was charging up the inclines. We took a turn down to Loch Ard before returning on the trail alongside the shore. There is a spectacular loop down to Rob Roy's Cave, which was the highlight of my regular 8-mile run for many years. Arriving at Milton, it is a mile back to Aberfoyle on a path initially and then along the road. I used to take the children running on this route when they were at primary school. Gregor ran the mile in 7 minutes 40 seconds as a 7-year-old. I wish I could still do that. We passed our old house and arrived back at the Bike Shop with half an hour to spare. Perhaps I should have a rethink about buying a Gravel Bike. 

After returning the bikes and catching up on village news we headed home over the Duke's Pass, dropping in at Cindy's pottery where a milk jug was bought by my daughter and then past the Trossachs Church where both myself and my daughter had been married and then past Loch Venachar where we had visited Aileen's parents at ther cottage almost every weekend. It was the end of half term for the family, and with some sadness, I dropped the family at the station early on a wet and windy Sunday morning for their return to London.

My hired Gravel Bike

Lochan Spling

Towards Beinn Bhreac

Ben Lomond

Rob Roy Loop

Alongside Loch Ard 

Kitchen Iris

Leaving for London