Thursday, March 26, 2015

You can't get any pudding, If you don't eat your meat...


Is the infamous battlecry from the Scotsman in Pink Floyds' 'The wall', and in terms of the weekend just past, never has a truer word been spoken. The 'meat' in question was definitely tough, 1600 metres of climbing and clambering over four Lakeland passes on the saturday, and another 900 metres on the sunday. Some brave souls never faultered from the task ahead, and enjoyed some of the best 'pudding' that the Lakes, and indeed the country, had to offer.

Some lesser mortals failed, and fell in battle, never reaching the sweet taste of success, instead, they were left to curse their lack of fortitude, and return north, tail between their legs, hungry and unfulfilled...



After an early morning alarm call and a couple of hours on the motorway south, 7 of us arrived at Borrowdale Youth Hostel in glorious, wall to wall sunshine. This was to be a bit of an epic, but as suggested above, some hadn't read the script. The four passes is a long, tough day, hence the early start. The first climb of the day, indeed the only one that is really bikeable at all - Honister pass - was dispatched reasonably quickly, leaving a big techy first descent ahead of us all the way down to Buttermere.



I'd like to ride this again, after a couple of other descents, as a lot more of it was rideable than perhaps we achieved, but that's what always happens on the first descent in the lakes, particularly an unfamiliar one, you need a bit of time to get your eye in.

There then followed the first hike a bike up and over to Black sail hut - the dissenters were beginning to murmur...


 

 

 

 

 

 


The descent down to Black sail hut was really good, and I make no apologies for having no images of the trail, as it was too good to stop!. Not long after, we arrived at Black sail hut, and a welcome bask in the sun, sarnies devoured..


Next hike a bike was up and over Black Sail pass to Wasdale head, was equally tough and the descent was a cracker, again - no pics!. The climb from there was epic, and the realisation that we would be tight for daylight was looming, but in such situations there is nothing else for it but to knuckle down and get on with it. The Four passes route offers no bail out options, there are no roads linking you to the end destination, once over Black sail, you're on your own. The image below shows how late it was getting when we summited Sty head....

 
 
The descent that followed was exceptional. From Sty head Tarn all the way down to Seathwaite in Borrowdale was truly amazing, with the exception of one river bed boulder field, the rocky ribbon was a joy, a fitting end to the day.


So late were we, I had to nip ahead and ask the local - The Langstrath Inn - If we could put dinner back an hour!. With full bellies, we retired for another days epic riding ahead...


 
 


 
 It was a nice enough pedal up the start of the Langstrath, and after a few river crossings back and forward from south to north banks and vice versa, we reached the bottom of the carry up Stake pass. This is where 6 became 3, which worked out well, as I don't think the climb ahead would have been particularly tastefull to some, as we were heading 250 metres above any of the previous days high point...

 
 
Wew had initially planned to descend Stake, and then back up the ghastly looking Rosset Ghyll, but instead opted to head over a footpath (Oops) which cut out the monster hike a bike up RG, as we reckoned we were short of time to get back north and home.

Another carry up from Sprinkling Tarn to the crest above and what followed is possibly the best piece of downhill I have experienced in the Lake District. It was the same descent as the last one on the previous day, but from over 800 feet above. Having ridden it the day before too meant we knew there was nothing we couldn't ride either - bonus!!.

Amazing.

I can't wait to do it all again.