Wasdale Show,13 October 2012

I just got round to adding my Wasdale Show experiences to my blog - sorry for the delay!

Wasdale Head Show is always the second Saturday in October - and we love it. Here's a few shots to give a taste of it. The weather can be 'interesting' but this year it was good. This pic is of the Scafell crags as we approached the show.

The sheep showing is a major part of the show and this is one of the best places to see prime Herdwicks, the Lake District's own breed of sheep.

There is hot competition for winning the 'best shepherds crook' competition with some clever carving of sheep horns

This is Wasdale Mountain Rescue team's spiritual home so they always have a presence - and fund raising is crucial for this essential but voluntary group http://www.wmrt.org.uk/

Dogs play a big part in the show - this is Fern the beagle who won the 'best puppy in show' competition - everyone say ahhhh!

Hound trailing is a Cumbrian obsession, with dogs following an aniseed trail through the fells at amazing speed - here's a close finish, with a hound scaling the wall behind (a bit tired after 10 miles!)

The finish of a trail is always exciting with the owners calling the hounds home and rewarding them with their own special dish

.....and yet more dogs. For me the terrier racing is the highlight of the show - a bit like greyhound racing but but more chaotic. Here some terriers are getting focussed on the lure that they chase.

...and they're off! with the lure being kept just ahead of them - but not all terriers are born racers - if you look closely at the second trap from the left you'll see one dog that is perhaps thinking of other careers 

- and sadly at this point my camera ran out of charge so that's it from Wasdale Show 2012 - but there's a lot more to see - fell running, Cumberland & Westmorland wrestling, vintage vehicles, shepherds boots competition - you'll just have to come next year!

Joss Naylor’s Diamond Jubilee Run (Beating the bounds of Wasdale Parish)

Update - just to let you know that Joss finished this gruelling challenge in 9 hours 56 minutes 23 seconds - a fantastic time for a really fit young person - a totally amazing time for a 76 year old - legend!

Joss Naylor, fell running legend and Chairman of the Wasdale Parish Meeting, has agreed to “Beat the Bounds” of the Parish to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The run will take Joss over the entire Wasdale skyline, taking in Caw Fell, Haycock, Scoat Fell, Pillar, Kirk Fell, Great Gable, Great End, Scafell Pike, Scafell, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg – a distance of about 26 miles and the ascent and descent of about 11000 feet.

Joss Naylor with his dogs surveying their domain, including just some of the fells en route on 2 June

Joss’s run will take place on the Diamond Jubilee weekend (Saturday 2 June), starting at the Nether Wasdale maypole at 6 a.m.

When will Joss arrive back there? Well, you are invited to guess how long he will take, sponsoring him to the tune of £1 a guess. You can obviously have as many guesses as you like. Sponsorship forms are available at the various Wasdale Inns and Hotels and at the Youth Hostel, the National Trust Camp Site and the Barn Door Shop.

Alternatively you can sponsor him by :


• posting your entry, accompanied by a cheque (£1 per guess for the time taken by Joss to finish the run – the time should be in hours, minutes and seconds). Please ensure you include your name and phone number. The cheque should be made payable to Wasdale Jubilee Fund. Your entry should be posted to Dr Jack Wakefield, Wasdale Jubilee Fund, High Holme, Nether Wasdale, Cumbria CA20 1ET – to arrive no later than Friday 1 June 2012.

• or to simply make a donation you can do an on-line bank transfer to the following bank account :
HSBC Bank; Sort code 40 22 16; Account Name Wasdale Jubilee Fund; Account Number 41256874.

There will be a signed copy of the book ‘Joss’, the life and times of Joss Naylor, for the person whose guess is nearest to the time actually taken. The winner and the correct time will be announced at the Nether Wasdale Big Jubilee Lunch, which is also in aid of the Jubilee Fund, taking place on Sunday 3rd June. (more details at the link below)
https://www.facebook.com/events/292537427498827/

If Joss takes a breather on Great End and looks behind him this is what he may see  (depending on the weather!) 

Joss has asked that the sponsorship proceeds should be for the benefit of the local community, including the Nether Wasdale church and the Old School Community Hall. There has been a suggestion that Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee should be marked by installing an elegant Victorian-style lamp-post outside Nether Wasdale church, to match the maypole which was erected to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. If this proposal is approved, Joss would like some of the money raised by his run to go towards the cost.

There can’t be many Parishes in England where the Chairman is almost the only resident capable of Beating the Bounds! The people of Wasdale are very grateful to him for his generous initiative, and wish him every success.

Traversing the Scafells ridge

I've always wanted to walk the Lake District's highest ridge but never got round to it - until earlier this month. So here's a quick photo tour of the highlights for me.

Starting from Wasdale Head the day commenced in a relaxed manner, particularly for this Herdwick lamb chilling in the morning sun. 

a quick trip up Styhead Pass delivered us to the foot of Great End, the first fell on the Scafell ridge ... this is a view of Great Gable from The Band on the lower slopes of Great End

A bit further up The Band and there's a nice view of 3 bodies of water - Styhead Tarn (left), Sprinkling Tarn (right, foreground) and in the distant background Derwent Water.

Before leaving Great End's summit a glance back showed clouds drifting over Great Gable 

From the summit of Great End much of  the remaining route can be seen - with the summit of Scafell Pike in the distance . But lurking out of sight, behind the Pike, lies Scafell and the most 'interesting' part of the walk

The walk from Great End to Scafell Pike passes Ill Crag and Broad Crag. The superb craggy scenery viewed from them is well worth the diversions from the main path that most people follow on their quest to reach Englands highest summit.

The summit cairn of Scafell Pike - best visited on a quiet day! 

 looking back along the Scafells ridge - this is a hard place, no sylvan glades here

from Scafell Pike you can see the 'interesting' routes up ahead  to get up Scafell - down to Mickledore ridge(bottom right) followed by Lords Rake (gully, extreme right - currently considered hazardous due to unstable rock) or Foxes Tarn (gully, extreme left - our route for the day)

The mountain rescue stretcher box on Mickledore and, in the background, the cause of some of those rescues - Broad Stand, descending from Scafell.

Another view of Broad Stand - NOT a walking route

Going up Foxes Tarn - 'interesting'

looking back to Scafell Pike from Scafell

The 'back door' to Lords Rake

 After Scafell Pike the purists may continue onto Slight Side to complete the Scafells ridge, but as I'm far from pure we headed down towards Burnmoor Tarn and the return to Wasdale Head

....and finally to end the day a view back up to Scafell looking mean and moody despite  the evening  sun

So, that was it - a great (but long) days walking in the Scafells.

What's on in Wasdale - new years eve 2011

I thought it may help any new year visitors to the valley to see what's happening tonight in the various hostelries - should you be up for that sort of thing. And I may as well throw in some of my favourite Wasdale photos of the year, just for the hell of it.

...like these two of Wasdale at different ends of the day


Wadale skyline - dawn, November 2011

 

Wasdale Screes sunset, July 2011

 So, what's happening on New Years Eve in Wasdale?

The Wasdale Head Hotel has a pre-booked function but the main bar is also open as usual with food available

Nether Wasdale has a choice of two excellent pubs -

• The Strands Hotel is having a James Bond themed casino night for charity with pre-booked food only but the bar is also open as usual.
• The Screes Inn has a choice of a special New Year's Eve dining menu or buffet food and for entertainment have live music, cocktails with a vodka & ice luge.

The Bridge Inn at Santon Bridge has it's usual food menu and the bar is open with  music and New Years Eve festivities 

And finally, The Irton Hall bar, close to Santon Bridge, is open and has a New Years Eve quiz and fireworks on the lawn.

...and if you're still up for partying on New Years day (lots of folk round here are!) then Gosforth village square can get distinctly lively, even frisky, from the afternoon on - good luck and take care out there!

...and as promised here's a few more of my favourite Wasdale photos from this year

Ok - it's another sunset but they're hard to beat aren't they!

Overlooking Piers Ghyll, Scafell Pike, October 2011

Wasdale late evening sky, June 2011



Misty Wasdale morning, February 2011


...and finally, from early December, a snowy Wasdale scene



Wasdale Screes emerging after a snow storm

....thanks for taking the time to get this far .....and best wishes from Wasdale for a great 2012 !



Great Gable remembrance day - 11.00am, 11.11.11

A tradition has grown up over the years for people to visit the summit of Great Gable on Remembrance Sunday to observe two minutes silence at 11.00 am beside the Fell and Rock Climbing Club War Memorial. As this year was a 'once in a hundred years' opportunity myself and some friends decided to break with tradition and visit the memorial on Remembrance Day itself for two minutes silence at 11.00 am on 11.11.11.

The weather was fair, but with a real gale blowing and producing white horses on Wastwater we knew it would be 'interesting' on top - the image below shows the clouds whipping across the summit.

We went up the Beck Head route - steep but quick - and the wind really was something as we got higher - I think the expression is 'impeding progress'.

So we paced ourselves to arrive just before 11.00, having frozen up there before while waiting around. A small group of about 20 people had gathered and a simple silence was observed.

                                    The Fell And Rock Climbing Club Memorial, 11.00 am, 11.11.11

The summit was totally shrouded in scudding cloud which, together with the wind, added to the occasion but didn't make for great photography. We made our way down towards Styhead and the old packhorse route back to Wasdale Head - and of course as we looked back up at Gable the cloud had cleared - win some lose some.

                                                       looking back up at Gable

Then all that remained to do was visit the Wasdale Head hotel for 'refreshments' and possibly the best view of the day

                                                     

Wasdale Show 2011 - an ode to terrier racing

Ok, so this is a bit late - sorry, but life's hectic. Anyway, Wasdale show took place on Saturday 8 October and it's fair to say the weather was not ideal (misty, wet and cold) but that didn't dampen the spirite of the brave attendees and participants.

                                    This shot captures the show and conditions - but not the

                                     spirit that shines through no matter what the weather

BBC Countryfile was filming at the show to present a  prize for a photo taken by Whitehaven’s Derrick Young at the show last year. I think the photo was of the shepherds crook competition and as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery my version can be seen below ...

The Countryfile feature will be aired on 13 November - must tie a knot somewhere to remind myself.

     Moving on, here's in a plug for the excellent

       West Cumbrian  Hartley's Ice Cream who were at the

 show as usual, struggling somewhat with the weather

 but nontheless brightening peoples' day as usual         

Of course the show had an excellent selection of activities to entertain people - hound trailng, fell running, vintage machinery, dog show (and of course the beer tent) - but as usual the highlight of the day was the incomparable terrier  racing - I still don't believe this hasn't been picked up by Simon Cowell as the next X Factor.

Anyway, here's a few snippets of the racing activity  -

               This little dog caught my eye before the racing started

                      - and when the owner said they were going to enter him

                          into the racing I knew  there would be some classic moments

           - more on this later!

  Putting the dogs into the traps - this is where

 trust between owner and dog plays an 

important part in retaining all your fingers

.....and the racing attracts a field from far and wide...

Here we have Holly from Hackney (white, with black ear)

with her human , David, and

Skipper from Hampshire with his human Nick

- and just in shot it's that little local dog I mentioned before....



...and thereby hangs a tale (tail?) - because as Nick was trying to put Skipper into the trap they discovered a dog that hadn't left the trap in the previous heat - and of course it was 'that' little dog, clearly a little timid and perhaps not cut out for terrier racing. 

... that trap did seemed to be jinxed, as once Skipper was put in the trap and the race started he came out of the gate backwards - nil point, and a long way back to Hampshire.

...and finally, an action shot from one of the heats

- notice the dog on the left leaving that jinxed gate

 and not looking like a winner.

So well done to all those involved in making another memorable Wasdale show. It's always on the second Saturday in October so make a note in your diary for next year - and don't forget to bring your terrier.

A trip to Gosforth Show (Wasdale show's big brother)

The 134th Gosforth Agricultural Show took place on 20 August - this year blessed by lovely sunny weather (until the end - more on that later!). I like to make time to visit the show when I can - it's a great day out, you can catch up with  loads of people and it provides comforting continuity in an uncertain world.

The Wasdale fells bring a brooding presence to the showground - surely one of the most impressive backdrops in the show calendar

Gosforth is the home base for Wasdale Mountain Rescue team (rather handily adjacent to the Horse & Groom, one of the villages five pubs) , so the team are always present (unless there's a call out!)

....and another regular that makes the show so familiar is the local Hartley's Ice Cream van - if you are brought up in West Cumbria this is the benchmark for ice cream excellence against which all lesser marques falter - try some if you get a chance!





So, onto a selection of the many things that, together,  make up the character of this classic Lakeland agricultural show......

....like this amazing contraption, a state of the art seed broadcaster from the 1870s - did the work of many men and formed part of the great agricultural revolution - respect due to its maker, Thomas Corbett of Shrewsbury, the Steve Jobs of his generation?




..... and the dog show, with tense owners and dogs wondering what's going on....

....and, of course, tractors everywhere


 - some big, bright and leading edge

  


....some less so

....and some to get steamed up about ...   

















...and then there's the livestock - too many to mention, but here's a couple of notables

....a cracking bull

...and a majestic heavy horse













.....but sadly I then had to leave before the highlight of the show (for me anyway), the terrier racing - I'll have to wait till Wasdale show for that.

....so finally, back to the rain that I referred to at the beginning of this blog, which came on suddenly at the end of the day, just in time for our barbecue back home in Wasdale....

 - a classic end to a perfect day