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.