Double Header - Whernside & Ingleborough

Location - Yorkshire Dales
Height - 2415ft & 2375ft
Time - 6.15 hrs
Distance - 14.8 miles
Conditions - Sunny morning turning to hail later
Walking with - Solo walk

The aim of this mammoth walk today was 2 fold.  1.  To give my legs a good workout before heading back down to Wales next weekend and 2.  To burn as many calories as I could in order to compensate for the naughty snacks I'd had earlier in the week.  The weather forecast was not looking that great but I was determined to do it anyway as my own little personal challenge.  So early doors on Sunday I found myself packed up and in my car heading north on the M6 and towards Ribblehead.

On a previous trip to Whernside the visibility was poor so it was a pleasure to start my walk today with the sun glinting of the first hill to tackle and the viaduct was looking as impressive as ever. As the weather forecast was for heavy rain I left the big camera at home and just had my little compact with me.  Quality not as good but still gives a me a picture story for my walk.

Its always exciting to see a train on the viaduct and today was no exception.  Pity it wasn't a steam train with the smoke blowing but I guess that's just too much to ask for.

The first initial path and to be honest most of this walk is paved this way which is really good, good that is when its not wet.  For now it was dry and I was thankful for that.

The weather is still unsure what its going to do today.  Billowing clouds but ever increasing blue sky means that it may turn out better afterall.

Looking back I can see Ingleborough which will be my afternoon delight today. Even now with the sun out it looks a looming presence on the landscape and I'm secretly looking forward to tackling it again today but for now, my focus is Whernside.

 After the week's rain the stone gulley is flowing quite fast and I seem to remember it was dry the last time I was here so it was nice to see and hear the water rushing through.

 Left turn on the path to the summit and again pleasantly surprised by the views on offer today.  Time to strip a layer off as the sun does indeed have some heat in it.

The last time I was here the clouds were so low that we could only see glimpses of this little lake through bits of broken cloud.  It was a delight to see it today and again Ingleborough was there waiting in the background.

What a delight these views were.  Pea soup the last time so nothing was on offer but today I could see as far as my eyes would let me and the light bouncing off the faraway hills was just beautiful.  Pity my little camera didn't do it justice.

 Still climbing and still the views open up.  I wish I had a map or even a compass with me as I've no idea which direction this is however its still breathtaking.

 Still climbing it was a pleasure to look back down to the viaduct and where I'm parked.  This is my favorite view of the viaduct.  Such an impressive feature up close and looking so small from up high.

The trig finally.  The last time up Whernside the weather was so bad and visibility so poor that we walked right past where the trig point was.  Its hidden on the other side of the wall and accessed through a small hole.  Today however it was hard not to miss.

Me, at the trig, I had my tripod with me so was able to use the self timer on the camera and I had a few mins of fun setting that up to get a "me" picture to add to my collection.  Good job there was no one around as it was a bit comical getting it set up but a lot of fun!

Leaving the top my thoughts start to turn to that beastie right ahead and it seems so far away.  Time was still on my side and I had no doubts that I would be up there in no time.  Now for the descent........

The descent of Whernside was tougher than I'd remembered.  The previous rain made everything muddier and slippier and although its clearly paved it was tricky coming down the rocky path and took a bit longer than I'd anticipated.  Following the dig deep and one step after another method it wasnt long before I was practically on level ground again.  My knees are aching at this point and I'm starting to doubt whether they have another descent in them today.....time will tell!  

My ultimate favorite picture of Whernside.  I have the same one from a previous visit and its a fitting picture to say goodbye to what is not my favorite of the 3 Yorkshire peaks but one that has served its purpose today. 

Heading towards Ingleborough I couldn't help but notice the light changing and the darker clouds congregating as a warning to what was up ahead.  It would have been nice today to get a clear view from the top but I'm not sure that's going to be possible judging by the gathering clouds.  Typical, I'm sure that the closer I get the darker it becomes and its almost like it knows I'm coming and saving up all its wrath just for me.

Not looking good in the other direction either as the blackness seems to be overtaking any blue sky that I'd enjoyed earlier in the day.  The temperature has dropped too and this is the first time today when I seriously doubt whether I'll actually make this second peak today......hmmmmm! 

True to form, Ingleborough never disappoints and as I have a last brew stop before tackling the wall of steps I can see the cloud gathering on the top.  Lovely, just what I didn't want and I'm seriously debating now whether to actually go right to the top or whether to scale the wall of steps (or the gates of hell as I've renamed them) and just turn and go along the ridge...........

With a mixture of "this is good for me" and "omg what am I doing here" I ventured up the path and about half way Ingleborough unleashed its worst - Hail, hard and driving hail.  At the top part of these steps there is a small bit of scrambling and it was a joy to reach that part however not as much fun in the hail as things became just a little bit slippy.  Yikes!

At the top the hail stopped, typical, and I decided that it would be a shame to come all this way and not make the climb up the the summit.  The thought that I wouldn't go now seemed ludicrous so I headed right, up the rocky path, meeting several folk coming down who'd experienced the hail at the summit and looked suitibly drenched and weary.  Looking back down the ridge it was lovely to see the sun bouncing of the distant hills.

Oh good god, here comes the hail again.  Just what I needed on the flat and exposed summit.  It was almost laughable but the trig awaited so it was hood up, head down, slog on. 

 All hail the trig! 

Things brightened up a bit on my initial descent however the hail had turned to rain and this initial rocky bit soon turned into a bit of a river.  I met several people on their way up who were struggling and moved to the side to let them pass and turned my thoughts to getting back to the car.  It was a pleasure to finally make it back to the ridge where its relatively flat going for a bit. 

Slippy, muddy, hail in your face, water dripping off your nose, hands cold, knees sore, legs weary........oh yes, I'd had a workout today and it wasn't over yet! 

The descent was torturous.  The rain heavy and visibility poor.  My knees and legs rebelled against any downward turn and at one point I thought I was going to be on the side of that hill for hrs and hrs when infact I did come down quite quickly.  It was hard going and I was thankful to finally see the road that would take me back along to the viaduct where my car was parked.   The rain/hail had stopped now and the sun was trying to come back out but my only thoughts were getting the heater on in the car, getting my wet jacket off and having a cuppa.

I am absolutely thrilled that I completed my goal for today.  There were times that I didnt think I would do it, times I doubted myself and formulated excuses in my head but I overcame them all and did it and I'm completely chuffed to bits.  As usual I met some lovely people along the way, including:

Mr Reading who was up here for the week to get away from family life and doing the 3 Yorkshire peaks individually then by the end of the week the 3pk challenge.

Mr & Mrs Derbyshire and their hipflask.

George & Dad who were completing the 3pk challenge today and well within their goal time.

Mr Fell runner who lived locally and was running the 3pks today.  How fit?

The 2 young girls who were out on their first walk and wanted to do the 3pk challenge in the Summer.

All of them on their own personal journey today and a pleasure to chat to them all.

The day Yr Aran became Snowdon.....

Location - Snowdonia National Park
Height - 3560 ft
Time - 6 hrs (with detour)
Distance - 10 (ish) miles
Conditions - Morning shower, turning fair to sunny
Walking with -The BM

My first foray into the Welsh mountains and I bag the biggest of them all – Snowdon. What a result! Yr Aran was the intended target of the day but fate stepped in and put us on the path to Snowdon and with weather like this there was no choice really.

We parked in the car park at Bethania on the Beddgelert to Capel Curig road and crossed the main road to start the walk up the Watkin Path.

 This is the lower section of the Watkin Path and is a popular route for Snowdon but we would only be using that route part way today, instead we had an alternative route in mind and yet another route that would emerge as we started our walk.

The old mine track climbs steadily through a forested area with the views unfolding before our eyes.  Spectacular!  We walked up by the waters of Afon Cwm with is beautiful waterfalls trundling down the hillside and this is where we encountered our morning shower (as predicted by the BBC weather report), shrouding everything in mist and we even had a snow flurry or two.

 Further on we entered the dramatic and stunning Cwm Llan with the flanks of Snowdon ahead to whet our appetite further.  The rain shower was brief and the sky soon cleared to the bluest of blues, perfect!

Its here we veered from the noted route and headed out over the pasture towards Yr Aran on some barely visible paths.

 We followed the stream up the side of the mountain through some boggy and rocky terrain and met another path heading right to take us up to the first bit of rocky scramble of the day.

This section took us up and over Bwlch Cwm Llan to meet with the beginnings of the southern ridge of Snowdon.  It's here we see the arrival of some real mountain scenery and the steepening of the path as we headed up to the right, due North on the long ridge to Bwlch Main.

What a spectacular route and with the sky clear the views opening up were unbelievable.   The first section is straight up on stone steps which are a bit of a shock to the system but at least its getting us higher.

 The going was a little scrambly in places with the most difficult section being encountered after we crossed the ladder stile.

The route forward showing all the ridges before reaching the summit in the distance.

The final section of the climb at Bwlch Main meets the Rhyd Ddu path feeding in from the left and passes over a short knife edge arrete which, although not as airy as Crib Goch, provides a taster of the "daddy" of the genre.

A spectacular view of the ridges and the summit ahead.

 At this point we could clearly see we were level with Moel Hebog and quite a bit higher than Yr Aran (great to be towering over peaks that had been above you all morning!) and a good spot to stop for lunch before the final push over the last ridge to the summit.

 One of the trickier sections to navigate round, thankfully on a day like today it was exciting rather than scary, there is the semblance of a path there somewhere, isn't there?

This sums the South Ridge up perfectly!

The South Ridge path usually elicits a blank expression on most walkers when you mention routes up Snowdon. Those in the know however, realise that this is an absolute gem of a route that stands modestly in the shadows, shunning the limelight. In comparison, the PYG, Miners and Watkin are cheap, talentless reality TV z-listers desperately seeking endless attention. The South Ridge knows it’s good, and is happy to stand back a little until you realise just how good it is. It’s in no rush.

Far below the Watkin path could be seen winding up from the valley.

Reaching the last section of the ridge the view opened up to the eastern side of the range over Y Lliwedd to Moel Siabod, its familiar shape marking the end of the high summits in that direction and a summit to be tackled on an other day perhaps?

At last, nearly there and an inelegant final scramble up some rocks brought the summit cafe into view with its throngs of tourists and people ascending from different directions.

The summit marker stone to our right signified that we were indeed approaching the summit and it was a quick wander up some stone steps to the side of the cafe and there before us was the trig.  Well it would have been before us had there not been  about a zillion people huddled round it.

Tourists having come up on the train and walkers having come from different routes all wanted their moment at the trig.  We didn't hang around on the summit long.  Just enough time to take some summit pictures and then it was back down to the ridge to start the descent.

The route going down over the Bwlch Main Ridge was as good as coming up and with the sky still as clear as a bell the views going back were as stunning as they had been previously in the day.

A reasonable descent down the south ridge gradually steepened to become an uncomfortable loose rattle down a well used but precarious path.  The track provided us with more scrambling opportunities till the gradient eventually eased as we approached the junction of the paths at Bwlch Cwm Llan signifying the end of the ridge walk.

A sharp right turn took us back down through Cwm Llan where we could look back and see most of the ridge that we'd walked today.   

A quick wander through Cwn Llans boggy meadow with Yr Aran on our right, we picked up the Watkin path again which led us down along the banks of Afon Cwm towards the car park.

Not the planned route up Snowdon and not even a plan to go up Snowdon but when the conditions are right then you just can't say no...........