Old Man of Coniston and Dow Crag – 17th March
Coniston – Walna Scar road – Brown Pike – Buck Pike – Dow Crag – Goat’s Hawse – Coniston Old Man – Coppermines Valley – Coniston
Distance: 9 miles Total Ascent: 1000 metres
Hayley Goodwin’s account of the day:
Saturday 17 March 7.30 am – 1 lady driver with no fuel; 2 chaps patiently waiting at Junction 16 with flasks of hot coffee; 1 walk leader with a hangover somewhere near Neck End; a diligent organised couple somewhere in Manchester probably about to set off, and, finally, 2 lovely ladies half way up the M6 – why is anyone’s guess… Hmmm, not the greatest start to the day…
By 8am we did at least have one car full, and, since none of us thought to exchange numbers decided to head off and hope that we would meet the others there. Even having a member of the firm’s IT department on site, we couldn’t figure out how to get them. Oh my days, what would today hold?
So, here I was, designated driver to the Lake District. This was my first walk of Liam’s Boot Camp, and I can’t boast that I was the most organised. Job number one was to get some nice waterproof trousers whilst in Consiton from a shop that you would only ever expect to see on Little Britain – I won’t be rushing back to any shop where the changing room is a darkened concreted store room with a light bulb hanging from the ceiling and a bolt on the outside of the door.. Fortunately I did come out with both arms and both legs, plus a nice new pair of trousers. So, it was back to the car park to listen to another half an hour of Steve Marchant aka No Neck, Neck or Ram Man grunting about our absent friends.
Then 10.30 arrived and a car full of familiar faces greeted us too. After the obligatory car park chat and faff that we are all guilty of, Neck was still on full moan, but still ready for a good old ramble, so off we set.
I’ve always been a reasonably keen walker and, whilst not anywhere near as fit as I once was, I think its fair to say reasonably fit too. However, the first 10 minutes nearly killed me! We were literally on a pavement walking up to the start of the walk at 45 degrees, or at least it felt like it. Initially a little embarrassed, I soon became relieved to see that everyone else was clearly feeling it too.
The weather was quite nice at this point, then so a few members of the team took a few photo’s, and then a few more, and then a few more. And this went on for the next 4 hours… With Phil and Nat and Lou there at hand, you could easily decorate your office or home with a full suite of photo’s showing every step of the walk. They never missed a moment between them!
The walk itself was really lovely, with excellent views for miles (and genuinely ones that you would wish to take photos of). There was obviously a lot of uphill, which was quite tiring, but preferable to mountain biking downhill (in my humble opinion), as we did see some keen and crazy bikers along the way. You might see some crazy crag-hopping fitness fanatic like Phil (who seemed to jog up and down the hills) doing something like this, but I’d rather keep both feet firmly on the ground.
I had my first dose of blisters on my heels today too, in my favourite boots that never usually let me down. What a shocker! And not just for my feet but for everyone else that was thereafter subjected to a running commentary of their soreness. Until we were heading downhill that is, which was much better for me. Not so good for poor old Neck though, who managed to go faster than jog-a-lot Phil: by doing roly polies. Some would say he tumbled and rolled over by accident, but I suspect that he prefers us to admire his athletic prowess by insisting that he rolled down on purpose like some Olympic gymnast, especially when he went on to tell us that its “not the first time this has happened”!!! Apparently this last happened whilst jogging outside Potclays!!!
By the time we got to the bottom (some quicker than others), it was a sure first stop: pub. So there we sat and reflected on the day, playing Best Bit:Worst Bit (a game designed for under tens but still perfectly apt for Grindeys employees). Word on the street is that no-one likes this game, so we’ll be sure to continue with this new tradition, at least whenever I’m around.
In conclusion, great day, with great (eventual) company with the ultimate objective of helping 2 great causes, and, I think that it would be fair to christen No Neck as the Old Man of Coniston. (sorry Neck, couldn’t resist!)
Grindeys 24 Peaks Challenge 