We set off from Horton in Ribblesdale at about 11am stopping off at the Trading Post on the High Street to get chocolate for everybody. A quick chat, handing out of the maps to each of the boys along with Mars bar and we were off!
As we left the road to start the ascent, we saw a big bird of prey on the wall a few feet from us and as we were admiring it, the falconer walked up with entourage; he informed us that it was a Chilean Eagle – certainly a long way from home.
We started to head up hill and Ralph soon got into it and striding ahead – he liked the bits of scrambling up the little crags (well thats what they seem like when you are 6!), but we soon realised that there was more to it than that. He was literally running and we gleaned that he wanted to be the first to the top!
A brief breather at the double ladder stile where you join the Pennine Way and start heading North up the steep bit. Ralph soon decided that enough was enough and set off, so the rest of us quickly packed up our bags, took over the additional layers we had donned and chased after him. A scramble up this steep section and we had the summit in sight.
Ralph’s legs were now starting to feel the strain but he perserved and was the first of us there!
Sitting in the shelter of the wall, we sat down for a well deserved lunch and the Jet Boil was put on for a round of hot chocolate.
Suitably rested, we set off down hill back towards Horton. Once we lost a bit of height the wind wasn’t as strong and Iris was let off the lead and did lots of bounding.
The rest of the walk provided some great views looking back at Pen-y-Ghent.
All in all, a great walk (~9km and 680m of ascent) with fab weather (felt like the first day of Spring this year) and a fantastic effort from all the boys! Enjoyed fish and chips on the way home ready for swimming lessons.
ps oh yes something about carrying rocks!
Set off at quite a fast but comfortable pace, but quickly started making a mess of things and faffed around trying to find control 3, then continued in this vein until control 7, where I realised I wasn’t using my head. Until that point, my nav between controls was generally based on taking a simple bearing and running along it, but at night it is much harder to guage the distance you have travelled. From control 7 onwards my nav was much smarter eg, taking a bearing to a point on a stream one side or other from the control (rather than right at it) so that I knew precisely which direction I needed to travel up the stream once I hit it. As a consequence the result 