- Remembrance Sunday 2007 -

Date & Time: Remembrance Sunday 11th November 2007. 8.15 am start.

Location of Start : Honister Mines car park, Cumbria, Uk. ( NY 224 136 )

Places visited : The Dram Road, Moses Trod, Beck Head, Great Gable, Westmorland Cairn, Green Gable, Brandreth, Grey Knotts and back to Honister.

Walk details : 5.5 mls, 2375 ft of ascent, 7 hrs including an hour and a half on the summit.

Walked with : Eleven other members of the OFC, ( Peter and his colleague Richard Aubrey, Terry, John, Jo, Jill R, Andrew M, Andrew L, Jill and Nigel, Ann and the dogs ) Fell&Rock Club members plus hundreds of other fellwalkers.

Weather Forecast : Low cloud, possibly rain to start but improving by midday, due to get colder as the weather improves. 25 mph winds reducing during the morning.

Terry checks the fell conditions from the side of the cottage - Gable is more or less clear !

An 8.15 start and we're climbing up from the Mine car park.	From the Dram Road we follow the crowd along Moses Trod.

Unfortunately the reverse view of Loweswater over Dubbs Bottom (that Terry saw earlier) is now restricted by low cloud.

As we continued along Moses Trod the poor weather gave us light rain.

We had chosen to stay on Moses Trod and traverse round to Beck Head in the distance.

The alternative was to climb Brandreth and Green Gable in the low cloud, but this way we had rather more views along the way.

The colder weather and greater altitude meant the rain was now falling as sleet, seen as streaks on the photo.

Beck Head was reached and at last the weather showed signs of improvement.

We could see Green Gable summit for the first time . . .

and then we could make out the string of people making their way down to Windy Gap.

Probably due to the poor weather forecast earlier in the week, there were less people on the mountain today, but nevertheless this view of everyone all heading for the summit is always an intriguing one.

There would also be long lines of people like this climbing from Seathwaite and from Wasdale today, all aiming to be on the summit for 11o'clock .

From Beck Head, the first view of Wast Water . . .	. . . and now a clear view of our climb ahead.

The climb can sometimes turn into a procession where you are just watching the back of the person in front.

This can be cured by taking a slightly different line, using one of the many variations in the path, or by just stopping to the side of the track and admiring the view !

Ann, Jo and Jill with Richard (in the blue trousers) part way up the climb.

Below is Beck Head Tarn, Kirk Fell and the Ennerdale Valley.

First view of the top and we are here with quarter of an hour to spare.

Time for a quick look around. John hides his biscuits from our two, but I think Polly has spotted it !

Apart from a few Cockermouth and Loweswater folk, we didn't recognise many other people this year.

Gathering near the summit cairn, Jo, Nigel, Ann and Jill B discuss the successful climb.

The summit is crowded at 11am just prior to the speech by a member of the FRCC.

The summit plaque and memorial to members of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club who gave their lives in the First World War. In her speech, the representative of the FRCC mentioned that Great Gable and much of the land around which was purchased by the Club (and subsequently donated to the Nation) in memory of it's members who fought in the Great War. This plaque and these fells stand as a memorial to all of those people who have died in that, and subsequent conflicts round the world. They are unable to enjoy the freedom of the hills themselves, but in giving their lives they ensured our freedom to be able to enjoy them in the way we do today. - - - o o o - - -   Click here or on the photos above for a short video ( The 2 min video should open a new window and play in your Windows Media Player) ( It may take a minute or so to download on slower connection speeds - please be patient ) Apologies for the wind noise - it gets less as the recording progresses. @ 2007 Loweswatercam.co.uk

During our stay at the top it even started snowing briefly, but as the ceremony ended so the weather progressively cleared to reveal the fells around.

Pillar and Ennerdale Valley looking north.

Haystacks, the High Stile Ridge and Grasmoor flanking Crummock Water,

but just look how clear Scotland is this late morning as the clear, dry, cold air moves progressively south as forecasted.

Kirk Fell and the Wasdale Horseshoe of fells (Pillar, Steeple, Scoat Fell and Red Pike) are pristine in their clarity now.

After people start making their way back down, we stay a while longer to enjoy the opportunities the weather is offering.

This is Wast Water as we make our way over to Westmorland Cairn for a sandwich lunch.

Ann, wrapped up warm against the cool breeze

with Sprinkling Tarn and the Langdale Pikes in the background.

Westmorland Cairn - a photo without people - which was more difficult today than it would be any other day.

The view down Great Hell Gate, almost but not quite our view from our lunch spot.

We chose a grassy spot a little further back from the edge !

We spend a delightful lunch watching the clouds roll across the high summits of Scafell pike and Scafell.

Click here or on the photos above for a short panoramic video

( The 20 second video should open a new window and play in your Windows Media Player)

Peter, spending a moment of quiet contemplation overlooking Wasdale Valley.

Time to be heading back - this is the view across to Crummock and Scotland again from near the cairn.

After passing the now virtually deserted summit, we made our way across towards Green Gable.

The view north east includes the Helvellyn Ridge, Blencathra and the Pennines in the far distance, all now clear of cloud.

Dramatic light and shadow on Gable Crags and Pillar Rock.	Aaron Slack, the path down to Styhead Tarn.

Ann making her way down to Windy Gap.

The two north western valleys from Green Gable summit.

There's a bit more cloud about but shafts of light create wonderful effects on Rannerdale Knotts.

Whilst John and Jill chose the gentler descent route back to Moses Trod

the rest of us continued on from Green Gable, past Brandreth Tarns and up to the slightly rocky summit of Brandreth itself.

Beautiful sunshine and blue skies as we pause at the summit cairn.

A tricky moment as we traverse to Grey Knotts.

Fortunately the fence line has a row of stones at it's base, even if some of them are covered in dark peaty water.

Peter and our two dogs claim top spot on Grey Knotts summit.

All that remained was the steep descent back to Honister . . .	. . . and a warming cup of something in the Honister Mine Shop

Despite wiping the lens, this last shot is rather steamed up, which shows both the warmth of the shop and the coolness of the camera which had been outside until a few moments earlier.

Another great OFC weekend.

In addition I've added a few shots of the rest of the weekend, which included a Saturday meal out at the Kirkstile in Loweswater.

Pete offers us OFC Poppies and a souvenir card of the weekend.

The poppies adorned our rucksacks for the climb as a fitting Remembrance tribute.

John draws the winner of the OFC Web site competition.

Dennis has won himself a signed edition of the latest Simon Yates book - The Flame of Adventure.

" Oooh - Blimey " says John " I wish I had remembered to enter the competition"

Peter, Richard, Terry and John, with Nigel at the head of the table.

Jill heads a bevie of beauties - with Jo, Ann and Jill B next to Nigel.

( probably not needing to be included under the general heading above)

This weekend also coincides with Ann's birthday

so she had more than the usual number of cards and presents to open.

( Can't decide if Terry is just happy or is secretly coverting the chocolates.)

- - - o o o - - -

Technical note: Pictures taken with a Canon G7 Digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . a mountain and memorial dedicated to those that have given their lives in the defence of freedom.

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© RmH.2007 # Email me here

Previous walk - 10th Nov 2007 Great Crag and Grange Fell

A previous time up here - 13th November 2005 The Great Gable Remembrance Walk 2005

Next walk - 15th Nov 2007 A Frosty start to Maiden Moor