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Our intrepid exploration hasn’t put us off! Preparation has begun for a far tougher challenge tomorrow – well tougher on the legs anyway!!
Flask of coffee – check.
Waterproofs – check.
Jelly babies – check.
Hipflask – check.
Fox Tor Cafe loyalty card – check (well we couldn’t possibly begin without a planning meeting, could we?).
i know what you mean, i always want to go back to pete’s eats in llanberis which has equally steamed up windows, chips and cheese, mugs of tea and … mountaineers. don’t remember lycra though.
Girl’s I wont let the cat out of the bag as to what you two up too but I would just like to thank you for the walk and keep up the goog work and I dont think you will have any problems over the next couple of day’s. Good luck and maybe we will meet again on the Moor.
Hi Girls, Hope all is well with you both now into your second day with the “Night Nav” to look forward to. A good strong start yesterday and I am sure that you both will have no problem what so ever passing with flying colours. Please let me know how you get on. Weather looks good. It was great walking with you, really enjoyed your company. All the very best of luck. I know that you have struck it lucky with Steve the Assessor. Se you on the Mountain Leader course?
Mountain leader maybe not but one blonde through and one nearly there isn’t a bad result. Good walking with you too. Watch out for the Two Blondes in the future and spend some more time on the South Moor.
I know exactly that feeling, especially when I’m walking the 20 mins to catch the train for work on a beautiful bright morning, “oh I should be out hiking” is my constant lament.
I spend a lot of time trying to persuade myself that walking to work would be a good idea – usually as I get into the car. Can’t make the connection somehow.
While sat here with nothing better to do than find a new pair of walking shoes, I discovered my beautiful Asolo Mantra GV walking shoes. Fab pair of shoes, but the crutches somehow ruin the look!!!!
Beautifully put Blonde One, I couldn’t have put it better myself! I’m looking forward to the new season (although not the 6am weekend starts, the stepping stones or self diagnosed hypothermia!!). All of these stories will, I promise, find their way onto ‘Two Blondes Walking’ eventually – watch this space!
So wish I could be out there with you blondies. Maybe next year. Hope you’ve had a fab day – a rather gorgeous first day out for the young ones – hope that doesn’t give them a false sense of the evil that Dartmoor can chuck at you!!! Send us some sheep poo aroma – I miss it xxx
extremly jealous. Has been a long time since i have seen dartmoors beautiful views. I wish I had color coding for packing my kit. my waterproofs were always at the bottom of my ruck sack!
Ugborough Beacon gives you a big sense of domination without actually being that high up. Being on the Southern Moor it is generally more sunny and drier!!! You have a fabulous dominating view across most of Devon, half of Cornwall and the Dorset coast. Plus it is the gorgeous sight of Western Beacon, Ugborough Beacon and Piles Hill that greet me everytime I look out of my window (when its not raining!!!)
Not sure if down bags are the best route to go down – in addition to their expense they’re not necessarily warmer as such only warmer for their weight; a 3 season down bag is still a 3 season bag and they need a lot more care in the wet. For less cost (although for greater bulk and weight) you could opt for a liner for an existing bag:
This sense of adventure has been with Blonde Two since she first learned to crawl – straight out of the front door, down the step and on to her nose. It has led her by the nose ever since; she was never going to be a stay at home babe!
That is probably why I love her! The Old Grey Witch.
I think the fleece liner isn’t a bad investment with a new bag either. I use an equivalent of the Snugpak one above and it works well. You create a layer of warmed, dry air around the body (much like base layer clothing) that is less easily lost when you move in the sleeping bag. You also extend the life of the bag by keeping it cleaner.
Nun’s Cross Farm is also a good place to visit if you get the opportunity. It can be hired out to groups which is when I had the opportunity to stay. Waking up to the amazing views most definitely outweighs the lack of electricity, running water and toilet! Be prepared for a cold night though – only one room has a fire and it’s not a bedroom!
I would definitely recommend a First Aid in the Outdoors course to anyone who ventures across Dartmoor or anywhere else remote. You get all of the traditional First Aid training and pick up some very useful hints about how to deal with emergencies in remote situations.
You never know when you or someone nearby will need help.
I think any wide open spaces have an appeal. Most of us live in a very crowded world. It always interesting to see how the youngsters we take out on the moors react to a bigger environment.
Hmm. Not sure I will repeat the experiment. I felt naked without my flask, wine gums, sewing kit, two pairs of gloves, two hats, chocolate, more chocolate, tea bag, knife, bootlace, water, dustbin liner, torch, spare batteries, more spare batteries, wet wipes, blister plasters, small plastic bag, spare jumper, high visibility vest, survival bag … (did I mention wine gums?)
I don’t know how Blonde 2 can walk in jeans – even for the shortest of walks I have to get into my walking trousers!!!! No rucksack either???? You two really are living on the edge. Often when we’re out walking, you will see me strolling along with a great big rucksack on my back while the rest of the family bounce along without one. I don’t care because without my rucksack I am lost. What do I do with my hands if not tuck my thumbs in the rucksack straps and where do I attach all those things I need close at hand???? Even on a short walk I have my rucksack even if its only to carry a drink and the camera!!! Back to your less rebelious, sensible selves next weekend???? Glad you survived xxx
Blonde One
I know what you mean Rach about tucking thumbs into your rucksack straps! I recently learnt that doing this not only slows down the circulation into your hands a little and stops fingers swelling (a common problem for long distance walkers), but also improves breathing when the going is tough! First Aid courses are just full of interesting facts!!!
I think I would always go for the warm but slightly damp option … that is until you take the sack off and then have to put it back on … when it’s cold.
Aching knees is part of the joy of walking. Don’t know quite what joy mine will bring me over the coming years now but I think in terms of arthritis a ligament rupture is preferable to a cartilidge tear!!! Mother-in-law has arthritis in her knees and her philosphy is to get out there and walk as much as possible and we still drag her around on 10-15 mile hikes on Dartmoor at the age of 66 – still a spring chicken!!! x
Ever tried to walk on a bearing on Dartmoor. We used to do this little exercise Person 1 with compass and map and Person 2 with a GPS. You’ll find that on the high moors you’ll come across pools and marshy bits that are best skirted round, but where it’s difficult to fix on a point on the horizon to walk to. The great thing with the GPS, you could see the route you’d actually walked, rather like the snake on Snakes and Ladders. After only a kilometre you could be over 200m off route…Moral of the story. Try to walk on a bearing towards an identifiable point, such as stream junction, small tor, but based on your story, maybe not a wall!
The Two Blondes don’t use GPS but I went out for a night navigation practice with my husband the other night and he recorded the walk via GPS without telling me. It was really interesting to see where I had gone wrong and how wiggly the line was even on the legs I got right. Would like to try out your exercise though, it would be interesting. The moral of the wall story is “know your wall”!
As I have mentioned in a previous post http://wp.me/p2OiIR-2L – walking boots are a girl’s best friend. I feel Blonde One’s pain today as I know how long she waited before finally taking the “new boot” plunge. I remember clearly the times when she debated with herself about the decision whilst wringing out wet socks.
My old boots now live in a cupboard, in a garage, on a farm in New Zealand. They sit there patiently waiting for me to visit them again. As with Blonde One’s boots, a good home I think!
My old boots sit happily in the garage and still get taken out around South Devon and plastered in that lovely red, clayey mud we love so much. My beautiful posh new boots are reserved for the delights of the peat and bogs of Dartmoor and even got at outing in the Pyrenees this summer! They are feeling rather sad and neglected at the moment though – I might have to go and see them and give them a hug so they know they are still loved!!!
I do think that, like plants, boots respond well to a bit of tender loving care. Your old boots have looked after you and now it is your turn to look after them.
I distinctly remember having a tasty burger and chips there with Blonde Two in the dim and distant past! Yummy! I also remember seeing several stags on the hill next to Grimspound in the even more dim and distant past: the only time I have seen wild deer on Dartmoor.
You know, Blonde One is so right about any Dartmoor activity being a good one. I have just spent a happy half hour sticking my map back together with invisible tape. Looking forward to the camping too!
I know Brimpts well and can vouch that while it is a mere stone’s throw from the Dart, the valley is so steep it’s still elevated way above where you would have any risk of being flooded camping there.
Thanks for that Sophie. We have camped wild many times on Dartmoor and stayed in the Princetown bunk houses but camp sites are a new venture for us. Local knowledge is always valuable and very welcome. Nice to know there would be no chance of being washed away!
Personally I love rock hopping but as you say there is always one wonky stone and one where the step seems a little too far – usually the one onto the wonky rock! I do remember a fantastic set of uniform flat stepping stones but unfortunately they were in Dovedale in the Peak District!!!!
You’re right – the miles covered is probably the same but I bet you didn’t get the same sense of satisfaction and wellbeing as you would after a day on the moors?!
Removing tongue from cheek briefly, I’ve found completely changing out of your day (damp, even if they don’t feel it) clothes in to a new (dry) set tends to be warmer.
Excellent!!! Sorry do I have an advantage being off work!!! 600826 (about the middle of it!!!) Yay another excuse to stare aimlessly at the Dartmoor Map planning walks I might do in several months time!!! x Cheers girls for another bit of Thursday Morning joy! x
You are the ultimate armchair navigator. Navigation by song, how about that for a quest? Have you been there? Full marks to the girl with the dodgy knee!
My main consideration when choosing which of my 3 favourite hats to wear is: is it going to rain? As a spectacles wearer it is very important to be able to protect my glasses from getting wet and steamy. In the absence of wiper blades I have to make do with a baseball cap. I am very attached to this cap and it has done well to ensure on numerous occasions that I don’t get ‘pixie led’ due to poor visibility! If the weather is dry but cold I prefer to wear my blue woolly hat, except when my daughter isn’t home when I wear her white woolly one (she would frown at me for borrowing her kit, although it seems to be fine for her to borrow mine!). It’s a tough job choosing the right kit for the right occasion!
As a tea drinker, I have to agree with Blonde One that is a tug of the heart to change the contents of my flask but the popularity of the Ribena yesterday was convincing and as it helped to keep the shivers down, well worth it.
Ribena for me!!! Tea just doesn’t work in a flask, coffee is ok and hot chocolate nicely whisked in a jug with milk before pouring into the flask nearly wins, but ribena is just never a disappointment. And the dog likes it!!!!
Your absence has been noted, and we hope that the buffet with the county’s great and the good wasn’t too much of a hardship. You did miss a beautiful night though – cold, yes, but with the moors and tors clearly defined by by a strong, bright moon.
There is a nice symmetry to your evening and ours. You were celebrating the achievements and efforts of a group of young people at the end of months, even years of endeavour. With us on the hills were another group who were beginning much the same journey, preparing for a series of expeditions and challenge events that are as much about character as physical fitness. By the end of the following evening they had tested both their stamina and humour to limits, but were still smiling. I would like to think that they had, perhaps, grown a little too.
Very well put Mr Woolly. I echo your sentiments and hope that the tepid bacon sandwich delivery service helped to make up for missing Blondes on Friday night.
When I used to walk with the Ramblers there was much talk of ‘comfort stops’ ~ a phrase that still makes me smile and shake my head. Perhaps you could mention this next time 😉
Ironic really as I have never experienced comfort when taking one of those stops. Discomfort and embarrassment certainly but comfort is more what I would associate with a heated toilet seat and quilted loo roll.
I have come round a corner on a couple of occasions to be greeted by a lady performing her toilet. Being a gent I stepped back round the corner both times … and I have been caught out once when I had taken a stop [and had to apologise profusely].
Good question. I do have an NZ compass but it lives in NZ with my old walking boots, a scruffy pair of leggings and some clean knickers. You never know …
There were decs on it a couple of months ago apparently but think these were still holding on tight from last chrimbo!!! Today was definately a day to say “sod it” to all chores/ shopping that needed doing and get out and enjoy it. Since I couldn’t I had my hair cut and got my sister to put up some of my christmas lights!!! Oh and made mince pies!! x
Tunbridge Wells has some great outdoor shops and I promise we go walking! Cotswolds and Blacks are fab there and Cotswolds is over 3 floors and has a great coffee shop in it too… 🙂
Have you thought of using a lead which attaches around your waist???? We bought one after seeing several people with them in the Lake District. Having had the whole lead, map, compass, GPS, walking pole thing too, plus a dog strong enough to pull you over if a sheep suddenly comes into view, the waist lead is quite handy. We have a Ruff Wear one, which come in various sizes. It also has a handle lower down the leas for more control.
Try visiting the Reading area! Nightmare trying to get exped kit, although there is one shop specialising in climbing stuff, Altimus, that is fantastic, however when it comes to kit for army stuff, rubbish! I’m always slightly offended that Millets has the cheek to call itsself an outdoors shop.
How frustrating for you! I agree with your Millets sentiments, it’s really a shop for the townies. If ever you come down this way, you will have to stock up.
I’ve used a lead + karabiner + doubled up 2m climbing sling for years – on urban walks the sling round my upper body means that my posture is saved from holding one arm out – even thought the Dood doesn’t pull. Cn also keep hands in pockets on a cold morning!
On Dartmoor it means that he a)cannot chase everything (he is a lurcher, so no changing that bit of nature), b) is completely ok from hassling non-dog friendly teenagers on DofE (although in my opinion they just need proper training but that’s a whole new discussion), and will consequently walk 12-15km on a DofE training walk just trotting along, no pulling, shadowing my steps. On Dartmoor the sling goes double again through a gear loop on my rucksack waist band.
The sling also makes a great emergency lead if you find a stray (twice in the last few years). Bit cheaper than Ruffwear too!
I find a lot of the larger chains don’t sell terribly appropriate stuff – 300 quid waterproofs that stop at your hips and short bodied base layers bring out my inner grumpy old man (probably great ice climbing with salopettes, but down here, really?).
Although this says more about my prejudices than anything else the sign of a ‘good’ outdoor shop is that it stocks, the admittedly pricey, Paramo, Buffalo or its Montane equivalent and Altberg brands and have staff who will say “Actually, you don’t really need that…” In the past I’ve found that Moorland Rambler in Exeter and quite a few places in North Wales fit that bill.
However, if we’re honest with ourselves, most people most of the time probably need no more than a decent sweater and a set of waterproofs from Mole Valley…
Everyone knows, Mr Woolly, that a girl needs some more attractive kit than a sweater and waterproofs from Mole Valley! You should know by now that the Two Blondes have to get the look just right! 🙂
In the spring you’ll have to persuade the Mr Blondes to take you on a getaway to Paris. Plan to cross the Seine across to the left bank, through St Germain-des-Prés and further into the Latin Quarter where you can… visit ‘Au Vieux Campeur’.
It’s made up of at least half a dozen shops spread over several streets, each one specialising in a particular product: tents, rucsacs, cooking, sleeping bags etc. Perhaps more international brands and a bit less of the idiosyncratically French stuff (Escargot capes! Wire stoppered water bottles!) compared to when I first went there, but it really is a series of Aladdin’s caves.
I suspect you’d have some trouble getting back to the Eurostar on time…
Stop making me engage with this word!!! It means the positioning of two things side by side. In this case rugged outdoorsy stuff against girlie beauty stuff.
Took a bit of investigating this one and not easy with a fuzzy head after taking mountains of painkillers after the knee doubled in size last night! But I think it is 539856!!
OK folks. It is not often that you set a test and the testee comes up with a better answer than you one you thought of but I think Mr Woolly did have a good point here – although, obviously, I am an expert on the Great Western Reave …
You look stunning!!! Much more effective than a reflective jacket!!! IN my world DIMPSY means not light and not dark..That point in time when you’re not quite sure whether to have the lights on on the car or not and that point where its starting to get hard to read a map, book, watch etc! I think next year you need to organise a “Dimpsy Christmas Walk” where everyone has to go dressed on fairy lights – it would be an amazing sight on Dartmoor!!!
Any advice on colour??? I’m thinking bright luminous pink is not the way to go either unless you want to draw attention to the fact you are trying to have a quick pee behind this lame bit of gorse which isn’t really obscuring you, but maybe no one will notice if you’re quick!! Its always those moments you get your knickers in a twist and end up flashing your ever so stylish pants to the world!!! Or worse still, the ever chilly buttocks!!! x
You have just reminded me that the other night, when adorned by Christmas tree lights, I needed to take a wee stop and only just remembered to turn the lights off.
I liked this weeks challenge because I discovered F J Widgerys artwork! Beautiful! Might have to request a print myself for my birthday!! Or a prezzie idea for dad when I’m stuck!! Probably can’t afford it though!!! Would you believe me if I said that for all the places I’ve been to on Dartmoor I have never been to Widgery Cross – my lovely girls have, but not me – think I was stuck at school that day!!! xxx
I haven’t been there either. I have watched Blonde One walk up to it but I was feeling lazy and offered to watch the camping gear! Regretted it when they got to the top.
Yep love lists!!! On our trip to the Lakes i bought a map with all the Wainrights marked and a tick box to tick them off – fabulous. Haven’t gotten very far through them – maybe next year!!! Before we go on holiday I have to make a list whereas hubby is just happy to grab stuff and chuck it in the van.
Going back to our beloved Dartmoor though, Dad decided he was going to visit every tor, barrow, high point on Dartmoor this year (don’t think he’s going to quite make it though with only 14 days to go) so I found him a book so he could tick them all off. Here’s a link http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/terry+bound/the+a+to+z+of+dartmoor+tors/8557465/ At £5.95 a real bargain.
His next challenge is to visit all the county tops in the UK, so I think there’s another christmas present sorted!!!
And not forgetting our old favourite the Dartmoor 365 – mines come rather grinding to a halt at the moment – I need someone to take me on a scenic drive to all the villages that need ticking off!!! And of course there I’m not happy enough with just shading in the boxes, I had to go and produce a whole hyperlinked powerpoint with photographic eveidence for each square!!!
Anoraks. Check. Woolly hats. Check. Thermos. Check. A fixation with lists and ordering. Check. Almost certainly all done with very neatly organised, colour coded, pencil case…
I think there’s a latent train spotting tendency just waiting to emerge 🙂
Lists are amazing! I have lists for everything: shopping, christmas stuff, kit for Dartmoor, jobs to do, places to visit, books to read, topics to blog about, things to learn, people to phone, food to eat … am I sounding a bit sad now?!
“The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome…”
Oooo nice one. I always like things like this at Christmas. Worked out a couple already (3 & 6). Might have to bring this out at the dinner table on Christmas Day as the Ten Tors Veterans (i.e. my dad and his wife) will be joining us! I will wait until we have all 12 before listing any answers me thinks. Note the optimism of WHEN we have all 12!!!!
A jolly Chrimbo to you lovely blondies! keep me up to date with any Christmas ramblings!!! It is down to me to plan our traditional Xmas walk but obviously I have to sit this one out so am considering a figure of eight walk based around a pub which means I can sit there all day and they can come and visit me!!! Hubbies suggestion is a figure of eight walk based around a car park where he will leave me in the van to cook up food for everyone at lunchtime!!!! Think I prefer my suggestion!!!
It wasn’t all that long ago that we set this quiz and already I have forgotten some of the answers! So good luck and let me know when you have them all!
Merry Christmas to you and your family Rach.
xx
I hate supermarkets too. In fact, I hate shopping!!! Unless it is for outdoor kit!!!! Buying practically everything over the internet and having it delivered to my door has been one bonus of a knackered knee!!!
The answer for number one doesn’t feel right, but…
1 Dartmoor
2 Moors Way
3 Barrows at Three Barrows
4 Winds Car Park
5 Wyches Farm
6 in Ten Tors Team
7 Lords Land Cairn
8 Legs on a Tick
9 Maidens Stone Circle
10 Commandments Stone
11 Miles in 18 Kilometres
12 Menhirs still standing
Joyeux noel et bonne annee to you all – looking forward to coming back the blog in the new year.
Have another look at number three although you answer works, ours is much better! Am impressed though Mr Woolly, especially number 12, didn’t think anyone would get that. Merry Christmas to you too, glad you enjoyed!
My hills have also vanished. I thought we were safe from the Mayan predictions until sat up late late last night with hubby and a mate and I kept hearing these bangs and rumbles. Sort of like fireworks and thunder but not. I asked if anyone else could hear it and apparently not. Now I had had a few glasses of my homemade mulled wine so maybe it was all in my head, but now I’m worried that it could have been Dartmoor being ripped away from us 🙁
Lets hope not! My prediction is that it will reappear on Christmas Day!!!
I bought some boots which I was assured were waterproof but current conditions prove otherwise! In future I will stick to Gortex and be sure to have warm dry feet. Good boots are so important as are a supply of sweeties!
I would say that boots and sweeties are equally important but it is never a good idea to pack your sweeties in your boots as it is difficult to get them out when you need them and may give you blisters.
Sounds just like us except I always make the mistake of underestimating the time – I forget that not all the family are weathered stompers like my bit of the family are and granny is slowing down!!!! I am really gutted at missing our Christmas walk this year – the festive period just isn’t the same without it!!! Will just have to do 2 next year!!! x
Oh yes I know that hill in Malvern! Every time I drive past I always wish that I could climb it as it does look like a mountain and looks so inviting! Its on my to do list and is not too far away from N Wales.
Do it, in fact, walk the ridge. It is lovely, especially on a summers day and you can drink water form the springs. I cut my walking teeth in Malvern (grew up here).
Well I was born in good ol’ Brixham and I always have jam then cream!!! But my genes are half Somerset and half Scouse so maybe I’m wrong. Mother in law is proper Devon and she says cream then jam!!! Doesn’t make sense to me that way – how can you have a gert dollop of cream then spread jam on it – it just doesn’t work!!!!
Happy New Year to both you blondies and your families! Yes lets hope 2013 carries on like this – an amazing view of the Moors this morning. I DO intend to get walking on Dartmoor again this year although it may be some way off yet. Suggestions of nice easy even path walk would be great – I’m too used to stomping across the open moor!!! I also intend to loose all this weight I’ve put on sat on my arse for the last 3 months! I would say I’m going to give up eating cheese but that will never happen!!! Enjoy thhe weather today and hope all your wishes come true for 2013! x
The first track I tried after breaking my ankle was the railway path out from Princetown. You feel like you are mid-moor but it is flat and easy to get back if you need to. Happy New Year to you too and a speedy recovery. xxx
I’ve just been reading The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane and in the chapter about walking the Broomway (on sand flats off the coast of Essex), he talks about how easily even experienced walkers get disoriented when they are in “repetitive, data-depleted landscapes with few sight-markers” (such as Dartmoor in mist or at night). This is because “we evolved in the dense, close-hand environments of jungle and savannah.” So your nerves are not just understandable, they show that you are tuned into your evolutionary heritage!
That is really interesting, thank you. I will blame evolution from now on. You have just reminded me that I want to read that book. Glad you are enjoying the blog – it is always good to hear that.
Great idea to get walking for the year. We’ve set personal targets for walking at least 20 minutes everyday and preferably 1 hour – that’s 3-6km depending on the terrain. So ideas of good walks are welcome and you’re wise to be wary of the moors, as you say DSRT know from their call-out lists.
Those unfamiliar to the moors need to be aware that walking in a direct lines is often not possible due to boggy patches, and heather moorland is hard going, and we don’t want to do it when the birds are nesting.
Admire your challenge of ‘night navigation’ in winter, but listen out for the owls, if you’re near woodland.
Nice to hear from you. That is an impressive challenge – let us know how you get on. These things sound simple but busy lives don’t always make it easy. We didn’t hear owls last night but did see a heron at dusk. Are owls fussy about coniferous or deciduous woods?
huge thanks to blondes one and two for an awesome moortime adventure yesterday afternoon and last night. yes it was lashing down but i felt alive live live and its done wonders for my complexion. will invest in better kit and put my name down for the next time there is no moon or stars, the rain is blowing slightly upward of horizontal and you can’t see 50 meters in front of you. then and only then will i venture out. good cheesy chips at princetown too. an experience second only to watching strictly this year. its me i’m cathy i’ve come home now… 🙂
It would have been a nice choice and I know that the singer knows all of the words to that one as well. Did find myself hoping that Heathcliff wasn’t actually going to appear!
Blondes, I’ve been enjoying your blogs and hope you can make it easier for me to follow. I use an RSS reader for all my blog reading, but your RSS setting is set to deliver only an extract (first few words only) to the RSS reader.
Could I ask a huge favour and request you set your RSS feed to full article instead? Obviously if there is a reason you don’t want to do this, I’ll understand, but was thinking it may just be the way the blog defaults?
If you go into the WordPress dashboard, Settings, Reading options you should find an option that says “For each article in a feed, show” and the option to set it to “Full Text”.
I will keep reading, just that this makes it so much easier 🙂
I don’t feel I am qualified to comment on the female difficulties with the rucksack! However I can comment on day bag.
When I go hill walking I believe in taking something for every eventuality. As a consequence I end up with a rucksack that weighs as much as a small child on my back! When you making an ascent of 3,000 ft + then this becomes a bit of a challenge. The contents include enough water for 6 cups of tea so that I can have a drink and admire the scenery, this is carried in a metal flask.
I like to carry a 2nd breakfast of cereal, that means another container and since I need plenty of milk for the cereal and tea this requires another flask for the milk. Enough food to keep me alive if I were to be stranded in an Alaskan Wilderness for 4 days. Suitable clothing for any season and sudden blizzard plus the usual neccesities. So as you will appreciate it requires a measure of fitness to transport the said items to the top of a mountain.
The problem I have with my rucksack ( daybag ) is the many compartments it has and I tend to lose things I need in a sort of rucksack abyss. I can feel the item but locating the compartmen is like trying to find your way out of Hampton Court Maze. So that’s my experience of walking with the daybag.
As for your problem is this something that the manufacturers of outdoor accessories could work on for the ladies??
It’s nice to get some positive press for young people! All too often they are branded as unruly and ignorant just because of a few who are. But in the main young people are mostly polite and pleasant!
I have decently discovered that the village where I was brought up in S Wales had a leat that supplied a mill the village being called Blackmill. So now I have to make a trip back to my old hometown to find it of course! Its amazing how you can be surrounded by history and be unaware of it!
Too true – the wonderful thing about Dartmoor is the wealth of history. I can’t imagine ever finding out everything about it. We see something new each time. Happy leat hunting!
When I began exploring England in 1995 with my older sister we were walking on Dartmoor and I remember her explaining to me what a leat was along with the fact that we were walking along one! Nice memory that your blog post resurrected.
Have a good week! I an also looking forward to the longer evenings and the opportunity to do an evening walk. Also on the weekends it will become possible to get a longer day of walking done so much to look forward to!
Im sorry to laugh but falling in a bog is one of those things that never fails to provide enormous entertainment for the onlookers! But take heart because you know that they are going to be the next victim and then it will be your turn to split your sides! In some places bog snorkelling is a sport and that gives a bit of dignity then.
Bog snorkelling does sound like an ‘extreme sport’ that I would rather not partake in, but you’re right, I think I can claim some kind of kudos for it!
Did you steal the term “Vamping” from me???? I thought I was the only person that used it!!!! Liam neeson to cuddle up to on a cold night on Dartmoor – now there’s something to aim for!!! x
My best Loo, bush, rock story. I was leading a walk along the banks of the River Medway about 12 in the party, for most of the way the Medway Valley
Line runs parallel to the river. A female kin the party had a urgent call of nature, bushes were few and far between, when ever she found one people were walking towards us, eventually a big bush no people so off she trots behind the bush, only for the 16:30 Maidstone West to Paddock Wood to go past slowly!! she came out red as a beetroot! Say there was nothing I could do when your in full flow you can’t turn it off like a tap.
A very Happy Anniversary to you both! What a very thoughtful guy! He really knows you well! Just one reminder ~ remember to switch it off when you play hide and seek Lol!
Apparently the best and most nutritious energy drink is milk but tilt only increases your weight problem ( backpack weight! ). Bananas are the best high energy snack but they are messy if not eaten on the same day. My conclusion is chocolate and cake!
I think that your emergency rations need to be seen in the light of what you eat the rest of the day. Graham Obree, the cyclist, had a highly specialised diet. After a carb- rich breakfast product called ‘porrige’, and then if exerting himself for more than an hour, he uses a high energy snack called ‘jam sandwiches’ all followed by a recovery nutrition mix called ‘lunch’ (generally green veg, protein and carbohydrate) as well as a special hydration fluid called ‘tap water’. The thinking behind the jam sandwiches is that they have sugars for immediate energy needs and the bread has salts and more complex carbohydrates that your body digests over a longer term. Alongside drinking when you feel you need to and the balanced diet at other times this combination does everything that expensive sports snacks and drinks claim. I’m pretty certain that a similar approach works for hill walking.
Any emergency rations should be extra calories to supplement your normal food if you end up out longer than planned, perhaps more tired and cold. Maybe take an extra couple of sandwiches or bananas that are kept until you get back to the car? Alternatively a bar of chocolate, mint cake, pack of boiled sweets or dried fruit would probably be sufficient on most day walks. Amounts will vary with where, when and what you’re doing. You would have a more substantial amount if out all day in remote country in cold wintry weather with a high risk of being caught out overnight compared to a summer morning ramble on easy ground.
I have been told that military ration packs now have fewer sweets and chocolate than they used to, with ceral bars as a substitute. Part of the reason for this is that confectionary gives an immediate but short lived rush instead of the the more sustained release of energy from the mix of sugar and complex carbohydrates in the cereal bars.
You have more goodies and tasties in the day bag than me, and I’m diabetic!. In mine bottle of water, glucose tablets, Kagol, spare jumpers, map and walking Sat Nav. Enjoy your weekend walking on the moor, we have snow forecasted here for tomorrow, so it’s a wait and see walk for me.
I can’t see the moors because of the cloud so snow seems unlikely here. We are going up later and I am going to inspect the emergency rations again first.
My emergency rations always include 2 Mars bars. They stay in the bottom of my bag throughout the whole season of walking with kids, then at the start of the summer when my bag gets its annual sort out, they get eaten!!!! A fab tradition that I refuse to change.
What a wonderful thought! I am dreaming about a jacket that in its many pockets you would find Wine gums jelly babies and all sorts of chewy delicacies. As you walked across Dartmoor you would hand out sweets to all passing walkers. People would bring their children to walk on Dartmoor to try and find the lady wearing the Haribo jacket! A sort of walking Willy Wonka!
Shame the Hoover had to shatter the illusion!
Blonde One would certainly be the most popular person to walk with on Dartmoor in her “Haribo” jacket. No more arguments about Wine Gums or Jelly Babies – we would have as many of each as we liked!
Yay well done blondies on your 100th blog!!!! I just don’t have the imagination or humour to write as you do!!!!
I have to say that the timing of the “twoblondeswalking.com” was incredible as it seemed to coincide almost to the day, with me screwing up my knee so has given me daily entertainment while been stuck at home for the last few months -although it has made me crave what is currently inaccesible to me even more!!! Having now been told I need not one but two operations on my knee to fix it, I can see a walk on Dartmoor is still a long, long way off.
So keep up with the blogging and providing me with my daily entertainment. And happy walking – I’m with you in spirit!!!
x
Having now been t
Naughty knee! Keep your pecker up Rach and we are glad that we have helped in some way. You are not the only one of our readers who can’t get out and walk as much as they would like to – it is nice to feel that we can ease the fed-up-ness a little bit. I do understand a bit from those weeks out of action when I broke my ankle. Makes me very grateful to Devon Air Ambulance that I can get out and walk now.
I would spell it ‘flummoxed’ … but, of course, I’m from Derbyshire 🙂
I always take a flask of coffee with me but then when I see a tearoom or cafe I’m stumped [some may say flummoxed] because I want to try someone else’s cakes etc but don’t want to waste my own coffee. Such are the pressures and stresses of walking.
I think flummoxed is a Northern word so I bow to your spelling!
The flask/cafe answer surely has to be linked to how strenuous the walk was? If you have merely had a little ‘bimble’ then the flask wins, but if you have had an all day walk in the rain covering lots of miles then the cafe is a well deserved reward!
You could be right about ‘flummox’ … but perhaps it’s spelt differently in different parts of the country.
As for the choice between a flask and a tearoom it’s a difficult one. I never want to waste my coffee but I so want to try a new tearoom and a piece of their cake. I agree the choice is easier if you’re doing a long walk because the chances are you’ve used your flask and you’re looking for a tearoom … or even a pub at the end of the walk.
Until I became self-employed (middle of last year), I’d resisted getting involved in tweets, blogs, facebook etc. but have now had to bow (somewhat reluctantly) to the unavoidable. However, your tweets and blog have made me realise the fun side of it all. I’m guessing — from your mention of Rippon Tor being a relatively near part of the moor for you — that you aren’t based too far away from me, and am looking forward one day on the moor to seeing two blondes settling down with a thermos or attempting some mad navigational challenge, and rushing up to say hello in person. Meanwhile, keep it up – a good sense of humour and love of walking is a winning combination!
I am so glad you are enjoying the blog so much. I understand what you mean about reluctance with the social network stuff. All things in moderation I say and we are certainly enjoying ourselves at the moment. Feel free to come and say hello up on the moor, it is always nice to chat!
As you will probably have noticed, I am not as good as Blonde Two with this social networking malarchy, but like you, I am coming round to it as I have realised how much fun it is! Look forward to bumping into you (perhaps literally if we are on a night nav) on the moors.
On your next night navigation don’t go anywhere near the Prince Hall Hotel as you may get accused of poaching or trespassing or more likely you will find that open trench very easily in the dark!
Indeed because the many signs would be tricky to see – good thinking! It would make a good feature though, even I couldn’t miss a great big hotel (or could I?)
To be a one of the ‘little people’ in Dartmoor must be pretty hazardous since the arrival of the Berghaus Explorer which must have caught many a little person by suprise as they were trampled into a bog! They may even have been squashed under the weight under of Blonde Ones
sorry pressed the wrong button! As I was saying – Blonde Ones backpack! I can’t remember who carries the Jelly Babies now but they are the true ‘little people’ on Dartmoor and they will not mislead you in any way but rather give you hours of pleasure!
Jelly Babies seem to have taken over both rucksacks at the moment. You are right, they make lovely little people – we must remember to be kind to them … right before we bite their heads off!
Hope you ticked off John Bishops place in your Dartmoor 365 while you were there!
My brother in law and family walked the old railway track from pricetown out to Ingra Tor at Christmas and they found a lone gnome on their way – obviously out on a wander from Pixies Holt. Can’t quite remember where on their way but hopefully he has been left in peace to enjoy the view!
Their kit works the same way but seems rather cheaper. They’re a small company and although they don’t have the product range of Paramo, I think it’s worth a look.
. I’ve been shown these piskies at this llocation. Knowing where they were was passed on by word of mouth – being shown where they were was being in to a sort of club. Giving too much detail on the Internet takes a bit away from that…
I don’t recommend wearing a cats eye on your rucksack as this could cause a passing motorist to have a navigational error as he mistakes you for part of the road!
How about glow in the dark hairspray glow in the dark lipstick and eye shadow! Now that would be fun!
This dog looked like he could escape from anywhere. He was chasing cars over Hexworthy Bridge which was a bit scary. I think dogs must have nine lives too.
I have found the perfect solution to your banana transportation problem! It is called the Banana bunker! You must check out WWW !.vat19.com/banana bunker and then watch the video to demonstrate its use. It Is very funny and you must watch it! You will want to get one for sure! Lol!
Many years ago I led a small group of Ramblers on a walk from Ballidon in the Peak District. We were followed by a Jack Russell who just wouldn’t go home no matter how we tried to encourage him or her to do so.
We gave up eventually and even had to use a spare bootlace as a lead as we walked along a narrow bit of lane as we were concerned that said Jack Russell might run out in front of a vehicle and we would have to take a dead Jack Russell back to Ballidon.
Three hours after starting the walk we got back to Ballidon. The other walkers departed leaving me with a Jack Russell who had decided I was a friend for life. I thought I’ll go and ask at the nearby farm if they knew whose it was explaining that he’d followed us all the way round on our walk and had to be tied up too at one stage. The farmer replied that it was his and “oh he’s always doing that …”.
Very good idea the banana holder, as long as you remember to eat it, i had one but forgot to eat the banana, then one day found a gooie mess in the bottom of the rucksack!!
Want to school in my full kit this morning, the excuse being if I break down in the car (even with no snow) it will immediately become an Al Humphreys-sequence micro adventure…
Just like the Two Blondes then – any excuse for an adventure. I took trainers and a walking pole even though it was only raining! Made it feel a bit more exciting.
I am an expert on the subject of getting in to a terrible mess when it comes to folding a map! My wife will always take it off me if she sees me attempting to try. I even have difficulty trying to fold it on the dining room table so you can imagine what happens when the wind gets involved!
However I think I may have found a solution to the problem!
Introducing the map dress!
Another represented collage artist was Elisabeth Lecourt, who is known for her work folding maps into shapes of clothing. Lecourt meticulously presses and irons the maps into place to make collared dresses and button-down shirts. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xEXHTEK4U20/TToed007-FI/AAAAAAAAAZU/oMZHcXyGvsw/s1600/elisabeth+lecourt.jpg
I have sent you the link so you can see the dress.
Of course I know what your thinking about wearing a dress on Dartmoor. Impractical! Perhaps a map jacket would be more suitable, although you would both have to have one as the various parts of Dartmoor may be in awkward places so your partner would have to study the parts that your eyes could not reach! Or maybe map wrestling is more fun! What do you think?
Map wrestling does not compare one jot to having a map-dress. What a great find. Would Blondes One and Two argue over who had the North Moor and who had the South? Who would need the legend?
These will definitely feature in Two Blondes The Movie!
We are all tourists for a time as we visit different places so it is up to us to show respect for the area. In the Welsh language there ips no word for tourists but rather visitor which I think sounds more friendly! Visitors are important to each area and we are happy to see people taking pleasure in our landscape! If we are friendly and show respect for the residents then we are going to get along very well!
I like a an old Scottish saying to visitors – Haste Ye Back!
It is true to say that over the past couple of months the tree has had its moment of glory and is presently enjoying another special moment with the arrival of the snow. But what will happen in the coming weeks as its decidious cousins start to wake up and adorn themselves in beautiful fresh shades of green? Who will pay it attention then? As we know for the rest of the year the decidious trees will get all attention and for them come September they will certainly take centre stage!
How does Mr Evergreen deal with this sudden change of affection? Will anyone pay it a visit then?
I will certainly pay it a visit from time to time. I am not sure that the tree can see any deciduous rivals from where it is so it might be able to avoid jealousy!
The best in the nation has to be Llanberis, for its dinky high street with a nevertheless very high outdoor shop:muggle shop ratio. My favourite being Joe Brown’s, for its independentness and great range of proper kit. Mnd you Betws-y-coed is pretty good too, with again a top ratio, including the Cotswold Rock Bottom shop…always a bargain, no excuses needed!
If you’re coming round to the idea of bad weather clothes that are designed to leak don’t rule out this lot (starting to sound like a stuck record…). They aren’t really waterproof but this is my second winter of cycle commuting in one of the Teclite tops and I can’t fault it, it having cope with most weather in that time. The Special 6 shirt is going strong despite being bought in 1998 :
It sounds like you have been doing a whistle stop tour of the country!
I have visited Tavistock many times but a visit is now long overdue. I know Exeter as My wifes family live in Axminster and I have an auntie who lives in Sidmouth.
Cardiff I know very well as I was brought up in the area.
If you ever pay a visit to North Wales then the Alladins cave of outdoor clothing shops has to be Betws Y Coed and also Capel Curig which are the best places they
hit the wrong button again!……as I was saying they are in the right place. If you want the best nearest city that would be Chester.
You didn’t mention Plymouth for walking shops.Any good?
I am disappointed you didn’t come back with a Haribo jacket !
I now have some more excellent suggestions for trips – thank you. Poor Mr Blonde One will have a fit when he reads all of this!
Plymouth isn’t bad, raydavieswalks, there’s quite a big Cotswolds but I haven’t found too many independent shops – yet. I won’t give up the search though.
The more I talk about this Haribo jacket, the more I want it. I’m almost convinced that I ‘need’ it now!
I can recommend Ambleside – the outdoors mecca of the Lakes!!!! Spent a very happy rainy day trawling through the numerous outdoor related shops which resulted in purchases of trousers, jackets, maps, books and even a nice new lead for Charlie!!! Field and Trek were particularly wonderful. On having a chat with one of the assistants we talked about our plans to do a spot of climbing and how we’d forgotten the girls climbing harness so did they have any available to purchase??? The lovely asistant then said, if we popped in the next day he would bring his kids in and we could borrow it. Then someone else piped up that they had one we could borrow too – now thats what I call service!
Unfortunately the weather was never quite climbing weather except for the day we went up Scafell Pike which was an amazingly beautiful day, so we never took them up on their offer, but have bought many an item from Field and Trek since!!! x
I haven’t yet been rich enough to afford a merino baselayer which I have read so much about and how wonderfully warm they are and how you can wear them day in day out for a week and they don’t smell. I really should invest in an item – maybe a “back to walking” treat next year!!! Although I keep nice and warm when walking I am terrible for sitting around in a tent and getting cold – even in the middle of the summer – although recently, thats not much different to the winter. Must start saving! Even yesterday, sat watching the tv, I had the fire on and the heating and was wearing a tshirt, hoodie and down gilet, oh and hood of said hoodie up and I was just about warm!!! Useless me!!!
Oh are you related to Miranda????? Everytime I watch her recently I think of you!!!! xxx
I’ve not found merino base layers to be to be that much more warm in themselves – you’d probably feel as cold as before just sitting around. However I find I tend to feel less chilled after being active because, in common with all wool, they retain much the same thermal properties when wet and genuinely wick moisture from the skin. They’re less clammy than synthetics and I find them more comfortable over a range of temperatures. On the other hand, and this is arguably less of a problem because of wool’s properties, when they are wet they remain wet for much longer. They also require a bit more care washing.
Well, that is a compliment – am no relation but both Blondes are fans. Had to not look at each other day when paying for lunch and the nice lady said “bear with” so as not to offend.
Check out Aldi’s merino wool T shirts – although not 100% merino, at £15 a shot they’re very good value and suit me fine.
They should be coming on offer at any time now.
JJ
During a spell of some very cold weather I asked a Welsh farmer if the sheep were ever taken indoors to shelter. He explained to me that Welsh mountain sheep get very distressed if they are taken indoors and need to be out in the fields. So that tells you how effective their wool coats are and why the Marino wool is so effective in keeping you warm. Although I would draw the line at woolen undies or pyjamas . Too itchy!
Teaching someone else is a great way of reminding yourself of information you already know and it also gives you a great feeling of satisfaction.
There are certain things that you have to learn by personal experience such as what you
shouldn’t carry in your rucksack and what you should, what you need and what you don’t need. Life is also a great teacher!
Great post – similar stuff going on just across the bay! Must warn you of our experience the last few years with Bronzes, using ‘garages’ as checkpoints… Refreshingly naively, they thought that the blue tankard was a petrol pump on the 1:25000…
For me the most amazing Invention I have seen of late is the dormouse bridge near Llantrisant South Wales which allows dormice to cross a busy dual carraigeway to their habitat on the other side of the road. A considerable sum of money was spent by the council on this project which some people complained about but which I found heartwarming!
As for the Haribo jacket I think that sounds like an excellent invention and I think that you should patent the idea as you first thought of it!
You have clearly never heard of Pusser’s Blackouts! Made of navy blue silk, masking as rayon, these delightful items were WRNS issue back in the 60s. (No, I am not that old, the NINETEEN sixties not the EIGHTEEN sixties.) By the time I joined, they only had one size – Extra Large – mine started at my knees and neatly covered my bosom at t’other end. Great stuff on draughty airfields and Dartmoor.
Now on Saturday and Sunday
When the weather is quite fine
And I’m bored with too much tele
And Baby’s begun to whine,
And me gums ‘ave turned to jelly
An early-warning sign,
Out on Dartmoor you will find me
In the bogs and on the Tors,
And my face will be quite dreamy
‘Cos I love to be outdoors
and what will I be chewing as I march along the way?
Sure, there’s only one worth choosing – a lovely MILKY WAY !
Ah! Now my day rucksack has to have one vital feature – it must be thin nylon material. (It’ll get wet, do I hear you shout?) True. But I’ve tried ’em all. My first one was canvas – it got very wet indeed and stayed that way for about 3 weeks, in spite of a heatwave. Then I had a bright orange job specially for the Lakeland Fells, complete with lap-strap, chest-strap, ski-strap (never used); it had a pocket just right for my camcorder, which was BIG in those days. It had a zip round 3 sides, so every time you opened it, you displayed all your emergency underwear to the world, and generally spilled out the lot. Broughy says my rucksack must contain Go-Cat. (He’s my dog.) The blue one only had one pocket and one buckle, not good for the water bottle. The thing is, my little nylon green rucksack is now 30 years old, has been stitched more times than I care to remember, gets soaked regularly and dries in an hour or two, and all the junk stays dry anyway, wrapped in a plastic bag. And it’s green – birds aren’t supposed to be upset by green. After all, trees are green, grass is green; but it is my belief that every bird in Britain is born with an instinct that knows human greens (and British Army dpm.)
Gnome, eh! Now I was a Sprite. (Not to be confused with a Sprout). I wonder if the errant Gnome near Ingra Tor was in fact heading for my abode? We have some Pixie Caves nearby. They are very naughty Pixies – every year they indulge their passion for bellringers by imprisoning them in the caves.
Down sleeping bag not at all recommended. Lovely and warm – until it gets wet. After that, soggy, icy, and very heavy. And it takes ages to dry. Have you tried freezing bananas?
I agree that the Haribo Jacket does sound like the most amazing invention – although from my own personal point of view, it may defeat the “loose weight” aspect of walking.
Cattle grids are great when they come with a gate next to them. I remember walking Charlie up in North Wales and happily plodding down a track, when we came across a cattle grid. It had a gate next to it but the farmer had blocked it with a giant rock so I was unable to open it. This left me having to balance across the cattle grid (and it was one with cylindrical bars rather than flat bars – never quite so easy to balance on!) while carrying wet, muddy highly squirmy Springer Spaniel Charlie!!!! I’m sure someone was watching me somewhere having a right old giggle!!!
I love music and mostly because I link many artists/ albums with happy memories. Enigma make me think of going skiing, Bob Marley of travelling in the Fun Bus, Queen of being in the Lake District and Alanis Morissette reminds me of my first year at Uni, in particular when I finished my exams at the end of the first year – a very happy moment because it meant i could spend the next couple of weeks going to the beach and um getting drunk. Ooops!!! Strangely enough though, I don’t have any music that I associate with dartmoor – oh no, take it back, I do.
I remember when I was a grumpy teenager (me, never – no I wasn’t really!!!) and Dad dragged us up to Dartmoor but me and my sister must of moaned lots because I don’t actually remember going for a walk, but I do rememeber driving around and listening to jean michele jarre while gazing with wonderment at the scenery – i think one of the first times i appreciated Dartmoor for its beauty rather than thinking oh god not another 10 mile slog!!! So if I do hear a bit of Jean Michele Jarre (which isn’t often) it brings back memories of Dartmoor in the car!!!!
Oh how times have changed. I wonder if thats my kids now sat there in the car thinking “oh, not another 10 mile slog”!!!!!
Have fun at the weekend – hope the walk isn’t too full of irony!!! x
For 2012 the song for me was 500 miles by the Proclaimers as I organised a charity walk with my family to raise money for the hospital where my wife Lin had major life saving surgery ( Im happy to tell you she is doing well now ) and we had a lot of fun doing it.
As it was a 13 mile trek up and down 5 peaks of the Snowdon range descending back down to sea level 3 times before making a final encore walking up Snowdon as our last 3560 ft trek we need something energetic and stirring to do the walk known as the roller coaster. However the carrot dangling on the end of the string was the cool beer in the summit cafe!
We plan to do another challenge for 2013 and one which is a bit more taxing so I have to think of another song now to motivate us ! I am trying to plan a route that has never been done before.
I am of course now also in pursuit of the elusive Haribo jacket!
That is some trek and a great cause – well done. You will have to do the next one wearing the Haribo jacket when you find it.
Ten Tors have a list of songs that they play after Chariots of Fire – We are the Champions and These Boots are Made for Walking spring to mind but the Proclaimers would be great (can’t remember if it is on the list) – I miss some due to bacon duty.
Apparently they tried to change the list of songs once and there was uproar – we are a traditional lot down here!
I’m a fan of the Scottish pipes – although my walking partner certainly isn’t.
In previous KIMMs / OMMs that I’ve taken part in, the competitors are woken at 6am on Day 2 by the sound of a piper playing as he or she walks through the campsite….wonderful stuff!
BTW, do you know the Dartmoor Pixie Band? They’re a bit good!
The silent tears that us Blondes have at Chariots of Fire are soon replaced as we sing at the tops of our voices to our kids that they are ‘Simply the Best’. I’m sure they think we are barking mad … they’re probably right!
Nothing wrong with being the “plodder”!!! I (just about) remember when I was 17 and with a group in Snowdonia. The minging claggy day came, so this must’ve meant it was the day for climbing Snowdon!!! Me and a couple of friends wanted to show off our physical greatness and shot off up the Pyg Track leaving everyone else behind in the gloom. They caught up with us when we had to stop because our knees were hurting and we were “knackered” already!!! Our group leader told us he wasn’t suprised at the pace we set off at and advised us to slow down and plod with the rest of the group. Fortunately we took his advise and found the rest of the walk very pleasant and now half so painful!!! I have forever more, followed his advise, despite the competitive side of me always wants to be faster than the rest!
In Ocotber 2011, we went to the Lakes. The girls were 8 and 10 at the time and both pretty good walkers especially with a challenge to accomplish. This time Scafell Pike. We set off early, just as the sun had come up and were pretty much the only people around heading up to Stockley Bridge. We stopped at Sty Head Tarn for a bit of flap jack and a drink and people started to catch up with us. We opted for the corridor route up to the summit and about half way up you come to a little tricky part. I remember looking back down the route and seeing a large group of blue coats heading towards us. I was convinced they were trying to catch up with us and eventually they did – a big group of sweaty middle aged men. I could almost feel there “ha look at us stomping up here mega fast while you plod along” as the went past. Another few hundred metres up the path they had stopped and were obvioulsy confused by the junction in the paths – they had to ask us for advise on where to go. We told them which way we were going, so they chose to go the otheer way – me being me thinking they thought this way they could beat us!!!! We carried on plodding up our route and eventually made it to the freezing but beautifully clear summit of Scafell Pike. No sign of the group of men, so assumed they’d been there before us. We did all the necessary summit photos and took in the view before heading to a sheltered spot for some lunch. Oh my joy as the group of “even more” sweaty men arrived puffing and panting like they’d run a marathon. One thing I had noted was that although they walked fast, they very quickly ran out of breath and had to keep stopping to regain their breath!!!!
So nowt wrong with being a tortoise or a plodder.
Polé Polé is the saying in Tanzania and repeated on the ascent of Kilimanjaro – Slowly Slowly!
Snow is there to be played in and enjoyed!!! I’ve missed it this year – I’ll be one of the first lying in it making snow angels!!! I always eat the snow too – somehow always tastes amazing!
And that is why it is worth giving up all those weekend lie ins, shivering away inside a tent when everyone else is tucked up in a warm bed at home!!! Can’t beat the joy of watching kids evolve!
I am a tortoise that’s for sure and I was encouraged to know that someone else who walks regularly is prepared to admit it! Nothing wrong with that at all!
E.g over the holidays I went up one ot the mountains in the Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia not far from my home in Bethesda for an early morning walk on one of the paths that is easy to follow in the dark.
I was suprised when someone else drove in quite quickly to the car park to do the same route! Head torch, hat, gloves,rucksack, here the similarity ends!
In truly harelike manner he is off before I can put on my suitable winter hillwalking gear and heads off on his mission.
After walking for 5 mins up the track I suddenly realise I have left my gloves on the boot of the car and have to return to the start. By the time I have finished fathing about I look up the mountain and see the head torch shining in the heights at a point which would take me a good half hour to reach! It was the last time I was to see this walker. He was gone!
When daylight came then further delays as I make the compulsory stop to admire the view and take photographs of the beautiful scenery!
Then after about 2 hours into the walk there is another compulsory stop for breakfast part 2 and a nice cup of tea while I enjoy the view and a couple more photos. This is what I do and I love it!
I don’t so much consider myself as a tortoise, I prefer to think of myself as a VW camper van! Not built for speed but rather to chunter along at a moderate pace which is considered to be slow but nevertheless is totally reliable and is certain to reach it’s destination and could carry on for mile after mile if required without too much complaint. All it needs is a fuel top up now and again and it’s good to go! Also it has everything on board to make the journey a safe, pleasant and comfortable one.
I don’t aim to cover great distances neccesarily but I like to pull into the layby and take notice of the viewpoint as a result of this I probably remember more about my journey than the hare who like the BMW whizzing up the motorway doesn’t have time to stop and smell the roses!
A VW camper – I like that. It would have been apt on Saturday as I off-loaded some extra warm clothes and my big flask of tea into the minibus to help me to keep up. Only to find later that I was waiting at the top of a hill needing another jumper and a flask of tea!
The truth is I guess, that we need both types and all of the ones in between!
Happy Birthday Blondie!!! I think you need to add “decorated a Christmas tree in the middle of Dartmoor” and “night walk wearing fairy lights”???? Didn’t you get a ride in a helicopter too after breaking your ankle???? Although breaking the ankle is not cool, the helicopter ride is!!!! Think I might make my own now – haven’t done many cool things though xxx Have a super day xxx
I like the style of writing, often not dissimilar to the wonderful “Letter from America”.
I suggest to clients that they read your blog and develop a similar style as it is very readable.
Why do 95% of bloggers fail to continue.
Two reasons: It became a social media fad and must do (where no real commitment was present); as is said about books – there is a book inside each of us, sometimes that is the best place to keep it!.
Now I am a bit scared – Blonde One is very organised and the thought that there are people out there who are even more so is a bit of a worry. I am a firm believer that most things in life can be sorted out with some pieces of coloured card and a good pencil case.
Over the past couple of winters, my parents have had a very large murmurations roosting along the railway embankment at the bottom of their garden – it’s an incredible sight, sometimes building up for over half an hour. If you get the chance to stop and watch, do so. As well as the visual aspect the sound is, well, almost beyond words.
If you are about walking on Dartmoor in the coming weeks and you come across what looks like 2 giant jelly babies wearing rucksacks crossing the moors you are not having a bizzare hallucination caused by the fog! You will have seen two blondes trying to keep warm!
That would be a very funny sight! It could even be our new ‘Two Blondes’ logo?! The two colours would have to match of course – perhaps pink and purple, or yellow and orange!
Wow they look amazingly snug – almost space like!!! However they look a bit too snug for me. I am similar to you in that I often get cold sleeping in a tent even in the summer, but I also suffer from a strange case of sleeping bag claustophobia where I will wake up at least once in the night panicing because I can’t move or breath which usually results in me unzipping the bottom of my sleeping bag to stick my feet out and flinging my arms about. I’ll then spend the rest of the night alternating having my feet/arms in/out of the sleeping back according to how “ice like” they are!!! So yes they look great but not for me!!! A late birthday prezzie for you though????
When i was at the age that we did our own engine rebuilds we called a “onsie” a “Boiler Suit”. Congratulations to whoever did a “Hunter Wellies” on a drab product (Suddenly wellies were green – colour that is! ) and made it brighter and not an item of clothing thjat improved with a dollop of engine grease.
The mathematician in me is calculating that that is one hell of a lot of jelly babies to be consumed on a typical Dartmoor walk. You need to be careful when the temperature drops to below freezing though as you are going to end up with a negative number of jelly babies which definately can’t be right!!!
I think we can all agree though that much bonking results in many (jelly) babies!!!!
So if it drops below freezing we can only walk downhill? That could work – manufacturing Jelly Babies or any other sort of babies however, is definitely not an option out on Dartmoor. I did wonder why I get through Jelly Babies so quickly. 😉
I have to be honest, and I’m sure Blonde 1 will tell me off, but I’m not a great fan of poetry 🙁 However I do find limericks amusing! They are what they are and they make sense, theres generally no hidden meaning and having to read between the lines to understand what the hell it’s going on about!
Your ode to Night Navigation is spot on and raised a smile!!! x
Dartmoor is looking amazing today – hope you’re out enjoying it!
There are two blonde ladies from Dartmoor
who went for a stroll up to Bel Tor
but they went in the night and they had a big fright when a sheep said your bed it is time for!
Hee – none of you merry young things will remember this one, much sung on hill and dale by muggins –
March, march, march on the road with me
To the Boy Scout Jamboree
Join our throng and swing along
As we sing our song …….etc.
Goes on something like this:
Ev’ry hour let the valleys ring
With the Scouting songs we sing
Underneath the stars at nigh
In the campfire’s light.
Oh how I miss those magical campfires!
Had my first snow on Ben Nevis on a scorching hot day in summer. Tammy-the-dog took to the water instead – don’t know why it hadn’t melted. The snow, I mean, not the water or the dog.
And the sad thing is, they are fast disappearing. The Starlings, I mean. And even sadder, that double glazing and all the other sound-blotting-out things we have invented means we don’t hear them any more. While my 3 Wood Pigeons were arguing about who owned the bird table. at daybreak the other morning, Mr. Starling sneaked right in between them and stuffed his beak with lovely mealworms.
While strolling around on the moor
I’m amazed at what everyone saw
Blonde Two and a Mister
Who sat down and kissed her
– Much better than Jelly Babes, I’m sure!
The style of walking that I would like to talk about is one peculiar to me. I have a reputation
for being accident prone so people who know me are very suprised that I can go hill walking and come back without injury.
To give you some example I regularly trip over rocks but I have a very good self levelling system which prevents me from falling over.
I slip and slide down scree slopes to the bottom and arrive unscathed.
I can also mud sure on one leg without turning an ankle
I
I slip and slide down scree slopes out of control but arrive at the bottom without injury.
I think I am a mix of definately 3 and a bit of 4 although I never have tidy hair and I’m usually filthy when everyone else is clean!!! I love walking so I am always happy out there doing it no matter what! I am usually a bit of 2, not back there moaning but because the maternal side of me likes to make sure everyone is ok especially the ones lagging behind. Of course at the moment I am the nobody but when I’m back out there I will be making the most of it even more, and loving Dartmoor even more after missing it for so long and will most definatley be a 3 but will probably be lagging behind (2) and will have lost some confindence (5). Roll on that day x
I seem to be a mixture of all of these depending on the day, my mood and the number of Jelly Babies I have eaten. Just glad I am definitely not a George!
To carry on with my story. I was walking in the snow with a friend on the Glyder mountain range when I suddenly slipped off the path and started to slide down a steep slope. If I hadn’t managed to stop myself from falling into the depths below the last my partner would have seed of me would have been my face smiling up at him as I tried to make the best of a bad situation.
On another occasion when descending Snowdon I did what my son in law described as a commando roll. It involved tripping over a rock and
I am beginning to think that we might be related in some way. Ask Blonde One about my uncanny ability to fall over. I can even do it standing still inside!
….and doing a sort of forward roll in slow motion so that I landed face down on the path resting on my nose.
Although initially it is a cause for concern to onlookers it soon turns into a source of entertainment for everyone.
This walk is known as the for”snappy walk” and I usually arrive at my destination safely!
I WANDERED happily as a Blonde
That walks on high o’er Tors and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of yummy Jelly Babes
Beside Burrator, beneath High Willhayes,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
There’s a stone with Ten Commandments
Above Buckland in the Moor
There’s a river rushing by below the town
Where a clock for someone’s mother
Tells the time for ever more
While the God of stone forever gazes down.
Not sure if this is helpful – not quite the satisfaction of homemade lentil soup but this is what Mr F does although this doesn’t help the weight/bulk in the rucksack!!!! He takes a big flask of coffee (or in your case tea) and then a small flask containing hot water. He packs a mug and a couple of cupasoups and makes them on the go. Seems to work well and its always lovely and hot!
Blonde sis has really done it now as I feel compelled to go for a walk and throw various items of food at a granite rock!
I am looking at this mornings porridge!
Dear Blonde Two
I am afraid that it was the basis of the “Date Experiment” that failed. The mechanism should have been to masticate the date before testing its propensity to adhere to the rock.
Much in the same way that chewing gum would not stick to a rock if it was straight out of the packet but would stick to a rock once masticated.
However, a good experiment and don’t be put off by poor results!
We will try your new suggested method next time we find ourselves in the vicinity of granite and dates. I am not sure, however, that we will be able to resist swallowing the dates once they have been chewed.
I think Blonde One had stolen the others!
We have an exciting piece of Jelly Baby news to tell you soon – watch this space (well the other space but you know what I mean).
So that explains what the open trench was for. To swallow up any unwelcome photographers! Sounds like a great place to stay. You can lie in bed listening to the hounds baying across the moors or is my imagination getting carried away?
Oh brings back memories of Activities Week and you going on about Tormentil!!! I’ll pass the info on to hubby who is meant to be doing his WGL soon! The sphagnum moss has been used by our family as toilet paper!!! Several years ago my eldest (although at the time she was probably about 6!) was caught short near Lucky Tor. So we found a big rock and dug a hole, she did what she needed to do, and fortunately the rock she was leaning against was covered in moss and came in very useful. She will moan about the amoount of time she then had to spend in the bath soaking away the moss!!!
I think I will pass on the moss idea. There is room in my rucksack for the good old toilet roll. Either or I will make sure to organise my ablutions before leaving the house!
I hope you are feeling better today!
As I mentioned the other day I have a reputation for being accident prone, so have an experience to share with you that involves one of my walking boots. This is one of my “snappy walks”.
A number of years ago when I was descending Tryfan after a lovely walk I managed to lose my foot down a hole in a rock that was just big enough for a walking boot. You would think I could have just pulled it out again, but no! My foot and gone in turned and locked into position! Oops!
I had visions of Mountain rescue being called out and puzzling over the best way of extracting a foot from a hole in the rock. Taking the boot off was not an option as there was no way of getting a hand inside the hole to undo the laces therefore enabling me to slide my foot out of the boot.
Fortunately my walking partners were able to hold me on the side of the mountain while I like a key turning in a lock had to twist my foot until my boot was in exactly the right position to slide up and out and regain my freedom.
I have never heard of anyone else who has had a similar experience unless you in your experience know of any freak accidents that are quite anusing!
It is a good story – I will keep an ear out. I have fallen down holes but not got stuck. You were lucky to have been with other people when it happened. Now be careful!
I hope you will notice that we have renamed this post in honour of your comment! Never go to ground in a bog – I think you spend too much time up mountains.
Letterboxing is what my mum and dad used as an incentive to get me and sis walking on Dartmoor when we were little. Unfortunately it became a little disheartening when the ones you were looking for were missing. Back then letterboxes were “proper” (excuse the english) and had beautifully handcrafted rubber stamps in them and a log book full of “letterboxers stamps”. I think letterboxing has lost some of this. Hound Tor is littered with letterboxes but many are just old ice cream containers that aren’t waterproof and just have a manky old log book in it with handwritten scrawl. Not quite the same!!! Sadly there are also those that seem to have no respect for the past time. I remember a couple of years ago heading up to Hay Tor just after an August Bank Holiday and it was like a bomb site. Obviously all the bank holiday chavs had been up there and there were letterboxes strewn all over the place. Some were smashed, some just had contents scattered all over the place, others were in tact but not rehidden and fortunately the geocache we were searching for was well hidden away! It makes me so cross that people have to ruin what gives others great pleasure.
Needless to say, we gave up on letterboxing when I was a kid and it was a good 20 years on that I discovered geocaching. Yes, some people accidently find these and ruin them too, but generally they are much better hidden and away from the crowds. I have used geocaching many a time as an incentive to get my own girlies walking – an incentive not needed quite so much now as they are pretty good walkers, but 3 or 4 summers ago when my youngest was only about 5 or 6 we did an 8 mile walk collecting 25 geocaches on the way, were out for about 7 hours and she didn’t moan once. Not bad really!!!
That’s how I came to be introduced to letterboxing too. It is a shame that people vandalise them. Perhaps those are the people that we want to stay at home on the sofa!
Now I have seen it all!!! Not sure how useful it would be on Dartmoor – how often do you find a sturdy bit tree to attach it to???? I generally find myself out in the open with a flimsey gorse bush for cover or leap into a ditch and hope noboby appears!!!!
Since destroying my knee I might need one of these, but I’ve actually got quite good at squatting as my physio exercises require me to do squats so I have rock hard quads!!! Just need to be able to bend the knee properly now!!!
What,! I suggest that you “pop down” to your local camping/climbing shop and buy some rope with a buckle clasp. That way you can secure yourself in the same fashion to conduct your performance.
Alternatively, get on down to a local HGV shop and get some truck webbing, performs the same function.
It would be a USA invention! Apart from which, using that device, you have a high profile on the skyline and be visible to quite an audience!
I do hope that you are not suggesting that either of the Two Blondes are heavy enough to require truck webbing. Am tempted to get some to do a mock up scenario though!
Lovely! Thanks for that! It is an honour indeed! It is true that we don’t have many bogs on mountains and this is why we have to make sure we have used the facilities before we climb a mountain as there are limited places to hide if you get caught short! Especially in the summer when there are thousands of visitors around.
In the winter months the problem would be exposure, by that I mean exposing yourself to freezing. cold winds is not advisable around the nether regions for obvious reasons,!
I did walk over a frozen bog last week which was satisfying but imaging trying to apply Sphagnum moss in those conditions!
This is very noble of you Blonde 2 to concede defeat to Blonde 1 on the Jelly Babies debate!
It is quite clear that people hold a special place in their heart for the Jelly Baby’
Therefore I have come up with an idea.
How about the Two Blondes hosting ” Jelly Babies Walking Week”?
Over a period of a week you could have your followers from all over the country take their Jelly Babies on a walk with them and take photographs of them in various locations.
e.g. I could taker my Jelly Babies up Snowdon and take a photograph of them enjoying the view from the summit.
Someone in Sheffield ( which is the birthplace of the Jelly Baby) could take a photo of them in some popular Sheffield location.
In that week we could have pictures and stories from all over the UK and maybe even Jelly Babies enjoying a day out in New York!!
At the end of that week you atJelly Babies H Q could decide on your favourite picture or story and have a special blog announcing your decisions,
Perhaps for that week you could include a picture profile of Jelly Babies in Dartmoor.
That is an amazing idea!!! We used to do something similar when I was at Uni with a cuddly duck – had photos taken all over the place. My dad travels a lot and I gave him a bear to photograph all over the world – strangely it was not allowed in the Taj Mahal – bear was obviously some sort of terrorist threat!
I’d be up for that as long as the week is later in the summer when I can actually walk to places rather than hobble on crutches!!!!
Come on blondies, this could be the start of a world wide phenomena!!!!
Which Jelly Baby are you????? I’m thinking Blonde 2 should be Orange Jelly Baby “Bumper” for all your falling over escapades, and Blonde 1 should be Purple Jelly Baby “Bighearted” for feeding you all her jelly babies in the first place!!! I, of course, and Yellow Jelly Baby “Bubbles” because of my wonderful bubbly personality!!!!
This is great news! I think you could lots of people interested in getting involved.
I Think Rach has a good point about doing it later in the year when the weather conditions are better ( hopefully ) and when tin days are longer.
We await your plans with eager anticipation!
I Think I may have found an outlet Oer Jelly Babies in New York in the http://www.LondonCandycompany.
I am waiting for a reply to my tweet when they get into work later.
I will keep you posted .
At least we know that the days will get longer. I have given up hope of the Devon weather ever improving but Jelly Babies don’t mind getting wet so it won’t matter. I saw the reply from the Candy Company so we are a go in the USA. Nearly got my Jelly Babies out for a photo on night nav last night but was concentrating too much on not getting lost!
These thoughts have been said out loud on many occasions by us both when it’s just the Two Blondes walking. The important one to remember is the “I can do this” one.
How funny!!! Fortunately we don’t have problems with the sheep – we have Charlie to protect us and normally the sheep bolt off as soon as they see him!!! We have had a few scary run ins with cows on Dartmoor though. The worst was near Down Tor stone row and me and me girlies were out geocaching. We headed to this rock in the middle of nowhere and were so busy retrieving the box and signing the log we didn’t notice the cows!!!! When the cache was rehidden, I chucked my rucksack on my back and we were just about to set off towards Nuns Cross when I realised we were surrounded!!! No joke, this herd of cows and formed a circle around us all about 20m away. My girlies were still quite young (probably about 6 & 8) and were really quite scared. Of course, being mum I had to pretend there was nothing to worry about and I spotted a slightly bigger gap between a couple of cows and headed for that. We managed to get through but then the cows started to follow us. Aaaaah!!! Fortunately they got bored (or we had left their territory!) and they stopped! Charlie is no defender against cows – in fact I think it is he that attracts them!!!
Same area of Dartmoor though, so obviously there is something in the water there!!!
I was brought up in the South Wales valleys and in the town where I lived sheep used to roam the streets freely. I don’t recall seeing any sheep in fields there!
In the street where I lived was an old lady who was housebound and it was the custom in the valleys to leave your front door open in the summer.
While we were playing we heard some helpless cries coming from the old ladies house. Upon investigating we found the poor lady lying on the floor with her chair overturned. A sheep had gone into the house and knocked her off her chair!
So I know all about killer sheep!
I see a pattern forming here. I am reminded of the time Blonde One and I were up at the Staple Tors car park – we had already been out walking and had one more little bit planned to tick off another square in Dartmoor 365. As soon as we parked, the car was completely surrounded by ponies who looked quite persistent and a bit scary.
That square still remains unticked in my book – we made the excuse that it was getting too late (dimpsy) for the walk we had planned – but I know that it was the ponies that put me off!
Well you know what lads are like! Happily the old lady lived to sit in her chair another day! The sheep was unrepentant and looked for its next victim!
Have you ever tried navigating around your house at night? It can be a very dangerous place! Things are never where you expect them to be!
I have on a number of occassions tried exiting the bedroom via the wardrobe and never found myself in another world and made friends with lions and other strange creatures as some have done, but rather a voice in the background saying ‘ what are you doing?!!’
I have often spent time feeling around the bedroom floor for my slippers and never actually finding them.
So I suppose its always handy to have a torch by the bed. Except that I would only knock it on to the floor and would and have had to crawl under the bed to try and find it!
I’m sure your night time navigations are far more successful!
Yep definately a challenging environment to navigate in!!! Mr F was up on Dartmoor a couple of weeks ago doing some micronav practice and picked features such as cairns marked on the map. You expect a cairn to be quite a substantial pile of rocks don’t you, but more often than not, there were what appeared to be 5-6 rocks covered in grass or moss (apparently)!!! Of course, this was in the day time, so trying to locate such features in the night but be nearly impossible!!!
It isn’t quite impossible but sometimes feels like it is. Ironically, I found a fairly small cairn on the night nav assessment I failed – but I didn’t manage to spot the huge holes in the ground that he had asked me to find earlier. Silly Blonde – must do better!
I have never got lost leaving the bedroom but I did spend a significant amount of time standing in wardrobes in my childhood. I was desperate to meet Aslan and the Pevensey family.
Maybe I wasn’t patient enough – stay a bit longer next time and let me know how you get on!
I have just gone against your advice and looked at my well used map of Snowdonia and you are right the contour lines are just a blur that you take no notice of because they are so close together.
I have also dug out of my library Landranger 191 of North Dartmoor and it starts to make sense!
I like doing some coastal walking on Anglesey in the summer so I will be using that feature on some of the hilly parts of the island to try out my map reading.
Thanks for that useful piece of info this morning.
For many men the contour lines would be around the stomach Region!
Found some interesting contours out at dusk tonight. Was standing on one while I looked all around for it! Then we found a well just by looking at the contour lines (very pleased). They are starting to make more and more sense. Tried “aspect of slope” bearings tonight – clever stuff (but not the way I explained it). North Dartmoor is quite different to the South Moor where we usually are – some steeper slopes.
Totally agree with the “switching off” aspects of Dartmoor. Hubby never quite gets it when I want to go to Dartmoor in preference to a walk on the coast path. Somehow, walking the coast path I’m still thinking about work and mentally planning lessons, working through my to do list etc, but when you hit Dartmoor it is a complete switch off. Suddenly nothing matters apart from finding your way from A to B and marvelling at the views (or lack of in the drizzle!!!).
I’ve only walked on my own once (and even then I had Charlie for company!)..A fab 16km stomp that took in Hamledown amongst other places. Really enjoyed in until my knee locked up coming down off Hamledown and I was still 4km from the car and had to be back home in about an hour and a halfs time!!!! Suddenly i realised just how much more volnerable you are on your own!!! Fortunatley after a bit of rubbing it released and I just made it home in time!!!
We were just talking about walking alone – I am much more careful where and when I do it since I broke my leg. That would have been a really nasty on as it was quite a distance to a mobile phone signal.
Don’t forget the blue lines that generally follow the contour lines on Dartmoor!!! i.e. leats!!! Got really cross the other day watching “escape to the country” where they were on Dartmoor and said a “leat” is a local word for “brook”.
They always say to try tovisualise contour lines as a 3d representation – not so easy on Dartmoor, but I know what you mean about Scotland in particular – on the Landranger 1:50 000 maps the mountains literally jump out of the map at you!!!
High on a Lakeland fell I met an old farmer and fell to having a tortoise talk while other keener types charged past. He was thrilled with his achievement – all his life he had worked on the fells, but at last he could stop and look at them and see their true beauty.
I always carry a bullock-whacker now. Long ago, on the Coast-to-Coast walk, I and my beeootiful Shanty got chased out of 7 fields in 3 days by bullocks. And at Shap Abbey, we gave up and took a 7 mile detour to avoid a BULL. He was probably very gentle, with a pretty ring in his nose and varnished toe-nails, but discretion, discretion.
Incidentally, who needed maps or navigation when they had a Shanty who always knew where her supper was – in the car – wherever we left it.
Oh the two blonde ladies from Dartmoor
They had a ten thousand kids
They marched then up to the top of the Tor and they marched them down again
And when they were good they were good
And when they were bad they were bad
But when they were told it was time for tea
They were neither good nor bad
I have got the South Dartmoor map as well so I will have a close look at that now. It will be interesting to look on the map and see the places you talk about
10,000 helium balloons to lift your house, eh? Not mine! At least a million – rather full of junk, you see! In fact, barely room for me – perhaps I’d better take the tent onto Dartmoor?
Nice 10,000 blog visits, though.
We won’t be doing anything special day today. That’s because we don’t need to be told by anyone on what day we should be romantic!
My lady and I believe that it is something you should do every day of the year. Its about being kind to your partner all the time and giving her random gifts or him. You never know one day you may be suddenly presented with a Haribo jacket or just a packet of Jelly Babies!
That’s why we have been married so long! ( Better clarify ) To our respective partners.
Never stop courting and giving each other unexpected suprise such as leading Mr Blonde Two into another leg sucking bog!
Without wanting to sound a bit wierd, I think if I was a man I would be your perfect partner – at least we could moan about our knees together!!!
I am very lucky with my Mr F – obviously being an outdoor pursuits instructor we have lots in common. However he doesn’t have quite the obsessional tendancies to Dartmoor which I have, although since he is now preping for his WGL I’m thinking his love may grow!!! Typical though that now he wants to get out on Dartmoor, when I can’t bloomin well walk!!! Oh well, I’ll be quite happy sat in the van cooking up noodles and hot soup while he goes off doing some nav practice – thats love for you!!!
Fleetwith Pike is a lovely, dramatic hill. I’d hate to see it tangled up with wire and pylons. I always have trouble with zips – especially trouser zips; maybe I need to leap up and down the Pike a few times. Disaster has struck, which is probably why I am rambling on. I’ve run out of Smarties.
I have just been looking at a spot called Higher Piles near Sharp Tor on Harford Moor. This is a s
great name! Was it called this by someone who spent too much time sitting on the cold rocks and developed this affliction? I doubt we will ever find out.
I like your idea of naming Mystery Tor Blonde Tor. In years to come people would speculate and wonder how it came by its grand name but that knowledge would only be possessed by a privileged few!
And it would defeat the “fitness” side to walking!!!
I was quite pro the zip wire in the Lakes since it was in an area already scarred by the quarry so not really an area of outstanding natural beauty! Also I would find flying through the air quite a lot of fun!!!
A couple of years ago I bought dad “the A-Z of Dartmoor Tors” by Terry Bound (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/terry+bound/the+a+to+z+of+dartmoor+tors/8557465/). He then set himself the challenge of visiting and photographing his dog on top of every Tor, Barrow, prominent point on Dartmoor. He initially did this just using the OS map, but then when he started cross referencing his book with the map he realised there were several tors in the book that are not named on the map. I will have to ask him if he has a tor listed for that grid reference!!! Maybe a good little investment for the bargain price of £5.95 and free delivery!!!!
He now has a map similar to mine which is covered in coloured dots according to Dartmoor 365’s visited or not!!! Except his is the vast number of Tors etc. Think it might be a busy year for him!!!
Right, Dad had been investigating and no there is no named Tor at that grid reference. There is apparently another Sharp Tor at 729780, between Chinkwell and Bell Tors, but not at your location. So get the flag out and plonk it there!!! It will be forever more known as “Blonde Tor”. I might even write it on my map!!!! x
Afraid I’m with Chris Bonners on that one – the mining is an ugly enough human scar that to not reinvent it with a functional tourist attraction that encourages local economy and possible education about our open spaces is uninventive to say the least!
In Monteverde, Costa Rica is a cloud forest with the most amazing zip wire system, giving a birds eye and otherwise unexperienceable view of the trees. Walking below the wires on the trails is very peaceful, they are pretty unobtrusive really. And it’s very exciting riding!
I am having a dilemma and I need your help. Its a sort of identity crisis!
You see I was born blonde and stayed that way for 2-3 years. Then suddenly my hair changed to dark brown. I have never been able to understand this and feel cheated!
However last week it was explained to me.
Apparently its down to a gene which has the link to hair colour and sometimes after a couple of years it suddenly remembers it hasn’t done its job and flicks the switch which decides your hair colour.
So the question I want to ask is do I qualify for blonde status?
If you were born in Wales and your.
parents suddenly moved to another country because you hold a Welsh birth certificate you can call yourself Welsh. Does that apply to my case?
Consider the facts:
1. I hold a blonde birth certificate.
2.I often have blonde moments.
3.I have lots of fun.
4.I am drawn towards things from Ikea
You would be amazed who qualifies as blonde these days! There are some key questions:
1. Have you ever got your foot stuck down a hole? (yes)
2. Do you like Jelly Babies? (yes)
3. Do you like walking around in the rain? (you are Welsh so it must be yes)
I have often felt ‘raydavieswalks’ that we had a lot in common. I think it is your enthusiasm for my Haribo jacket! I vote yes, you are definitely blonde!
You would be amazed who qualifies as blonde these days! There are some key questions:
1. Have you ever got your foot stuck down a hole? (yes)
2. Do you like Jelly Babies? (yes)
3. Do you like walking around in the rain? (you are Welsh so it must be yes)
To make their work understandable map makers have to use an occasionally subjective process of selection, sometimes leaving things out or even rearranging features (Occasionally they may even add or subtract detail for the fun of it…). As your tor is close to a road it might be that putting a name there simply makes the map too cluttered, or that it may not be a sufficiently outstanding feature in what is a quite ‘busy’ area.
Exeter or possibly one of the more local libraries will have smaller scale (1:2500) surveys that may put a name to it.
I was reading some bits about maps the other day and it said that sometimes the mapmakers hid their names in maps e.g. what looked like the detailing for a cliff actually was writing!! I thought that was quite clever!!
There’s a very long history of that. Not that I would have done such a thing in my past 😉
There’s a naval chart from the 18th century with three hills around an African bay named ‘Niatpac’,’Uoy’,and ‘Nmad’. It’s only when you read it backwards that you find out the young midshipman leading the shore party wasn’t happy traipsing around a malarial coast…
Chocolate bars came straight to my mind. They are good for the mountains!
I have thought of another bar we get in Wales and that is a bar of sand found at the mouth of an estuary.
We do get lots of bahs coming from the sheep but I don’t expect that counts does it?
This is a brilliant video and a scene that is echoed many times across Dartmoor as Ten Tors training reaches its height. Yes, it could be the two blondes – Blonde One would be the one jumping across and I would be the one falling over.
I envy you being able to go walking on such a t lovely day truly it has been a rarity lately but not this week. Also this week West is Best for the sunshine!
However remember that the bogs will still be waiting out there for you so be vigilant!
Don’t forget the Jelly Babies and above all have lots of fun and find more things for your blogs!
We had a lovely day thank you. We did find lots of bogs but managed to stay out of them and eat lots of jelly babies, all without getting rained on! It was truly a great day!
There is no where like England for being able to find beautiful villages and towns.
The English have the ability not only choose to choose a beautiful location to live but also to construct buildings that enhance the scenery!
In Wales they found places that were rich in minerals and they needed houses quickly to live in so they built for convenience without giving much thought to the architecture or surroundings.
Consequently Welsh villages don’t usually have the X factor. People come to Wales for the countryside rather than to look at the villages.
On the other hand in England you go to places like Oxford for example to look at the architecture.
Oh yes we do have magnificent castles but they were built by the English to keep out the Welsh. The Welsh are now the caretakers of those buildings and now charge English people money to come and see them!
So Aunty Blonde has an eye for beauty and Justified
She certainly does – she took me to some lovely places when I was a girl.
Clever old Wales – charging the English to get in across the bridges as well as into the castles.
So now we have two Dartmoor dilemmas – is todays problem fog or bog??
In Snowdonia mist or fog is something we rarely get ( Im not gloating ) due to the mountains I think.
However Fog or mist creates great excitement in the mountains as it means inversion! Hillwalkers go running to high ground because this means as you climb the mountain you will soon break out of the murk into bright sunshine and be rewarded with a view of the countryside enveloped in fog while you sit above taking beautiful pictures of the scene below.
I will give some thought to place names in Wales that are a bit foggy.
Enjoy your adventure today which should almost certainly be fog free but definitely not bog free!
I have seen some pictures of inversion in the Lake District and it looks fabulous. I would have to camp at the top of the mountain though because it would take me so long to get up it!
Don’t think you need to worry about either today – its looking boooootiful!!!! Heading up to Dartmoor later for a hobble and pub lunch! Have a good un!
Inversion!!!!! Yippee!!!!! Radio hams love ’em – they mean weird and wonderful signals into Russia on half a watt, booming signals from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, on radios intended for UK working – oh, frabjous joy!!!!!
How about Metheral Murk ?
Hangingstone Haze?
Great Nodden Nebulosity?
Nice game, Blonde Two!
The reason that the weather is so nice at the moment is because of high pressure in Scandinavia.
As you know there are many Blondes in that part of the world so we can call this weather a Blonde spell!
Lets hope that 2013 is going to be a Blonde year!
That certain Baker Street gentleman would have certainly loved this mysterious tale. Not only was the original death straight out of The Thirty Nine steps era of story but tracking down the memorial proved just as tricky.
I did comment to Blonde One that if I was writing a book of Dartmoor places, I might be tempted to include at least one red herring … so maybe we found that!
I have the feeling this one is meant to be a bit of a “b*****r” to find – they don’t usually put a caption with the sketches titled “how to find the memorial”!!!! We have not looked for this one yet, but I’ll ask a few of my friends who are also doing the 365 and see if they have been successful!!!
Glad you enjoyed your walk – despite this frustration. The reasons for us mostly giving up geocaching on Dartmoor are similar!! The frustration can ruin a perfectly good walk!
Funny seeing you guys walking out of Postbridge car park yesterday! By the time sis had parked the car and I’d grabbed my crutches and hobbled after you, you had vanished!! Obviously in hot pursuit of dear old Mr Donaghy!!!
Ok just had a chat with hubby. I’m in for op 1 tomorrow, so while I’m lying on the slab, hubby is heading up to Dartmoor for a bit more nav practice. I suggested he go and look for William. So we’ve had the map out (nicely coded with all the 365 square!!!), and he says “what, this one here? I found that one a couple of weeks ago!!!” So apparently it is there – it took them about 15 minutes to find it.
Apparently they headed to the holly tree in the pic then backtracked from it – but this involved lots of walking through arm pit height gorse – ouch!!!! So he says you need to cut up about 75-100m before you get to the holly bush and its up there somewhere. Quite a lot of gorse in the area which made it trickier but the stone wasn’t hidden!
I doubt this helps, but at least you know it is there!!!
I most definitely found the holly tree, backtracked through the gorse until I thought I was in the right spot, but couldn’t find it. Well done to your hubby!
Good luck tomorrow Rach – will be thinking of you! x
Tussocks! I don’t like tussocks!
I once took what I believed to be a shortcut off a mountain and as I got down into the valley I realised it was a wilderness of tussocks.
It took me 2 hours to get free of the tussock valley!
If I had stayed on the mountain path and took the ‘longer’ route across the tops I would have been able to move about 4 times quicker and have arrived back at my destination with far more energy to spare!
You did really well and that sounded like quite an adventure!
Is that an end to your night navigation for the time being?
Im sure you would avoid watching ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ before venturing out on the moors after dark!
Do the Mr Blondes worry about you till you get back or are they used to these occasional activities?
We try to let the Mr Blondes know whereabouts we are – send texts with odd place names and grid references on. Mr Blonde Two worries a bit but then I did come back in an Air Ambulance one time! I think they are kind of used to it. I have my assessment tonight so hopefully no more night walks for a while although I think we will kind of miss it and it would be good to keep up the confidence just in case we need it.
All the very best of amazing good luck tonight – though I am sure it will be amazing good skill that does the trick. Stellar navigation eh ? I know one person would have been totally thrilled to hear about that, Blonde 2.
Yay big congrats Blondie 2!!!! Of course we all had complete faith that you would pass anyway – you deserve it on pure determination, commitment and perseverance if nothing else!!!
One day I am going to surprise you and turn up with some knitting. I will dig it out of my rucksack as we sit down for a picnic in the rain! Couldn’t have done it without you!
I guess it all boils down to what constitutes a walk!!! Having a springer spaniel, then I would normally be lucky enough to walk most days, especially in the summer because he needs to get out. In the winter that would normally be a quick walk “around the block”, but in the summer would more likely be a walk along the coast path to Berry Head. Usually one of these walks would take about an hour.
The weekends always involve longer walks, so “normally” we would have 2 longer walks a week, ranging from walking in the woods, walking the coast path, to a day on Dartmoor!!!
This winter has been tragically useless, but I did manage a hobble in Bellever Woods t’other day!! Since having my op on wednesday I have managed to walk from the lounge to my bed and back and thats about it!! Does that count as a walk when it requires about as much effort as 5 mile walk on Dartmoor to a fully able bodied person????
I’m guessing weather plays a big part. I usually love walking on Dartmoor in the winter and apart from the obvious knackered knee, I’m not sure I would’ve been up there so much this winter with the shocking 5 months or so of weather we’ve had. However, I would’ve been out walking somewhere – more likely the sheltered of our various woods!!!
Ah well! Ye four-legged friend (have you noticed how close the spelling of Friend and Fiend?) doth insist on an hour or two at least once a day. Rain or Shine, Hot or FREEZING. We descend upon the river where sundry other K9 personages may be met, sniffed at, growled or yelped at and much fun is had by all. Or we ascend the heights of ye Ridgeway (no, not ye famous one, but a mere local tump), or pay a weekly visit to the BEACH or sundry cliffs. Ye BEACH has the advantage of NO MUD, which being the subject of much delight attracts many decades of K9 personages of differing shape and size.
I have grown tired of the DAILY MUD BATH. It has extended into the porch, the hall, the kitchen, and even dares to dwell upon the lounge carpet. In short, we live in our own private MARSH.
Not often enough. Real life gets in the way far too ofte, but there’s a lot that can be built in to a lifestyle though, and much of it is about attitude rather than location Making the most of where you are; just leaving the car behind a bit more often can help. Walking and cycling to work or the shops can create in microcosm much of what you go to wilder places to gain. On the edge of town I’m fact I’m more likely to foxes and buzzards, on the bike on a weekday morning than on the moors at the weekend.
I can vouch for the excellence and addictiveness of this book! I am in competition with several people on who has the most squares ticked. Unfortunately many are taking advantage of my temporary lack of being able to walk and are soaring ahead of me!!! Gives me all the more determination to bag many a square when I am back on my feet again!!! At least I have plenty of time to plan the walks at the moment!
How funny, fancy that. Perhaps it may have been that the Two Blondes like to be fashionably late and like to keep their visitorees – sure that’s not a word – in suspense waiting for the mysterious pair to arrive?
Fortunately jelly babies does buy our silence ……. but not not as much as 5 bags of jelly babies might have done. Just sayin.
Fancy keeping us waiting because you had lost the grid reference. Well I never.
That’s quite an eye opener! I never really appreciated before how much hard work these guys have done to be able to be part of the mountain rescue team. It truly is a big commitment but also very rewarding for those who qualify for the position!
As you say we hope none of us will need their assistance but if we do we will know we are in good hands!
This has certainly been a colourful weekend for blogging!
First blue now red!
How about a green blog as green features prominently in the outdoor world!
Have a colorful week!
Although the Hairy Hand seems more likely to visit if you’ve had a quick couple in the pub or have a particularly heavy boot on your right foot.
I was at Powder Mills a week or so ago and was told an expanded, ironically grisly version of the story that I hadn’t heard before; great for a dark windy night as the fire flickers and the rain beats against window…
I personally think the accidents are down to the speed that some people drive along that stretch of road! When we were driving back from Postbridge the other day, happily trunddling along at the 40mph speed limit, some women in her 4×4 came flying past us – must’ve been doing at least 60mph.
Glad you made it back safely – I’ve still never been brave enough to drive across Dartmoor in the dark!!!
As a young teenager in Singapore back in the 1960’s I was amazed to see bamboo lengths being used as scaffolding and extending to three stories.
So, from structural support, to clothing, to bicycles to drinking vessels there is a very useful plant. Oh, and don’t forget a sustainable food for the Panda (bamboo shoots).
Bamboo bikes? Ouch! Just imagine where those nasty slender slivers would go if you had an accident! Bamboo is fairly common along the cliffs, so it may well have come inland on someone’s boots – which reminds me dear walkers all, we have been asked to scrub our boots after country rambles so that we do not carry Ash Die-Away on our tender tootsies from place to place. We can do this – after all, canoeists have being washing their boats down for years to prevent water-borne pests being transferred from one river to another.
P.S. Just reminded me of something else – Napoleon’s army marched in clothing made from Stinging Nettle fibres – now there’s a useful plant – dye, shampoo, green veg., fertiliser for roses, soup, you name it, the good old nettles do it!
It is possible to persuade some people that Belted Galloway cattle grazing the moors, and seen from a distance, are in fact part of a secret panda breeding programme…
Bamboo clothing isn’t all that it seems, and there is a bit of controversy about its labeling. The fibre is in fact viscose, the only difference being is that the cellulose it’s made from, is from bamboo instead of wood pulp, The industrial process, with all of its associated chemicals and potential pollution is the same what ever the source of the cellulose.
‘Coconut’ fabrics are similarly a bit misleading. It’s essentially polyester, but coated with activated carbon (made from charcoaled coconut husks) that absorbs odours and inhibits bacteria. As with viscose, it’s the product of quite a long industrial process. In addition it requires frequent laundering and heat (e.g. tumble drying or ironing) to reactivate the charcoal after it has been used.
Neither fabric is really much more ‘green’ than other synthetics used in outdoor clothing.
I’ve heard good things about how well bamboo bikes ride, but I’d imagine that when the frame fails it does so fairly catastrophically. However, so would carbon fibre…
I love an adventure but people have different ideas on what they would call adventure. E.g some would call going to the North Pole an adventure but for me that would be torture as I can’t stand being cold! I would not like to climb Everest as I like to come home at the end of the day and have a hot shower so its down to the individual.
Whatever form of adventure we choose lets make sure of our safety and live to do it again another day.
So be safe and be a stranger to danger!
Well said. I won’t be talking Blonde One to the North Pole as she gets cold and shivery in the UK. We can all make our own adventures be they big or small.
My Dad liked to keep himself fit and I think it was him I got my love of walking from.
He had an exercise bike which he used every day but this exercise came with an interesting feature which was his cockateil.
This cockatiel was a faithful companion and used to keep him company while he pedalled away. It was a most amusing sight to see
such loyalty
company on his daily exercise by
sitting on his shoulder while he pedalled
The point of this story is perhaps having a companion to spur you on if you are doing something monotonous is the answer! Or having someone randomly throwing himself off his cross trainer and trying to head butt yours is another useful diversion. Perhaps in his exertion he had ‘hit the wall’ almost literally!
Sorry about disjointed reply!
Interesting, in the Lake District a group of” traditionalists” started to destroy modern cairns on the grounds they were unnatural and blighted the land. The practice of building cairns passed into common practice, many people robbing long standing cairns to start new ones. Many just displacing large rocks (well big stones) to build a cairn with no real purpose as a waymarker.
The National Park stepped in and prohibited the creation of new cairns as it was upsetting the natural landscape.
We once came across a spot by the roadside in Scotland (can’t remember where exactly) where there were loads of tiny cairns. It was a beautiful spot but a bit odd looking. My hubby build a cairn for me in Iceland on one of his trips – I like the thought but I get the idea of not disturbing the landscape (still hope mine is still there).
You must’ve seen the feature on Inside Out on the latest Cist discovery in one of the peat passes???? Fasinating – glad that they haven’t all been discovered and looted.
I have to admit to liking the little navigational cairns in the lake District. Having stomped to the top of Scafell Pike leaving on the correct path is a bit tricky to start off with. The little cairns that sprung up every few metres helped to reassure us that we were descending a path and not some random scree slope!!!
I actually bought a cross trainer after Christmas and has been an important part of my knee physio and rehab. I used to go on it once a week for 10 minutes when visiting the physio at Brixham hospital and it really helped to loosen it up. Since an important part of the rehab is to strengthen the knee, it is an brilliant bit of kit, which is non-impact and doesn’t involve the twisting of ones knee!
As you say, it does get rather boring so there were a number of strategies I employed to assist:
1) One was to always have music blaring through my MP3 player (not posh enough to have an ipod!!!).
2) We positioned the cross trainer in the lounge by the window so I can look out towards Dartmoor and the beautiful stretch of Western Beacon, Ugborough Beacon and Piles Hill. This was a massive motivator (on the days I could see it!!!) and I too, would imagine myself stomping across the Moors and realised that if I didn’t get my knee strong it may never happen again!
3) Being a massive lover of skiing I would record ski sunday and watch it on Monday while on the Cross Trainer with again the motivator being, that if I don’t sort my knee I will never ski again! And some amazing scenery to look at aswell!!!
Now since having my op last week I am not allowed to use it for a bit so its going a bit dusty! Hopefully I’ll be back on it soon and dreaming of Dartmoor walks again! Sadly ski sunday has finished for the winter! Also hoping once my stitches are out I will be able to go for a swim too!
Just imagine if on one of those cairns you found an epitaph as you probably be interested to know something about the person buried there.
It may say something like this….’Beneath this sod lies another one’
Now that would be something to reflect on!
In two thousands years someone will dig up a Dartmoor cairn and there will be a pot of multi-coloured gooey sticky shapes preserved next to the remains of two ladies with wisps of blonde hair.
Well that was very exciting! I don’t think you need to feel threatened by the Smartie allegation! I can’t imagine Smarties being taken on the Great North Run like Jelly Babies are!
Smartie s are sofa fodder and do not engage in active sports.
I have a good friend who is a radio ham and he is not an active person and never travels too far away from
his radio so Smarties would probably suffice for his energy
requirements!
Jelly Babies rule!
With apologies to Blonde One for whom this kind of rhyming rubbish is anathema (very wise.)
This one, dear raycharlesdavies, is just for you
It’s not for Blonde One or even Blonde Two.
Upon the subject of the Smartie,
According to the literati,
They have travelled far and wide
In a rucksack’s dark inside.
40 years have passed and more,
Since they walked on moor and tor,
From Yelverton to tiny Gidleigh
Where the wind blows wild and free.
They’ve kept a walker hale and hearty
Tramping through Ross and Cromarty,
Clambered every Lakeland Mountain
In the pocket of a jerkin,
Northward on the Pennine Way
Offered succour everyday.
Coast to Coast they travelled West,
Tucked into a pocket vest
(Seventeen days of twenty-one
Rain and mud but never sun.)
The Southern Upland Way they flitter
With a radio transmitter,
Slept in Beehive, barn and tent
Where the deer and badgers went
And then at last became Jurassic –
This one is a Midlands classic –
Over farm fields systematic
With bulls and stallions dilemmatic.
Now on Devon cliffs they ramble
Where the weather is such a gamble
But the pounding of the sea
On the pebble shore will be
Just the place for illuminati
To gather for a Smartie party.
That is the voice of experience! Knowing when to give up and come back another day when conditions are more suitable.
The entry in the Guinness Bok of Records is getting closer! One idea has already been born and that is 100 blondes with rucksacks making their was across Dartmoor which has never been done before.
Now you could add to that 100 blondes walking across Dartmoor each carrying 100 Jelly Babies and all wearing Haribo Jacketts which could be sponsored by Haribo themselves!
Have I woken up yet or am I still having weird dreams or was there something in that wine last night?
Sleepovers can be quite confusing and cause some embarressment. Well it does in my world!
We stayed with friends on one occassion and being good hosts they gave us use of their bedroom’
During the night the husband forgot he wasn’t sleeping in his own bed and got up to go to the toilet and returned to his own bed where we were sleeping’
He tried to get in on Lin’s side. Needless to say we were all very shocked!
On another occassion we were staying at a B & B and in the morning I thought I would go and find the breakfast room and was met by a large array of doors. On one of the doors was a note which said ‘It’s in here’ I thought how thoughtful and entered to find myself facing a woman in her nightwear! It seems that other husbands are known for getting lost too!
On another night staying with friends during the night I needed to use the bathroom and so as not to disturb our hosts I used a torch to find my way down the stairs where the bathroom was. The torch had a loose connection and kept going on and off and the wife weoken up by the intermittent light woke up her husband and said to him that there was someone flashing on the stairs.
I have never before been accused of being a flasher!
Our friends have a good sense of humour and they make great party stories!
One of the (now) large USA hotel chain owners, when starting out wanted to do something that no other hotel did. (Dare to be different and have a unique talking point) He then came upon the idea of the triangle fold on toilet paper.
I do believe a certain Lake District Loving Mr C has one in his office! I first saw it a couple of years ago in Trail Magazine. Maybe Dartmoor could be something for you to do in all that spare time you don’t have???? I would buy a copy!!! x
Putting my cartographic bobble-hat on Beck’s schematic isn’t strictly speaking a map…
I think Dartmoor would lend itself to the treatment much better than the locations already done. Beck’s genius was having vectors running between nodes horizontally, vertically and at 45 degrees. The roads, trails, waterways and points on the moor, as well as its general outline would fit pretty well. Okehampton as Cockfosters and Ivybridge as Morden on a Two Moors Way Central Line…
My Mum used to say that I could make a saint swear! I don’t know what I did to upset them my Mum didn’t say so I haven’t got any suggestions. I keep my head down as I wouldn’t want to make anyone grumpy!
That St Christopher is not reliable I’m afraid. I had a St Christopher which I used to wear around my neck day in day out. For some reason I took it off and didn’t put it back on for a while. Then one day I came across it and thought “Oooo, I haven’t been wearing you” and put it back on. Later in the day we went out and had a car crash. I’ve never worn it since!!!!
I think maybe it was a punishment for forgetting about him for a bit!!
All mothers are saints – therefore I must be Saint Blonde Two. Patron saint of bimbles. Saint Blonde One is of course, the patron saint of Jelly Babies.
Here are a couple of my favourite spring proverbs.
Half an hour enjoying a spring evening is worth a thousand gold pieces. – Something you would appreciate after many night navigations on Dartmoor!
The arrival of spring is recognised by plants before men – I’ve heard people making the comment that they are looking forward to spring when all around us the plants are telling us its already here!
Oops! You’ve forgotten something in your excitement!
You will still need to get up twice to empty your bladder. Therefore you will need to get dressed to go outside the tent!
Oops! You’ve forgotten something in your excitement!
You will still need to get up twice to empty your bladder. Therefore you will need to get dressed to go outside the tent!
Oooh, how exciting – I will either be the fast asleep one or the getting up for the loo one depending on whether the sleeping bag arrives on time or not!
I think I’m getting worried by all this! As soon as I added my ‘spy’ post the computer crashed and I couldn’t get back onto the ‘Two Blondes Walking’ website for a little while! I was beginning to think that MI5 had closed us down for revealing too much sensitive information!
Hee!
Hmm. Coleridge and Shelley? Surely they expired before the South West Coast Path was thought of? It wasn’t there when I walked from Exmouth to Portland Bill in the early seventies.
You’re right, it wasn’t named as the South West Coast Path, they just walked a lot along the coast in this area. Who knows, perhaps they even talked about creating a long distance route?
This is beginning to make sense now Blonde One!
Jelly Babies appearing in mysterious places.
Cryptic messages being sent like ‘be Jelly afraid’ ‘the Jelly Babies are out to get you’
Is this part of Operation Jelly Baby?
It reminds me of that Sound of Music song ‘How do you solve a problem like Urethra’
Spare a thought for those camping in the North Pole who cannot go outside their tent at night but have to manage inside in a confined space and are not allowed to spill any as it would become a major health risk!
It reminds me of that Sound of Music song ‘How do you solve a problem like Urethra’
Spare a thought for those camping in the North Pole who cannot go outside their tent at night but have to manage inside in a confined space and are not allowed to spill any as it would become a major health risk!
Of course, you could camp near a waterfall. Results guaranteed as long as it wasn’t frozen solid. And while we are being lavatorial, a little plastic bag of newly collected dog poo is a really good handwarmer.
Optimistically, the forecast is looking milder and not too damp.
I still think one of the best bridges is the wobbly bridge in Paignton Zoo!!! Had many a happy time there traumatising young children – mine seemed to love it though, being bounced and boinged all over the place and suprisingly don’t seem to have any fear of bridges at all!!!
Hee – how very Irish. I took a campervan there on my first visit – lovely country. One gentleman spent 48 minutes cuddling my dog in the hopes that I would lose my temper – dog loved it – before he gave me road directions in about 8 seconds flat.
In Ireland, road signs never tell you that you are in a cul-de-sac until you have gone down it for at least 3/4 mile, so I got very good at reversing.
I wonder if the lady I met today was Irish? She had 5 dogs, variable, tiddlers to king-sized; one, partly golden retriever, took off down the hill, anchored and rolled.
“She’ll take off after some big dog or other”, the lady said, “and half way down the first hill at a million miles an hour, she’ll suddenly decide to roll. She’s the ultimate blonde.”
(Honest!)
Gotta go – 4 loaves to come out of the oven.
Are the punishments graded according to the seriousness of the crime?
The most serious crime requiring you to climb Everest!
Perhaps the Judge chooses the worst routes involving the boggiest rockiest and most hostile terrain possible otherwise we would all be seeing
Not come across the sleeping bag suits before and wondered just show effective they really are?
The idea of down is that it acts as an insulating layer preventing heat escaping. So, if you’re in a down sleeping bag that uses your body heat to warm up, wearing a sleeping bag suit will prevent that from happening. Bit like having 2 sets of double glazing.
I personally find it warmer to remove any insulating layer I have on before I go to bed in a tent and let my inner and mid layers do their work with the sleeping bag providing the insulating cocoon and, if necessary, a warm hat to stop the heat escaping through my bonce.
Another little trick I do which I find works well, is sleep with the sleeping bag hood on top of me rather than underneath. This gives 2 advantages. 1, you lose less heat through your head and shoulders and 2, acts as a pretty effective light blind meaning I don’t get woken up too early by the rising of the sun …. Or lightening of the cloud!
So perhaps the subject of a future blonde post could be some scientific experiments to see if the theory works in practice!
I have similar problems sleeping anywhere thats not home. So camping or vamping basically!!! I always go for the headtorch method but this annoys Mr F as it keeps him awake although I swear another reason I can’t sleep is down to his persistent snoring which always seems worse in an enclosed space!!
So this Christmas Mr F bought me a Nook Glowlight (basically a kindle with a backlight!!!). Firstly this stops me taking half a rucksack of reading materials on hols with us and secondly stops the light issue. It does work well and since I’m having pain induced sleeping problems at the moment I have read sooooooo many books well into the night! Hoping to test it out in the vamping environment soon!
Suggested reading????? Mmmmm……maybe not the James Herbet I just read – freaky! Maybe not the myths and legends of Dartmoor either!!! Maybe the classic “White Spider” battling survival on the North Face of the Eiger – will make you realise just how cushty (???Spelling) you have it camped out on the comfort of a bog on Dartmoor!!
The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson is very good fun and easy to read in chilly and damp environments… We have got over this problem by using a bunkhouse for this Saturday!
Good Morning Blonde two!
I hope you are enjoying watching the glorious Dartmoor sunrise from the entrance of your palatial residence on the side of the hill as you brush your feet in the luxurious soft grass warmed in the heat of the morning sun! ( A scene from Two Blondes the Movie).
Now back to reality!
You have painted such a wonderful picture of a typical camp on Dartmoor that I have considered going back to bed! Why!
I am surrounded by friends who choose to wild camp on the side of a hostile mountain in Winter where the contents of their water bottles freeze and struggle desperately to make it through the night! Go to the Cairngorms in February and spend a week trying to stay alive and then crave to go back and do it all again!
I don’t do extreme cold but I do insist on setting the alarm clock at some ridiculous time of the morning looking at all the houses with their curtains tightly drawn as the people inside are soundly snoring away in their warm beds and then proceed to force my body up some horrendous vertical slope which makes your body think you are going in to cardiac arrest, then to slog for a couple of hours finally to arrive at the top of some peak and as your body cools down to suddenly find that all the layers you have taken off need to be quickly put back on or else be in danger of suffering from Hypothermia! After recovering you then proceed to repeat this process for another 5 hours to finally struggling down a knee bending slope to arrive limping at the bottom and desperate for a soft seat! Then what happens?
Well you wake up the next day and for some insane reason you want to do it all over again! Why do we do it!
Why couldn’t I have joined the Caravan Club? Taken up canal boating? Chosen some activity which really does merit the title of Leisure??
I don’t know! I just know we love doing what we do and will continue to do it no matter how much suffering we experience!
We will always say ” Where shall we go next?”
I am limping around the lounge now we are home and it will take a couple of days for my knees to work properly again. But you are right, we do it because … we love it. No other explanation.
I was woken up by the sun – at least I thought I was until I looked out and saw very little through the fog!!! Hopefully its coastal and up on the moor you are in fact shrouded in beautifully warm rays of march sunshine! Miracles do happen!!! Whatever, I’m sure deep down you are loving it and at least you have your wonderful new bright orange down sleeping bag keeping you warm (i hope!!!). Have a super day xx
Speaking from the heart – I am knitting a jumper. I’ve been knitting it now for 17 years. I’ve been spinning the wool for it for 18 years. It’s definitely not as easy as walking – I’ve completed several walks in that time. But one day I shall finish it and if the moths haven’t eaten the first bit while I was knitting the rest, I may even get to wear it in my little tent.
Meanwhile, I hope the knees are progressing well, and you didn’t get frost bite, or meet the wild beast of the moor.
Point taken with the knitting – I am secretly rather a good knitter but have only spun once (did enjoy it). No frost bite and knees are working again now (they weren’t last night). Funny story about wild beast but will tell that one later.
Must be the orange – my Macpac down bag is too, and has never let me down (sorry). Think it’s a Sanctuary 850ish. Has a waterproof toe cap for protection in damp tents :-). Glad you had a 5* night!
What Blonde One has kindly not told you is that I am definitely the worst/best river faffer. I am, however, pleased to say that, despite a lot of faffing and with some B1 encouragement, I did manage a rock balance yesterday (hate it!)
It’s a a very difficult balance to get right, and at the Ten Tors Managers’ meeting this autumn there was certainly measures that will be taken to minimise the risks of stream crossing in future events. However, walking in open country in the South West, and many other parts of the UK almost inevitably leads to crossing flowing water at some point. With the group I recently supervised I took the view that it is a risk that has to be learnt how to to be managed. It led to some interesting discussions.
We started off with the idea that if you don’t have to, don’t. At worst they had the equipment to sit out over night, warm and dry, and take a safer route later. However taking a longer route to avoid crossing they may expose themselves to risks associated with terrain, weather, nightfall, physical exhaustion or even road traffic to take a bridge – so they had to come to a realistic judgement about relative risks.
When we did cross streams we spent some time looking at the problem we were facing. We looked at what was likely to happen but then considered what could be the consequences of what we were doing – drowning, immersion hypothermia or injuries from falling against rocks. We discussed what the power of the water could do, and that even an ankle deep flowing stream can unbalance or that deep water is deceptively powerful; also the effect of their clothing and kit should they be in the water. We gave thought of the harm that potential rescuers could face too.
After all of this deliberation rather than a short step across a narrow, but deep and fast section they chose a wide, shallow sandy bottomed stretch further upstream – and wet feet.
When they are unsupervised, I wonder what they will do. Personally I would probably take the narrow step and dry feet, considering the potential, but unlikely consequences, worth it. Perhaps they would do the same out of adult sight.
Sending groups of youngsters out is full of difficult choices. Do you avoid some situations altogether, leaving them without the skills to handle them if they do arise, or do you train them and leave a false sense of confidence to tackle things when they shouldn’t. It makes me feel uneasy either way.
You are entitled to faff a bit with dodgy knees. The “Leap” terrifies me – especially if the bag gets chucked across first – what if I fail to follow it? If a search up and down stream doesn’t find a suitable place, then paddling where it is shallower (I use poles too) is the one for me – one can always put on a spare pair of socks and a poly bag inside each boot to get feet warm again later.
Sounds as though there is going to be a big rush for “Big Orange”s, hee, but the waterproof toe-cap sounds just the goods – the big failing of down bags is that they are not warm when they are wet.
Totally agree, it is the sense of achievement on the faces of the youngsters that provides the motivation.
Even when that is not apparent (like with some Young Enterprise year’s) I tell myself that I cannot blame last year’s participants on this year’s eager recruits.
Rather like when you (I)) finish a marathon and say “never again” only to enter another one!
It is demanding, and people do it for all sorts of reasons. I think the time to pack it in is when you’re doing it for your own ego and recognition.
I’m lucky to be assisting alongside with a fantastic bunch of people, the sum of whose efforts always seem to be greater than the whole. However, I remember last year’s season as a pain in the arse…
Watching a programme yesterday about Dartmoor on TV over the moor to Cranmere Pool, you two are so lucky, all I have here in Kent I’d the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge!
Kevin
Isn’t there a considerately planted strip of trees at Holming Beam that you could’ve hidden in???? Was up there last weekend and managed to walk down the army track and back up again – think it was too much though because I spent the next 4 days in severe pain!!! Other occupants of the car park were a couple of ten tors/DofE mini buses and Dartmoor Search and Rescue out training.
There could be a new hobby at this time of the year – mini bus spotting – trying to remember where each school is and “do I know the driver???”. Postbridge car park is pretty much a no go area unless you are in a minibus isn’t it???
As far as your categories go I think I would fall into the Tor Namer!!!!! To me, Dartmoor is one giant jigsaw and I love being able to link all the Tors together from any spot – sad I know!!!
I think I’d be worrying who had helped me to bed in my state of undress!!!
I always have an arguement with myself over drinking and camping. If I have a drink or two it might help knock me into a semi-unconcious state, hence helping me sleep (which I never do well camping). However, alcohol makes me need to pee even more than usual so am I more likely to have to get up in the night for bladder emptying acitivities?????
Don’t think I’ve ever got to the drunk state camping though!!!
Oh dear! I fear that you weren’t found and that you will be found during daylight hours frozen to a rock!
Everyone will have avoided looking behind the rocks thinking that you would have been making a toilet stop!
Lets hope you got back safe!
Well what a fabulous night to have been hiding out on the moors. Pretty darn chilly I would imagine but wasn’t the sky amazing???? Even I went and stood out on the decking gazing up at the night sky last night – it was incredibly with the beautiful new moon – I was looking for the comet which I’m sure my dad told me was a fists distance below the moon – didn’t see it anyway but managed to pick out a few constellations (spelling?) and stars.
I think finding you on such clear night should have been a relatively simple job, however the likelyhood of you being frozen to the spot mid-jelly baby munching would be quite high!!!
Wow! You do like to stretch yourselves don’t you!
I bet you gave your parents a few scares when you were a child with your spirit of adventure!
Now you probably scare your husbands instead!
Wow thats a rather dramatic scenario for Dartmoor! Although my hairdresser was telling me a story the other day about one of her clients who came across a murder scene on the Moors – sad but fortunately a domestic rather than some lunatic running around.
How exciting being casualties in a SAR exercise – in the words of the wonderful Miranda – SUCH FUN!
Fortunately a wonderful night to be out – beats the usual rain and wind! A friend (well Kimberleys head teacher) is a member of Ashburton SAR. Was he out? Ken is his name!!! Lovely bloke!
Glad you made it back safely and hope the stab wounds are healing nicely. I was a bit worried when I saw the guys had been called out to search in Cornwall and wondered whether you had been left sitting in the middle of Dartmoor until the early hours of the morning! Just shows the dedication of the volunteers that they had been training, then out searching all night, then returned to their day jobs probably without a wink of sleep.
I don’t think I would have enjoyed the “lift” off the moor either. Don’t know what would be worse for me – being carried in a stretcher or winched up into a helicopter! I think if such things were needed I would be in so much pain I wouldn’t really care! Lets hope I never need them!
I think our emergency service volunteers are some of the most undervalued people in society. People just take it for granted that such services as the SAR and RNLI exist and forget that they only exist thanks to fundraising and donations. More should be done to recognise these amazing people – but then, they wouldn’t like it because thats not the reason they do it!!!
I should know – my hubby’s on the Torbay Lifeboat Crew!!!
c. 1959 or so, I was one of about 30 semi-conscious “bodies” in an emergency services’ exercise. All coated in pretend burns and abrasions, I was rescued and strapped to a stretcher and loaded into the St. John’s Ambulance. Half way up the steepest hill in town, the door of the ambulance flew open and my stretcher began to slide out. It’s amazing how quickly one can regain consciousness and yell.
How things have moved on !!!!!
The Sidmouth lifeboat is privately owned I think, though I am pretty sure it used to be RNLI. There is to be a concert in our local church soon to boost their funds. Looking forward to that.
There are many rewards to volunteering.
You make lots of friends.
You learn new skills.
You build self esteem.
You see different areas.
You are a happier person.
Its a great thing to do!
They dug out mountains of Himalayan Balsam from the river,
Recorded millions of birds,
Read stories to children in the library,
Delivered blood and organs between hospitals,
Emptied dog poo bins that the council refused to run any more,
Collected vouchers for school equipment,
Built a massive Bonfire for 5th November,
Collected money in the supermarket entrance for oodles of charities,
Ran innumerable musical events, sporting events, art shows, plays and variety shows for charities,
Kept loads of small churches going by cleaning, mending almost everything, fund-raising, keeping boilers going and doing paperwork,
Kept loads of schools going by volunteering for governing bodies, planted lovely flowers and cut grass to make the town look nice,
the list is endless!
I was just trying to think of things volunteers do around here, but there are too many to even make a start.
I still think I fall into the category of young, although every year I extend the age range for young!!! I was a bit gutted t’other day when we got a promo call – someone doing a marketing survey and I was too old to do it – pleased I got out of doing the survey, but not so happy about the reason.
As far as your checklist goes, yes I talk about my knees a lot but only coz I knackered one rather than it growing painful through wear and tear! I don’t understand why teenage boys insist of wearing their trousers the way they do. And I get grumpy when the phone rings – but I do this at any time of the day (I have a wierd phone phobia thing and usually don’t answer it!!!)
As for walking around Dartmoor in the dark – thats something I’m hoping to do more of in the future – maybe that will be when i hit middle age!!!!!
At the end of the day, you’re only as old as you feel and I think you two are doing pretty darn well!!!!
I don’t think I’m middle aged yet: I drive a beaten up old car that’s not a sports car, I don’t mind missing Countryfile and I love teenage fashion. Should number 9 on Blonde Two’s list be: Is in denial about having a mid life crisis?!
Two more signs of middle age are:
– picking up Radio 2 by accident and thinking “They really do play some good music!”
– standing in John Lewis and thinking “You know, this is a very good shop.”
Have a good trip? I went to Westminster Abbey to see HRH last week, with daysack and Paramo jacket, and merino vest underneath- I don’t think he minded!
As to Boudicca, you are right. Of course she is Blonde, she was an “Essex Girl” though the powers that be decreed the statue should not show the white stilettos!
As to comfort, commuters have set the pace. You will see many die hard travelers sporting trainers and summer type hiking boots. The day sac is de rigeuer as it is useful for the Kindle; iPad, sandwiches and other paraphernalia of the aforesaid commuter and indeed the foreign (to London) visitor.
So, if it is not too late, equip yourself for comfort, you will not regret it.
I am now thinking of using the magic of Photoshop to add white stillettos to Boudicca’ statue. She might not approve though and I don’t fancy her “treatment” for the women of London, it sounds savage.
I’ve just been bombarded with a similar collection of unanswerable questions from my daughter relating to our trip to France in the summer. Such as “will our cabin be near to a toilet?”, “How far will we be travelling this year?”, etc. Bless them!
As you are bombing around on the tube you can be planning out the “tube map of Dartmoor” similar to those already produced for the Wainwrights and Munroes!
I have similar dilemmas when heading to the big smoke – somehow my ourdoorsy fashion sense doesn’t quite fit in with city fashion. And as for handbags, what are they???? Still never had one!
I’ve still never been brave enough to try and navigate the tube on my own – I just follow whoever I’m with and try and loo like I know what on earth is going on! Give me a Dartmoor map in the fog anyday – at least then if you’re lost you’re not trapped in some claustophobic tunnel full of wierdos!!!!
Now i know where the expression “it;s a jungle out there” comes from!
A city break is fun but it certainly isn;t relaxing!
You will appreciate more the peaceful surroundings of your Devon home.
When you return home, listen to the peace and quiet!
You will also have a strong urge to get out on the moors again!
Here is a piece of trivia for you. The Trafalgar lions are a famous landmark but more lions identical to those in London are to be found at the entrance to the Brittania Bridge crossing the Menai Straits into Anglesey.
These lions like yourself decided London was not for them and relocated to North Wales, although since they are on the lower railway bridge must now be thoroughly cheesed off when it was decided to build a modern road bridge over their heads completely ruining their peaceful surroundings! http://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/bridges/
At least you can choose your surroundings!
You are right about being able to choose our surroundings – we are very lucky. I have put a note in my head to visit the Anglesey Lions. Mr B2’s family have history with Anglesey so a good excuse to go.
I was eleven when I got lost on the Tube. My companion was twelve. We’d never been to London before, but my companion
1. Knew that we only had to get on the next tube that came along.
2. Knew that we had to get off at —– WHERE did we have to get off? Still don’t know.
3. When we got there, knew the way to the Guide Headquarters we were visiting, even though we had never been there.
I’ve been lost in almost every part of England, except the South East. I’m saving that for next year.
Having lived by the sea for my entire life I think the (large) nose is well tuned in to the smell of seaweed and salt!!! Having spent several days in the Pyrenees last summer, we could smell the coast before we saw it!!!
You are right about the smell of Dartmoor – it is unique and amazing. Maybe theres a market for it bottled????? Maybe not!!!! The smell reminds me of being a kid, sitting in the minibus full of sweaty TBGS boys having just completed Ten Tors training while dad drove them back to Torquay!!! Or the smell of Dad arriving home after a weekend out on the Moor Ten Tors training!!!!
I think you might be well covered in Dartmoor wet boggified peatness this weekend – good luck!!!
x
How right you are about London air. Since the “Smokong Legislation” I now breathe in more cigarette smoke than ever before (I am a non smoker and not a reformed smoker!)
Ah, Branscombe Beach, a feature of the famous Grizzly run (http://www.axevalleyrunners.org.uk/races/grizzly.htm) Running down the cliff from the direction of Seaton, falling into the river running down the beach – believing it to be not too deep and easy to bound over – wrong!
I laughed at myself at Paddington – as I muttered through the smokers just outside about how they should have some bits of pavement that were smoke-free. Only to discover that the other side of the entrance was the non-smoking bit.
My parents and Uncles and Aunties all holidayed in Branscombe as children and I feel very priviledged to be near enough to visit there myself now. Running is impressive though – I went to the beer festival last visit.
When navigating around cities, either on foot or by bicycle or car, I find a compass (and a map of course!) absolutely invaluable. I keep a silva compass in the car just for this purpose.
I get some funny looks but funny looks are infinitely preferable to getting lost.
JJ
I hadn’t even thought about taking my compass but wished I had several times. It can be so confusing when you emerge from the underground and would have saved us time.
Yes I agree! My wife is great to have on a walk as she thinks of everything and forgets nothing so we always have what is needed on board.
Even if she isn’t coming with me she is always checking to make sure I am well equipped. She says take it you never know if you might need it!
That sort of mentality saves lives!
How’s that for ‘girl power’!
I considered going into Intelligence in the RAF – then life events took over and it never happened!!! People say that is probably a good thing, since such important things shouldn’t be left in the hands of someone as mentally inbalanced as me!!!
Mr F is up doing his WGL training one weekend when you guys are up training and he’s probably going to “Vamp” it in Princetown, so I told him to keep an eye out in Fox Tor Cafe for you – he will definately be in there for his breakfast!!!
Your blonde baps (?!!!!!!) sound very tasty – just what I would choose for my perfect bap filling – although I’d have to have a squirt of ketchup too!!! Next time I’m in Princetown I’ll pop into Fox Tor Cafe and request a Blonde Bap and see what I get, me thinks!!!!
There definitely is not 6 degrees of separation down here in Devon. You can almost guarantee that whoever you meet, you will know one of their cousins!
Well I do have to say that I was an anxious Blonde Two knowing that Blonde One was going out walking without me. I did have to text her just to check that all was ok. We are a good team!
Reading this ‘cos I just dropped back home from half-way up a cliff to pick up various items – amongst them, that most vital of morning stimulants – THE MARMALADE. I can’t function without it. Espcially when breakfast is outdoors, even if only by about 2 feet, with the room behind ready warmed for return. I can’t think of a single trip when I didn’t forget something – – – – – –
…or carry another compass. A smartphone is certainly a useful back up, but not one I’d like to solely rely on. Phone apps aren’t without their faults, as they require the sensor within the phone to be working and/ or for GPS to be acquired properly. These are normally pretty reliable, can fail too. Batteries fade quickly as well and I’ve also managed to break two phones now, dropping them from cold wet hands…
There is an issue with how compasses are stored when not in use. Frequently they are jumbled in a bag together so that needles are in close proximity to each other, in steel filing cabinets or in glove boxes; none of which are always magnetically healthy.
He seems to have had an inner magnetic compass; I wish I had – mine never works, but I always reckoned you could put my Dad down blindfold on Dartmoor and he would find his way off.
I could never navigate until I “learnt” to do it the long way. Now I have more of a feel of things when I am out on the moors but put me in a town or building and I am hopeless.
When away on hols with the family hubby usually drives and I navigate. Although I frequently get my lefts and rights mixed up (he’s used to it and usually goes in the opposite direction to what I say!!!) the hardest bit is the “just follow the signs to “…………” which a) I can’t pronounce and b) he can’t read because he doesn’t understand my pronounciation!!!! Usually easier to just say “follow the signs to that long place that begins with a b”!!!!! I find it much easier in France than in Wales because I can actually speak French – trouble is hubby doesn’t so still doesn’t understand my pronounciation!!!!
I personally think the Welsh and Scottish must get great joy at seeing us English attempting (and failing) to pronounce their place names. Probably in the same way as I get joy at hearing the “grockles” proclaim as the walk around Brixham Harbour “I don’t understand, there was water in it last time we were here” (Durrr!!!!)
I do believe High Willhays is pronounced “Willies” (chuckle chuckle!!!).
I wish I hadn’t told them now so soon! There’s too much excitement in this household!
The babies starting packing yesterday and there is the usual barrage of questions. When are we going? Where are we going? Are we going to take a picnic?
I’ve kept them busy by asking them to decide where they would like to go as long as it’s a sensible suggestion and there has to be snow.
I hope your babies are more well behaved!
Trust mine to be unruly!
They get hyperactive if they get too many people in one go!
That is brilliant – I might have to quote you on tomorrow’s post! Mine are currently safely locked in a rucksack and haven’t been told of the excitement yet. Wait a minute … is that a Jelly screech I hear …
This is a great start! I am looking forward to taking the little ones out for their first day. It will be a gentle bimble today but a more adventurous day tomorrow.
Have fun everybody! Don’t take them anywhere dangerous!
I visited the “Beacons” (oops I always call them the Brecons too!!) when I was younger and remember them with fondness. I think this is helped by the memories of a lovely campsite with a couple of nice lads sis and I hung around with and lots of sunshine! I’m really annoyed because I’ve no idea where we were or where we walked – I’m usually very good at remembering place names – must’ve been the distraction of the boys!!!! I have even spent hours gazing at the Brecon Beacons map to see if a name rings a bell, but no!
We are hoping to return there soon – knee depending – and have even invested in the 1:25000 memory map so we can route plan in the 21st century – still prefer the paper map personally!!! Hopefully you will discover some excellent walks and maybe share one or two?!!!!!
Have a great time – sure you will with that bunch
x
Something borrowed – walking pole which I only ever carry to lend to a struggling child. Something blue – waterproof jacket(s) of course, all 4 of them!
Sounds brilliant and totally what these trips are aiming to achieve. Knowing some of the lovelies that were in your company, I would imagine you had a fantastic time. The images I have of them scurrying around in their pinnies and bog brushes brings a smile to my face!!!
What a great story – I thought I could hear a strange howling sound echoing around the valleys and hills – must’ve been you lauging your heads off! Its a shame Yellow seems to be rebelling against being a true Blondie – obviously we would never expect to see either of the “Two Blondes” hitching a ride! I hope he has learnt his lesson and behaves well from now on!!!
So when is the Jelly Tors event???? Sounds like another fun fundraising opportunity for the summer!!!
Used to walk the Beacons a lot – from a gorgeous, tiny little Youth Hostel called Nantllanerch across to a much bigger one called Storey Arms, which is probably still there.
Nantllanerch, very sadly, is long gone, vandalised, I was told, by a very different group of young people from yours. It had a lovely stream outside for filling the kettle and it was a long way from its attached farm, with no warden on site.
Remember doing a Three Peaks Trial there too, though I can’t remember one of the peaks. We climbed Sugar Loaf and Pen y fan, I think, and it was my first snowy mountain walk.
I’ve been half-way up a cliff this week, so didn’t know about the Jelly Baby competition, but perhaps I can sneak a quick one in tomorrow?
We’ve had great fun the last few days on our Jelly Adventures! Shame today was so evil but we still got out! My fav photo so far has to be the Malvern Skydive!!! How many takes????
We had many giggles whilst filming the sky diving above the Worcestershire beacon in Malvern. Didn’t they do well? Green went on to ski down Green Valley feeling very much at home, and on to Happy Valley. The others made a successful attempt on the summit only to find that their guide book was thirty odd years out of date and the café was not only closed but no longer there!
A lovely sunny weekend though! Thanks to Dan, Ben and Monnie for stunt coordination and special effects x
Thank you for your hard work! We enjoyed taking part and we had some amazing Bank Holiday weather for the event!
What do we do now as life returns to normal?
I like your idea of the the yellow Jelly Babies representing the Two Blondes.
Yep thanks blondies – it has been a blast (in more ways than one!!!) I have to admit to waking up on this beautiful morning and thinking “where shall I take the babies today?” then remembering it was all over 🙁 Of course, the jelly babies will forever more be an essential part of any adventure we partake in and might even sneak into a photo or two!!! The weekend has brought back great memories of University taking the duck on adventures around Southampton!!! I particularly enjoy the strange looks you get off people and how much I love been a “little bit different” but always up for a laugh!!! Thanks for getting me out walking a bit more do – I have been dead chuffed at how well the knee has done (thanks new knee brace!!!) and think I might even venture back out on Dartmoor tomorrow!!
I spent a lovely hour looking for Nantllanerch and my old walks on my old one inch to the mile OS map and comparing it with the new map . Lots of happy memories – so thankyou Blonde 1
The Two Blondes Walks sounds like an amazing book – can I order an early copy???
I have spent the last hour lying on the floor with my 9 year old and a map of Dartmoor and she has just planned her first Dartmoor walk!! We looked for some key navigational points and discussed how we would find them while walking – brilliant!!
This sounds like its going to be good! It must have been difficult having to stay indoors.
Are you going to have a grading system? One Jelly Baby for easy, two Jolly Babies for moderate and three for challenging?
You could become as famous as Wainwright!
We were wondering how to grade our walks! The JB idea is brilliant. We were thinking shoes: stilettos for easy, flipflops for moderate and boots for challenging but thought that some people (who are as blonde as us) might actually try to go out in stilettos!
Unfortunately I live in a dip and only see the sun after climbing out of the dip! It rises out of the Teignmouth estuary and is usually so stunning that I want to stop the car and admire it for a while!
We have similar thoughts/conversations in our house every year as the sun sets over Western Beacon – I got a bit annoyed when the next door neighbours tree grew so big we could no longer see the spectacle, but somehow managed to drop enough hints, that they cut it down and now we have a wonderful uninterupted view of Western Beacon, Ugbrough Beacon, PIles Hill. And haven’t the sunsets been spectacular this week? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sun so red!
That reminds me of a funny but very bad story of our neighbours who were fed up with the cherry tree blocking their Dartmoor view and clubbed together to chop it down. We had nothing whatsoever to do with such a wicked thing but do now have some rather nice firewood.
You will have to fight Mr B2 for it. It takes a bit of effort to get going but once it is, it is very lovely and smells nice (not as nice as apple though).
Perhaps, when Scotland achieves complete separation from the UK (except geographically of course) , we can get rid of the silly clock changing process twice a year and adopt central European time.
As I understand it, the whole clock changing farce was instilled to help the northern farmers and school children
Well, today school children don’t walk to school and farmers work with the powerful lights on tractors.
I also love the smell of the gorse bush – and the sight of those wonderful yellow flowers is enough to brighten up anyones day. I have always associated the smell with custard creams – many people think I am strange having this association so I thought it was just a link between being on Dartmoor and eating custard creams – didn’t much like them as a kid so have left a lasting impression. However, hubby also thinks gorse smells like custard creams so maybe I’m not mad after all – or we both ARE mad (oh yes thats the one!!!).
I think they would make excellent garden plants – wonderful smells, beautiful flowers and organic barbed wire to keep out unwanted riff raff!!! Sadly I don’t have a spare gorse plant to offer 🙁
I spend a lot of my time with Blonde One trying to smell anything at all from gorse bushes. Which is odd because I usually have a sensitive nose (it is quite small though)!
Well this is where gorse is strange I think. When in the vacinity of gorse the custard cream smell is quite strong and distinctive. However, I find that on sniffing the flowers there appears to be no smell – very strange. Maybe a strange chemical reaction with the air????
I don’t have any to offer either – very sorry – but reckon it may be a good thing as you will probably soon be inundated with them. Meanwhile, may I share a splendiferous piece of news?
Just heard – Chris the Cuckoo has left Ghana and instead of flying to the Ivory Coast as he did last year, has flown straight across the Sahara Desert – 2,000 miles in about 60 hours! AWESOME! How’s that for a piece of superb navigation by day and night?
I don’t usually see the sunrise, but Easter Day saw me on top of a hill with a lot of other folk, contemplating the fact that although my watch said 0615, my body said it was only 0515 – and Charles, I agree with every word!
My favourite garden smells are the |Honeysuckle and Lavender after it has ben brushed by your legs.
Now onto the lovely smelling Gorse bush. Do not introduce it into your garden or else it will be like the day of the triffid!
Beforeyou know it your garden will be like Sleeping Beautys castle! You would have to hack your way to the front door with a sword!
Gorse grows very aggressively and will take over your garden and everything in it’s path. You would have to rename it Gorse Cottage. that’s if you could see it among the bushes.
The council in North Wales have to do gorse clearance programmes to let the light back in.
|This having been said I do like to see the gorse bush but everything has it’s place like Jelly Babies have their place in your rucksack!
My family in New Zealand spend a fair amount of time spraying gorse to get rid of it – it is so vigorous that it is a real pest over there. Don’t tell Blonde One!
There are many unanswered questions such as Why does the phone ring when you are just about to sit down for your meal?
Why when your dinner is as hot as a furnace and seems to take forever to cool down does it after you have spent 2 minutes answering a phone call and you return have become stone cold and has to be warmed in the microwave??
Re: Hairy universe!
Mix Harry-hairs with sheep’s wool and they will spin into knitting wool. Put them out in little pots or empty coconut shells and the birds will vanish them into their nests. I wonder if you could stuff a sleeping bag with them? (That would stop the run on big oranges and lead to a fad for naked dogs!)
There’s one very like this in the woods on our hill but the roof materials have been torn from living conifers. I am not happy about it. A good backwoodsman leaves no trace of his presence behind him when he goes. That is the real art of the thing.
The answer has to be more education so that the kids understand about impact etc. Forest schools are brilliant for that and are becoming more and more popular – Scouts is good too for backwoods camping and craft.
I hadn’t walked in the area surrounding Windy Post until yesterday – tended to always head for the big hills of Cox Tor, Great Staple, Roos etc. Obviously trying to pick out any gentle walk on Dartmoor at the moment so this looked like a good option. We all loved the area and perfect for a leisurely stroll on a beautiful spring day. Had to test the knee a bit though because I lost count of the times we crossed that leat!
Still can’t find Pork Hill on the map! Whats the GR for the car park??? Oh, now I’ve gazed at the map for a few more minutes I notice the words “Pork Hill” written alongside the B3357 – so is it the car park that I call the “Cox Tor” carpark at GR 532752??? Will have to go back and test out the pacing!
I’m a bit confused . Do you actually need a man??? You can have mine but it will be a couple of weeks before he has a bit of paper and even then I’m not sure if its the right bit of paper!
It is all sorted now – we do keep needing them mainly for overnight camping (D of E). Thanks for the offer though, will keep it in mind. Tell him good luck with the piece of paper!
In many ways what you are describing is more about an internal journey – the expedition helps you to understand your own thoughts and character and how you relate to the world about you. Richard Long’s worth having a look at this for this:
On the few occasions where I have been lucky enough to accompany children (other than mine) onto Dartmoor it has always been as much an education for me as for the kids. To see certain people in a totally different environment and their reaction to that environment has nearly produced a tear or two (of joy!) and given some hope that this little darlings are going to grow into super adults!!
What I do find sad is that some educational establishments are becoming rather blinkered and do not realise the amazing positive impact the outdoors and associated activities have on certain individuals. I have heard many a tale of youngesters how have been steered away from the “road to nowhere” after discovering the outdoors and such fantastic challenges as Ten Tors and DofE. Personally, I think in any assessment or inspection of any educational establishments, credit should be given to time spent outside the “norm” (i.e. the classroom) and expanding young minds. Yes kids need to be well educated within school but the need to turn these kids into well rounded, responsible, active and selfless individuals should also be a priority as I feel these important characteristics are being lost in society.
Ooops sorry that turned into a bit of a rant!!!
Basically what I meant to say is that what you do is amazing and you should receive more recognition and credit for what you do (although I know thats not why you do it!!!)
I have always been very proud that my boys are outdoor instructors. They earn very little and have odd seasons out of work but they are giving something back to society – something that is important.
That’s fascinating! I like things like that!
My mum in law has a clock where the numbers run anti clockwise! That makes a challenge to read the time but it doesn’t make time go backwards!
I have a friend who is a clock addict. I must show him that!
A brilliant clock! I DID take photos of the beautiful cottages too because I try and take photos of whatever there are sketches of in the 365. There are several people who I now know who are on the 365 trail and I wonder whether some of the residents of these gorgeous villages get fed up with people photographing their properties.
On a recent visit to Jordan (the village not the country!) I went to take a photo of the thatched cottage which is in the 365 but it was very hard because the owners have erected willow screening right along the length of their front wall, so all you really see is some screening and a thatched roof – now quite so picturesque as the full cottage. I wonder if they are fed up with people thaking random photos of their property and if they even realise why? I know I would get a bit annoyed if lots of people were taking such interest in my house! So we went a bit further up the road and tried to be a little more discrete! I try and be a little more considerate when taking photos of cottages now!
We saw one that was asking photographers to donate to the Devon Air Ambulance. I thought that was a good idea and gave them a goodly amount. It was on a walk that went through Jordan so might have been the same place.
Now I feel guilty if that was the case! I don’t recall seeing anything about donations but I probably had my blinkers on!!! What a good idea though – would’ve donated if I’d realised.
I have only encountered an adder on Dartmoor once. This was on the road that leads past Bellever Forest by the old Bellever clapper bridge. The beautiful little snake was curled up on the side of the road (on the tarmac!) and there was a bike race taking place. I was worried that in the focused mindset of the cyclists they might not notice this innocent little snake soaking up a bit of early autumn sunshine and squash the poor fella. So in complete contradiction to any advice on what to do when encountering an adder, I found a nice big stick, picked the snake up and popped him onto the grass away from the road. I’m sure he was very grateful for me help as he made no attempt to bite me – either that or it was in shock because it had already had a close encounter with a cyclist! I even managed to take a photo before moving him on!
My only other encounter was when hubby nearly trod on one up on Sharkham in Brixham – he did a very interesting mid-stride-fling-yourself-forward movement and so as now to scare the kids nold them it was a big pile of poo and they should probably walk around a different way!!!
I love reading about your various excursions!! I always find it great to hear of other women going out and getting truly stuck into the outdoor world – mud, rain, wind, it’s all good stuff. I hiked/attempted to climb in Dartmoor for the first time in January and whilst the weather wasn’t that amazing, it was a great weekend and I look forward to returning.
Without wanting to appear too forward to opportunistic (though admittedly, I am being both), I’m hiking up Kilimanjaro in June for the charity Practical Action. I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider sponsoring me, though I realise it’s very cheeky of me to ask! But hey, fundraising’s nearly as hard as the climb itself. You can find out more here: http://www.justgiving.com/tiffany-conquers-kilimanjaro
I look forward to my weekly installments of your blog – it keeps me motivated!
I’m not sure how to deal with golfists, but stray golf balls, if collected, can be donated to your favourite charity shop from which the golfists can buy them back – this MAY make them golf more carefully and refrain from using you as target practice, but I doubt it. However, it will do the charity much good.
I think Ive only ever once eaten some odd greenery, which I think was wild cabbage (??????). I know that I seemed to gain a stonking headache after and felt quite ill for a while so now I just stick to grabbing blackberries when out and about!!!
Whilst I love walking with friends and family and in small and large groups I also love walking on my own and I have got braver and braver about it. I walk the Lake District fells for miles and miles on my own now and love both solitude and company. Lovely to have the choice 🙂
I do enjoy walking on my own and it certainly clears my head but I really enjoy the fun I have walking with friends (as long as they don’t all walk faster than me).
Walked alone with dog for as long as I can remember, and love it. (Mind you, I can’t remember how long that is!) And the most magical moments of my life have been waking up at dawn or sunrise, dog and I all alone on a mountainside, with just the hill sheep for music and maybe a nearby stream chuckling to itself.
On the mountains at lower levels one of the birds that is a very boisterous companion is the skylark who’s conversation is non stop, but as you get to higher altitudes the only bird that is still with you is the Raven with its familiar cronk sound which I actually enjoy hearing unless you live in Scotland of course and
you have the privilege of seeing an
Eagle!
In North Wales the Osprey
I often walk alone especially as I like to do early starts. In the summer I am on the path by 5am and its a lovely feeling to watch the sun rise over the peaks, get up high and stop for breakfast and take in the view!
My only companion is the Raven (see Blonde Twos latest blog).
However its important that you let someone know where you are going and how long you expect to be!
You will realise tin importance of this if you watch the film 127 hours!
Out walking by the river today, I had the thrill of seeing my first five Swallows of the year sweeping the water and the sky by turns with their gapes wide open, hoping for insects. Then as I watched, a glorious Kingfisher arrowed past in dazzling turquoise and scarlet orange. On my way home, a Willow Warbler lifted from the grass and flew across the river into a tree. Spring is really here this week. There was a chaffinch singing really loudly – Chip-chip-chip-cherry-erry-erry-chippy-oo-eear. Very soon now the Willow Warblers will be singing as well and their song is very close to the Chaffinch’s, but sounds much more refined and melodious – chip-chip-chip-chelly-elly-elly-chippy-tui-tui. If you listen for the tui-tui on the end, you won’t confuse the two.
Talking of Cuckoos, “Chance” the Cuckoo has made it across the Sahara – now he needs to fatten up a bit before crossing the Mediterranean. Here’s hoping he has found an area with lots of insects to help him on his way.
The saddest thing is that Meadow Pipits, Willow Warblers and Kestrels are all amber-listed birds in decline. Ospreys are amber listed because they were extinct for a time in the UK, and are very few in number as yet and have to be protected against egg thieves. Cuckoos, of course, are red-listed and in severe decline, hence all the satellite tagging studies. Ray’s lovely Skylarks are on the red list, too, though many farmers are trying to help them by leaving Skylark patches in the middle of fields.
I love glamping its my guilty secret!
1. Lovely flat surface
2.Clean toilets and hot showers.
3. Car outside with in car entertainment if it gets cold.
4.Shop within walking distance
5. Tent extension to sit in in case of cool breeze
6. Kettle to hand if you fancy a cup of tea
I draw the line at certain things such as:
1. Electric hook up
2. Temporary fencing to mark out your territory
3. Televisions ( yes I have seen that!)
4. Disposable bbq packs
5. Radios
No point camping if its too like home
You deserve this glamping for a change!
Enjoy!
It seems we share a guilty secret! I also agree with all of your ‘taking it too far’ list! I’ve never seen anyone with a TV but I have seen someone straightening their hair!
As Ten Tors leaders is easy to be a bit irritated by the ‘bird nesting exclusion areas’ which make route planning a bit tricky but they are an important part of keeping our resident ground nesting birds safe and sound.
I have seen several people with TVs, my family included! I personally love to get away from the bloomin’ thing – hate it!!!
After camping on an August bank holiday a few years ago, we swore never to do it again as it seems to bring out a different breed of camper or should I say glamper. My greatest memory was the girls with their eye lash curlers – whats that all about??? We were camping in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere – why the need to curl the eyelashes????
Hubby recently purchased a buffalo top and hood and hasn’t been cold since!!! Well worth the money – cheaper in “Camouflage” shop in Preston, Paignton than anywhere else! Great shop – don’t judge a book by its cover!!
It must be a “hubby” thing. Mr Blonde Two has two Buffalos – one is in sleeping bag format and the other is a mountain shirt. We bought Six Foot Blonde one as a congratulations when he led a Ten Tors team.
I suspect the advice to wear little in a down bag has more to do with with someone’s fantasy than sound advice on keeping warm…
There loads of possible reasons:
Most people live in warm centrally heated environments. We tend not to be acclimatised to the cold or fluctuating temperatures.
Your sleeping bag isn’t as warm as the manufacturers claim. The temp ratings are devised in fairly artificial conditions.
The bag might be too big – if there is a lot of spare space you’re having to warm that up.
You’re nor creating a layer of dry warm air about two millimeters thick against the skin. If your clothing is retaining moisture or air can circulate because there’s dead space in the bag you will feel cold.
If your tent is too large you’re having warm all that space too.
You haven’t eaten well before sleeping.
You’re breathing into the bag, filling it with moist air.
You’re putting stuff on top of the bag compressing it so it doesn’t insulate as well.
You’re not using a (thin fleece) sleeping bag liner – it makes a tremendous difference for some of the reasons above (creating still warm air against the body/ wicking moisture away.
Good comment on sleeping in a Buffalo – particularly if you’ve got the hood.
I was camping in -7degC last weekend – and it was cold! I used a 1.3kg down-filled sleeping bag with silk liner, Mountain Equipment Helium 3.8 mat, slept in tracksters, fluffy socks, merino wool T shirt, Helly long-sleeved top, buff and balaclava. At 2am (quite cold!) I pulled on my down gillet – that made a huge difference, particularly when I pulled the down hood over my head.
I find it very beneficial to keep my head and neck well covered, hence the balaclava and the buff….not very romantic though! Keeping the neck baffles of the sleeping bag pulled tight helps, as does making use of the sleeping bag hood.
I’ve previously used a hot water bottle too, a hot water filled Platy, very nice too! I do worry about it leaking though.
JJ
I think we have solved Blonde One’s problem. She needs to make sure that all of her kit is orange – right down to her … then she will be as cosy as anything.
Sadly all too common an experience for us too. Don’t ask much, but it really annoys when the little darlings get straight off the bus and into a car (one notable brother and sister combo used to regularly have a Subway thrust into their hand by mum, rendering them useless towards sorting/cleaning kit/bus) without a word from them or parents.
What you need, of course, is a nice warm dog to snuggle up to – and if it gets below freezing, your k9 chum will simply climb on top of you for his own comfort and keep you non-hypothermic in the meantime. Luvverly.
A common thread here seems to be … Buffalo. Perhaps I will switch my savings from a Haribo jacket to a Buffalo (jacket, not animal!). Thanks for all your advice and ideas. I’ll keep you posted – that’s unless I die of hypothermia over the next few weekends camping!!!!!
I hope the boys have read on!!! They already have the luxury of a built in hosepipe for discrete wee’s or peeing into a jar (who carries a jar???) in the middle of the night, rather than attempting to be discrete and flashing their pearly white behinds to the world!!! So to understand the other “joys” of being female and the added “complications” this can bring to a long hike/wild camp would prove most educational and then they may realise that bearing the brunt of our PMT is maybe the easy option!!!!!! (Although hubby might disagree after I nearly (I said nearly!!!!) attacked him with a frying pan many years ago!!!!)
I’m not so bad now – walking is a great reliever of stress in whatever form!!!
I am obviously a true fan of all things Dartmoor, but I have to admit that the mud that we encountered on this expedition was not as smelly as Dartmoor mud!
Don’t get me started!!!! Despite being a car driver I generally hate all other car users (well not all!!!). I can’t understand why people drive around so blinkered to anything else going on around them and seem to have a complete disregard for anything using the road other than a car!!! Prime example today following some “silvertop” (no offence other silver haired drivers!!!) in their far too big car who seemed to unnecessarily swerve out into the other lane when cars were sat at junctions and a million miles away, but as soon as we came across a cyclist, nearly knocked the poor guy off his bike as he squeezed between him and an oncoming van.
As a keen cyclist and walker I like to think that I am pretty considerate to walkers, cyclists, horseriders etc that I come across – but I really do feel like I’m in the minority.
A very useful social experiment that you should continue to gain a larger data sample.
My own experience as a runner, walker, cyclist, motor cyclist and car driver, (that qualifies me to make any comment I wish) is that there are distinct categories. Some are related to the size of the car driver.
As a runner, when road running I have noticed that many unfit car drivers will try to get as close to you as they can.. The reason seemingly being that you dare to take up road space. I get my own back when marshaling a road race as with my Hi Viz I suddenly become able to stop all traffic and give runners a safe practice. I have yet to ascertain if marshals can be guilty of provoking road rage?
As a cyclist and like a motor cyclist, drivers get very p****d off when they see you filtering through traffic (you fail your bike test if you don’t) and get miles ahead of the driver who cannot do other than wait in the queue.
As a car driver, I delight in forming a queue behind me when I insist on driving through towns and villages at the posted maximum speed (open roads are fair game). If I really want some fun (particularly in London) I stop for pedestrians at all the pedestrian crossings, especially if there is a taxi or two behind me.
What does puzzle me is that the same impatient drivers realise they must give a wide berth to a horse, but never a person.
You’re right, you are entitled to make any comment you like (especially here) on the annoyances of car drivers! Incidentally, our group were wearing high viz vests but they still seemed invisible to some!!!
Not so long ago on one of the winding Devon lanes I spotted the high blue lights of an ambulance above the next hedge and pulled over so that it could squeeze past. The driver behind me pulled over too – for about 15 seconds – then decided to overtake me despite my efforts to flag him back with one hand. As the ambulance came round the bend at a modest speed, blues flashing, he came face to face with the other car and had to screech to a halt. I hate to think what that must have felt like to the unfortunate patient inside. The car had to reverse back past me to let him through. He’d risked his own life, the ambulance driver’s life and the patient’s life all for the sake of 15 seconds worth of patience.
Incidentally, I clocked a cyclist at 30 miles per hour yesterday while waiting for a good visibility place to pass him – wish my legs would pump me along that fast on a bicycle!
Sounds like a bivvy to me!!! My dad had a near nasty disaster with a couple of bivviers up in North Wales. He had pitched his mountain tent then driven off to the local pub for dinner. On his return in the dark he went to swing the car into the space next to his tent only to get the shick of his life as he slammed on his breaks to find two people in dark green bivvies in the space he had earlier vacated!!! Although he nearly soiled himself, the two bivvy inhabitants seemed sound asleep and blissfully unaware of how close they came to being squashed!!!
Personally I don’t think I could sleep in one because I get really claustrophobic even in tents!!! I can just about manage a 2 man tent!!!
Remember one guy holed up for a week in his one-man tunnel in some of the foulest camping rain I ever encountered; he had to do everything lying down – well, nearly everything – there was an Elsan on the site. I think he was having first-hand practice at being a worm.
The flashing torch to make me ‘be nice’ has since been discussed on numerous occasions to much hilarity! I’m beginning to think that i’m grumpy quite a lot lately!!!
Do you think they are warmer than bigger tents? I forgot to mention in the ‘cold’ blog that i have also bought a smaller tent in an effort to stay warm, but it’s not that small.
I also hate map cases!! Hubby seems to love them, so he has his map in his and I carry my laminated map “out in the open”! Our youngest has really got into navigating recently so also has a map case (after stealing her dads one too many times!) but I tend to scan and print the section of map we need (haven’t been walking very far recently!!!!) and put that in her map case!
Anyway it doesn’t matter how you carry your map becasue you can guarantee that wherever you are it will ALWAYS somehow fall on the fold in the map and involve you needing to turn the map over at least once in your journey!!!!
Hope you had/have a perfectly splendid weekend Ten Tors-ing! Had my own private challenge today, playing an organ that was intermittent on all of its F Sharps. It’s like climbing a hill with a left foot that is only occasionally attached to your left ankle.
Glad they went well-equipped; one night on Haystacks I thought I would watch the sunset from the summit. I left my little dark green tent pitched about 250 feet below the summit. Even with a head torch, coming down I simply could not find it; it took me ages of wandering from boulder to boulder and oh boy was I glad when I finally crawled inside; now, I take a spare red flashing led light and leave it clipped on to the tent if I go out at night. It weighs very little, and saves a lot of trouble.
The fire engine goes very fast and makes a lot of noise about it and gets the glory but you wouldn’t want to own one!
The V W camper van is probably one of the slowest vehicles on the road but it gets there, its reliable and gets much respect!
It is probably the coolest vehicle on the road and everybody would like to own one!
The V W camper is a real dude!
Much respect for the rear bringer
Always been deeply grateful to those lovely, deeply patient, true team members who have had the kindness to wait for me to catch up – theyare the true team builders. But a good team also needs those who stretch it and the happy in-betweens. Have fun – it always sounds as though your teams have learned to care about each other, so they will probably be there for those who don’t make it.
I think all outdoors geeks have a fascination with clouds and probably own a “Cloud Book”!!! I am still very much a child and try and spot faces, animals, castles etc in the sky. Hubby is getting worried about me now though as I told him recently that I don’t just see faces in the clouds now, I see them everywhere including in the carpets and curtains!!! Ooo, theres a knocking at the door – I think its the men in white coats!!!
I remember as a child walking in the Swiss Alps and being very excited as we were about to walk into a cloud – oh my disappointment when I found out what the inside of a cloud is actually like – I was expecting candy floss!!!!
I love clouds! And am a member of of the CAS – Gavin PP’s book is really good. One of our Silver teams did clouds as their aim for their expedition last summer, which was a really good one. Althought they did spend much of Day 2 inside one…
That’s a sad story!
This Anthony chap wouldn’t by any chance have anything to do with the stile you were talking about the other day would it?
If this is the guy who stood up poor Betsy then lets hope he ended up marrying a real battleaxe who made his life a misery! She surely would have made a good wife!
I think everytime that stile is crossed we should stop and think of Betsy and say ‘ Shame on you Anthony!’ and hope that he fled Dartmoor!
It may or may not be a Blonde Tale. It came to me in the middle of the night so maybe Betsy whispered it too me. Nobody else seems to know why Anthony’s Stile is called that so I think it is worth sticking with.
The Peak District is amazing. I went there many years ago now, but remember it well. We stayed on a campsite where the angle of slope averaged about 45 degrees! We had a caravan at the time (a what???) and remember the front legs propped up on blocks while the back end touched the ground! I was terrified of waking up to us hurtling down the hill!!! I also remember us winching several peoples cars out of the filed at the bottom – they thought this was the sensible place to pitch until the rain came!!!! This was in Youlgreave near Bakewell (yes we did have a tart!).
I remember Dove Dale with fondness especially hopping over the stepping stones! I also remember Dad taking me climbing up the side of a waterfall which was awesome!
We are planning our own adventure to the Peaks next year – we have the maps and Mr F has bought us a rock climbing guide for the area too. Lets hope the knee is up to it!
Maybe we’ll have to compare notes! Kinder Scout or/and Mam Tor are bound to feature there somewhere though! Dartmoor brilliant but its also great exploring new areas!
Nice place; busy but well worth a visit!
Edale is ideal. It has a Youth Hostel a short distance away; the campsite (can’t remember the name) in the village, next to the pub, is pretty good it’s at the start of the Pennine Way. Kinder Scout is a short easy scramble away.
Peak District is great – most folk start the Pennine Way from Edale Youth Hostel, which I remember as being quite a big one . Kinder Scout is a hard awakening in wet weather – peat hags – deep ones. Dovedale is lovely and also has a Youth Hostel I think – Ilam Hall – with attached campsite, When teaching in East Midlands, I used to nip up to Dovedale before school on my birthday, climb Thorpe Cloud, and drive back like the dickens to be in the classroom by 0850. Used to set out about 0430, hee. There is a good big car park at the ntrance to Dovedale and a farm campsite on the road down to Ilam, and one at a place further up the Dale – posibly called Millbeck? I will have to look it up on the map tomorrow. I think there was a coffee shop there too, with biccies and things.
Rach, those lovely old stepping-stones were given a revolting coat of some concrete stuff a few years ago when some idiotic official decided they were too uneven and someone might trip on them. Philistines!
Oh my god, thats health and safety gone insane. That’s part of the joy of stepping stones – the fact you might trip or slip and take a swim!!! Lets hope they don’t ever come and start assessing our stepping stones on Dartmoor – there always seems to be a dodgy one or two in the set!
Maybe I should go and visit the concreted stepping stones and overcome my stepping stone fear. That chap would have had kittens at some of the Dartmoor ones!
Its got to be a blonde tale. Manor houses don’t have children. They are inanimate objects. So don’t be too hard on poor old Anthony – he was probably very kind and built a most useful stile for everyone.
We may need to add some waterproofing to the handwarmer bra design then???!!!
I have never made it to Sittaford either. I have planned to many a time, setting off from Postbridge and taking in the East Dart, Grey Wethers etc but its one I feel requires a nice sunny clear day and somehow my walking plans and sunny clear days never seem to combine! Its an “on the backburner” walk at the moment – I imagine the terrain isn’t easy and am sticking to flatish “kind” walks at the moment!
Our intrepid exploration hasn’t put us off! Preparation has begun for a far tougher challenge tomorrow – well tougher on the legs anyway!!
Flask of coffee – check.
Waterproofs – check.
Jelly babies – check.
Hipflask – check.
Fox Tor Cafe loyalty card – check (well we couldn’t possibly begin without a planning meeting, could we?).
Very witty! Look forward to more entries from the Blondes 🙂
i know what you mean, i always want to go back to pete’s eats in llanberis which has equally steamed up windows, chips and cheese, mugs of tea and … mountaineers. don’t remember lycra though.
you didn’t happen to meet chris hemsworth at hemsworthy did you? he’s blonde. no you would have mentioned it…
Hi,
Girl’s I wont let the cat out of the bag as to what you two up too but I would just like to thank you for the walk and keep up the goog work and I dont think you will have any problems over the next couple of day’s. Good luck and maybe we will meet again on the Moor.
Cheers Paul
Hi Girls, Hope all is well with you both now into your second day with the “Night Nav” to look forward to. A good strong start yesterday and I am sure that you both will have no problem what so ever passing with flying colours. Please let me know how you get on. Weather looks good. It was great walking with you, really enjoyed your company. All the very best of luck. I know that you have struck it lucky with Steve the Assessor. Se you on the Mountain Leader course?
Mountain leader maybe not but one blonde through and one nearly there isn’t a bad result. Good walking with you too. Watch out for the Two Blondes in the future and spend some more time on the South Moor.
Well done! Keep walking. See you on the moor one day
The two links above are worth reading before you buy a new anorak.
http://www.keela.co.uk/breathability
http://innovation-for-extremes.net/gear-timezone/product-biography/waterproof-jacket/
The two links above are worth reading before you buy a new anorak.
Merrivale is a facinating place. There are several similar sites, one I like is Hingston hill on Down tor. I lose myself in locations like that.
Drizzlecombe is a personal favourite of mine. I even managed to visit it in the sunshine once.
I know exactly that feeling, especially when I’m walking the 20 mins to catch the train for work on a beautiful bright morning, “oh I should be out hiking” is my constant lament.
I spend a lot of time trying to persuade myself that walking to work would be a good idea – usually as I get into the car. Can’t make the connection somehow.
Totally understand that feeling, but just remember how lucky you are to have THAT view on your way home from work. Enjoy saturday
While sat here with nothing better to do than find a new pair of walking shoes, I discovered my beautiful Asolo Mantra GV walking shoes. Fab pair of shoes, but the crutches somehow ruin the look!!!!
Never had that experience with fox, but did with a deer in the New Forest once, also same place a squirrel helping its self to food.
I am convinced that I have met the same fox several times at the same camping spot.
Fortunatley only in the privacy of the back garden when a local friendly fox had shown a little too much interest in our thumping rabbit!!!!
Beautifully put Blonde One, I couldn’t have put it better myself! I’m looking forward to the new season (although not the 6am weekend starts, the stepping stones or self diagnosed hypothermia!!). All of these stories will, I promise, find their way onto ‘Two Blondes Walking’ eventually – watch this space!
So wish I could be out there with you blondies. Maybe next year. Hope you’ve had a fab day – a rather gorgeous first day out for the young ones – hope that doesn’t give them a false sense of the evil that Dartmoor can chuck at you!!! Send us some sheep poo aroma – I miss it xxx
Sounds like a lovely day 🙂 made perfect with lists and colour coding!
extremly jealous. Has been a long time since i have seen dartmoors beautiful views. I wish I had color coding for packing my kit. my waterproofs were always at the bottom of my ruck sack!
Time for a revisit I think?
It was drizzling last time i was there – actually I think it was very heavy drizzle!!!
Ugborough Beacon gives you a big sense of domination without actually being that high up. Being on the Southern Moor it is generally more sunny and drier!!! You have a fabulous dominating view across most of Devon, half of Cornwall and the Dorset coast. Plus it is the gorgeous sight of Western Beacon, Ugborough Beacon and Piles Hill that greet me everytime I look out of my window (when its not raining!!!)
Re: Down sleeping bags.
Not sure if down bags are the best route to go down – in addition to their expense they’re not necessarily warmer as such only warmer for their weight; a 3 season down bag is still a 3 season bag and they need a lot more care in the wet. For less cost (although for greater bulk and weight) you could opt for a liner for an existing bag:
http://www.jackson-sports.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=8560&gclid=CLa489rrzLMCFXDLtAod8l4ALA
or
http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/index.cfm/product/buffalo-4s-inner-sleeping-bag-liner/fuseaction/products.detail/code/82510001/id_colour/98/group/239/level/3
Agreed Mr Woolly. Liners work very well especially if you are not planning to sleep out in the cold too often.
Blonde Opinion: A cheaper and sensible option for first time cold campers but not anywhere near as much fun as a shiny new sleeping bag.
This sense of adventure has been with Blonde Two since she first learned to crawl – straight out of the front door, down the step and on to her nose. It has led her by the nose ever since; she was never going to be a stay at home babe!
That is probably why I love her! The Old Grey Witch.
I think the fleece liner isn’t a bad investment with a new bag either. I use an equivalent of the Snugpak one above and it works well. You create a layer of warmed, dry air around the body (much like base layer clothing) that is less easily lost when you move in the sleeping bag. You also extend the life of the bag by keeping it cleaner.
Nun’s Cross Farm is also a good place to visit if you get the opportunity. It can be hired out to groups which is when I had the opportunity to stay. Waking up to the amazing views most definitely outweighs the lack of electricity, running water and toilet! Be prepared for a cold night though – only one room has a fire and it’s not a bedroom!
I would definitely recommend a First Aid in the Outdoors course to anyone who ventures across Dartmoor or anywhere else remote. You get all of the traditional First Aid training and pick up some very useful hints about how to deal with emergencies in remote situations.
You never know when you or someone nearby will need help.
Ha ha fellow Dartmoor geek!!! I do (did) the same with our view of Western Beacon and Ugborough Beacon!!! Great minds eh!!! xx
There are probably millions of us out there.
I see fenland fields from my window, not quite as dramatic but they have a certain charm of their own
I think any wide open spaces have an appeal. Most of us live in a very crowded world. It always interesting to see how the youngsters we take out on the moors react to a bigger environment.
Hmm. Not sure I will repeat the experiment. I felt naked without my flask, wine gums, sewing kit, two pairs of gloves, two hats, chocolate, more chocolate, tea bag, knife, bootlace, water, dustbin liner, torch, spare batteries, more spare batteries, wet wipes, blister plasters, small plastic bag, spare jumper, high visibility vest, survival bag … (did I mention wine gums?)
I don’t know how Blonde 2 can walk in jeans – even for the shortest of walks I have to get into my walking trousers!!!! No rucksack either???? You two really are living on the edge. Often when we’re out walking, you will see me strolling along with a great big rucksack on my back while the rest of the family bounce along without one. I don’t care because without my rucksack I am lost. What do I do with my hands if not tuck my thumbs in the rucksack straps and where do I attach all those things I need close at hand???? Even on a short walk I have my rucksack even if its only to carry a drink and the camera!!! Back to your less rebelious, sensible selves next weekend???? Glad you survived xxx
Blonde One
I know what you mean Rach about tucking thumbs into your rucksack straps! I recently learnt that doing this not only slows down the circulation into your hands a little and stops fingers swelling (a common problem for long distance walkers), but also improves breathing when the going is tough! First Aid courses are just full of interesting facts!!!
I don’t feel right without a rucksack even on a stroll … and have you noticed how cold your back gets without one ?
You are so right Charlie! I would love one of the “keep your back dry” mesh day sacks but am not sure I like the idea of the wind whistling through.
I think I would always go for the warm but slightly damp option … that is until you take the sack off and then have to put it back on … when it’s cold.
My new rucksack is an “airy” one and I haven’t noticed being any colder – maybe the lack of a sweaty back (yuk) makes up for the draught.
Unfortunately I do tend to lose moisture quite rapidly but fortunately I am still loved by my Beloved …
It isn’t a good look though when I am red-faced and, er, ‘glowing’ and she is her usual lovely bronze colour without a drop of moisture.
Sadly, I too am of the red-faced and glowing variety but don’t tell anyone – it will ruin my blonde image.
Aching knees is part of the joy of walking. Don’t know quite what joy mine will bring me over the coming years now but I think in terms of arthritis a ligament rupture is preferable to a cartilidge tear!!! Mother-in-law has arthritis in her knees and her philosphy is to get out there and walk as much as possible and we still drag her around on 10-15 mile hikes on Dartmoor at the age of 66 – still a spring chicken!!! x
Ever tried to walk on a bearing on Dartmoor. We used to do this little exercise Person 1 with compass and map and Person 2 with a GPS. You’ll find that on the high moors you’ll come across pools and marshy bits that are best skirted round, but where it’s difficult to fix on a point on the horizon to walk to. The great thing with the GPS, you could see the route you’d actually walked, rather like the snake on Snakes and Ladders. After only a kilometre you could be over 200m off route…Moral of the story. Try to walk on a bearing towards an identifiable point, such as stream junction, small tor, but based on your story, maybe not a wall!
The Two Blondes don’t use GPS but I went out for a night navigation practice with my husband the other night and he recorded the walk via GPS without telling me. It was really interesting to see where I had gone wrong and how wiggly the line was even on the legs I got right. Would like to try out your exercise though, it would be interesting. The moral of the wall story is “know your wall”!
As I have mentioned in a previous post http://wp.me/p2OiIR-2L – walking boots are a girl’s best friend. I feel Blonde One’s pain today as I know how long she waited before finally taking the “new boot” plunge. I remember clearly the times when she debated with herself about the decision whilst wringing out wet socks.
My old boots now live in a cupboard, in a garage, on a farm in New Zealand. They sit there patiently waiting for me to visit them again. As with Blonde One’s boots, a good home I think!
My old boots sit happily in the garage and still get taken out around South Devon and plastered in that lovely red, clayey mud we love so much. My beautiful posh new boots are reserved for the delights of the peat and bogs of Dartmoor and even got at outing in the Pyrenees this summer! They are feeling rather sad and neglected at the moment though – I might have to go and see them and give them a hug so they know they are still loved!!!
I do think that, like plants, boots respond well to a bit of tender loving care. Your old boots have looked after you and now it is your turn to look after them.
I distinctly remember having a tasty burger and chips there with Blonde Two in the dim and distant past! Yummy! I also remember seeing several stags on the hill next to Grimspound in the even more dim and distant past: the only time I have seen wild deer on Dartmoor.
You know, Blonde One is so right about any Dartmoor activity being a good one. I have just spent a happy half hour sticking my map back together with invisible tape. Looking forward to the camping too!
blue jug, my god you girls come on get real
Well done – and the grid reference please? Have you been there?
Oooo I have a photo too!!! How do you post a photo???? Blue Jug boundary stone, GR 708804
I can see I will enjoy you challenges!!!
Well done – some have said that one was a bit too easy. Wait until next week, much harder!
I wanted to play!!! Will I be able to play next week?!
There comes a time when common sense has to prevail. Yesterday was definately an “extreme weather event”.
Considering more boots?? I am thinking perhaps we need to consider an extension on the side of the house! It could be a ‘boot room’! Now that’s posh…
I know Brimpts well and can vouch that while it is a mere stone’s throw from the Dart, the valley is so steep it’s still elevated way above where you would have any risk of being flooded camping there.
Thanks for that Sophie. We have camped wild many times on Dartmoor and stayed in the Princetown bunk houses but camp sites are a new venture for us. Local knowledge is always valuable and very welcome. Nice to know there would be no chance of being washed away!
Personally I love rock hopping but as you say there is always one wonky stone and one where the step seems a little too far – usually the one onto the wonky rock! I do remember a fantastic set of uniform flat stepping stones but unfortunately they were in Dovedale in the Peak District!!!!
Might be worth a trip up there to sort out the phobia – we have tried many times.
You’re right – the miles covered is probably the same but I bet you didn’t get the same sense of satisfaction and wellbeing as you would after a day on the moors?!
All good advice, especially wearing a hat when sleeping, essential!
I have had many times when I have been so buried in hats, hoods, clothes and sleeping bags that I panic when I can’t find my way out.
Removing tongue from cheek briefly, I’ve found completely changing out of your day (damp, even if they don’t feel it) clothes in to a new (dry) set tends to be warmer.
.
And obviously you look smarter on that midnight loo trip across the mud.
Oh you make me laugh!!!!! Had a similar episode with a hat dad brought the girls back from Peru – it is now teddy’s favourite hat!!!
Excellent!!! Sorry do I have an advantage being off work!!! 600826 (about the middle of it!!!) Yay another excuse to stare aimlessly at the Dartmoor Map planning walks I might do in several months time!!! x Cheers girls for another bit of Thursday Morning joy! x
You are the ultimate armchair navigator. Navigation by song, how about that for a quest? Have you been there? Full marks to the girl with the dodgy knee!
My main consideration when choosing which of my 3 favourite hats to wear is: is it going to rain? As a spectacles wearer it is very important to be able to protect my glasses from getting wet and steamy. In the absence of wiper blades I have to make do with a baseball cap. I am very attached to this cap and it has done well to ensure on numerous occasions that I don’t get ‘pixie led’ due to poor visibility! If the weather is dry but cold I prefer to wear my blue woolly hat, except when my daughter isn’t home when I wear her white woolly one (she would frown at me for borrowing her kit, although it seems to be fine for her to borrow mine!). It’s a tough job choosing the right kit for the right occasion!
As a tea drinker, I have to agree with Blonde One that is a tug of the heart to change the contents of my flask but the popularity of the Ribena yesterday was convincing and as it helped to keep the shivers down, well worth it.
Ribena every time, maybe with a dash of something else in it. Just for medicinal purposes mind. Honest!
A dash of something – now there is a nice idea. We will have to experiment (reaches for ginger wine bottle).
Next time the Two Blondes are out without kids I am definitely going to try this!
(Sorry for late reply – ICT issues – I am blonde after all.)
Ribena for me!!! Tea just doesn’t work in a flask, coffee is ok and hot chocolate nicely whisked in a jug with milk before pouring into the flask nearly wins, but ribena is just never a disappointment. And the dog likes it!!!!
I bet the dog does like it! Will he drink other brands of blackcurrant?
Your absence has been noted, and we hope that the buffet with the county’s great and the good wasn’t too much of a hardship. You did miss a beautiful night though – cold, yes, but with the moors and tors clearly defined by by a strong, bright moon.
There is a nice symmetry to your evening and ours. You were celebrating the achievements and efforts of a group of young people at the end of months, even years of endeavour. With us on the hills were another group who were beginning much the same journey, preparing for a series of expeditions and challenge events that are as much about character as physical fitness. By the end of the following evening they had tested both their stamina and humour to limits, but were still smiling. I would like to think that they had, perhaps, grown a little too.
Very well put Mr Woolly. I echo your sentiments and hope that the tepid bacon sandwich delivery service helped to make up for missing Blondes on Friday night.
When I used to walk with the Ramblers there was much talk of ‘comfort stops’ ~ a phrase that still makes me smile and shake my head. Perhaps you could mention this next time 😉
Ironic really as I have never experienced comfort when taking one of those stops. Discomfort and embarrassment certainly but comfort is more what I would associate with a heated toilet seat and quilted loo roll.
I have come round a corner on a couple of occasions to be greeted by a lady performing her toilet. Being a gent I stepped back round the corner both times … and I have been caught out once when I had taken a stop [and had to apologise profusely].
I never had you down as such a sentimentalist Mr Woolly!
Had an Etre et Avoir/ Dead Poets Society/ Mr Chips moment.
Going back to work without decent bacon sandwiches soon knocks it out of you.
http://www.legendarydartmoor.co.uk/Images3/KiteF.gif
Haven’t seen a Kite myself on Dartmoor but will certainly be looking given this map…
That’s really cool, I had no idea that there were Kites. Will be looking too.
Do you carry both when flying to New Zealand depending on which hemisphere you land in????
Good question. I do have an NZ compass but it lives in NZ with my old walking boots, a scruffy pair of leggings and some clean knickers. You never know …
Sorry I meant “crash” in!
No need to apologise Blonde Two. We survived and got back to the bus without getting hypothermia!
Struggled a bit with this one and still not sure its right!!! Is it White Lady Falls, GR501835???????
Not quite – think drawing styles.
Grid square 6384
Brook or hill by the same name…
We have a winner! Well done, do you know what the word means (Dartmoor, not art)?
Ok got it now!!! Ha ha should have known that one shouldn’t I blonde 2 having taught it for 2 years!!!!! Doh!!! (Well it could be white lady too!!!) x
I was surprised! Beaten to it this week though, you will have to get up earlier!
You’re so funny!!!! Your daily blog updates do keep a depressed girl happy!!!! x
Glad to be of service. You will be up and walking again soon and then the Two Blondes will have to run to keep up with you.
Where is the picture of the shiny boots though?
They aren’t shiny any more. They are covered with yogurt, paint and compost and have been consigned to the potting shed.
There were decs on it a couple of months ago apparently but think these were still holding on tight from last chrimbo!!! Today was definately a day to say “sod it” to all chores/ shopping that needed doing and get out and enjoy it. Since I couldn’t I had my hair cut and got my sister to put up some of my christmas lights!!! Oh and made mince pies!! x
Have a look at tomorrow’s blog to see the results of my Christmas search!
I’m suprised you didn’t take some decorations yourself!!!
Watch this space, Rach!
Tunbridge Wells has some great outdoor shops and I promise we go walking! Cotswolds and Blacks are fab there and Cotswolds is over 3 floors and has a great coffee shop in it too… 🙂
A walking shop with a coffee shop sounds almost like heaven to me! How lucky you are.
Have you thought of using a lead which attaches around your waist???? We bought one after seeing several people with them in the Lake District. Having had the whole lead, map, compass, GPS, walking pole thing too, plus a dog strong enough to pull you over if a sheep suddenly comes into view, the waist lead is quite handy. We have a Ruff Wear one, which come in various sizes. It also has a handle lower down the leas for more control.
Will maybe try that. Harry does have a habit of running around you in circles though.
Try visiting the Reading area! Nightmare trying to get exped kit, although there is one shop specialising in climbing stuff, Altimus, that is fantastic, however when it comes to kit for army stuff, rubbish! I’m always slightly offended that Millets has the cheek to call itsself an outdoors shop.
How frustrating for you! I agree with your Millets sentiments, it’s really a shop for the townies. If ever you come down this way, you will have to stock up.
I’ve used a lead + karabiner + doubled up 2m climbing sling for years – on urban walks the sling round my upper body means that my posture is saved from holding one arm out – even thought the Dood doesn’t pull. Cn also keep hands in pockets on a cold morning!
On Dartmoor it means that he a)cannot chase everything (he is a lurcher, so no changing that bit of nature), b) is completely ok from hassling non-dog friendly teenagers on DofE (although in my opinion they just need proper training but that’s a whole new discussion), and will consequently walk 12-15km on a DofE training walk just trotting along, no pulling, shadowing my steps. On Dartmoor the sling goes double again through a gear loop on my rucksack waist band.
The sling also makes a great emergency lead if you find a stray (twice in the last few years). Bit cheaper than Ruffwear too!
Sling sounds like a good idea. My son used to clip Harry to his waist strap and spend ages untangling himself as Harry ran round and round him.
I find a lot of the larger chains don’t sell terribly appropriate stuff – 300 quid waterproofs that stop at your hips and short bodied base layers bring out my inner grumpy old man (probably great ice climbing with salopettes, but down here, really?).
Although this says more about my prejudices than anything else the sign of a ‘good’ outdoor shop is that it stocks, the admittedly pricey, Paramo, Buffalo or its Montane equivalent and Altberg brands and have staff who will say “Actually, you don’t really need that…” In the past I’ve found that Moorland Rambler in Exeter and quite a few places in North Wales fit that bill.
However, if we’re honest with ourselves, most people most of the time probably need no more than a decent sweater and a set of waterproofs from Mole Valley…
Everyone knows, Mr Woolly, that a girl needs some more attractive kit than a sweater and waterproofs from Mole Valley! You should know by now that the Two Blondes have to get the look just right! 🙂
In the spring you’ll have to persuade the Mr Blondes to take you on a getaway to Paris. Plan to cross the Seine across to the left bank, through St Germain-des-Prés and further into the Latin Quarter where you can… visit ‘Au Vieux Campeur’.
It’s made up of at least half a dozen shops spread over several streets, each one specialising in a particular product: tents, rucsacs, cooking, sleeping bags etc. Perhaps more international brands and a bit less of the idiosyncratically French stuff (Escargot capes! Wire stoppered water bottles!) compared to when I first went there, but it really is a series of Aladdin’s caves.
I suspect you’d have some trouble getting back to the Eurostar on time…
That’s it, I am going tomorrow – pack your bags Blonde One, forget work. We are off shopping (wishing on lone star).
: )
Possibly a Kite on Trendlebere Down this weekend, certainly alongside the A303 last week.
Excellent photo Blonde Two!
Oh and by the way, how do you know I can’t jump twice my body height?!
Sounds fabulous! Shame about the hip flask though!!! x
I know, will have to go again now.
What does juxtaposition even mean??? Its one of those words that comes up and I just pretend I know, but honestly, I don’t!!!
Stop making me engage with this word!!! It means the positioning of two things side by side. In this case rugged outdoorsy stuff against girlie beauty stuff.
Ok!!! Right I’ll now never use the word again while in earshot of you x Unless I am feeling evil!!!
Abbie’ s spiced bread pudding at the Fox Tor Cafe is a favourite….with custard, never cream.
Enjoy your tweets!
Glad you enjoy the tweets. I would have to agree about the bread and butter pudding but am a cream kind of girl myself.
Took a bit of investigating this one and not easy with a fuzzy head after taking mountains of painkillers after the knee doubled in size last night! But I think it is 539856!!
Ouch – but your brain is still working. Well done!
yip yippee! Tricky that one! X
Does this extend from near Sharpitor up to near White Tor?
Afraid not Mr Woolly but this is definitely somewhere that you have been.
Hrumph. That’s almost cheating. I think my answer is much better. Stomps off in sulk…
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=440253&sort=2&type=reave&rational=a&class1=None&period=None&county=None&district=None&parish=None&place=&recordsperpage=10&source=text&rtype=&rnumber=&p=11&move=n&nor=141&recfc=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reave
Thanks for a little bit of Dartmoor education on a Friday morning – never heard of the Great Western Reave before.
🙂
Still sulking though…
OK folks. It is not often that you set a test and the testee comes up with a better answer than you one you thought of but I think Mr Woolly did have a good point here – although, obviously, I am an expert on the Great Western Reave …
You look stunning!!! Much more effective than a reflective jacket!!! IN my world DIMPSY means not light and not dark..That point in time when you’re not quite sure whether to have the lights on on the car or not and that point where its starting to get hard to read a map, book, watch etc! I think next year you need to organise a “Dimpsy Christmas Walk” where everyone has to go dressed on fairy lights – it would be an amazing sight on Dartmoor!!!
So a thong is not the way to go????
Any advice on colour??? I’m thinking bright luminous pink is not the way to go either unless you want to draw attention to the fact you are trying to have a quick pee behind this lame bit of gorse which isn’t really obscuring you, but maybe no one will notice if you’re quick!! Its always those moments you get your knickers in a twist and end up flashing your ever so stylish pants to the world!!! Or worse still, the ever chilly buttocks!!! x
You have just reminded me that the other night, when adorned by Christmas tree lights, I needed to take a wee stop and only just remembered to turn the lights off.
Now that would have been a sight to behold – a peeing christmas tree!!!
You’re right about the meaning of ‘dimpsy’. I think it’s a Devonian word but I could be wrong.
I liked this weeks challenge because I discovered F J Widgerys artwork! Beautiful! Might have to request a print myself for my birthday!! Or a prezzie idea for dad when I’m stuck!! Probably can’t afford it though!!! Would you believe me if I said that for all the places I’ve been to on Dartmoor I have never been to Widgery Cross – my lovely girls have, but not me – think I was stuck at school that day!!! xxx
I haven’t been there either. I have watched Blonde One walk up to it but I was feeling lazy and offered to watch the camping gear! Regretted it when they got to the top.
You’d be surprised how reasonable some of his prints are. They do make an excellent Christmas gift, I’m sure you and your Dad would love one!
Yep love lists!!! On our trip to the Lakes i bought a map with all the Wainrights marked and a tick box to tick them off – fabulous. Haven’t gotten very far through them – maybe next year!!! Before we go on holiday I have to make a list whereas hubby is just happy to grab stuff and chuck it in the van.
Going back to our beloved Dartmoor though, Dad decided he was going to visit every tor, barrow, high point on Dartmoor this year (don’t think he’s going to quite make it though with only 14 days to go) so I found him a book so he could tick them all off. Here’s a link http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/terry+bound/the+a+to+z+of+dartmoor+tors/8557465/ At £5.95 a real bargain.
His next challenge is to visit all the county tops in the UK, so I think there’s another christmas present sorted!!!
And not forgetting our old favourite the Dartmoor 365 – mines come rather grinding to a halt at the moment – I need someone to take me on a scenic drive to all the villages that need ticking off!!! And of course there I’m not happy enough with just shading in the boxes, I had to go and produce a whole hyperlinked powerpoint with photographic eveidence for each square!!!
Yep, definatley a woman thing!!!
Anoraks. Check. Woolly hats. Check. Thermos. Check. A fixation with lists and ordering. Check. Almost certainly all done with very neatly organised, colour coded, pencil case…
I think there’s a latent train spotting tendency just waiting to emerge 🙂
Lists are amazing! I have lists for everything: shopping, christmas stuff, kit for Dartmoor, jobs to do, places to visit, books to read, topics to blog about, things to learn, people to phone, food to eat … am I sounding a bit sad now?!
I will join you in imagining they were your future selves – how fun! Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it. I think both pairs of ladies were pleased to see the other out enjoying the moor.
“The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome…”
Shivers down the spine! What a lovely poem, makes you think …..
Oooo nice one. I always like things like this at Christmas. Worked out a couple already (3 & 6). Might have to bring this out at the dinner table on Christmas Day as the Ten Tors Veterans (i.e. my dad and his wife) will be joining us! I will wait until we have all 12 before listing any answers me thinks. Note the optimism of WHEN we have all 12!!!!
A jolly Chrimbo to you lovely blondies! keep me up to date with any Christmas ramblings!!! It is down to me to plan our traditional Xmas walk but obviously I have to sit this one out so am considering a figure of eight walk based around a pub which means I can sit there all day and they can come and visit me!!! Hubbies suggestion is a figure of eight walk based around a car park where he will leave me in the van to cook up food for everyone at lunchtime!!!! Think I prefer my suggestion!!!
Have fun!
xxxx
It wasn’t all that long ago that we set this quiz and already I have forgotten some of the answers! So good luck and let me know when you have them all!
Merry Christmas to you and your family Rach.
xx
I hate supermarkets too. In fact, I hate shopping!!! Unless it is for outdoor kit!!!! Buying practically everything over the internet and having it delivered to my door has been one bonus of a knackered knee!!!
Happy Chrimbo
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mr Blonde One can confirm that he can in fact be persuaded 🙂
Fairly confident about 2,3,6,8 and 11. This is giving me yet another reason to procrastinate this morning…
The answer for number one doesn’t feel right, but…
1 Dartmoor
2 Moors Way
3 Barrows at Three Barrows
4 Winds Car Park
5 Wyches Farm
6 in Ten Tors Team
7 Lords Land Cairn
8 Legs on a Tick
9 Maidens Stone Circle
10 Commandments Stone
11 Miles in 18 Kilometres
12 Menhirs still standing
Joyeux noel et bonne annee to you all – looking forward to coming back the blog in the new year.
Have another look at number three although you answer works, ours is much better! Am impressed though Mr Woolly, especially number 12, didn’t think anyone would get that. Merry Christmas to you too, glad you enjoyed!
Have you been hacking our e-mails?!
I think Dartmoor days could be limited if this weather continues!!! x
My hills have also vanished. I thought we were safe from the Mayan predictions until sat up late late last night with hubby and a mate and I kept hearing these bangs and rumbles. Sort of like fireworks and thunder but not. I asked if anyone else could hear it and apparently not. Now I had had a few glasses of my homemade mulled wine so maybe it was all in my head, but now I’m worried that it could have been Dartmoor being ripped away from us 🙁
Lets hope not! My prediction is that it will reappear on Christmas Day!!!
I’m hoping he’s stopped off at the Alpkit warehouse on his travels. Hope your foil bag is a SOL – they’re amazing and come highly recommended!
Jelly Babies – every time!
I like both but I would lean towards wine gums as you get a longer chew
Exactly – Blonde One is wrong but don’t tell her as I often end up eating her Jelly Babies because I have forgotten my Wine Gums!
But with jelly babies you get to check out the face that you are about to chew off!!
I bought some boots which I was assured were waterproof but current conditions prove otherwise! In future I will stick to Gortex and be sure to have warm dry feet. Good boots are so important as are a supply of sweeties!
I would say that boots and sweeties are equally important but it is never a good idea to pack your sweeties in your boots as it is difficult to get them out when you need them and may give you blisters.
Well done Mr Woolly – I thought it was 3 Bridges at Two Bridges????
It was three bridges at Two Bridges but I went and couldn’t find the third one – sure there are three …
Sounds just like us except I always make the mistake of underestimating the time – I forget that not all the family are weathered stompers like my bit of the family are and granny is slowing down!!!! I am really gutted at missing our Christmas walk this year – the festive period just isn’t the same without it!!! Will just have to do 2 next year!!! x
Brilliant-will be playing the Dartmoor v Exmoor version from
Mon-Fri in Minehead!
Excellent – it really is good fun. Send photos!
I haven’t been to Princetown in a while, so since when did you have to spend 20p to spend a penny????
Most of last year – it is the reason why all of my walking trousers now permanently have a twenty (pee) in the pocket.
Oh yes I know that hill in Malvern! Every time I drive past I always wish that I could climb it as it does look like a mountain and looks so inviting! Its on my to do list and is not too far away from N Wales.
Do it, in fact, walk the ridge. It is lovely, especially on a summers day and you can drink water form the springs. I cut my walking teeth in Malvern (grew up here).
Brilliant – what Christmas time is all about! x
Bel Tor Corner…
Yes it is! Even on a rainy, blustery day like today it looked lovely.
Well I was born in good ol’ Brixham and I always have jam then cream!!! But my genes are half Somerset and half Scouse so maybe I’m wrong. Mother in law is proper Devon and she says cream then jam!!! Doesn’t make sense to me that way – how can you have a gert dollop of cream then spread jam on it – it just doesn’t work!!!!
Don’t tell Blonde One that I said so but I think she is wrong on this one. Shhh!
I agree with blonde one , jam first then cream
Happy New Year to both you blondies and your families! Yes lets hope 2013 carries on like this – an amazing view of the Moors this morning. I DO intend to get walking on Dartmoor again this year although it may be some way off yet. Suggestions of nice easy even path walk would be great – I’m too used to stomping across the open moor!!! I also intend to loose all this weight I’ve put on sat on my arse for the last 3 months! I would say I’m going to give up eating cheese but that will never happen!!! Enjoy thhe weather today and hope all your wishes come true for 2013! x
The first track I tried after breaking my ankle was the railway path out from Princetown. You feel like you are mid-moor but it is flat and easy to get back if you need to. Happy New Year to you too and a speedy recovery. xxx
Looking forward to reading about your many adventures!
You didn’t mention about taking the jelly babies out walking!
You are right of course – Jelly Babies need regular exercise and lots of fresh air. A bit like normal babies but best not to get them muddled up.
I’ve just been reading The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane and in the chapter about walking the Broomway (on sand flats off the coast of Essex), he talks about how easily even experienced walkers get disoriented when they are in “repetitive, data-depleted landscapes with few sight-markers” (such as Dartmoor in mist or at night). This is because “we evolved in the dense, close-hand environments of jungle and savannah.” So your nerves are not just understandable, they show that you are tuned into your evolutionary heritage!
Love your blog!
That is really interesting, thank you. I will blame evolution from now on. You have just reminded me that I want to read that book. Glad you are enjoying the blog – it is always good to hear that.
Nerves are good! It reminds you of your limitations and makes you aware of danger and the need to respect your surroundings. Have fun!
Great idea to get walking for the year. We’ve set personal targets for walking at least 20 minutes everyday and preferably 1 hour – that’s 3-6km depending on the terrain. So ideas of good walks are welcome and you’re wise to be wary of the moors, as you say DSRT know from their call-out lists.
Those unfamiliar to the moors need to be aware that walking in a direct lines is often not possible due to boggy patches, and heather moorland is hard going, and we don’t want to do it when the birds are nesting.
Admire your challenge of ‘night navigation’ in winter, but listen out for the owls, if you’re near woodland.
Nice to hear from you. That is an impressive challenge – let us know how you get on. These things sound simple but busy lives don’t always make it easy. We didn’t hear owls last night but did see a heron at dusk. Are owls fussy about coniferous or deciduous woods?
huge thanks to blondes one and two for an awesome moortime adventure yesterday afternoon and last night. yes it was lashing down but i felt alive live live and its done wonders for my complexion. will invest in better kit and put my name down for the next time there is no moon or stars, the rain is blowing slightly upward of horizontal and you can’t see 50 meters in front of you. then and only then will i venture out. good cheesy chips at princetown too. an experience second only to watching strictly this year. its me i’m cathy i’ve come home now… 🙂
I think the song Uncle Tom Cobley would have lightened the mood as it drifted across the moor
It would have been a nice choice and I know that the singer knows all of the words to that one as well. Did find myself hoping that Heathcliff wasn’t actually going to appear!
Blondes, I’ve been enjoying your blogs and hope you can make it easier for me to follow. I use an RSS reader for all my blog reading, but your RSS setting is set to deliver only an extract (first few words only) to the RSS reader.
Could I ask a huge favour and request you set your RSS feed to full article instead? Obviously if there is a reason you don’t want to do this, I’ll understand, but was thinking it may just be the way the blog defaults?
If you go into the WordPress dashboard, Settings, Reading options you should find an option that says “For each article in a feed, show” and the option to set it to “Full Text”.
I will keep reading, just that this makes it so much easier 🙂
Happy walking
Cheers
Stuart
AKA @LoneWalkerUK
Your wish is our command – consider it done and hope you continue to enjoy!
Forgot to say “Thank you” 🙂
So thank you for that change
LW
I don’t feel I am qualified to comment on the female difficulties with the rucksack! However I can comment on day bag.
When I go hill walking I believe in taking something for every eventuality. As a consequence I end up with a rucksack that weighs as much as a small child on my back! When you making an ascent of 3,000 ft + then this becomes a bit of a challenge. The contents include enough water for 6 cups of tea so that I can have a drink and admire the scenery, this is carried in a metal flask.
I like to carry a 2nd breakfast of cereal, that means another container and since I need plenty of milk for the cereal and tea this requires another flask for the milk. Enough food to keep me alive if I were to be stranded in an Alaskan Wilderness for 4 days. Suitable clothing for any season and sudden blizzard plus the usual neccesities. So as you will appreciate it requires a measure of fitness to transport the said items to the top of a mountain.
The problem I have with my rucksack ( daybag ) is the many compartments it has and I tend to lose things I need in a sort of rucksack abyss. I can feel the item but locating the compartmen is like trying to find your way out of Hampton Court Maze. So that’s my experience of walking with the daybag.
As for your problem is this something that the manufacturers of outdoor accessories could work on for the ladies??
It’s nice to get some positive press for young people! All too often they are branded as unruly and ignorant just because of a few who are. But in the main young people are mostly polite and pleasant!
You are so right. Blonde One and I have the privilege of spending time with some of the best of them.
I agree. It’s always good to be reminded that it is only the minority of them that are not good.
I have decently discovered that the village where I was brought up in S Wales had a leat that supplied a mill the village being called Blackmill. So now I have to make a trip back to my old hometown to find it of course! Its amazing how you can be surrounded by history and be unaware of it!
Too true – the wonderful thing about Dartmoor is the wealth of history. I can’t imagine ever finding out everything about it. We see something new each time. Happy leat hunting!
When I began exploring England in 1995 with my older sister we were walking on Dartmoor and I remember her explaining to me what a leat was along with the fact that we were walking along one! Nice memory that your blog post resurrected.
We have some lovely memories of leat walking too. I really enjoy them.
Have a good week! I an also looking forward to the longer evenings and the opportunity to do an evening walk. Also on the weekends it will become possible to get a longer day of walking done so much to look forward to!
Indeed – soon we won’t have to go to work in the dark!
Im sorry to laugh but falling in a bog is one of those things that never fails to provide enormous entertainment for the onlookers! But take heart because you know that they are going to be the next victim and then it will be your turn to split your sides! In some places bog snorkelling is a sport and that gives a bit of dignity then.
Bog snorkelling does sound like an ‘extreme sport’ that I would rather not partake in, but you’re right, I think I can claim some kind of kudos for it!
Did you steal the term “Vamping” from me???? I thought I was the only person that used it!!!! Liam neeson to cuddle up to on a cold night on Dartmoor – now there’s something to aim for!!! x
I have been known in the past to take a poster of Gareth Gates with me! Long story – I’ll tell you about it another time, but I blame my daughter!
Nothing wrong with a gareth gates poster!
Me and my girls used to call Gareth Gates “Frog Legs” because of the way he dances!!! x
My best Loo, bush, rock story. I was leading a walk along the banks of the River Medway about 12 in the party, for most of the way the Medway Valley
Line runs parallel to the river. A female kin the party had a urgent call of nature, bushes were few and far between, when ever she found one people were walking towards us, eventually a big bush no people so off she trots behind the bush, only for the 16:30 Maidstone West to Paddock Wood to go past slowly!! she came out red as a beetroot! Say there was nothing I could do when your in full flow you can’t turn it off like a tap.
That is a most excellent loo, bush, rock story. Bet the train passengers were cheered by the sight!
Haha! SUCH a blonde thing to do!!
A very Happy Anniversary to you both! What a very thoughtful guy! He really knows you well! Just one reminder ~ remember to switch it off when you play hide and seek Lol!
I will try hard to remember that. Thank you very much.
Oooo congrats to you both – but surely you’re not old enough to have been married for so long!!!
No where near old enough …
Excellent – sort of thing I would do too!!!! Remember to turn it off when you go for a quick pee stop too! x
You’re right, I’m very jealous! Mr Blonde Two you are a legend.
Apparently the best and most nutritious energy drink is milk but tilt only increases your weight problem ( backpack weight! ). Bananas are the best high energy snack but they are messy if not eaten on the same day. My conclusion is chocolate and cake!
You can get special plastic banana holder’s of course … I know, more weight.
But a very organised rucksack would result. Plus it would prevent finding a soggy banana at the bottom of your bag three weeks later.
I can’t help much except to say that I don’t like Kendal Mint Cake either …
Happy New Year to you both!
I think that your emergency rations need to be seen in the light of what you eat the rest of the day. Graham Obree, the cyclist, had a highly specialised diet. After a carb- rich breakfast product called ‘porrige’, and then if exerting himself for more than an hour, he uses a high energy snack called ‘jam sandwiches’ all followed by a recovery nutrition mix called ‘lunch’ (generally green veg, protein and carbohydrate) as well as a special hydration fluid called ‘tap water’. The thinking behind the jam sandwiches is that they have sugars for immediate energy needs and the bread has salts and more complex carbohydrates that your body digests over a longer term. Alongside drinking when you feel you need to and the balanced diet at other times this combination does everything that expensive sports snacks and drinks claim. I’m pretty certain that a similar approach works for hill walking.
Any emergency rations should be extra calories to supplement your normal food if you end up out longer than planned, perhaps more tired and cold. Maybe take an extra couple of sandwiches or bananas that are kept until you get back to the car? Alternatively a bar of chocolate, mint cake, pack of boiled sweets or dried fruit would probably be sufficient on most day walks. Amounts will vary with where, when and what you’re doing. You would have a more substantial amount if out all day in remote country in cold wintry weather with a high risk of being caught out overnight compared to a summer morning ramble on easy ground.
I have been told that military ration packs now have fewer sweets and chocolate than they used to, with ceral bars as a substitute. Part of the reason for this is that confectionary gives an immediate but short lived rush instead of the the more sustained release of energy from the mix of sugar and complex carbohydrates in the cereal bars.
I do eat porridge on a working day – maybe it will pack down nicely in a compression sack!
You have more goodies and tasties in the day bag than me, and I’m diabetic!. In mine bottle of water, glucose tablets, Kagol, spare jumpers, map and walking Sat Nav. Enjoy your weekend walking on the moor, we have snow forecasted here for tomorrow, so it’s a wait and see walk for me.
I can’t see the moors because of the cloud so snow seems unlikely here. We are going up later and I am going to inspect the emergency rations again first.
My emergency rations always include 2 Mars bars. They stay in the bottom of my bag throughout the whole season of walking with kids, then at the start of the summer when my bag gets its annual sort out, they get eaten!!!! A fab tradition that I refuse to change.
What a wonderful thought! I am dreaming about a jacket that in its many pockets you would find Wine gums jelly babies and all sorts of chewy delicacies. As you walked across Dartmoor you would hand out sweets to all passing walkers. People would bring their children to walk on Dartmoor to try and find the lady wearing the Haribo jacket! A sort of walking Willy Wonka!
Shame the Hoover had to shatter the illusion!
Blonde One would certainly be the most popular person to walk with on Dartmoor in her “Haribo” jacket. No more arguments about Wine Gums or Jelly Babies – we would have as many of each as we liked!
Your post really made me laugh ‘raydavieswalks’. Thank you for cheering up my boring Sunday with a shopping for a hoover trip planned!
Yay well done blondies on your 100th blog!!!! I just don’t have the imagination or humour to write as you do!!!!
I have to say that the timing of the “twoblondeswalking.com” was incredible as it seemed to coincide almost to the day, with me screwing up my knee so has given me daily entertainment while been stuck at home for the last few months -although it has made me crave what is currently inaccesible to me even more!!! Having now been told I need not one but two operations on my knee to fix it, I can see a walk on Dartmoor is still a long, long way off.
So keep up with the blogging and providing me with my daily entertainment. And happy walking – I’m with you in spirit!!!
x
Having now been t
Naughty knee! Keep your pecker up Rach and we are glad that we have helped in some way. You are not the only one of our readers who can’t get out and walk as much as they would like to – it is nice to feel that we can ease the fed-up-ness a little bit. I do understand a bit from those weeks out of action when I broke my ankle. Makes me very grateful to Devon Air Ambulance that I can get out and walk now.
x
I can’t believe it’s been 100 already! Such fun!!!!
Two Blondes in a trench – that could make an interesting blog post.
Plastic banana holder (been skulling around THAT kitchen drawer for ages) will be dispatched shortly, blonde 2 for the use of. Love, Tawny Mum
Ooooh how exciting – requests by blog. Looking forward to the postman soon!
Technical note : you may have to chop bits off the banana to get it into the holder [or buy smaller bananas].
I would spell it ‘flummoxed’ … but, of course, I’m from Derbyshire 🙂
I always take a flask of coffee with me but then when I see a tearoom or cafe I’m stumped [some may say flummoxed] because I want to try someone else’s cakes etc but don’t want to waste my own coffee. Such are the pressures and stresses of walking.
You are so right – when to drink the flask is a whole dilema and may be worth a blog post. Mine was cold last night – left it too late.
I will look forward to reading your blog on what to do with that unopened flask.
I think flummoxed is a Northern word so I bow to your spelling!
The flask/cafe answer surely has to be linked to how strenuous the walk was? If you have merely had a little ‘bimble’ then the flask wins, but if you have had an all day walk in the rain covering lots of miles then the cafe is a well deserved reward!
You could be right about ‘flummox’ … but perhaps it’s spelt differently in different parts of the country.
As for the choice between a flask and a tearoom it’s a difficult one. I never want to waste my coffee but I so want to try a new tearoom and a piece of their cake. I agree the choice is easier if you’re doing a long walk because the chances are you’ve used your flask and you’re looking for a tearoom … or even a pub at the end of the walk.
Actually you’re right – a pub must surely win every time?!
Until I became self-employed (middle of last year), I’d resisted getting involved in tweets, blogs, facebook etc. but have now had to bow (somewhat reluctantly) to the unavoidable. However, your tweets and blog have made me realise the fun side of it all. I’m guessing — from your mention of Rippon Tor being a relatively near part of the moor for you — that you aren’t based too far away from me, and am looking forward one day on the moor to seeing two blondes settling down with a thermos or attempting some mad navigational challenge, and rushing up to say hello in person. Meanwhile, keep it up – a good sense of humour and love of walking is a winning combination!
I am so glad you are enjoying the blog so much. I understand what you mean about reluctance with the social network stuff. All things in moderation I say and we are certainly enjoying ourselves at the moment. Feel free to come and say hello up on the moor, it is always nice to chat!
As you will probably have noticed, I am not as good as Blonde Two with this social networking malarchy, but like you, I am coming round to it as I have realised how much fun it is! Look forward to bumping into you (perhaps literally if we are on a night nav) on the moors.
I thought you were talking about this little walk: http://www.ldwa.org.uk/2013Hundred !
Congratulations on your century!
JJ
On your next night navigation don’t go anywhere near the Prince Hall Hotel as you may get accused of poaching or trespassing or more likely you will find that open trench very easily in the dark!
Indeed because the many signs would be tricky to see – good thinking! It would make a good feature though, even I couldn’t miss a great big hotel (or could I?)
Well if you did accidentally bump into it you could call in for a nightcap!
To be a one of the ‘little people’ in Dartmoor must be pretty hazardous since the arrival of the Berghaus Explorer which must have caught many a little person by suprise as they were trampled into a bog! They may even have been squashed under the weight under of Blonde Ones
sorry pressed the wrong button! As I was saying – Blonde Ones backpack! I can’t remember who carries the Jelly Babies now but they are the true ‘little people’ on Dartmoor and they will not mislead you in any way but rather give you hours of pleasure!
Jelly Babies seem to have taken over both rucksacks at the moment. You are right, they make lovely little people – we must remember to be kind to them … right before we bite their heads off!
Hope you ticked off John Bishops place in your Dartmoor 365 while you were there!
My brother in law and family walked the old railway track from pricetown out to Ingra Tor at Christmas and they found a lone gnome on their way – obviously out on a wander from Pixies Holt. Can’t quite remember where on their way but hopefully he has been left in peace to enjoy the view!
Would love to find a gnome – I was a gnome when I was in the Brownies … reaches for Dartmoor 365!
If you like Paramo (apart from the price!) have a look at: http://www.furtech.co.uk/scripts/default.asp
Their kit works the same way but seems rather cheaper. They’re a small company and although they don’t have the product range of Paramo, I think it’s worth a look.
JJ
Tbanks for that, I’ll have a look.
Or even have a look here: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ParamoSeconds
JJ
You’re so full of useful information. Thanks again.
. I’ve been shown these piskies at this llocation. Knowing where they were was passed on by word of mouth – being shown where they were was being in to a sort of club. Giving too much detail on the Internet takes a bit away from that…
It is just a different sort of club – and still word of mouth, just a bit louder.
I don’t recommend wearing a cats eye on your rucksack as this could cause a passing motorist to have a navigational error as he mistakes you for part of the road!
How about glow in the dark hairspray glow in the dark lipstick and eye shadow! Now that would be fun!
The possibilities are endless aren’t they!?
Had the dog escaped from the prison perhaps?
This dog looked like he could escape from anywhere. He was chasing cars over Hexworthy Bridge which was a bit scary. I think dogs must have nine lives too.
I have found the perfect solution to your banana transportation problem! It is called the Banana bunker! You must check out WWW !.vat19.com/banana bunker and then watch the video to demonstrate its use. It Is very funny and you must watch it! You will want to get one for sure! Lol!
Just to confirm
http://www.vat19.com /banana bunker
That is a very cool thing indeed – I particularly love the different colours. Will Blondes One and Two fight over who has which one?
I have to eat a banana every day to keep up my potassium levels so I never take one out with me. You can get too much of a good thing.
Mr Blonde Two made a smoothie out of four over-ripe ones this week – don’t think he will be doing it again!
Many years ago I led a small group of Ramblers on a walk from Ballidon in the Peak District. We were followed by a Jack Russell who just wouldn’t go home no matter how we tried to encourage him or her to do so.
We gave up eventually and even had to use a spare bootlace as a lead as we walked along a narrow bit of lane as we were concerned that said Jack Russell might run out in front of a vehicle and we would have to take a dead Jack Russell back to Ballidon.
Three hours after starting the walk we got back to Ballidon. The other walkers departed leaving me with a Jack Russell who had decided I was a friend for life. I thought I’ll go and ask at the nearby farm if they knew whose it was explaining that he’d followed us all the way round on our walk and had to be tied up too at one stage. The farmer replied that it was his and “oh he’s always doing that …”.
No thank you, no nothing …
This farmer said that the dog would have followed us for our whole walk – would have been weird during the night nav section!
Very good idea the banana holder, as long as you remember to eat it, i had one but forgot to eat the banana, then one day found a gooie mess in the bottom of the rucksack!!
That is my big problem with bananas – they are ok for a day or two but after that …
Maybe if you look carefully on the night you will see a cow jumping over it! Lol!
If I see a dish running away with a spoon as well, I will know that the hyperthermia has started to settle!
Have you got your gear? You may have to walk home !
Took walking pole and trainers – strange combination thinking about it but no adventure today 🙁 Will have to make one tomorrow!
Want to school in my full kit this morning, the excuse being if I break down in the car (even with no snow) it will immediately become an Al Humphreys-sequence micro adventure…
Just like the Two Blondes then – any excuse for an adventure. I took trainers and a walking pole even though it was only raining! Made it feel a bit more exciting.
The little dog was certainly laughing when he forced us to rescue him at the weekend!
I would happily drive you up if you wish… Blonde 2 has been nagging me to drive her up in the truck for the last 24hrs!
I am an expert on the subject of getting in to a terrible mess when it comes to folding a map! My wife will always take it off me if she sees me attempting to try. I even have difficulty trying to fold it on the dining room table so you can imagine what happens when the wind gets involved!
However I think I may have found a solution to the problem!
Introducing the map dress!
Another represented collage artist was Elisabeth Lecourt, who is known for her work folding maps into shapes of clothing. Lecourt meticulously presses and irons the maps into place to make collared dresses and button-down shirts.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_xEXHTEK4U20/TToed007-FI/AAAAAAAAAZU/oMZHcXyGvsw/s1600/elisabeth+lecourt.jpg
I have sent you the link so you can see the dress.
Of course I know what your thinking about wearing a dress on Dartmoor. Impractical! Perhaps a map jacket would be more suitable, although you would both have to have one as the various parts of Dartmoor may be in awkward places so your partner would have to study the parts that your eyes could not reach! Or maybe map wrestling is more fun! What do you think?
Map wrestling does not compare one jot to having a map-dress. What a great find. Would Blondes One and Two argue over who had the North Moor and who had the South? Who would need the legend?
These will definitely feature in Two Blondes The Movie!
We are all tourists for a time as we visit different places so it is up to us to show respect for the area. In the Welsh language there ips no word for tourists but rather visitor which I think sounds more friendly! Visitors are important to each area and we are happy to see people taking pleasure in our landscape! If we are friendly and show respect for the residents then we are going to get along very well!
I like a an old Scottish saying to visitors – Haste Ye Back!
It is true to say that over the past couple of months the tree has had its moment of glory and is presently enjoying another special moment with the arrival of the snow. But what will happen in the coming weeks as its decidious cousins start to wake up and adorn themselves in beautiful fresh shades of green? Who will pay it attention then? As we know for the rest of the year the decidious trees will get all attention and for them come September they will certainly take centre stage!
How does Mr Evergreen deal with this sudden change of affection? Will anyone pay it a visit then?
I will certainly pay it a visit from time to time. I am not sure that the tree can see any deciduous rivals from where it is so it might be able to avoid jealousy!
I’m very jealous of you Blonde Two. It must have looked amazing. I hope it’s still snowy on Saturday!
The best in the nation has to be Llanberis, for its dinky high street with a nevertheless very high outdoor shop:muggle shop ratio. My favourite being Joe Brown’s, for its independentness and great range of proper kit. Mnd you Betws-y-coed is pretty good too, with again a top ratio, including the Cotswold Rock Bottom shop…always a bargain, no excuses needed!
Variations on the Haribo theme (if you want to extend your mortgage a couple of years):
http://www.cioch-direct.co.uk/waterproofs/nikwax.html
http://www.hilltrek.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Cotton_Analogy.html
If you’re coming round to the idea of bad weather clothes that are designed to leak don’t rule out this lot (starting to sound like a stuck record…). They aren’t really waterproof but this is my second winter of cycle commuting in one of the Teclite tops and I can’t fault it, it having cope with most weather in that time. The Special 6 shirt is going strong despite being bought in 1998 :
http://www.buffalosystems.co.uk/products/
It sounds like you have been doing a whistle stop tour of the country!
I have visited Tavistock many times but a visit is now long overdue. I know Exeter as My wifes family live in Axminster and I have an auntie who lives in Sidmouth.
Cardiff I know very well as I was brought up in the area.
If you ever pay a visit to North Wales then the Alladins cave of outdoor clothing shops has to be Betws Y Coed and also Capel Curig which are the best places they
You beat me to it – I was going to say Betws Y Coed. I challenge any outdoor enthusiast to leave there without making a purchase.
Oh yes Betws Y Coed – so much in such a short length of road!!! Nearly came back with a kayak from there!!! x
Harder to take a kayak up Snowdon but not impossible I guess. Coming down would be fun.
hit the wrong button again!……as I was saying they are in the right place. If you want the best nearest city that would be Chester.
You didn’t mention Plymouth for walking shops.Any good?
I am disappointed you didn’t come back with a Haribo jacket !
I now have some more excellent suggestions for trips – thank you. Poor Mr Blonde One will have a fit when he reads all of this!
Plymouth isn’t bad, raydavieswalks, there’s quite a big Cotswolds but I haven’t found too many independent shops – yet. I won’t give up the search though.
The more I talk about this Haribo jacket, the more I want it. I’m almost convinced that I ‘need’ it now!
That’s good news then if it is not being overshadowed. The ‘tree’ will never be aware of the competition!
I can recommend Ambleside – the outdoors mecca of the Lakes!!!! Spent a very happy rainy day trawling through the numerous outdoor related shops which resulted in purchases of trousers, jackets, maps, books and even a nice new lead for Charlie!!! Field and Trek were particularly wonderful. On having a chat with one of the assistants we talked about our plans to do a spot of climbing and how we’d forgotten the girls climbing harness so did they have any available to purchase??? The lovely asistant then said, if we popped in the next day he would bring his kids in and we could borrow it. Then someone else piped up that they had one we could borrow too – now thats what I call service!
Unfortunately the weather was never quite climbing weather except for the day we went up Scafell Pike which was an amazingly beautiful day, so we never took them up on their offer, but have bought many an item from Field and Trek since!!! x
It can take a bit of searching but Gaynor Sports there often has a few bargains.
Ooo yes – went there and bought myself a new pair of waterproof trousers – couldn’t remember the name of the shop. Huge range of kit – great shop!
I haven’t yet been rich enough to afford a merino baselayer which I have read so much about and how wonderfully warm they are and how you can wear them day in day out for a week and they don’t smell. I really should invest in an item – maybe a “back to walking” treat next year!!! Although I keep nice and warm when walking I am terrible for sitting around in a tent and getting cold – even in the middle of the summer – although recently, thats not much different to the winter. Must start saving! Even yesterday, sat watching the tv, I had the fire on and the heating and was wearing a tshirt, hoodie and down gilet, oh and hood of said hoodie up and I was just about warm!!! Useless me!!!
Oh are you related to Miranda????? Everytime I watch her recently I think of you!!!! xxx
I’ve not found merino base layers to be to be that much more warm in themselves – you’d probably feel as cold as before just sitting around. However I find I tend to feel less chilled after being active because, in common with all wool, they retain much the same thermal properties when wet and genuinely wick moisture from the skin. They’re less clammy than synthetics and I find them more comfortable over a range of temperatures. On the other hand, and this is arguably less of a problem because of wool’s properties, when they are wet they remain wet for much longer. They also require a bit more care washing.
Of all people, Mr Woolly, you should not be bothered by having to hand wash your woollies.
Well, that is a compliment – am no relation but both Blondes are fans. Had to not look at each other day when paying for lunch and the nice lady said “bear with” so as not to offend.
Such Fun!
Check out Aldi’s merino wool T shirts – although not 100% merino, at £15 a shot they’re very good value and suit me fine.
They should be coming on offer at any time now.
JJ
Now that is an exciting proposition and would be great for some of our shivery youngsters as well as us chilly Blondes. Thank you for the tip!
During a spell of some very cold weather I asked a Welsh farmer if the sheep were ever taken indoors to shelter. He explained to me that Welsh mountain sheep get very distressed if they are taken indoors and need to be out in the fields. So that tells you how effective their wool coats are and why the Marino wool is so effective in keeping you warm. Although I would draw the line at woolen undies or pyjamas . Too itchy!
Teaching someone else is a great way of reminding yourself of information you already know and it also gives you a great feeling of satisfaction.
There are certain things that you have to learn by personal experience such as what you
shouldn’t carry in your rucksack and what you should, what you need and what you don’t need. Life is also a great teacher!
There was a feeling of satisfaction – you’re right. It was one of those ‘I love my job’ moments! (Sometimes those moments seem quite rare.)
Great post – similar stuff going on just across the bay! Must warn you of our experience the last few years with Bronzes, using ‘garages’ as checkpoints… Refreshingly naively, they thought that the blue tankard was a petrol pump on the 1:25000…
For me the most amazing Invention I have seen of late is the dormouse bridge near Llantrisant South Wales which allows dormice to cross a busy dual carraigeway to their habitat on the other side of the road. A considerable sum of money was spent by the council on this project which some people complained about but which I found heartwarming!
As for the Haribo jacket I think that sounds like an excellent invention and I think that you should patent the idea as you first thought of it!
You have clearly never heard of Pusser’s Blackouts! Made of navy blue silk, masking as rayon, these delightful items were WRNS issue back in the 60s. (No, I am not that old, the NINETEEN sixties not the EIGHTEEN sixties.) By the time I joined, they only had one size – Extra Large – mine started at my knees and neatly covered my bosom at t’other end. Great stuff on draughty airfields and Dartmoor.
What a fantastic name – I can’t find a picture of them so my mind is boggling!
Now on Saturday and Sunday
When the weather is quite fine
And I’m bored with too much tele
And Baby’s begun to whine,
And me gums ‘ave turned to jelly
An early-warning sign,
Out on Dartmoor you will find me
In the bogs and on the Tors,
And my face will be quite dreamy
‘Cos I love to be outdoors
and what will I be chewing as I march along the way?
Sure, there’s only one worth choosing – a lovely MILKY WAY !
That is brilliant – I am going to steal it for a future blog post – maybe a Two Blondes poetry competition!
Ah! Now my day rucksack has to have one vital feature – it must be thin nylon material. (It’ll get wet, do I hear you shout?) True. But I’ve tried ’em all. My first one was canvas – it got very wet indeed and stayed that way for about 3 weeks, in spite of a heatwave. Then I had a bright orange job specially for the Lakeland Fells, complete with lap-strap, chest-strap, ski-strap (never used); it had a pocket just right for my camcorder, which was BIG in those days. It had a zip round 3 sides, so every time you opened it, you displayed all your emergency underwear to the world, and generally spilled out the lot. Broughy says my rucksack must contain Go-Cat. (He’s my dog.) The blue one only had one pocket and one buckle, not good for the water bottle. The thing is, my little nylon green rucksack is now 30 years old, has been stitched more times than I care to remember, gets soaked regularly and dries in an hour or two, and all the junk stays dry anyway, wrapped in a plastic bag. And it’s green – birds aren’t supposed to be upset by green. After all, trees are green, grass is green; but it is my belief that every bird in Britain is born with an instinct that knows human greens (and British Army dpm.)
FLAPJACK
Absolutely or now I come to think of it – Date Slice would be great. I still have the recipe somewhere!
Gnome, eh! Now I was a Sprite. (Not to be confused with a Sprout). I wonder if the errant Gnome near Ingra Tor was in fact heading for my abode? We have some Pixie Caves nearby. They are very naughty Pixies – every year they indulge their passion for bellringers by imprisoning them in the caves.
Down sleeping bag not at all recommended. Lovely and warm – until it gets wet. After that, soggy, icy, and very heavy. And it takes ages to dry. Have you tried freezing bananas?
I agree that the Haribo Jacket does sound like the most amazing invention – although from my own personal point of view, it may defeat the “loose weight” aspect of walking.
Cattle grids are great when they come with a gate next to them. I remember walking Charlie up in North Wales and happily plodding down a track, when we came across a cattle grid. It had a gate next to it but the farmer had blocked it with a giant rock so I was unable to open it. This left me having to balance across the cattle grid (and it was one with cylindrical bars rather than flat bars – never quite so easy to balance on!) while carrying wet, muddy highly squirmy Springer Spaniel Charlie!!!! I’m sure someone was watching me somewhere having a right old giggle!!!
I love music and mostly because I link many artists/ albums with happy memories. Enigma make me think of going skiing, Bob Marley of travelling in the Fun Bus, Queen of being in the Lake District and Alanis Morissette reminds me of my first year at Uni, in particular when I finished my exams at the end of the first year – a very happy moment because it meant i could spend the next couple of weeks going to the beach and um getting drunk. Ooops!!! Strangely enough though, I don’t have any music that I associate with dartmoor – oh no, take it back, I do.
I remember when I was a grumpy teenager (me, never – no I wasn’t really!!!) and Dad dragged us up to Dartmoor but me and my sister must of moaned lots because I don’t actually remember going for a walk, but I do rememeber driving around and listening to jean michele jarre while gazing with wonderment at the scenery – i think one of the first times i appreciated Dartmoor for its beauty rather than thinking oh god not another 10 mile slog!!! So if I do hear a bit of Jean Michele Jarre (which isn’t often) it brings back memories of Dartmoor in the car!!!!
Oh how times have changed. I wonder if thats my kids now sat there in the car thinking “oh, not another 10 mile slog”!!!!!
Have fun at the weekend – hope the walk isn’t too full of irony!!! x
Love Alanis and love irony! 2 for 2! 😉
I love that TT morning wake up, brilliant. Am busy compiling a top ten for DofE, will post it soon!
Of course, those in the know are already up and in the portaloo queue by then but it is still uplifting.
Looking forward to the D of E list – would the Duke approve?
For 2012 the song for me was 500 miles by the Proclaimers as I organised a charity walk with my family to raise money for the hospital where my wife Lin had major life saving surgery ( Im happy to tell you she is doing well now ) and we had a lot of fun doing it.
As it was a 13 mile trek up and down 5 peaks of the Snowdon range descending back down to sea level 3 times before making a final encore walking up Snowdon as our last 3560 ft trek we need something energetic and stirring to do the walk known as the roller coaster. However the carrot dangling on the end of the string was the cool beer in the summit cafe!
We plan to do another challenge for 2013 and one which is a bit more taxing so I have to think of another song now to motivate us ! I am trying to plan a route that has never been done before.
I am of course now also in pursuit of the elusive Haribo jacket!
That is some trek and a great cause – well done. You will have to do the next one wearing the Haribo jacket when you find it.
Ten Tors have a list of songs that they play after Chariots of Fire – We are the Champions and These Boots are Made for Walking spring to mind but the Proclaimers would be great (can’t remember if it is on the list) – I miss some due to bacon duty.
Apparently they tried to change the list of songs once and there was uproar – we are a traditional lot down here!
I’m a fan of the Scottish pipes – although my walking partner certainly isn’t.
In previous KIMMs / OMMs that I’ve taken part in, the competitors are woken at 6am on Day 2 by the sound of a piper playing as he or she walks through the campsite….wonderful stuff!
BTW, do you know the Dartmoor Pixie Band? They’re a bit good!
JJ
Just had a look at the Dartmoor Pixie band – I love banjos and they sound very jolly.
I can imagine that the pipes would sound fantastic – I love them but only in a large space!
The silent tears that us Blondes have at Chariots of Fire are soon replaced as we sing at the tops of our voices to our kids that they are ‘Simply the Best’. I’m sure they think we are barking mad … they’re probably right!
Blonde One, you have just made me smile big time! Am excited now and of course you never get grumpy!!!
If I never get grumpy it’s because Blonde Two always feeds me jelly babies in the nick of time!!!
Nothing wrong with being the “plodder”!!! I (just about) remember when I was 17 and with a group in Snowdonia. The minging claggy day came, so this must’ve meant it was the day for climbing Snowdon!!! Me and a couple of friends wanted to show off our physical greatness and shot off up the Pyg Track leaving everyone else behind in the gloom. They caught up with us when we had to stop because our knees were hurting and we were “knackered” already!!! Our group leader told us he wasn’t suprised at the pace we set off at and advised us to slow down and plod with the rest of the group. Fortunately we took his advise and found the rest of the walk very pleasant and now half so painful!!! I have forever more, followed his advise, despite the competitive side of me always wants to be faster than the rest!
In Ocotber 2011, we went to the Lakes. The girls were 8 and 10 at the time and both pretty good walkers especially with a challenge to accomplish. This time Scafell Pike. We set off early, just as the sun had come up and were pretty much the only people around heading up to Stockley Bridge. We stopped at Sty Head Tarn for a bit of flap jack and a drink and people started to catch up with us. We opted for the corridor route up to the summit and about half way up you come to a little tricky part. I remember looking back down the route and seeing a large group of blue coats heading towards us. I was convinced they were trying to catch up with us and eventually they did – a big group of sweaty middle aged men. I could almost feel there “ha look at us stomping up here mega fast while you plod along” as the went past. Another few hundred metres up the path they had stopped and were obvioulsy confused by the junction in the paths – they had to ask us for advise on where to go. We told them which way we were going, so they chose to go the otheer way – me being me thinking they thought this way they could beat us!!!! We carried on plodding up our route and eventually made it to the freezing but beautifully clear summit of Scafell Pike. No sign of the group of men, so assumed they’d been there before us. We did all the necessary summit photos and took in the view before heading to a sheltered spot for some lunch. Oh my joy as the group of “even more” sweaty men arrived puffing and panting like they’d run a marathon. One thing I had noted was that although they walked fast, they very quickly ran out of breath and had to keep stopping to regain their breath!!!!
So nowt wrong with being a tortoise or a plodder.
Polé Polé is the saying in Tanzania and repeated on the ascent of Kilimanjaro – Slowly Slowly!
You’re going to think I’m making this up but it’s true. My favourite animal … tortoise!
Snow is there to be played in and enjoyed!!! I’ve missed it this year – I’ll be one of the first lying in it making snow angels!!! I always eat the snow too – somehow always tastes amazing!
And that is why it is worth giving up all those weekend lie ins, shivering away inside a tent when everyone else is tucked up in a warm bed at home!!! Can’t beat the joy of watching kids evolve!
I am a tortoise that’s for sure and I was encouraged to know that someone else who walks regularly is prepared to admit it! Nothing wrong with that at all!
E.g over the holidays I went up one ot the mountains in the Ogwen Valley in Snowdonia not far from my home in Bethesda for an early morning walk on one of the paths that is easy to follow in the dark.
I was suprised when someone else drove in quite quickly to the car park to do the same route! Head torch, hat, gloves,rucksack, here the similarity ends!
In truly harelike manner he is off before I can put on my suitable winter hillwalking gear and heads off on his mission.
After walking for 5 mins up the track I suddenly realise I have left my gloves on the boot of the car and have to return to the start. By the time I have finished fathing about I look up the mountain and see the head torch shining in the heights at a point which would take me a good half hour to reach! It was the last time I was to see this walker. He was gone!
When daylight came then further delays as I make the compulsory stop to admire the view and take photographs of the beautiful scenery!
Then after about 2 hours into the walk there is another compulsory stop for breakfast part 2 and a nice cup of tea while I enjoy the view and a couple more photos. This is what I do and I love it!
I don’t so much consider myself as a tortoise, I prefer to think of myself as a VW camper van! Not built for speed but rather to chunter along at a moderate pace which is considered to be slow but nevertheless is totally reliable and is certain to reach it’s destination and could carry on for mile after mile if required without too much complaint. All it needs is a fuel top up now and again and it’s good to go! Also it has everything on board to make the journey a safe, pleasant and comfortable one.
I don’t aim to cover great distances neccesarily but I like to pull into the layby and take notice of the viewpoint as a result of this I probably remember more about my journey than the hare who like the BMW whizzing up the motorway doesn’t have time to stop and smell the roses!
As you say be a tortoise and be proud of it!
A VW camper – I like that. It would have been apt on Saturday as I off-loaded some extra warm clothes and my big flask of tea into the minibus to help me to keep up. Only to find later that I was waiting at the top of a hill needing another jumper and a flask of tea!
The truth is I guess, that we need both types and all of the ones in between!
You beat me to it! It’s a fab idea and I love yours. Will save mine for now…
Happy Blonde Birthday by the way!
Thank you very much – busy so far but dinner out tonight.
Happy Birthday Blondie!!! I think you need to add “decorated a Christmas tree in the middle of Dartmoor” and “night walk wearing fairy lights”???? Didn’t you get a ride in a helicopter too after breaking your ankle???? Although breaking the ankle is not cool, the helicopter ride is!!!! Think I might make my own now – haven’t done many cool things though xxx Have a super day xxx
Oooh, I forgot those two little things – thank you. It amazing what you remember about yourself when you start thinking. Give it a go, it is fun!
Please do continue your blogs, you have a flair!
I like the style of writing, often not dissimilar to the wonderful “Letter from America”.
I suggest to clients that they read your blog and develop a similar style as it is very readable.
Why do 95% of bloggers fail to continue.
Two reasons: It became a social media fad and must do (where no real commitment was present); as is said about books – there is a book inside each of us, sometimes that is the best place to keep it!.
Onwards
CJ
Thank you for the compliment. I have always liked the “book inside each of us” idea. Will look up “Letter from America” – it sounds interesting.
I could add a few interesting things to Blonde Two’s list but I don’t think I’d better put them on such a public forum!!!!!!
Well Blonde One – I am sure that I don’t know what you are talking about! 😉
Now I am a bit scared – Blonde One is very organised and the thought that there are people out there who are even more so is a bit of a worry. I am a firm believer that most things in life can be sorted out with some pieces of coloured card and a good pencil case.
Gosh… I didn’t realise anyone would be quite so impressed with my colourful DofE expedition planning sheet. I feel humbled…
Don’t feel humbled just remember to share!!!
Many happy returns!
Thank you Mr Woolly.
Over the past couple of winters, my parents have had a very large murmurations roosting along the railway embankment at the bottom of their garden – it’s an incredible sight, sometimes building up for over half an hour. If you get the chance to stop and watch, do so. As well as the visual aspect the sound is, well, almost beyond words.
(aerial acrobatics. aerobatics?)
“My parents had very large murmurations” – could be a scary diagnosis from the doctor.
We recovered. The only lasting symptom has been poor syntax…
If you are about walking on Dartmoor in the coming weeks and you come across what looks like 2 giant jelly babies wearing rucksacks crossing the moors you are not having a bizzare hallucination caused by the fog! You will have seen two blondes trying to keep warm!
That would be a very funny sight! It could even be our new ‘Two Blondes’ logo?! The two colours would have to match of course – perhaps pink and purple, or yellow and orange!
I still want polkadots but am happy with purple ones …
How exciting that would be – it will make a great scene in Two Blondes the movie!
Wow they look amazingly snug – almost space like!!! However they look a bit too snug for me. I am similar to you in that I often get cold sleeping in a tent even in the summer, but I also suffer from a strange case of sleeping bag claustophobia where I will wake up at least once in the night panicing because I can’t move or breath which usually results in me unzipping the bottom of my sleeping bag to stick my feet out and flinging my arms about. I’ll then spend the rest of the night alternating having my feet/arms in/out of the sleeping back according to how “ice like” they are!!! So yes they look great but not for me!!! A late birthday prezzie for you though????
When i was at the age that we did our own engine rebuilds we called a “onsie” a “Boiler Suit”. Congratulations to whoever did a “Hunter Wellies” on a drab product (Suddenly wellies were green – colour that is! ) and made it brighter and not an item of clothing thjat improved with a dollop of engine grease.
Funnily enough, I have always fancied owning a boiler suit too.
Not to mention the amount you are educating us mere mortals too!!!! Cheers! x
You’re very welcome!
The mathematician in me is calculating that that is one hell of a lot of jelly babies to be consumed on a typical Dartmoor walk. You need to be careful when the temperature drops to below freezing though as you are going to end up with a negative number of jelly babies which definately can’t be right!!!
I think we can all agree though that much bonking results in many (jelly) babies!!!!
Happy Bonking!!!
So if it drops below freezing we can only walk downhill? That could work – manufacturing Jelly Babies or any other sort of babies however, is definitely not an option out on Dartmoor. I did wonder why I get through Jelly Babies so quickly. 😉
I have to be honest, and I’m sure Blonde 1 will tell me off, but I’m not a great fan of poetry 🙁 However I do find limericks amusing! They are what they are and they make sense, theres generally no hidden meaning and having to read between the lines to understand what the hell it’s going on about!
Your ode to Night Navigation is spot on and raised a smile!!! x
Dartmoor is looking amazing today – hope you’re out enjoying it!
You’re right Rach, I am telling you off!!!
Sorry!!!! I do love reading though – just not poetry! x
There are two blonde ladies from Dartmoor
who went for a stroll up to Bel Tor
but they went in the night and they had a big fright when a sheep said your bed it is time for!
There is a worrying theme with sheep here!
Hee – none of you merry young things will remember this one, much sung on hill and dale by muggins –
March, march, march on the road with me
To the Boy Scout Jamboree
Join our throng and swing along
As we sing our song …….etc.
Goes on something like this:
Ev’ry hour let the valleys ring
With the Scouting songs we sing
Underneath the stars at nigh
In the campfire’s light.
Oh how I miss those magical campfires!
I don’t think I have ever heard that one – which is unusual for me!
Had my first snow on Ben Nevis on a scorching hot day in summer. Tammy-the-dog took to the water instead – don’t know why it hadn’t melted. The snow, I mean, not the water or the dog.
And the sad thing is, they are fast disappearing. The Starlings, I mean. And even sadder, that double glazing and all the other sound-blotting-out things we have invented means we don’t hear them any more. While my 3 Wood Pigeons were arguing about who owned the bird table. at daybreak the other morning, Mr. Starling sneaked right in between them and stuffed his beak with lovely mealworms.
So, not only are they beautiful in flight, they are sneaky and clever too! I like them even more.
While strolling around on the moor
I’m amazed at what everyone saw
Blonde Two and a Mister
Who sat down and kissed her
– Much better than Jelly Babes, I’m sure!
I think a good addition to the Commandments should be:
“Thou shalt not eat wine gums.”
Don’t want to put you off but I once got bitten by a spider at Great Mis Tor!
The style of walking that I would like to talk about is one peculiar to me. I have a reputation
for being accident prone so people who know me are very suprised that I can go hill walking and come back without injury.
To give you some example I regularly trip over rocks but I have a very good self levelling system which prevents me from falling over.
I slip and slide down scree slopes to the bottom and arrive unscathed.
I can also mud sure on one leg without turning an ankle
I
I slip and slide down scree slopes out of control but arrive at the bottom without injury.
I have messed up the reply again with my clumsy fingers! To be continued……
Do I detect an iPad – they always make me type in a strange way!
I think you are an honourary blonde!
I think I am a mix of definately 3 and a bit of 4 although I never have tidy hair and I’m usually filthy when everyone else is clean!!! I love walking so I am always happy out there doing it no matter what! I am usually a bit of 2, not back there moaning but because the maternal side of me likes to make sure everyone is ok especially the ones lagging behind. Of course at the moment I am the nobody but when I’m back out there I will be making the most of it even more, and loving Dartmoor even more after missing it for so long and will most definatley be a 3 but will probably be lagging behind (2) and will have lost some confindence (5). Roll on that day x
I seem to be a mixture of all of these depending on the day, my mood and the number of Jelly Babies I have eaten. Just glad I am definitely not a George!
To carry on with my story. I was walking in the snow with a friend on the Glyder mountain range when I suddenly slipped off the path and started to slide down a steep slope. If I hadn’t managed to stop myself from falling into the depths below the last my partner would have seed of me would have been my face smiling up at him as I tried to make the best of a bad situation.
On another occasion when descending Snowdon I did what my son in law described as a commando roll. It involved tripping over a rock and
I am beginning to think that we might be related in some way. Ask Blonde One about my uncanny ability to fall over. I can even do it standing still inside!
….and doing a sort of forward roll in slow motion so that I landed face down on the path resting on my nose.
Although initially it is a cause for concern to onlookers it soon turns into a source of entertainment for everyone.
This walk is known as the for”snappy walk” and I usually arrive at my destination safely!
I WANDERED happily as a Blonde
That walks on high o’er Tors and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of yummy Jelly Babes
Beside Burrator, beneath High Willhayes,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
A new take on a Wordsworth classic!
There’s a stone with Ten Commandments
Above Buckland in the Moor
There’s a river rushing by below the town
Where a clock for someone’s mother
Tells the time for ever more
While the God of stone forever gazes down.
Milton Hayes 1911 (Sorry Milton)
Not sure if this is helpful – not quite the satisfaction of homemade lentil soup but this is what Mr F does although this doesn’t help the weight/bulk in the rucksack!!!! He takes a big flask of coffee (or in your case tea) and then a small flask containing hot water. He packs a mug and a couple of cupasoups and makes them on the go. Seems to work well and its always lovely and hot!
That would make for hotter soup – but I wouldn’t feel such a super-woman if it was a cuppa soup (not that I did anyway)!
If you run out of soup when you are in the mountains you can always pop into a brothy!
He he he! That’s good!
But everyone knows that brothies are cold!
Carrying a flask of soup in your rucksack may be a bit grueling!
He he he! You really are on a roll! Get it? Soup and a roll!!!!!! Ok, not as good as yours.
I hate that chap on the tele who does press-ups on one arm and one leg. There ought to be a commandment against it.
Blonde sis has really done it now as I feel compelled to go for a walk and throw various items of food at a granite rock!
I am looking at this mornings porridge!
Just don’t try Weetabix whatever you do! From my experience with baby’s nappies, you would have a terrible job getting it off the rock afterwards.
Dear Blonde Two
I am afraid that it was the basis of the “Date Experiment” that failed. The mechanism should have been to masticate the date before testing its propensity to adhere to the rock.
Much in the same way that chewing gum would not stick to a rock if it was straight out of the packet but would stick to a rock once masticated.
However, a good experiment and don’t be put off by poor results!
CJ
Dear Charles
We will try your new suggested method next time we find ourselves in the vicinity of granite and dates. I am not sure, however, that we will be able to resist swallowing the dates once they have been chewed.
Many thanks
Blonde Two
Totally agree, too good to waste!
CJ
How come you only had 3 jelly babies in your rucksack? That’s a serious shortfall!
I think Blonde One had stolen the others!
We have an exciting piece of Jelly Baby news to tell you soon – watch this space (well the other space but you know what I mean).
I probably did steal the others, to be fair! But I have replaced them now!
So that explains what the open trench was for. To swallow up any unwelcome photographers! Sounds like a great place to stay. You can lie in bed listening to the hounds baying across the moors or is my imagination getting carried away?
Well I never knew that!!!
Oh brings back memories of Activities Week and you going on about Tormentil!!! I’ll pass the info on to hubby who is meant to be doing his WGL soon! The sphagnum moss has been used by our family as toilet paper!!! Several years ago my eldest (although at the time she was probably about 6!) was caught short near Lucky Tor. So we found a big rock and dug a hole, she did what she needed to do, and fortunately the rock she was leaning against was covered in moss and came in very useful. She will moan about the amoount of time she then had to spend in the bath soaking away the moss!!!
What Blonde Two didn’t tell you is that the innocent Tormentil will also cause night terrors! But you won’t have piles or ulcers!!!!
I think I will pass on the moss idea. There is room in my rucksack for the good old toilet roll. Either or I will make sure to organise my ablutions before leaving the house!
I hope you are feeling better today!
Still poorly – must be flu. I often look at moss and wonder – did use leaves once in my youth, they were very unsatisfactory indeed.
As I mentioned the other day I have a reputation for being accident prone, so have an experience to share with you that involves one of my walking boots. This is one of my “snappy walks”.
A number of years ago when I was descending Tryfan after a lovely walk I managed to lose my foot down a hole in a rock that was just big enough for a walking boot. You would think I could have just pulled it out again, but no! My foot and gone in turned and locked into position! Oops!
I had visions of Mountain rescue being called out and puzzling over the best way of extracting a foot from a hole in the rock. Taking the boot off was not an option as there was no way of getting a hand inside the hole to undo the laces therefore enabling me to slide my foot out of the boot.
Fortunately my walking partners were able to hold me on the side of the mountain while I like a key turning in a lock had to twist my foot until my boot was in exactly the right position to slide up and out and regain my freedom.
I have never heard of anyone else who has had a similar experience unless you in your experience know of any freak accidents that are quite anusing!
It is a good story – I will keep an ear out. I have fallen down holes but not got stuck. You were lucky to have been with other people when it happened. Now be careful!
I remember both times very clearly. Walking with a boot kicking you up the bum with every step is not something that I would recommend!
Tremendous 🙂
Tremendous
This is a bit of a bog blog and I shall need to go to ground with this one for a while!
Watch this space and mind where you step!
I hope you will notice that we have renamed this post in honour of your comment! Never go to ground in a bog – I think you spend too much time up mountains.
Looking forward to more fun from the Dartmoor Bog trotters 🙂
Dartmoor Bog Trotters – I like that. Nice to hear from you – hope adventure preparations are going well!
Letterboxing is what my mum and dad used as an incentive to get me and sis walking on Dartmoor when we were little. Unfortunately it became a little disheartening when the ones you were looking for were missing. Back then letterboxes were “proper” (excuse the english) and had beautifully handcrafted rubber stamps in them and a log book full of “letterboxers stamps”. I think letterboxing has lost some of this. Hound Tor is littered with letterboxes but many are just old ice cream containers that aren’t waterproof and just have a manky old log book in it with handwritten scrawl. Not quite the same!!! Sadly there are also those that seem to have no respect for the past time. I remember a couple of years ago heading up to Hay Tor just after an August Bank Holiday and it was like a bomb site. Obviously all the bank holiday chavs had been up there and there were letterboxes strewn all over the place. Some were smashed, some just had contents scattered all over the place, others were in tact but not rehidden and fortunately the geocache we were searching for was well hidden away! It makes me so cross that people have to ruin what gives others great pleasure.
Needless to say, we gave up on letterboxing when I was a kid and it was a good 20 years on that I discovered geocaching. Yes, some people accidently find these and ruin them too, but generally they are much better hidden and away from the crowds. I have used geocaching many a time as an incentive to get my own girlies walking – an incentive not needed quite so much now as they are pretty good walkers, but 3 or 4 summers ago when my youngest was only about 5 or 6 we did an 8 mile walk collecting 25 geocaches on the way, were out for about 7 hours and she didn’t moan once. Not bad really!!!
I am impressed with the lack of moaning – I am looking forward to putting a couple of Two Blondes letter boxes out.
That’s how I came to be introduced to letterboxing too. It is a shame that people vandalise them. Perhaps those are the people that we want to stay at home on the sofa!
Now I have seen it all!!! Not sure how useful it would be on Dartmoor – how often do you find a sturdy bit tree to attach it to???? I generally find myself out in the open with a flimsey gorse bush for cover or leap into a ditch and hope noboby appears!!!!
Since destroying my knee I might need one of these, but I’ve actually got quite good at squatting as my physio exercises require me to do squats so I have rock hard quads!!! Just need to be able to bend the knee properly now!!!
What,! I suggest that you “pop down” to your local camping/climbing shop and buy some rope with a buckle clasp. That way you can secure yourself in the same fashion to conduct your performance.
Alternatively, get on down to a local HGV shop and get some truck webbing, performs the same function.
It would be a USA invention! Apart from which, using that device, you have a high profile on the skyline and be visible to quite an audience!
Think I will give it a miss.
Carlos
I do hope that you are not suggesting that either of the Two Blondes are heavy enough to require truck webbing. Am tempted to get some to do a mock up scenario though!
Lovely! Thanks for that! It is an honour indeed! It is true that we don’t have many bogs on mountains and this is why we have to make sure we have used the facilities before we climb a mountain as there are limited places to hide if you get caught short! Especially in the summer when there are thousands of visitors around.
In the winter months the problem would be exposure, by that I mean exposing yourself to freezing. cold winds is not advisable around the nether regions for obvious reasons,!
I did walk over a frozen bog last week which was satisfying but imaging trying to apply Sphagnum moss in those conditions!
The moral of the story is go before you leave!
This is very noble of you Blonde 2 to concede defeat to Blonde 1 on the Jelly Babies debate!
It is quite clear that people hold a special place in their heart for the Jelly Baby’
Therefore I have come up with an idea.
How about the Two Blondes hosting ” Jelly Babies Walking Week”?
Over a period of a week you could have your followers from all over the country take their Jelly Babies on a walk with them and take photographs of them in various locations.
e.g. I could taker my Jelly Babies up Snowdon and take a photograph of them enjoying the view from the summit.
Someone in Sheffield ( which is the birthplace of the Jelly Baby) could take a photo of them in some popular Sheffield location.
In that week we could have pictures and stories from all over the UK and maybe even Jelly Babies enjoying a day out in New York!!
At the end of that week you atJelly Babies H Q could decide on your favourite picture or story and have a special blog announcing your decisions,
Perhaps for that week you could include a picture profile of Jelly Babies in Dartmoor.
What do you think?
That is an amazing idea!!! We used to do something similar when I was at Uni with a cuddly duck – had photos taken all over the place. My dad travels a lot and I gave him a bear to photograph all over the world – strangely it was not allowed in the Taj Mahal – bear was obviously some sort of terrorist threat!
I’d be up for that as long as the week is later in the summer when I can actually walk to places rather than hobble on crutches!!!!
Come on blondies, this could be the start of a world wide phenomena!!!!
I love it – am having a “planning meeting” (walk and pub meal) with Blonde One later this week. We will discuss it … how exciting!
That’s the most amazing idea! Watch this space!
Which Jelly Baby are you????? I’m thinking Blonde 2 should be Orange Jelly Baby “Bumper” for all your falling over escapades, and Blonde 1 should be Purple Jelly Baby “Bighearted” for feeding you all her jelly babies in the first place!!! I, of course, and Yellow Jelly Baby “Bubbles” because of my wonderful bubbly personality!!!!
This is great news! I think you could lots of people interested in getting involved.
I Think Rach has a good point about doing it later in the year when the weather conditions are better ( hopefully ) and when tin days are longer.
We await your plans with eager anticipation!
I Think I may have found an outlet Oer Jelly Babies in New York in the http://www.LondonCandycompany.
I am waiting for a reply to my tweet when they get into work later.
I will keep you posted .
Have a great day!
At least we know that the days will get longer. I have given up hope of the Devon weather ever improving but Jelly Babies don’t mind getting wet so it won’t matter. I saw the reply from the Candy Company so we are a go in the USA. Nearly got my Jelly Babies out for a photo on night nav last night but was concentrating too much on not getting lost!
It was inevitable really, that the power of the Jelly Baby would conquer the world (or just the Two Blondes debate anyway)!
These thoughts have been said out loud on many occasions by us both when it’s just the Two Blondes walking. The important one to remember is the “I can do this” one.
How funny!!! Fortunately we don’t have problems with the sheep – we have Charlie to protect us and normally the sheep bolt off as soon as they see him!!! We have had a few scary run ins with cows on Dartmoor though. The worst was near Down Tor stone row and me and me girlies were out geocaching. We headed to this rock in the middle of nowhere and were so busy retrieving the box and signing the log we didn’t notice the cows!!!! When the cache was rehidden, I chucked my rucksack on my back and we were just about to set off towards Nuns Cross when I realised we were surrounded!!! No joke, this herd of cows and formed a circle around us all about 20m away. My girlies were still quite young (probably about 6 & 8) and were really quite scared. Of course, being mum I had to pretend there was nothing to worry about and I spotted a slightly bigger gap between a couple of cows and headed for that. We managed to get through but then the cows started to follow us. Aaaaah!!! Fortunately they got bored (or we had left their territory!) and they stopped! Charlie is no defender against cows – in fact I think it is he that attracts them!!!
Same area of Dartmoor though, so obviously there is something in the water there!!!
I was brought up in the South Wales valleys and in the town where I lived sheep used to roam the streets freely. I don’t recall seeing any sheep in fields there!
In the street where I lived was an old lady who was housebound and it was the custom in the valleys to leave your front door open in the summer.
While we were playing we heard some helpless cries coming from the old ladies house. Upon investigating we found the poor lady lying on the floor with her chair overturned. A sheep had gone into the house and knocked her off her chair!
So I know all about killer sheep!
That is funny and not funny all at once – the poor old lady but I bet you lads laughed!
I see a pattern forming here. I am reminded of the time Blonde One and I were up at the Staple Tors car park – we had already been out walking and had one more little bit planned to tick off another square in Dartmoor 365. As soon as we parked, the car was completely surrounded by ponies who looked quite persistent and a bit scary.
That square still remains unticked in my book – we made the excuse that it was getting too late (dimpsy) for the walk we had planned – but I know that it was the ponies that put me off!
Well you know what lads are like! Happily the old lady lived to sit in her chair another day! The sheep was unrepentant and looked for its next victim!
Err…sounds like a fun evening was had by all. Eventually. Around were I live wandering about in the dark, shouting would probably get me arrested.
Have you ever tried navigating around your house at night? It can be a very dangerous place! Things are never where you expect them to be!
I have on a number of occassions tried exiting the bedroom via the wardrobe and never found myself in another world and made friends with lions and other strange creatures as some have done, but rather a voice in the background saying ‘ what are you doing?!!’
I have often spent time feeling around the bedroom floor for my slippers and never actually finding them.
So I suppose its always handy to have a torch by the bed. Except that I would only knock it on to the floor and would and have had to crawl under the bed to try and find it!
I’m sure your night time navigations are far more successful!
Yep definately a challenging environment to navigate in!!! Mr F was up on Dartmoor a couple of weeks ago doing some micronav practice and picked features such as cairns marked on the map. You expect a cairn to be quite a substantial pile of rocks don’t you, but more often than not, there were what appeared to be 5-6 rocks covered in grass or moss (apparently)!!! Of course, this was in the day time, so trying to locate such features in the night but be nearly impossible!!!
It isn’t quite impossible but sometimes feels like it is. Ironically, I found a fairly small cairn on the night nav assessment I failed – but I didn’t manage to spot the huge holes in the ground that he had asked me to find earlier. Silly Blonde – must do better!
I have never got lost leaving the bedroom but I did spend a significant amount of time standing in wardrobes in my childhood. I was desperate to meet Aslan and the Pevensey family.
Maybe I wasn’t patient enough – stay a bit longer next time and let me know how you get on!
And of course, by the time we have finished our walk, the world will have been put completely to rights!
I have just gone against your advice and looked at my well used map of Snowdonia and you are right the contour lines are just a blur that you take no notice of because they are so close together.
I have also dug out of my library Landranger 191 of North Dartmoor and it starts to make sense!
I like doing some coastal walking on Anglesey in the summer so I will be using that feature on some of the hilly parts of the island to try out my map reading.
Thanks for that useful piece of info this morning.
For many men the contour lines would be around the stomach Region!
Found some interesting contours out at dusk tonight. Was standing on one while I looked all around for it! Then we found a well just by looking at the contour lines (very pleased). They are starting to make more and more sense. Tried “aspect of slope” bearings tonight – clever stuff (but not the way I explained it). North Dartmoor is quite different to the South Moor where we usually are – some steeper slopes.
Totally agree with the “switching off” aspects of Dartmoor. Hubby never quite gets it when I want to go to Dartmoor in preference to a walk on the coast path. Somehow, walking the coast path I’m still thinking about work and mentally planning lessons, working through my to do list etc, but when you hit Dartmoor it is a complete switch off. Suddenly nothing matters apart from finding your way from A to B and marvelling at the views (or lack of in the drizzle!!!).
I’ve only walked on my own once (and even then I had Charlie for company!)..A fab 16km stomp that took in Hamledown amongst other places. Really enjoyed in until my knee locked up coming down off Hamledown and I was still 4km from the car and had to be back home in about an hour and a halfs time!!!! Suddenly i realised just how much more volnerable you are on your own!!! Fortunatley after a bit of rubbing it released and I just made it home in time!!!
We were just talking about walking alone – I am much more careful where and when I do it since I broke my leg. That would have been a really nasty on as it was quite a distance to a mobile phone signal.
Don’t forget the blue lines that generally follow the contour lines on Dartmoor!!! i.e. leats!!! Got really cross the other day watching “escape to the country” where they were on Dartmoor and said a “leat” is a local word for “brook”.
They always say to try tovisualise contour lines as a 3d representation – not so easy on Dartmoor, but I know what you mean about Scotland in particular – on the Landranger 1:50 000 maps the mountains literally jump out of the map at you!!!
You are right to bite off their heads first – just think how painful if you nibbled off their feet before decapitation!
Especially if they were ticklish!
High on a Lakeland fell I met an old farmer and fell to having a tortoise talk while other keener types charged past. He was thrilled with his achievement – all his life he had worked on the fells, but at last he could stop and look at them and see their true beauty.
Surely that’s Exmoor ? The baying hound of the Basketballs?
I always carry a bullock-whacker now. Long ago, on the Coast-to-Coast walk, I and my beeootiful Shanty got chased out of 7 fields in 3 days by bullocks. And at Shap Abbey, we gave up and took a 7 mile detour to avoid a BULL. He was probably very gentle, with a pretty ring in his nose and varnished toe-nails, but discretion, discretion.
Incidentally, who needed maps or navigation when they had a Shanty who always knew where her supper was – in the car – wherever we left it.
It is a joy to read your blogs every day! Keep it up – 20,000 here you come!!!
Oh the two blonde ladies from Dartmoor
They had a ten thousand kids
They marched then up to the top of the Tor and they marched them down again
And when they were good they were good
And when they were bad they were bad
But when they were told it was time for tea
They were neither good nor bad
I have got the South Dartmoor map as well so I will have a close look at that now. It will be interesting to look on the map and see the places you talk about
10,000 helium balloons to lift your house, eh? Not mine! At least a million – rather full of junk, you see! In fact, barely room for me – perhaps I’d better take the tent onto Dartmoor?
Nice 10,000 blog visits, though.
Sometimes extra balloons are allowed for special junk collections!
I would probably need a few more balloons too, on account of all my boots!
We won’t be doing anything special day today. That’s because we don’t need to be told by anyone on what day we should be romantic!
My lady and I believe that it is something you should do every day of the year. Its about being kind to your partner all the time and giving her random gifts or him. You never know one day you may be suddenly presented with a Haribo jacket or just a packet of Jelly Babies!
That’s why we have been married so long! ( Better clarify ) To our respective partners.
Never stop courting and giving each other unexpected suprise such as leading Mr Blonde Two into another leg sucking bog!
Thank you Blonde 2. May I say that it is a pleasure to be Mr Blonde 2. Long may the adventure continue…
xx
Without wanting to sound a bit wierd, I think if I was a man I would be your perfect partner – at least we could moan about our knees together!!!
I am very lucky with my Mr F – obviously being an outdoor pursuits instructor we have lots in common. However he doesn’t have quite the obsessional tendancies to Dartmoor which I have, although since he is now preping for his WGL I’m thinking his love may grow!!! Typical though that now he wants to get out on Dartmoor, when I can’t bloomin well walk!!! Oh well, I’ll be quite happy sat in the van cooking up noodles and hot soup while he goes off doing some nav practice – thats love for you!!!
Have a good one x
Imagine the arguments though – my knee hurts more than your knee … I think you have the best end of the night nav deal!
Leg sucking bogs are the new box of chocolates – I know which smells better.
Fleetwith Pike is a lovely, dramatic hill. I’d hate to see it tangled up with wire and pylons. I always have trouble with zips – especially trouser zips; maybe I need to leap up and down the Pike a few times. Disaster has struck, which is probably why I am rambling on. I’ve run out of Smarties.
I have just been looking at a spot called Higher Piles near Sharp Tor on Harford Moor. This is a s
great name! Was it called this by someone who spent too much time sitting on the cold rocks and developed this affliction? I doubt we will ever find out.
I like your idea of naming Mystery Tor Blonde Tor. In years to come people would speculate and wonder how it came by its grand name but that knowledge would only be possessed by a privileged few!
And it would defeat the “fitness” side to walking!!!
I was quite pro the zip wire in the Lakes since it was in an area already scarred by the quarry so not really an area of outstanding natural beauty! Also I would find flying through the air quite a lot of fun!!!
A couple of years ago I bought dad “the A-Z of Dartmoor Tors” by Terry Bound (http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/terry+bound/the+a+to+z+of+dartmoor+tors/8557465/). He then set himself the challenge of visiting and photographing his dog on top of every Tor, Barrow, prominent point on Dartmoor. He initially did this just using the OS map, but then when he started cross referencing his book with the map he realised there were several tors in the book that are not named on the map. I will have to ask him if he has a tor listed for that grid reference!!! Maybe a good little investment for the bargain price of £5.95 and free delivery!!!!
He now has a map similar to mine which is covered in coloured dots according to Dartmoor 365’s visited or not!!! Except his is the vast number of Tors etc. Think it might be a busy year for him!!!
Right, Dad had been investigating and no there is no named Tor at that grid reference. There is apparently another Sharp Tor at 729780, between Chinkwell and Bell Tors, but not at your location. So get the flag out and plonk it there!!! It will be forever more known as “Blonde Tor”. I might even write it on my map!!!! x
Afraid I’m with Chris Bonners on that one – the mining is an ugly enough human scar that to not reinvent it with a functional tourist attraction that encourages local economy and possible education about our open spaces is uninventive to say the least!
In Monteverde, Costa Rica is a cloud forest with the most amazing zip wire system, giving a birds eye and otherwise unexperienceable view of the trees. Walking below the wires on the trails is very peaceful, they are pretty unobtrusive really. And it’s very exciting riding!
I am having a dilemma and I need your help. Its a sort of identity crisis!
You see I was born blonde and stayed that way for 2-3 years. Then suddenly my hair changed to dark brown. I have never been able to understand this and feel cheated!
However last week it was explained to me.
Apparently its down to a gene which has the link to hair colour and sometimes after a couple of years it suddenly remembers it hasn’t done its job and flicks the switch which decides your hair colour.
So the question I want to ask is do I qualify for blonde status?
If you were born in Wales and your.
parents suddenly moved to another country because you hold a Welsh birth certificate you can call yourself Welsh. Does that apply to my case?
Consider the facts:
1. I hold a blonde birth certificate.
2.I often have blonde moments.
3.I have lots of fun.
4.I am drawn towards things from Ikea
You would be amazed who qualifies as blonde these days! There are some key questions:
1. Have you ever got your foot stuck down a hole? (yes)
2. Do you like Jelly Babies? (yes)
3. Do you like walking around in the rain? (you are Welsh so it must be yes)
So I guess the answer must be a resounding YES!
I have often felt ‘raydavieswalks’ that we had a lot in common. I think it is your enthusiasm for my Haribo jacket! I vote yes, you are definitely blonde!
Further to my post I await your decision!
You would be amazed who qualifies as blonde these days! There are some key questions:
1. Have you ever got your foot stuck down a hole? (yes)
2. Do you like Jelly Babies? (yes)
3. Do you like walking around in the rain? (you are Welsh so it must be yes)
So I guess the answer must be a resounding YES!
To make their work understandable map makers have to use an occasionally subjective process of selection, sometimes leaving things out or even rearranging features (Occasionally they may even add or subtract detail for the fun of it…). As your tor is close to a road it might be that putting a name there simply makes the map too cluttered, or that it may not be a sufficiently outstanding feature in what is a quite ‘busy’ area.
Exeter or possibly one of the more local libraries will have smaller scale (1:2500) surveys that may put a name to it.
I was reading some bits about maps the other day and it said that sometimes the mapmakers hid their names in maps e.g. what looked like the detailing for a cliff actually was writing!! I thought that was quite clever!!
Now that is really quite exciting – I now have an excuse to spend even more time looking at maps!
There’s a very long history of that. Not that I would have done such a thing in my past 😉
There’s a naval chart from the 18th century with three hills around an African bay named ‘Niatpac’,’Uoy’,and ‘Nmad’. It’s only when you read it backwards that you find out the young midshipman leading the shore party wasn’t happy traipsing around a malarial coast…
Will now spend even more time pouring over maps!
It would be good to look at a more detailed map but if we find a name for it, we may not tell you. We like it being called Blonde Tor …
Not to mention the “baa baa baa’s” of baa lambs soon to be springing around on the Moors!!!
Chocolate bars came straight to my mind. They are good for the mountains!
I have thought of another bar we get in Wales and that is a bar of sand found at the mouth of an estuary.
We do get lots of bahs coming from the sheep but I don’t expect that counts does it?
Here is an example of how Blondes navigate bogs on Dartmoor!
It is definitely my way the ‘snappy way’ !
This is a brilliant video and a scene that is echoed many times across Dartmoor as Ten Tors training reaches its height. Yes, it could be the two blondes – Blonde One would be the one jumping across and I would be the one falling over.
Good find Ray!
What a musical mudbath! Did Bell Tor chink well?
No but I did sing some songs from Les Miserable when I got a bit nervous.
Great minds think alike! I was going to do a similar post about my afternoon in Stokeinteignhead (minus an aunty).
Our great minds often do think alike – for example, “Another adventure tomorrow!” is going through my head right now.
Now thinking of ways that I can wear my sunglasses without the weather noticing – maybe a very woolly hat as well? …
I envy you being able to go walking on such a t lovely day truly it has been a rarity lately but not this week. Also this week West is Best for the sunshine!
However remember that the bogs will still be waiting out there for you so be vigilant!
Don’t forget the Jelly Babies and above all have lots of fun and find more things for your blogs!
We had a lovely day thank you. We did find lots of bogs but managed to stay out of them and eat lots of jelly babies, all without getting rained on! It was truly a great day!
There is no where like England for being able to find beautiful villages and towns.
The English have the ability not only choose to choose a beautiful location to live but also to construct buildings that enhance the scenery!
In Wales they found places that were rich in minerals and they needed houses quickly to live in so they built for convenience without giving much thought to the architecture or surroundings.
Consequently Welsh villages don’t usually have the X factor. People come to Wales for the countryside rather than to look at the villages.
On the other hand in England you go to places like Oxford for example to look at the architecture.
Oh yes we do have magnificent castles but they were built by the English to keep out the Welsh. The Welsh are now the caretakers of those buildings and now charge English people money to come and see them!
So Aunty Blonde has an eye for beauty and Justified
She certainly does – she took me to some lovely places when I was a girl.
Clever old Wales – charging the English to get in across the bridges as well as into the castles.
I meant to say Lustliegh certainly has the X Factor!
So now we have two Dartmoor dilemmas – is todays problem fog or bog??
In Snowdonia mist or fog is something we rarely get ( Im not gloating ) due to the mountains I think.
However Fog or mist creates great excitement in the mountains as it means inversion! Hillwalkers go running to high ground because this means as you climb the mountain you will soon break out of the murk into bright sunshine and be rewarded with a view of the countryside enveloped in fog while you sit above taking beautiful pictures of the scene below.
I will give some thought to place names in Wales that are a bit foggy.
Enjoy your adventure today which should almost certainly be fog free but definitely not bog free!
I have seen some pictures of inversion in the Lake District and it looks fabulous. I would have to camp at the top of the mountain though because it would take me so long to get up it!
Don’t think you need to worry about either today – its looking boooootiful!!!! Heading up to Dartmoor later for a hobble and pub lunch! Have a good un!
How about Fogmore by sea a place in South Wales
Inversion!!!!! Yippee!!!!! Radio hams love ’em – they mean weird and wonderful signals into Russia on half a watt, booming signals from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, on radios intended for UK working – oh, frabjous joy!!!!!
How about Metheral Murk ?
Hangingstone Haze?
Great Nodden Nebulosity?
Nice game, Blonde Two!
That’s the first time ever I’ve heard a Jabberwocky quote used in everyday conversation. ‘Frabjous’ joy indeed, ‘callooh callay’!
Yesterday we would have had Grey Wethers gloom water but luckily there was a clear sky (didn’t fancy gloom water at all).
The reason that the weather is so nice at the moment is because of high pressure in Scandinavia.
As you know there are many Blondes in that part of the world so we can call this weather a Blonde spell!
Lets hope that 2013 is going to be a Blonde year!
A blonde year would be very nice indeed. I propose it, it was definitely a blonde day out on Dartmoor yesterday.
A mystery indeed and one worthy of a certain gentleman from Baker Street in London. I understand he has some knowledge of the moor.
That certain Baker Street gentleman would have certainly loved this mysterious tale. Not only was the original death straight out of The Thirty Nine steps era of story but tracking down the memorial proved just as tricky.
I did comment to Blonde One that if I was writing a book of Dartmoor places, I might be tempted to include at least one red herring … so maybe we found that!
I have the feeling this one is meant to be a bit of a “b*****r” to find – they don’t usually put a caption with the sketches titled “how to find the memorial”!!!! We have not looked for this one yet, but I’ll ask a few of my friends who are also doing the 365 and see if they have been successful!!!
Glad you enjoyed your walk – despite this frustration. The reasons for us mostly giving up geocaching on Dartmoor are similar!! The frustration can ruin a perfectly good walk!
Funny seeing you guys walking out of Postbridge car park yesterday! By the time sis had parked the car and I’d grabbed my crutches and hobbled after you, you had vanished!! Obviously in hot pursuit of dear old Mr Donaghy!!!
Missing you was the second frustration of the day then! It would have been great to see you. Hope you had a good walk/hobble.
Someone must have found it. Sad we missed you though – would have given you a Jelly Baby for sure!
Corndon cumulus
Foggintor quarry (obviously)
Sittaford stratus
…
He’s going to be in a middle of a bog somewhere. You know that don’t you!
Well we were certainly in the middle of a bog somewhere – for most of the day!
Do you think that’s how he died: he stopped for a jelly baby and got stuck in a bog. What a way to go!!
Ok just had a chat with hubby. I’m in for op 1 tomorrow, so while I’m lying on the slab, hubby is heading up to Dartmoor for a bit more nav practice. I suggested he go and look for William. So we’ve had the map out (nicely coded with all the 365 square!!!), and he says “what, this one here? I found that one a couple of weeks ago!!!” So apparently it is there – it took them about 15 minutes to find it.
Apparently they headed to the holly tree in the pic then backtracked from it – but this involved lots of walking through arm pit height gorse – ouch!!!! So he says you need to cut up about 75-100m before you get to the holly bush and its up there somewhere. Quite a lot of gorse in the area which made it trickier but the stone wasn’t hidden!
I doubt this helps, but at least you know it is there!!!
I most definitely found the holly tree, backtracked through the gorse until I thought I was in the right spot, but couldn’t find it. Well done to your hubby!
Good luck tomorrow Rach – will be thinking of you! x
Tussocks! I don’t like tussocks!
I once took what I believed to be a shortcut off a mountain and as I got down into the valley I realised it was a wilderness of tussocks.
It took me 2 hours to get free of the tussock valley!
If I had stayed on the mountain path and took the ‘longer’ route across the tops I would have been able to move about 4 times quicker and have arrived back at my destination with far more energy to spare!
Another lesson learned the hard way!
You can’t avoid the tussocks for long on Dartmoor. It is funny listening to the kids when they encounter them for the first time.
Killer Valley – what’s in a name and how it could be very disappointing!
Sometimes, locals make up names to throw “Strangers” off the scent.
For example:
The Women here are certainly not as described – http://www.britishpathe.com/video/loose-womens-institute
And the prettiest women in Essex are here – UGLEY WOMENS INSTITUTE
Names are indeed funny things – my favourite as a child was Wyre Piddle. I don’t think I ever did!
You did really well and that sounded like quite an adventure!
Is that an end to your night navigation for the time being?
Im sure you would avoid watching ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ before venturing out on the moors after dark!
Do the Mr Blondes worry about you till you get back or are they used to these occasional activities?
We try to let the Mr Blondes know whereabouts we are – send texts with odd place names and grid references on. Mr Blonde Two worries a bit but then I did come back in an Air Ambulance one time! I think they are kind of used to it. I have my assessment tonight so hopefully no more night walks for a while although I think we will kind of miss it and it would be good to keep up the confidence just in case we need it.
Handrails (that is the right term??) are wonderful things!!! Hope all goes well tonight – think it may be a chilly one!!! x
It’s been my pleasure! After all, what else would I be doing on a cold, windy night in the half term holidays?!
All the very best of amazing good luck tonight – though I am sure it will be amazing good skill that does the trick. Stellar navigation eh ? I know one person would have been totally thrilled to hear about that, Blonde 2.
You are right and hopefully now I can go out on the moors and spend a bit more time looking at the stars.
Yay big congrats Blondie 2!!!! Of course we all had complete faith that you would pass anyway – you deserve it on pure determination, commitment and perseverance if nothing else!!!
Congratulations! I knew you would do it!
What will we do with our evenings now?! Perhaps we will take up knitting!
One day I am going to surprise you and turn up with some knitting. I will dig it out of my rucksack as we sit down for a picnic in the rain! Couldn’t have done it without you!
I guess it all boils down to what constitutes a walk!!! Having a springer spaniel, then I would normally be lucky enough to walk most days, especially in the summer because he needs to get out. In the winter that would normally be a quick walk “around the block”, but in the summer would more likely be a walk along the coast path to Berry Head. Usually one of these walks would take about an hour.
The weekends always involve longer walks, so “normally” we would have 2 longer walks a week, ranging from walking in the woods, walking the coast path, to a day on Dartmoor!!!
This winter has been tragically useless, but I did manage a hobble in Bellever Woods t’other day!! Since having my op on wednesday I have managed to walk from the lounge to my bed and back and thats about it!! Does that count as a walk when it requires about as much effort as 5 mile walk on Dartmoor to a fully able bodied person????
I’m guessing weather plays a big part. I usually love walking on Dartmoor in the winter and apart from the obvious knackered knee, I’m not sure I would’ve been up there so much this winter with the shocking 5 months or so of weather we’ve had. However, I would’ve been out walking somewhere – more likely the sheltered of our various woods!!!
Brilliant! Bafta be blowed – a jug of Jelly-babies maybe! Well done, that Blonde!
Ah well! Ye four-legged friend (have you noticed how close the spelling of Friend and Fiend?) doth insist on an hour or two at least once a day. Rain or Shine, Hot or FREEZING. We descend upon the river where sundry other K9 personages may be met, sniffed at, growled or yelped at and much fun is had by all. Or we ascend the heights of ye Ridgeway (no, not ye famous one, but a mere local tump), or pay a weekly visit to the BEACH or sundry cliffs. Ye BEACH has the advantage of NO MUD, which being the subject of much delight attracts many decades of K9 personages of differing shape and size.
I have grown tired of the DAILY MUD BATH. It has extended into the porch, the hall, the kitchen, and even dares to dwell upon the lounge carpet. In short, we live in our own private MARSH.
Well done and wel deserved!
Not often enough. Real life gets in the way far too ofte, but there’s a lot that can be built in to a lifestyle though, and much of it is about attitude rather than location Making the most of where you are; just leaving the car behind a bit more often can help. Walking and cycling to work or the shops can create in microcosm much of what you go to wilder places to gain. On the edge of town I’m fact I’m more likely to foxes and buzzards, on the bike on a weekday morning than on the moors at the weekend.
Too early. Can’t punctuate…
I can vouch for the excellence and addictiveness of this book! I am in competition with several people on who has the most squares ticked. Unfortunately many are taking advantage of my temporary lack of being able to walk and are soaring ahead of me!!! Gives me all the more determination to bag many a square when I am back on my feet again!!! At least I have plenty of time to plan the walks at the moment!
Hee! Welcome to the chaotic world of the nearly-always-lost !!!
How funny, fancy that. Perhaps it may have been that the Two Blondes like to be fashionably late and like to keep their visitorees – sure that’s not a word – in suspense waiting for the mysterious pair to arrive?
Fortunately jelly babies does buy our silence ……. but not not as much as 5 bags of jelly babies might have done. Just sayin.
Fancy keeping us waiting because you had lost the grid reference. Well I never.
Oops!
Al
🙂
We obviously wouldn’t get through a Dartmoor Rescue night nav – you would all be off across the moors while we were still looking for the car park!
That’s quite an eye opener! I never really appreciated before how much hard work these guys have done to be able to be part of the mountain rescue team. It truly is a big commitment but also very rewarding for those who qualify for the position!
As you say we hope none of us will need their assistance but if we do we will know we are in good hands!
This has certainly been a colourful weekend for blogging!
First blue now red!
How about a green blog as green features prominently in the outdoor world!
Have a colorful week!
I always go north and do the lanes via Runnage/Blackaton Manor/Widecombe – can’t drive that Powder Mills road alone!
Glad it’s not just me then!
Although the Hairy Hand seems more likely to visit if you’ve had a quick couple in the pub or have a particularly heavy boot on your right foot.
I was at Powder Mills a week or so ago and was told an expanded, ironically grisly version of the story that I hadn’t heard before; great for a dark windy night as the fire flickers and the rain beats against window…
I don’t want to hear that story. Particularly not when camping on Dartmoor!
I personally think the accidents are down to the speed that some people drive along that stretch of road! When we were driving back from Postbridge the other day, happily trunddling along at the 40mph speed limit, some women in her 4×4 came flying past us – must’ve been doing at least 60mph.
Glad you made it back safely – I’ve still never been brave enough to drive across Dartmoor in the dark!!!
We saw a big variety of speed along there that night so I think you are right!
So true, the strength and versatility of bamboo.
As a young teenager in Singapore back in the 1960’s I was amazed to see bamboo lengths being used as scaffolding and extending to three stories.
So, from structural support, to clothing, to bicycles to drinking vessels there is a very useful plant. Oh, and don’t forget a sustainable food for the Panda (bamboo shoots).
It is incredible stuff and it grows very quickly too. I do have some in my garden but keep it carefully in check.
Bamboo bikes? Ouch! Just imagine where those nasty slender slivers would go if you had an accident! Bamboo is fairly common along the cliffs, so it may well have come inland on someone’s boots – which reminds me dear walkers all, we have been asked to scrub our boots after country rambles so that we do not carry Ash Die-Away on our tender tootsies from place to place. We can do this – after all, canoeists have being washing their boats down for years to prevent water-borne pests being transferred from one river to another.
P.S. Just reminded me of something else – Napoleon’s army marched in clothing made from Stinging Nettle fibres – now there’s a useful plant – dye, shampoo, green veg., fertiliser for roses, soup, you name it, the good old nettles do it!
All that and they can sting too – very clever indeed!
It is possible to persuade some people that Belted Galloway cattle grazing the moors, and seen from a distance, are in fact part of a secret panda breeding programme…
Bamboo clothing isn’t all that it seems, and there is a bit of controversy about its labeling. The fibre is in fact viscose, the only difference being is that the cellulose it’s made from, is from bamboo instead of wood pulp, The industrial process, with all of its associated chemicals and potential pollution is the same what ever the source of the cellulose.
‘Coconut’ fabrics are similarly a bit misleading. It’s essentially polyester, but coated with activated carbon (made from charcoaled coconut husks) that absorbs odours and inhibits bacteria. As with viscose, it’s the product of quite a long industrial process. In addition it requires frequent laundering and heat (e.g. tumble drying or ironing) to reactivate the charcoal after it has been used.
Neither fabric is really much more ‘green’ than other synthetics used in outdoor clothing.
I’ve heard good things about how well bamboo bikes ride, but I’d imagine that when the frame fails it does so fairly catastrophically. However, so would carbon fibre…
Note to Blonde Selves – must get some photos of red pandas …
I love an adventure but people have different ideas on what they would call adventure. E.g some would call going to the North Pole an adventure but for me that would be torture as I can’t stand being cold! I would not like to climb Everest as I like to come home at the end of the day and have a hot shower so its down to the individual.
Whatever form of adventure we choose lets make sure of our safety and live to do it again another day.
So be safe and be a stranger to danger!
Well said. I won’t be talking Blonde One to the North Pole as she gets cold and shivery in the UK. We can all make our own adventures be they big or small.
Sometimes just getting out of the car can be an adventure for the Two Blondes!
My Dad liked to keep himself fit and I think it was him I got my love of walking from.
He had an exercise bike which he used every day but this exercise came with an interesting feature which was his cockateil.
This cockatiel was a faithful companion and used to keep him company while he pedalled away. It was a most amusing sight to see
such loyalty
company on his daily exercise by
sitting on his shoulder while he pedalled
That is one of the best stories I have ever heard. How lovely and I bet they both enjoyed it too.
The point of this story is perhaps having a companion to spur you on if you are doing something monotonous is the answer! Or having someone randomly throwing himself off his cross trainer and trying to head butt yours is another useful diversion. Perhaps in his exertion he had ‘hit the wall’ almost literally!
Sorry about disjointed reply!
Interesting, in the Lake District a group of” traditionalists” started to destroy modern cairns on the grounds they were unnatural and blighted the land. The practice of building cairns passed into common practice, many people robbing long standing cairns to start new ones. Many just displacing large rocks (well big stones) to build a cairn with no real purpose as a waymarker.
The National Park stepped in and prohibited the creation of new cairns as it was upsetting the natural landscape.
We once came across a spot by the roadside in Scotland (can’t remember where exactly) where there were loads of tiny cairns. It was a beautiful spot but a bit odd looking. My hubby build a cairn for me in Iceland on one of his trips – I like the thought but I get the idea of not disturbing the landscape (still hope mine is still there).
You must’ve seen the feature on Inside Out on the latest Cist discovery in one of the peat passes???? Fasinating – glad that they haven’t all been discovered and looted.
I have to admit to liking the little navigational cairns in the lake District. Having stomped to the top of Scafell Pike leaving on the correct path is a bit tricky to start off with. The little cairns that sprung up every few metres helped to reassure us that we were descending a path and not some random scree slope!!!
I actually bought a cross trainer after Christmas and has been an important part of my knee physio and rehab. I used to go on it once a week for 10 minutes when visiting the physio at Brixham hospital and it really helped to loosen it up. Since an important part of the rehab is to strengthen the knee, it is an brilliant bit of kit, which is non-impact and doesn’t involve the twisting of ones knee!
As you say, it does get rather boring so there were a number of strategies I employed to assist:
1) One was to always have music blaring through my MP3 player (not posh enough to have an ipod!!!).
2) We positioned the cross trainer in the lounge by the window so I can look out towards Dartmoor and the beautiful stretch of Western Beacon, Ugborough Beacon and Piles Hill. This was a massive motivator (on the days I could see it!!!) and I too, would imagine myself stomping across the Moors and realised that if I didn’t get my knee strong it may never happen again!
3) Being a massive lover of skiing I would record ski sunday and watch it on Monday while on the Cross Trainer with again the motivator being, that if I don’t sort my knee I will never ski again! And some amazing scenery to look at aswell!!!
Now since having my op last week I am not allowed to use it for a bit so its going a bit dusty! Hopefully I’ll be back on it soon and dreaming of Dartmoor walks again! Sadly ski sunday has finished for the winter! Also hoping once my stitches are out I will be able to go for a swim too!
Just the music for ski Sunday would get me going – much warmer on the treadmill!
Just imagine if on one of those cairns you found an epitaph as you probably be interested to know something about the person buried there.
It may say something like this….’Beneath this sod lies another one’
Now that would be something to reflect on!
In two thousands years someone will dig up a Dartmoor cairn and there will be a pot of multi-coloured gooey sticky shapes preserved next to the remains of two ladies with wisps of blonde hair.
Well that was very exciting! I don’t think you need to feel threatened by the Smartie allegation! I can’t imagine Smarties being taken on the Great North Run like Jelly Babies are!
Smartie s are sofa fodder and do not engage in active sports.
I have a good friend who is a radio ham and he is not an active person and never travels too far away from
his radio so Smarties would probably suffice for his energy
requirements!
Jelly Babies rule!
probably
Belly Maybies (pregnancy scare)
Nelly Rabies (not a nice girl)
Telly Raybies (dangerous things)
Welly Ray–vies (for Welsh bogs)
Smelly ladies ( after falling in Dartmoor bogs )
Gelly daisies (After taking much needed shower)
Blonde 2 de Starfire
R ur 010213z //
QRK 5 QSA 5 //
TU BCNU GN AR
“Thank you, be seeing you, good night, Aunty Red?”
AR – end of transmission – but I like your version much better! Think I’ll use it next time I’m Morsing.
With apologies to Blonde One for whom this kind of rhyming rubbish is anathema (very wise.)
This one, dear raycharlesdavies, is just for you
It’s not for Blonde One or even Blonde Two.
Upon the subject of the Smartie,
According to the literati,
They have travelled far and wide
In a rucksack’s dark inside.
40 years have passed and more,
Since they walked on moor and tor,
From Yelverton to tiny Gidleigh
Where the wind blows wild and free.
They’ve kept a walker hale and hearty
Tramping through Ross and Cromarty,
Clambered every Lakeland Mountain
In the pocket of a jerkin,
Northward on the Pennine Way
Offered succour everyday.
Coast to Coast they travelled West,
Tucked into a pocket vest
(Seventeen days of twenty-one
Rain and mud but never sun.)
The Southern Upland Way they flitter
With a radio transmitter,
Slept in Beehive, barn and tent
Where the deer and badgers went
And then at last became Jurassic –
This one is a Midlands classic –
Over farm fields systematic
With bulls and stallions dilemmatic.
Now on Devon cliffs they ramble
Where the weather is such a gamble
But the pounding of the sea
On the pebble shore will be
Just the place for illuminati
To gather for a Smartie party.
It’s past my bedtime. G’night all.
A most excellent “Ode to a Smartie” which have all been eaten by the way.
That is the voice of experience! Knowing when to give up and come back another day when conditions are more suitable.
The entry in the Guinness Bok of Records is getting closer! One idea has already been born and that is 100 blondes with rucksacks making their was across Dartmoor which has never been done before.
Now you could add to that 100 blondes walking across Dartmoor each carrying 100 Jelly Babies and all wearing Haribo Jacketts which could be sponsored by Haribo themselves!
Have I woken up yet or am I still having weird dreams or was there something in that wine last night?
I like this idea very much. I think I should go and buy my Haribo jacket soon in preparation for our record attempt!
And what record would you and Mr Blonde 1 have been breaking then?? Is there something I should know?!
I see I had better keep a closer eye on you Blonde 2!
I think I should keep a closer eye on Mr Blonde One as well! Very suspicious!
Now theres a walk that even I could have managed!!! x
Sleepovers can be quite confusing and cause some embarressment. Well it does in my world!
We stayed with friends on one occassion and being good hosts they gave us use of their bedroom’
During the night the husband forgot he wasn’t sleeping in his own bed and got up to go to the toilet and returned to his own bed where we were sleeping’
He tried to get in on Lin’s side. Needless to say we were all very shocked!
On another occassion we were staying at a B & B and in the morning I thought I would go and find the breakfast room and was met by a large array of doors. On one of the doors was a note which said ‘It’s in here’ I thought how thoughtful and entered to find myself facing a woman in her nightwear! It seems that other husbands are known for getting lost too!
On another night staying with friends during the night I needed to use the bathroom and so as not to disturb our hosts I used a torch to find my way down the stairs where the bathroom was. The torch had a loose connection and kept going on and off and the wife weoken up by the intermittent light woke up her husband and said to him that there was someone flashing on the stairs.
I have never before been accused of being a flasher!
Our friends have a good sense of humour and they make great party stories!
… and never been thus accused since I hope. Might I recommend some night navigation practice?
I also love replacing lost calories!
Question answered!
One of the (now) large USA hotel chain owners, when starting out wanted to do something that no other hotel did. (Dare to be different and have a unique talking point) He then came upon the idea of the triangle fold on toilet paper.
It wasn’t long before they were all at it.
That is hysterical. I have just visited both of my bathrooms to make a triangle in the loo roll. May try it at work tomorrow!
Apologies for the lack of toilet roll origami. Perhaps next time I will compensate by making a swan made of towels for the bed?!
I do believe a certain Lake District Loving Mr C has one in his office! I first saw it a couple of years ago in Trail Magazine. Maybe Dartmoor could be something for you to do in all that spare time you don’t have???? I would buy a copy!!! x
Putting my cartographic bobble-hat on Beck’s schematic isn’t strictly speaking a map…
I think Dartmoor would lend itself to the treatment much better than the locations already done. Beck’s genius was having vectors running between nodes horizontally, vertically and at 45 degrees. The roads, trails, waterways and points on the moor, as well as its general outline would fit pretty well. Okehampton as Cockfosters and Ivybridge as Morden on a Two Moors Way Central Line…
But you wouldn’t see the views if you had to crawl around the Lake District through tubes.
Would make the hills easier to climb though!
My Mum used to say that I could make a saint swear! I don’t know what I did to upset them my Mum didn’t say so I haven’t got any suggestions. I keep my head down as I wouldn’t want to make anyone grumpy!
That St Christopher is not reliable I’m afraid. I had a St Christopher which I used to wear around my neck day in day out. For some reason I took it off and didn’t put it back on for a while. Then one day I came across it and thought “Oooo, I haven’t been wearing you” and put it back on. Later in the day we went out and had a car crash. I’ve never worn it since!!!!
I think maybe it was a punishment for forgetting about him for a bit!!
Sorry Blonde2, Christopher was de-bagged a few years ago. Apparently a review/audit decided he didn’t really do Saintly things. So no-go there.
For bruises, I would support St. Arnica!
Oh dear, poor old St Chris. He was supposed to have carried Jesus across a river – maybe he dropped him in it and there has been a cover up.
Following on my Mum taught me not to swear and I don’t but I did manage to make my Mum swear so she must be a saint!
All mothers are saints – therefore I must be Saint Blonde Two. Patron saint of bimbles. Saint Blonde One is of course, the patron saint of Jelly Babies.
Here are a couple of my favourite spring proverbs.
Half an hour enjoying a spring evening is worth a thousand gold pieces. – Something you would appreciate after many night navigations on Dartmoor!
The arrival of spring is recognised by plants before men – I’ve heard people making the comment that they are looking forward to spring when all around us the plants are telling us its already here!
Oops! You’ve forgotten something in your excitement!
You will still need to get up twice to empty your bladder. Therefore you will need to get dressed to go outside the tent!
There have been a couple of times when I have forgotten to get dressed to go outside the tent!
Oops! You’ve forgotten something in your excitement!
You will still need to get up twice to empty your bladder. Therefore you will need to get dressed to go outside the tent!
Oooh, how exciting – I will either be the fast asleep one or the getting up for the loo one depending on whether the sleeping bag arrives on time or not!
Wow, with a procedure like that you must start the process very early! I trust that the Big Orange does the trick!
Big Orange – now that is a good name for a sleeping bag. Well christened.
Sorry Im repeating myself. Is that something To worry about?
I thought that you were emphasising the number of times I would have to leave the tent in the night.
That procedure does have a similar ring about it.
Watch out Friday night as we have an all night Nav assessment running. So if you hear strange noises in the middle of the night don’t panic!
That was me by the way.My account had a funny 5mins.
I think its got something to do with those Jelly Babies!
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! I’ll think of you when I curl up in my nice centrally-heated bedroom with a nice warm dog for company.
You missed the bit between points 12 and 24 where Blonde One is laughing hysterically at your antics!
What Blonde One doesn’t know is that she has been referred to as Moneypenny before now.
I think I’m getting worried by all this! As soon as I added my ‘spy’ post the computer crashed and I couldn’t get back onto the ‘Two Blondes Walking’ website for a little while! I was beginning to think that MI5 had closed us down for revealing too much sensitive information!
Better keep an eye on your dentist – he may have implanted a cyanide capsule in one of your back teeth?
Oh my goodness, don’t say that – I only went to the dentist yesterday!
Hee!
Hmm. Coleridge and Shelley? Surely they expired before the South West Coast Path was thought of? It wasn’t there when I walked from Exmouth to Portland Bill in the early seventies.
You’re right, it wasn’t named as the South West Coast Path, they just walked a lot along the coast in this area. Who knows, perhaps they even talked about creating a long distance route?
This is beginning to make sense now Blonde One!
Jelly Babies appearing in mysterious places.
Cryptic messages being sent like ‘be Jelly afraid’ ‘the Jelly Babies are out to get you’
Is this part of Operation Jelly Baby?
If we answer that – we will have to shoot you!
You are a very good wordsmith ‘raydavieswalks’!
Do you introduce yourself to people saying ‘My name is Blonde …..
You see, it is all making sense isn’t it?! I really must be a spy.
It reminds me of that Sound of Music song ‘How do you solve a problem like Urethra’
Spare a thought for those camping in the North Pole who cannot go outside their tent at night but have to manage inside in a confined space and are not allowed to spill any as it would become a major health risk!
It reminds me of that Sound of Music song ‘How do you solve a problem like Urethra’
Spare a thought for those camping in the North Pole who cannot go outside their tent at night but have to manage inside in a confined space and are not allowed to spill any as it would become a major health risk!
Don’t talk about my “flibberty gibbet” like that.
A wide mouth nalgene bottle would be more preferable to a coffee jar. It also acts as a handy hot water bottle after use! 🙂
Bit of a worry if you get your bottles muddled up though. Never carry orange squash at the same time!
Of course, you could camp near a waterfall. Results guaranteed as long as it wasn’t frozen solid. And while we are being lavatorial, a little plastic bag of newly collected dog poo is a really good handwarmer.
Optimistically, the forecast is looking milder and not too damp.
Im not aware that I have any walking phobias but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it!
I might hesitate if I came to A bridge over troubled waters! Then I would lay me down
But only if you were weary and feeling small…
I still think one of the best bridges is the wobbly bridge in Paignton Zoo!!! Had many a happy time there traumatising young children – mine seemed to love it though, being bounced and boinged all over the place and suprisingly don’t seem to have any fear of bridges at all!!!
I am coming to the conclusion that I am afraid of most things – Blonde Wimp!
Hee – how very Irish. I took a campervan there on my first visit – lovely country. One gentleman spent 48 minutes cuddling my dog in the hopes that I would lose my temper – dog loved it – before he gave me road directions in about 8 seconds flat.
In Ireland, road signs never tell you that you are in a cul-de-sac until you have gone down it for at least 3/4 mile, so I got very good at reversing.
I wonder if the lady I met today was Irish? She had 5 dogs, variable, tiddlers to king-sized; one, partly golden retriever, took off down the hill, anchored and rolled.
“She’ll take off after some big dog or other”, the lady said, “and half way down the first hill at a million miles an hour, she’ll suddenly decide to roll. She’s the ultimate blonde.”
(Honest!)
Gotta go – 4 loaves to come out of the oven.
Are the punishments graded according to the seriousness of the crime?
The most serious crime requiring you to climb Everest!
Perhaps the Judge chooses the worst routes involving the boggiest rockiest and most hostile terrain possible otherwise we would all be seeing
Queing to do time!
How about ” The hound of the Baskervilles.” ” Gone with the wind ” ” Teach yourself Bog Snorkelling ” ” The Good Hotel Guide ”
Have a great night in your super thermal orange snugglebag! We will be thinking about you and look forward to hearing all about it!
Don’t forget your Jelly Baby companoins!
Not come across the sleeping bag suits before and wondered just show effective they really are?
The idea of down is that it acts as an insulating layer preventing heat escaping. So, if you’re in a down sleeping bag that uses your body heat to warm up, wearing a sleeping bag suit will prevent that from happening. Bit like having 2 sets of double glazing.
I personally find it warmer to remove any insulating layer I have on before I go to bed in a tent and let my inner and mid layers do their work with the sleeping bag providing the insulating cocoon and, if necessary, a warm hat to stop the heat escaping through my bonce.
Another little trick I do which I find works well, is sleep with the sleeping bag hood on top of me rather than underneath. This gives 2 advantages. 1, you lose less heat through your head and shoulders and 2, acts as a pretty effective light blind meaning I don’t get woken up too early by the rising of the sun …. Or lightening of the cloud!
So perhaps the subject of a future blonde post could be some scientific experiments to see if the theory works in practice!
Also ” How to get a good nights sleep ” by I P Knightley
I bet he doesn’t recommend camping!
Did you look closely at that authors name?
Say it out loud
I have similar problems sleeping anywhere thats not home. So camping or vamping basically!!! I always go for the headtorch method but this annoys Mr F as it keeps him awake although I swear another reason I can’t sleep is down to his persistent snoring which always seems worse in an enclosed space!!
So this Christmas Mr F bought me a Nook Glowlight (basically a kindle with a backlight!!!). Firstly this stops me taking half a rucksack of reading materials on hols with us and secondly stops the light issue. It does work well and since I’m having pain induced sleeping problems at the moment I have read sooooooo many books well into the night! Hoping to test it out in the vamping environment soon!
Suggested reading????? Mmmmm……maybe not the James Herbet I just read – freaky! Maybe not the myths and legends of Dartmoor either!!! Maybe the classic “White Spider” battling survival on the North Face of the Eiger – will make you realise just how cushty (???Spelling) you have it camped out on the comfort of a bog on Dartmoor!!
The 100 year old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared by Jonas Jonasson is very good fun and easy to read in chilly and damp environments… We have got over this problem by using a bunkhouse for this Saturday!
Don’t tell me which bunkhouse – I might come and invade. Was thinking about that book so will give it a go.
“I Heard The Owl Call My Name” by Margaret Craven. You won’t sleep until you’ve finished it, but what a setting!
Now that does sound interesting! Am going to have take some time off to do all this reading!
I feel every part of this…two weeks to go and it’ll be me at Huccaby!
We saw some happy campers today as we drove past Huccaby.
Good Morning Blonde two!
I hope you are enjoying watching the glorious Dartmoor sunrise from the entrance of your palatial residence on the side of the hill as you brush your feet in the luxurious soft grass warmed in the heat of the morning sun! ( A scene from Two Blondes the Movie).
Now back to reality!
You have painted such a wonderful picture of a typical camp on Dartmoor that I have considered going back to bed! Why!
I am surrounded by friends who choose to wild camp on the side of a hostile mountain in Winter where the contents of their water bottles freeze and struggle desperately to make it through the night! Go to the Cairngorms in February and spend a week trying to stay alive and then crave to go back and do it all again!
I don’t do extreme cold but I do insist on setting the alarm clock at some ridiculous time of the morning looking at all the houses with their curtains tightly drawn as the people inside are soundly snoring away in their warm beds and then proceed to force my body up some horrendous vertical slope which makes your body think you are going in to cardiac arrest, then to slog for a couple of hours finally to arrive at the top of some peak and as your body cools down to suddenly find that all the layers you have taken off need to be quickly put back on or else be in danger of suffering from Hypothermia! After recovering you then proceed to repeat this process for another 5 hours to finally struggling down a knee bending slope to arrive limping at the bottom and desperate for a soft seat! Then what happens?
Well you wake up the next day and for some insane reason you want to do it all over again! Why do we do it!
Why couldn’t I have joined the Caravan Club? Taken up canal boating? Chosen some activity which really does merit the title of Leisure??
I don’t know! I just know we love doing what we do and will continue to do it no matter how much suffering we experience!
We will always say ” Where shall we go next?”
I am limping around the lounge now we are home and it will take a couple of days for my knees to work properly again. But you are right, we do it because … we love it. No other explanation.
Knitting would be easier though.
I was woken up by the sun – at least I thought I was until I looked out and saw very little through the fog!!! Hopefully its coastal and up on the moor you are in fact shrouded in beautifully warm rays of march sunshine! Miracles do happen!!! Whatever, I’m sure deep down you are loving it and at least you have your wonderful new bright orange down sleeping bag keeping you warm (i hope!!!). Have a super day xx
Speaking from the heart – I am knitting a jumper. I’ve been knitting it now for 17 years. I’ve been spinning the wool for it for 18 years. It’s definitely not as easy as walking – I’ve completed several walks in that time. But one day I shall finish it and if the moths haven’t eaten the first bit while I was knitting the rest, I may even get to wear it in my little tent.
Meanwhile, I hope the knees are progressing well, and you didn’t get frost bite, or meet the wild beast of the moor.
Point taken with the knitting – I am secretly rather a good knitter but have only spun once (did enjoy it). No frost bite and knees are working again now (they weren’t last night). Funny story about wild beast but will tell that one later.
Must be the orange – my Macpac down bag is too, and has never let me down (sorry). Think it’s a Sanctuary 850ish. Has a waterproof toe cap for protection in damp tents :-). Glad you had a 5* night!
Definitely 5* – toe cap sounds good as I always slide down to the bottom of the tent – pitch on slight slope to help lack of pillow issues.
Yay no more dreading camping out!!!! Glad you had a great nights sleep – must’ve made yesterday so much more enjoyable!!
Always been a big supporter of Taunton Leisure – an old friend used to be a manager there but lost contact and don’t think he’s there any more!
What Blonde One has kindly not told you is that I am definitely the worst/best river faffer. I am, however, pleased to say that, despite a lot of faffing and with some B1 encouragement, I did manage a rock balance yesterday (hate it!)
That is such a good review! Now we will all want to get one
Are you going to tell Taunton Leisure?
I have told them now and they have retweeted the blog. They are a good company, have never let me down and give Ten Tors discounts.
It’s a a very difficult balance to get right, and at the Ten Tors Managers’ meeting this autumn there was certainly measures that will be taken to minimise the risks of stream crossing in future events. However, walking in open country in the South West, and many other parts of the UK almost inevitably leads to crossing flowing water at some point. With the group I recently supervised I took the view that it is a risk that has to be learnt how to to be managed. It led to some interesting discussions.
We started off with the idea that if you don’t have to, don’t. At worst they had the equipment to sit out over night, warm and dry, and take a safer route later. However taking a longer route to avoid crossing they may expose themselves to risks associated with terrain, weather, nightfall, physical exhaustion or even road traffic to take a bridge – so they had to come to a realistic judgement about relative risks.
When we did cross streams we spent some time looking at the problem we were facing. We looked at what was likely to happen but then considered what could be the consequences of what we were doing – drowning, immersion hypothermia or injuries from falling against rocks. We discussed what the power of the water could do, and that even an ankle deep flowing stream can unbalance or that deep water is deceptively powerful; also the effect of their clothing and kit should they be in the water. We gave thought of the harm that potential rescuers could face too.
After all of this deliberation rather than a short step across a narrow, but deep and fast section they chose a wide, shallow sandy bottomed stretch further upstream – and wet feet.
When they are unsupervised, I wonder what they will do. Personally I would probably take the narrow step and dry feet, considering the potential, but unlikely consequences, worth it. Perhaps they would do the same out of adult sight.
Sending groups of youngsters out is full of difficult choices. Do you avoid some situations altogether, leaving them without the skills to handle them if they do arise, or do you train them and leave a false sense of confidence to tackle things when they shouldn’t. It makes me feel uneasy either way.
You are entitled to faff a bit with dodgy knees. The “Leap” terrifies me – especially if the bag gets chucked across first – what if I fail to follow it? If a search up and down stream doesn’t find a suitable place, then paddling where it is shallower (I use poles too) is the one for me – one can always put on a spare pair of socks and a poly bag inside each boot to get feet warm again later.
Sounds as though there is going to be a big rush for “Big Orange”s, hee, but the waterproof toe-cap sounds just the goods – the big failing of down bags is that they are not warm when they are wet.
Totally agree, it is the sense of achievement on the faces of the youngsters that provides the motivation.
Even when that is not apparent (like with some Young Enterprise year’s) I tell myself that I cannot blame last year’s participants on this year’s eager recruits.
Rather like when you (I)) finish a marathon and say “never again” only to enter another one!
It is demanding, and people do it for all sorts of reasons. I think the time to pack it in is when you’re doing it for your own ego and recognition.
I’m lucky to be assisting alongside with a fantastic bunch of people, the sum of whose efforts always seem to be greater than the whole. However, I remember last year’s season as a pain in the arse…
Big laughing at that!
The Two Blondes are also lucky enough to be a part of a team of amazing people!
The Randoms –
This type of walker likes bright colours in clothing and equipment – especially sleeping bags!
Likes to seek occasional solitude by disappearing behind bushes for a few minutes then comes back smiling
Has a tendency to burst out in song without warning!
Often likes to test the depth of a bog getting covered its smelly contents and complaining bitterly!
Has a pouch containing essential nourishment – Jelly Babies! Never goes anywhere without them!
Loves to share their experiences no matter how distressing.
Always ready for another adventure!
I like that – I am definitely a Random!
It’s worrying how well you know us!
Watching a programme yesterday about Dartmoor on TV over the moor to Cranmere Pool, you two are so lucky, all I have here in Kent I’d the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge!
Kevin
You must visit Dartmoor then – it is here waiting for you but I would wait until it warms up a bit!
Which channel was it on? Would like to see it!
The North Downs sound like our kind of place – a bit confusing and hard to navigate: the north being at the top and downs being at the bottom!
I think Ray has got you just about spot on there!
Isn’t there a considerately planted strip of trees at Holming Beam that you could’ve hidden in???? Was up there last weekend and managed to walk down the army track and back up again – think it was too much though because I spent the next 4 days in severe pain!!! Other occupants of the car park were a couple of ten tors/DofE mini buses and Dartmoor Search and Rescue out training.
There could be a new hobby at this time of the year – mini bus spotting – trying to remember where each school is and “do I know the driver???”. Postbridge car park is pretty much a no go area unless you are in a minibus isn’t it???
As far as your categories go I think I would fall into the Tor Namer!!!!! To me, Dartmoor is one giant jigsaw and I love being able to link all the Tors together from any spot – sad I know!!!
Yes White Kitty Fur Links Down Gutter Cox
Small girl, big bag, massive enjoyment – in retrospect.
Chin up! You are the Two Blondes! You will live to tell us the tale!
Don’t get bogged down by past events!
Tomorrow night will be your finest hour!
I think I’d be worrying who had helped me to bed in my state of undress!!!
I always have an arguement with myself over drinking and camping. If I have a drink or two it might help knock me into a semi-unconcious state, hence helping me sleep (which I never do well camping). However, alcohol makes me need to pee even more than usual so am I more likely to have to get up in the night for bladder emptying acitivities?????
Don’t think I’ve ever got to the drunk state camping though!!!
Oh dear! I fear that you weren’t found and that you will be found during daylight hours frozen to a rock!
Everyone will have avoided looking behind the rocks thinking that you would have been making a toilet stop!
Lets hope you got back safe!
You will have to wait and see until tomorrow – there were rocks and freezing!
Actually I have thought of somewhere good to hide. Behind a burial cairn wearing fluorescent lipstick and eye shadow. Now that would be fun!
How about a ruined chapel at grid reference 666 666? I kid you not! Find out more tomorrow!
Well what a fabulous night to have been hiding out on the moors. Pretty darn chilly I would imagine but wasn’t the sky amazing???? Even I went and stood out on the decking gazing up at the night sky last night – it was incredibly with the beautiful new moon – I was looking for the comet which I’m sure my dad told me was a fists distance below the moon – didn’t see it anyway but managed to pick out a few constellations (spelling?) and stars.
I think finding you on such clear night should have been a relatively simple job, however the likelyhood of you being frozen to the spot mid-jelly baby munching would be quite high!!!
Hope you had fun x
The most amazing stars I have ever seen in the Northern Hemisphere – even clearer in NZ. It was beautiful and still and lovely.
Hee! The Guiness fairy strikes again! I’m glad she put you to bed and didn’t use you for a totem pole!
Very sorry to hear about your ankle – hope it recovers quickly; meanwhile, lots of blogging?
Its always an adventure when the Two Blondes are out walking!
We look forward to this latest adventure!
Wow! You do like to stretch yourselves don’t you!
I bet you gave your parents a few scares when you were a child with your spirit of adventure!
Now you probably scare your husbands instead!
So you didn’t actually sprain your ankle????
Must’ve been fun being carried off the moor rather than walking!
Wow thats a rather dramatic scenario for Dartmoor! Although my hairdresser was telling me a story the other day about one of her clients who came across a murder scene on the Moors – sad but fortunately a domestic rather than some lunatic running around.
How exciting being casualties in a SAR exercise – in the words of the wonderful Miranda – SUCH FUN!
Fortunately a wonderful night to be out – beats the usual rain and wind! A friend (well Kimberleys head teacher) is a member of Ashburton SAR. Was he out? Ken is his name!!! Lovely bloke!
Glad you made it back safely and hope the stab wounds are healing nicely. I was a bit worried when I saw the guys had been called out to search in Cornwall and wondered whether you had been left sitting in the middle of Dartmoor until the early hours of the morning! Just shows the dedication of the volunteers that they had been training, then out searching all night, then returned to their day jobs probably without a wink of sleep.
The training had just finished when all of their phones went off and there was the real call-out. Amazing committment!
You just have to give full admiration to all the people engaged in the Search & Rescue Teams. Even on the muddy marshes of Essex!
Especially on the muddy marshes of Essex!
Wow! Glad none of the injuries was real, and envy you those lovely hunky SARs.
I don’t think I would have enjoyed the “lift” off the moor either. Don’t know what would be worse for me – being carried in a stretcher or winched up into a helicopter! I think if such things were needed I would be in so much pain I wouldn’t really care! Lets hope I never need them!
I think our emergency service volunteers are some of the most undervalued people in society. People just take it for granted that such services as the SAR and RNLI exist and forget that they only exist thanks to fundraising and donations. More should be done to recognise these amazing people – but then, they wouldn’t like it because thats not the reason they do it!!!
I should know – my hubby’s on the Torbay Lifeboat Crew!!!
c. 1959 or so, I was one of about 30 semi-conscious “bodies” in an emergency services’ exercise. All coated in pretend burns and abrasions, I was rescued and strapped to a stretcher and loaded into the St. John’s Ambulance. Half way up the steepest hill in town, the door of the ambulance flew open and my stretcher began to slide out. It’s amazing how quickly one can regain consciousness and yell.
How things have moved on !!!!!
The Sidmouth lifeboat is privately owned I think, though I am pretty sure it used to be RNLI. There is to be a concert in our local church soon to boost their funds. Looking forward to that.
That has put me off the stretcher idea for a while!
There are many rewards to volunteering.
You make lots of friends.
You learn new skills.
You build self esteem.
You see different areas.
You are a happier person.
Its a great thing to do!
The thing I have found about outdoorsy volunteering is that the people are almost always lovely – must be all the fresh air and exercise!
If blogging and talking about these people helps to at least raise awareness – then lets keep talking!
Doing Ten Tors and D of E will hopefully encourage the next generation to volunteer in the future.
They dug out mountains of Himalayan Balsam from the river,
Recorded millions of birds,
Read stories to children in the library,
Delivered blood and organs between hospitals,
Emptied dog poo bins that the council refused to run any more,
Collected vouchers for school equipment,
Built a massive Bonfire for 5th November,
Collected money in the supermarket entrance for oodles of charities,
Ran innumerable musical events, sporting events, art shows, plays and variety shows for charities,
Kept loads of small churches going by cleaning, mending almost everything, fund-raising, keeping boilers going and doing paperwork,
Kept loads of schools going by volunteering for governing bodies, planted lovely flowers and cut grass to make the town look nice,
the list is endless!
I was just trying to think of things volunteers do around here, but there are too many to even make a start.
Well I definitely take my hat off to the dog poo people – that is really above and beyond the call of duty!
I still think I fall into the category of young, although every year I extend the age range for young!!! I was a bit gutted t’other day when we got a promo call – someone doing a marketing survey and I was too old to do it – pleased I got out of doing the survey, but not so happy about the reason.
As far as your checklist goes, yes I talk about my knees a lot but only coz I knackered one rather than it growing painful through wear and tear! I don’t understand why teenage boys insist of wearing their trousers the way they do. And I get grumpy when the phone rings – but I do this at any time of the day (I have a wierd phone phobia thing and usually don’t answer it!!!)
As for walking around Dartmoor in the dark – thats something I’m hoping to do more of in the future – maybe that will be when i hit middle age!!!!!
At the end of the day, you’re only as old as you feel and I think you two are doing pretty darn well!!!!
I don’t like the phone either – have never met another phone phobic. I was saved by the advent of the internet and social media!
Us girls are meant to love chatting on the phone aren’t we! Hubby spends far longer on the phone than I do!
I don’t think I’m middle aged yet: I drive a beaten up old car that’s not a sports car, I don’t mind missing Countryfile and I love teenage fashion. Should number 9 on Blonde Two’s list be: Is in denial about having a mid life crisis?!
You might want to develop powers of telekinesis too – looking at Friday’s pressure chart we need to move a weather system on a bit…
Two more signs of middle age are:
– picking up Radio 2 by accident and thinking “They really do play some good music!”
– standing in John Lewis and thinking “You know, this is a very good shop.”
It sounds like some good experience to me!
You are truly a seasoned walker!
A very simple explanation.
Have a good trip? I went to Westminster Abbey to see HRH last week, with daysack and Paramo jacket, and merino vest underneath- I don’t think he minded!
That is very funny and I bet he was brought up to “tuck his vest in” too.
! Not ? (Too early!)
Ah, the benefit of social media.
As to Boudicca, you are right. Of course she is Blonde, she was an “Essex Girl” though the powers that be decreed the statue should not show the white stilettos!
As to comfort, commuters have set the pace. You will see many die hard travelers sporting trainers and summer type hiking boots. The day sac is de rigeuer as it is useful for the Kindle; iPad, sandwiches and other paraphernalia of the aforesaid commuter and indeed the foreign (to London) visitor.
So, if it is not too late, equip yourself for comfort, you will not regret it.
CJ
I am now thinking of using the magic of Photoshop to add white stillettos to Boudicca’ statue. She might not approve though and I don’t fancy her “treatment” for the women of London, it sounds savage.
I’ve just been bombarded with a similar collection of unanswerable questions from my daughter relating to our trip to France in the summer. Such as “will our cabin be near to a toilet?”, “How far will we be travelling this year?”, etc. Bless them!
As you are bombing around on the tube you can be planning out the “tube map of Dartmoor” similar to those already produced for the Wainwrights and Munroes!
I have similar dilemmas when heading to the big smoke – somehow my ourdoorsy fashion sense doesn’t quite fit in with city fashion. And as for handbags, what are they???? Still never had one!
I’ve still never been brave enough to try and navigate the tube on my own – I just follow whoever I’m with and try and loo like I know what on earth is going on! Give me a Dartmoor map in the fog anyday – at least then if you’re lost you’re not trapped in some claustophobic tunnel full of wierdos!!!!
I wonder what the walking shops are like in London?! I have conducted many surveys of this topic but never in London.
Well now we have a definite excuse to come up to London together! There are meant to be some good walking routes too.
Now i know where the expression “it;s a jungle out there” comes from!
A city break is fun but it certainly isn;t relaxing!
You will appreciate more the peaceful surroundings of your Devon home.
When you return home, listen to the peace and quiet!
You will also have a strong urge to get out on the moors again!
Here is a piece of trivia for you. The Trafalgar lions are a famous landmark but more lions identical to those in London are to be found at the entrance to the Brittania Bridge crossing the Menai Straits into Anglesey.
These lions like yourself decided London was not for them and relocated to North Wales, although since they are on the lower railway bridge must now be thoroughly cheesed off when it was decided to build a modern road bridge over their heads completely ruining their peaceful surroundings!
http://www.anglesey-history.co.uk/places/bridges/
At least you can choose your surroundings!
Have a safe return trip!
You are right about being able to choose our surroundings – we are very lucky. I have put a note in my head to visit the Anglesey Lions. Mr B2’s family have history with Anglesey so a good excuse to go.
I was eleven when I got lost on the Tube. My companion was twelve. We’d never been to London before, but my companion
1. Knew that we only had to get on the next tube that came along.
2. Knew that we had to get off at —– WHERE did we have to get off? Still don’t know.
3. When we got there, knew the way to the Guide Headquarters we were visiting, even though we had never been there.
I’ve been lost in almost every part of England, except the South East. I’m saving that for next year.
Having lived by the sea for my entire life I think the (large) nose is well tuned in to the smell of seaweed and salt!!! Having spent several days in the Pyrenees last summer, we could smell the coast before we saw it!!!
You are right about the smell of Dartmoor – it is unique and amazing. Maybe theres a market for it bottled????? Maybe not!!!! The smell reminds me of being a kid, sitting in the minibus full of sweaty TBGS boys having just completed Ten Tors training while dad drove them back to Torquay!!! Or the smell of Dad arriving home after a weekend out on the Moor Ten Tors training!!!!
I think you might be well covered in Dartmoor wet boggified peatness this weekend – good luck!!!
x
How right you are about London air. Since the “Smokong Legislation” I now breathe in more cigarette smoke than ever before (I am a non smoker and not a reformed smoker!)
Ah, Branscombe Beach, a feature of the famous Grizzly run (http://www.axevalleyrunners.org.uk/races/grizzly.htm) Running down the cliff from the direction of Seaton, falling into the river running down the beach – believing it to be not too deep and easy to bound over – wrong!
Escape to the country is very appealing.
I laughed at myself at Paddington – as I muttered through the smokers just outside about how they should have some bits of pavement that were smoke-free. Only to discover that the other side of the entrance was the non-smoking bit.
My parents and Uncles and Aunties all holidayed in Branscombe as children and I feel very priviledged to be near enough to visit there myself now. Running is impressive though – I went to the beer festival last visit.
When navigating around cities, either on foot or by bicycle or car, I find a compass (and a map of course!) absolutely invaluable. I keep a silva compass in the car just for this purpose.
I get some funny looks but funny looks are infinitely preferable to getting lost.
JJ
I hadn’t even thought about taking my compass but wished I had several times. It can be so confusing when you emerge from the underground and would have saved us time.
Yes I agree! My wife is great to have on a walk as she thinks of everything and forgets nothing so we always have what is needed on board.
Even if she isn’t coming with me she is always checking to make sure I am well equipped. She says take it you never know if you might need it!
That sort of mentality saves lives!
How’s that for ‘girl power’!
Girl power indeed – but boys are great too. I am convinced that it is the combination that makes us strongest.
I considered going into Intelligence in the RAF – then life events took over and it never happened!!! People say that is probably a good thing, since such important things shouldn’t be left in the hands of someone as mentally inbalanced as me!!!
Mr F is up doing his WGL training one weekend when you guys are up training and he’s probably going to “Vamp” it in Princetown, so I told him to keep an eye out in Fox Tor Cafe for you – he will definately be in there for his breakfast!!!
Your blonde baps (?!!!!!!) sound very tasty – just what I would choose for my perfect bap filling – although I’d have to have a squirt of ketchup too!!! Next time I’m in Princetown I’ll pop into Fox Tor Cafe and request a Blonde Bap and see what I get, me thinks!!!!
If women weren’t on the team there would be no flapjack, jellybabies or Ribena! Now, what sort of expedition would that be?!
There definitely is not 6 degrees of separation down here in Devon. You can almost guarantee that whoever you meet, you will know one of their cousins!
Two Blonde heads are better than one!
I couldn’t agree more!
Well I do have to say that I was an anxious Blonde Two knowing that Blonde One was going out walking without me. I did have to text her just to check that all was ok. We are a good team!
Reading this ‘cos I just dropped back home from half-way up a cliff to pick up various items – amongst them, that most vital of morning stimulants – THE MARMALADE. I can’t function without it. Espcially when breakfast is outdoors, even if only by about 2 feet, with the room behind ready warmed for return. I can’t think of a single trip when I didn’t forget something – – – – – –
Beautiful – you were definately in the right place this weekend x
De-magnetised compass — hint — Get a smartphone compass app, then you have a back-up!
…or carry another compass. A smartphone is certainly a useful back up, but not one I’d like to solely rely on. Phone apps aren’t without their faults, as they require the sensor within the phone to be working and/ or for GPS to be acquired properly. These are normally pretty reliable, can fail too. Batteries fade quickly as well and I’ve also managed to break two phones now, dropping them from cold wet hands…
There is an issue with how compasses are stored when not in use. Frequently they are jumbled in a bag together so that needles are in close proximity to each other, in steel filing cabinets or in glove boxes; none of which are always magnetically healthy.
Excellent idea. I didn’t know there was such a thing!
He seems to have had an inner magnetic compass; I wish I had – mine never works, but I always reckoned you could put my Dad down blindfold on Dartmoor and he would find his way off.
I could never navigate until I “learnt” to do it the long way. Now I have more of a feel of things when I am out on the moors but put me in a town or building and I am hopeless.
Never ask for directions in Wales or you will be washing spit out of your hair for weeks!
That must be why the sheep grow such lovely thick wool!
When away on hols with the family hubby usually drives and I navigate. Although I frequently get my lefts and rights mixed up (he’s used to it and usually goes in the opposite direction to what I say!!!) the hardest bit is the “just follow the signs to “…………” which a) I can’t pronounce and b) he can’t read because he doesn’t understand my pronounciation!!!! Usually easier to just say “follow the signs to that long place that begins with a b”!!!!! I find it much easier in France than in Wales because I can actually speak French – trouble is hubby doesn’t so still doesn’t understand my pronounciation!!!!
I personally think the Welsh and Scottish must get great joy at seeing us English attempting (and failing) to pronounce their place names. Probably in the same way as I get joy at hearing the “grockles” proclaim as the walk around Brixham Harbour “I don’t understand, there was water in it last time we were here” (Durrr!!!!)
I do believe High Willhays is pronounced “Willies” (chuckle chuckle!!!).
Despite being a true Devonian I still can’t bring myself to pronounce High Willhays the correct way!!!!
I wish I hadn’t told them now so soon! There’s too much excitement in this household!
The babies starting packing yesterday and there is the usual barrage of questions. When are we going? Where are we going? Are we going to take a picnic?
I’ve kept them busy by asking them to decide where they would like to go as long as it’s a sensible suggestion and there has to be snow.
I hope your babies are more well behaved!
Trust mine to be unruly!
They get hyperactive if they get too many people in one go!
Have fun with yours!
That is brilliant – I might have to quote you on tomorrow’s post! Mine are currently safely locked in a rucksack and haven’t been told of the excitement yet. Wait a minute … is that a Jelly screech I hear …
Ooooo very excited and already thinking of places to go! Firstly must pop to the shop and buy some of the little fellas!
Ah, Jelly Babies….they are the way forward. The truth even.
JJ
The hope for mankind …
This is a great start! I am looking forward to taking the little ones out for their first day. It will be a gentle bimble today but a more adventurous day tomorrow.
Have fun everybody! Don’t take them anywhere dangerous!
Sounds interesting-will have to try and watch it this evening when there is nothing on the tv as usual!
First the babies need taking out! Mmmmm, where shall we go today???
I visited the “Beacons” (oops I always call them the Brecons too!!) when I was younger and remember them with fondness. I think this is helped by the memories of a lovely campsite with a couple of nice lads sis and I hung around with and lots of sunshine! I’m really annoyed because I’ve no idea where we were or where we walked – I’m usually very good at remembering place names – must’ve been the distraction of the boys!!!! I have even spent hours gazing at the Brecon Beacons map to see if a name rings a bell, but no!
We are hoping to return there soon – knee depending – and have even invested in the 1:25000 memory map so we can route plan in the 21st century – still prefer the paper map personally!!! Hopefully you will discover some excellent walks and maybe share one or two?!!!!!
Have a great time – sure you will with that bunch
x
Something borrowed – walking pole which I only ever carry to lend to a struggling child. Something blue – waterproof jacket(s) of course, all 4 of them!
Sounds brilliant and totally what these trips are aiming to achieve. Knowing some of the lovelies that were in your company, I would imagine you had a fantastic time. The images I have of them scurrying around in their pinnies and bog brushes brings a smile to my face!!!
What a great story – I thought I could hear a strange howling sound echoing around the valleys and hills – must’ve been you lauging your heads off! Its a shame Yellow seems to be rebelling against being a true Blondie – obviously we would never expect to see either of the “Two Blondes” hitching a ride! I hope he has learnt his lesson and behaves well from now on!!!
So when is the Jelly Tors event???? Sounds like another fun fundraising opportunity for the summer!!!
Many fine adventures.
The full saga of our outing can be seen Here
Used to walk the Beacons a lot – from a gorgeous, tiny little Youth Hostel called Nantllanerch across to a much bigger one called Storey Arms, which is probably still there.
Nantllanerch, very sadly, is long gone, vandalised, I was told, by a very different group of young people from yours. It had a lovely stream outside for filling the kettle and it was a long way from its attached farm, with no warden on site.
Remember doing a Three Peaks Trial there too, though I can’t remember one of the peaks. We climbed Sugar Loaf and Pen y fan, I think, and it was my first snowy mountain walk.
I’ve been half-way up a cliff this week, so didn’t know about the Jelly Baby competition, but perhaps I can sneak a quick one in tomorrow?
Definitely time for Jelly Babies tomorrow – all Jelly Adventures welcome until midnight.
We’ve had great fun the last few days on our Jelly Adventures! Shame today was so evil but we still got out! My fav photo so far has to be the Malvern Skydive!!! How many takes????
Whens the next one????
Too sad to think it is over so maybe again next year?
We had many giggles whilst filming the sky diving above the Worcestershire beacon in Malvern. Didn’t they do well? Green went on to ski down Green Valley feeling very much at home, and on to Happy Valley. The others made a successful attempt on the summit only to find that their guide book was thirty odd years out of date and the café was not only closed but no longer there!
A lovely sunny weekend though! Thanks to Dan, Ben and Monnie for stunt coordination and special effects x
Looks like your submission might be up for an Oscar … congratulations …
Thanks for organising a fun weekend and posting all the pics. It was a big success!
Thank you for your hard work! We enjoyed taking part and we had some amazing Bank Holiday weather for the event!
What do we do now as life returns to normal?
I like your idea of the the yellow Jelly Babies representing the Two Blondes.
Keep having Jelly Baby fun!
Yep thanks blondies – it has been a blast (in more ways than one!!!) I have to admit to waking up on this beautiful morning and thinking “where shall I take the babies today?” then remembering it was all over 🙁 Of course, the jelly babies will forever more be an essential part of any adventure we partake in and might even sneak into a photo or two!!! The weekend has brought back great memories of University taking the duck on adventures around Southampton!!! I particularly enjoy the strange looks you get off people and how much I love been a “little bit different” but always up for a laugh!!! Thanks for getting me out walking a bit more do – I have been dead chuffed at how well the knee has done (thanks new knee brace!!!) and think I might even venture back out on Dartmoor tomorrow!!
Today has been a bit odd with no Jelly Planning … glad it helped get you out and about!
I spent a lovely hour looking for Nantllanerch and my old walks on my old one inch to the mile OS map and comparing it with the new map . Lots of happy memories – so thankyou Blonde 1
Glad to be of service!
The Two Blondes Walks sounds like an amazing book – can I order an early copy???
I have spent the last hour lying on the floor with my 9 year old and a map of Dartmoor and she has just planned her first Dartmoor walk!! We looked for some key navigational points and discussed how we would find them while walking – brilliant!!
You will definitely get a signed copy for all of your dedication and support. Well done little Rach for expedition planning!
This sounds like its going to be good! It must have been difficult having to stay indoors.
Are you going to have a grading system? One Jelly Baby for easy, two Jolly Babies for moderate and three for challenging?
You could become as famous as Wainwright!
We were wondering how to grade our walks! The JB idea is brilliant. We were thinking shoes: stilettos for easy, flipflops for moderate and boots for challenging but thought that some people (who are as blonde as us) might actually try to go out in stilettos!
Had it been Friday, your cover could have been blown! 🙂
http://www.walking4charity.co.uk/2013/03/lydford-to-brent-tor.html
That is exactly the walk I would like to do. You got some lovely pictures. Phew, lucky we didn’t go on Friday!
Blonde 1 where do you see the sun rise? It would be nice to know where your followers wake up!
Unfortunately I live in a dip and only see the sun after climbing out of the dip! It rises out of the Teignmouth estuary and is usually so stunning that I want to stop the car and admire it for a while!
We have similar thoughts/conversations in our house every year as the sun sets over Western Beacon – I got a bit annoyed when the next door neighbours tree grew so big we could no longer see the spectacle, but somehow managed to drop enough hints, that they cut it down and now we have a wonderful uninterupted view of Western Beacon, Ugbrough Beacon, PIles Hill. And haven’t the sunsets been spectacular this week? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sun so red!
That reminds me of a funny but very bad story of our neighbours who were fed up with the cherry tree blocking their Dartmoor view and clubbed together to chop it down. We had nothing whatsoever to do with such a wicked thing but do now have some rather nice firewood.
Oooo cherry burns very nicely -any spare?!!!! x
You will have to fight Mr B2 for it. It takes a bit of effort to get going but once it is, it is very lovely and smells nice (not as nice as apple though).
Perhaps, when Scotland achieves complete separation from the UK (except geographically of course) , we can get rid of the silly clock changing process twice a year and adopt central European time.
As I understand it, the whole clock changing farce was instilled to help the northern farmers and school children
Well, today school children don’t walk to school and farmers work with the powerful lights on tractors.
I also love the smell of the gorse bush – and the sight of those wonderful yellow flowers is enough to brighten up anyones day. I have always associated the smell with custard creams – many people think I am strange having this association so I thought it was just a link between being on Dartmoor and eating custard creams – didn’t much like them as a kid so have left a lasting impression. However, hubby also thinks gorse smells like custard creams so maybe I’m not mad after all – or we both ARE mad (oh yes thats the one!!!).
I think they would make excellent garden plants – wonderful smells, beautiful flowers and organic barbed wire to keep out unwanted riff raff!!! Sadly I don’t have a spare gorse plant to offer 🙁
I spend a lot of my time with Blonde One trying to smell anything at all from gorse bushes. Which is odd because I usually have a sensitive nose (it is quite small though)!
Well this is where gorse is strange I think. When in the vacinity of gorse the custard cream smell is quite strong and distinctive. However, I find that on sniffing the flowers there appears to be no smell – very strange. Maybe a strange chemical reaction with the air????
I’ve never made the connection between gorse and custard creams, but next time I’m out and about I will sniff and see if I can make the link!
I don’t have any to offer either – very sorry – but reckon it may be a good thing as you will probably soon be inundated with them. Meanwhile, may I share a splendiferous piece of news?
Just heard – Chris the Cuckoo has left Ghana and instead of flying to the Ivory Coast as he did last year, has flown straight across the Sahara Desert – 2,000 miles in about 60 hours! AWESOME! How’s that for a piece of superb navigation by day and night?
Well done Chris – that is a truly amazing feat. Wish we could travel as fast.
I don’t usually see the sunrise, but Easter Day saw me on top of a hill with a lot of other folk, contemplating the fact that although my watch said 0615, my body said it was only 0515 – and Charles, I agree with every word!
My favourite garden smells are the |Honeysuckle and Lavender after it has ben brushed by your legs.
Now onto the lovely smelling Gorse bush. Do not introduce it into your garden or else it will be like the day of the triffid!
Beforeyou know it your garden will be like Sleeping Beautys castle! You would have to hack your way to the front door with a sword!
Gorse grows very aggressively and will take over your garden and everything in it’s path. You would have to rename it Gorse Cottage. that’s if you could see it among the bushes.
The council in North Wales have to do gorse clearance programmes to let the light back in.
|This having been said I do like to see the gorse bush but everything has it’s place like Jelly Babies have their place in your rucksack!
My family in New Zealand spend a fair amount of time spraying gorse to get rid of it – it is so vigorous that it is a real pest over there. Don’t tell Blonde One!
Maybe I will have to rethink my plans then. Perhaps a candle will have to do!
There are many unanswered questions such as Why does the phone ring when you are just about to sit down for your meal?
Why when your dinner is as hot as a furnace and seems to take forever to cool down does it after you have spent 2 minutes answering a phone call and you return have become stone cold and has to be warmed in the microwave??
One of life’s Don’t know iums!
Re: Hairy universe!
Mix Harry-hairs with sheep’s wool and they will spin into knitting wool. Put them out in little pots or empty coconut shells and the birds will vanish them into their nests. I wonder if you could stuff a sleeping bag with them? (That would stop the run on big oranges and lead to a fad for naked dogs!)
A sleeping bag of dog hair – interestingly, Big Orange already has a few of the little white irritants on him (as if by magic).
There’s one very like this in the woods on our hill but the roof materials have been torn from living conifers. I am not happy about it. A good backwoodsman leaves no trace of his presence behind him when he goes. That is the real art of the thing.
The answer has to be more education so that the kids understand about impact etc. Forest schools are brilliant for that and are becoming more and more popular – Scouts is good too for backwoods camping and craft.
I hadn’t walked in the area surrounding Windy Post until yesterday – tended to always head for the big hills of Cox Tor, Great Staple, Roos etc. Obviously trying to pick out any gentle walk on Dartmoor at the moment so this looked like a good option. We all loved the area and perfect for a leisurely stroll on a beautiful spring day. Had to test the knee a bit though because I lost count of the times we crossed that leat!
Still can’t find Pork Hill on the map! Whats the GR for the car park??? Oh, now I’ve gazed at the map for a few more minutes I notice the words “Pork Hill” written alongside the B3357 – so is it the car park that I call the “Cox Tor” carpark at GR 532752??? Will have to go back and test out the pacing!
Well! What’s a girl to do when she can’t control her wispy bits?
(Make a flappy mappy cappy?)
P.S. Did you by any chance see/hear any Peewits? My favourite birds of all.
No Peewits, although I would not be sure. We did see a Meadow Pipit and hear him though.
Just listened to a Peewit’s call online – now I will know if I hear one on Dartmoor. Will let you know.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/lapwing/index.aspx
I’m a bit confused . Do you actually need a man??? You can have mine but it will be a couple of weeks before he has a bit of paper and even then I’m not sure if its the right bit of paper!
It is all sorted now – we do keep needing them mainly for overnight camping (D of E). Thanks for the offer though, will keep it in mind. Tell him good luck with the piece of paper!
A few examples…
http://www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Kit/M25_-_Mar_11.html
http://www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Kit/A_very_portable_adventure_-_Apr_12.html
http://www.geographical.co.uk/Magazine/Kit/Urban_spelunking_-_Jul_12.html
In many ways what you are describing is more about an internal journey – the expedition helps you to understand your own thoughts and character and how you relate to the world about you. Richard Long’s worth having a look at this for this:
http://www.richardlong.org/
On the few occasions where I have been lucky enough to accompany children (other than mine) onto Dartmoor it has always been as much an education for me as for the kids. To see certain people in a totally different environment and their reaction to that environment has nearly produced a tear or two (of joy!) and given some hope that this little darlings are going to grow into super adults!!
What I do find sad is that some educational establishments are becoming rather blinkered and do not realise the amazing positive impact the outdoors and associated activities have on certain individuals. I have heard many a tale of youngesters how have been steered away from the “road to nowhere” after discovering the outdoors and such fantastic challenges as Ten Tors and DofE. Personally, I think in any assessment or inspection of any educational establishments, credit should be given to time spent outside the “norm” (i.e. the classroom) and expanding young minds. Yes kids need to be well educated within school but the need to turn these kids into well rounded, responsible, active and selfless individuals should also be a priority as I feel these important characteristics are being lost in society.
Ooops sorry that turned into a bit of a rant!!!
Basically what I meant to say is that what you do is amazing and you should receive more recognition and credit for what you do (although I know thats not why you do it!!!)
I have always been very proud that my boys are outdoor instructors. They earn very little and have odd seasons out of work but they are giving something back to society – something that is important.
Likewise with hubby! An awesome job – shame about the pay!!! x
I am enjoying finding things out about the area where I live without getting in the car! Its very rewarding indeed!
That’s fascinating! I like things like that!
My mum in law has a clock where the numbers run anti clockwise! That makes a challenge to read the time but it doesn’t make time go backwards!
I have a friend who is a clock addict. I must show him that!
Any clock addict should definitely visit Buckland-in-the-Moor. As should anyone who likes long place names or thatched cottages.
A brilliant clock! I DID take photos of the beautiful cottages too because I try and take photos of whatever there are sketches of in the 365. There are several people who I now know who are on the 365 trail and I wonder whether some of the residents of these gorgeous villages get fed up with people photographing their properties.
On a recent visit to Jordan (the village not the country!) I went to take a photo of the thatched cottage which is in the 365 but it was very hard because the owners have erected willow screening right along the length of their front wall, so all you really see is some screening and a thatched roof – now quite so picturesque as the full cottage. I wonder if they are fed up with people thaking random photos of their property and if they even realise why? I know I would get a bit annoyed if lots of people were taking such interest in my house! So we went a bit further up the road and tried to be a little more discrete! I try and be a little more considerate when taking photos of cottages now!
We saw one that was asking photographers to donate to the Devon Air Ambulance. I thought that was a good idea and gave them a goodly amount. It was on a walk that went through Jordan so might have been the same place.
Now I feel guilty if that was the case! I don’t recall seeing anything about donations but I probably had my blinkers on!!! What a good idea though – would’ve donated if I’d realised.
Hee! Well you could offer him the use of a free Harry-bow-wow sleeping bag?
I could do – but he would definitely not be going anywhere near Big Orange!
My sister in law lost her mum in Feb this year, and Jean loved that clock – so the whole family visited on Mothering Sunday in March 🙂
A lovely spot for a bit of remembering. It had occurred to me that I could have been more organised and written that blog post on Mothering Sunday!
I have only encountered an adder on Dartmoor once. This was on the road that leads past Bellever Forest by the old Bellever clapper bridge. The beautiful little snake was curled up on the side of the road (on the tarmac!) and there was a bike race taking place. I was worried that in the focused mindset of the cyclists they might not notice this innocent little snake soaking up a bit of early autumn sunshine and squash the poor fella. So in complete contradiction to any advice on what to do when encountering an adder, I found a nice big stick, picked the snake up and popped him onto the grass away from the road. I’m sure he was very grateful for me help as he made no attempt to bite me – either that or it was in shock because it had already had a close encounter with a cyclist! I even managed to take a photo before moving him on!
My only other encounter was when hubby nearly trod on one up on Sharkham in Brixham – he did a very interesting mid-stride-fling-yourself-forward movement and so as now to scare the kids nold them it was a big pile of poo and they should probably walk around a different way!!!
I love reading about your various excursions!! I always find it great to hear of other women going out and getting truly stuck into the outdoor world – mud, rain, wind, it’s all good stuff. I hiked/attempted to climb in Dartmoor for the first time in January and whilst the weather wasn’t that amazing, it was a great weekend and I look forward to returning.
Without wanting to appear too forward to opportunistic (though admittedly, I am being both), I’m hiking up Kilimanjaro in June for the charity Practical Action. I would be incredibly grateful if you would consider sponsoring me, though I realise it’s very cheeky of me to ask! But hey, fundraising’s nearly as hard as the climb itself. You can find out more here: http://www.justgiving.com/tiffany-conquers-kilimanjaro
I look forward to my weekly installments of your blog – it keeps me motivated!
A very good book for foragers is Food for Free by Richard Mabey. He died of food poisoning. No only joking!
I like the sound of the book, Ray. I’ll let you know how we get on.
I’m not sure how to deal with golfists, but stray golf balls, if collected, can be donated to your favourite charity shop from which the golfists can buy them back – this MAY make them golf more carefully and refrain from using you as target practice, but I doubt it. However, it will do the charity much good.
A most excellent idea!
Ouch! And now is the time to pick the earliest stinging nettle shoots – but they must be boiled thoroughly in order to destroy the sting stuff.
Have never fancied nettles myself, or dandelions for that matter!
I think Ive only ever once eaten some odd greenery, which I think was wild cabbage (??????). I know that I seemed to gain a stonking headache after and felt quite ill for a while so now I just stick to grabbing blackberries when out and about!!!
Note to self – avoid wild looking cabbage!
Whilst I love walking with friends and family and in small and large groups I also love walking on my own and I have got braver and braver about it. I walk the Lake District fells for miles and miles on my own now and love both solitude and company. Lovely to have the choice 🙂
You’re right – it’s good to have the choice!
I do enjoy walking on my own and it certainly clears my head but I really enjoy the fun I have walking with friends (as long as they don’t all walk faster than me).
Walked alone with dog for as long as I can remember, and love it. (Mind you, I can’t remember how long that is!) And the most magical moments of my life have been waking up at dawn or sunrise, dog and I all alone on a mountainside, with just the hill sheep for music and maybe a nearby stream chuckling to itself.
On the mountains at lower levels one of the birds that is a very boisterous companion is the skylark who’s conversation is non stop, but as you get to higher altitudes the only bird that is still with you is the Raven with its familiar cronk sound which I actually enjoy hearing unless you live in Scotland of course and
you have the privilege of seeing an
Eagle!
In North Wales the Osprey
(cont) The Osprey has become an annual visitor and at the moment has laid eggs which of course is a very special event!
I often walk alone especially as I like to do early starts. In the summer I am on the path by 5am and its a lovely feeling to watch the sun rise over the peaks, get up high and stop for breakfast and take in the view!
My only companion is the Raven (see Blonde Twos latest blog).
However its important that you let someone know where you are going and how long you expect to be!
You will realise tin importance of this if you watch the film 127 hours!
That is the great thing about walking alone – you can please yourself!
Out walking by the river today, I had the thrill of seeing my first five Swallows of the year sweeping the water and the sky by turns with their gapes wide open, hoping for insects. Then as I watched, a glorious Kingfisher arrowed past in dazzling turquoise and scarlet orange. On my way home, a Willow Warbler lifted from the grass and flew across the river into a tree. Spring is really here this week. There was a chaffinch singing really loudly – Chip-chip-chip-cherry-erry-erry-chippy-oo-eear. Very soon now the Willow Warblers will be singing as well and their song is very close to the Chaffinch’s, but sounds much more refined and melodious – chip-chip-chip-chelly-elly-elly-chippy-tui-tui. If you listen for the tui-tui on the end, you won’t confuse the two.
Talking of Cuckoos, “Chance” the Cuckoo has made it across the Sahara – now he needs to fatten up a bit before crossing the Mediterranean. Here’s hoping he has found an area with lots of insects to help him on his way.
The saddest thing is that Meadow Pipits, Willow Warblers and Kestrels are all amber-listed birds in decline. Ospreys are amber listed because they were extinct for a time in the UK, and are very few in number as yet and have to be protected against egg thieves. Cuckoos, of course, are red-listed and in severe decline, hence all the satellite tagging studies. Ray’s lovely Skylarks are on the red list, too, though many farmers are trying to help them by leaving Skylark patches in the middle of fields.
I love glamping its my guilty secret!
1. Lovely flat surface
2.Clean toilets and hot showers.
3. Car outside with in car entertainment if it gets cold.
4.Shop within walking distance
5. Tent extension to sit in in case of cool breeze
6. Kettle to hand if you fancy a cup of tea
I draw the line at certain things such as:
1. Electric hook up
2. Temporary fencing to mark out your territory
3. Televisions ( yes I have seen that!)
4. Disposable bbq packs
5. Radios
No point camping if its too like home
You deserve this glamping for a change!
Enjoy!
It seems we share a guilty secret! I also agree with all of your ‘taking it too far’ list! I’ve never seen anyone with a TV but I have seen someone straightening their hair!
And the weaher is not quite as bad as I thought it might be this morning – not great but not lashing it with rain, just a constant drizzle!!!
As Ten Tors leaders is easy to be a bit irritated by the ‘bird nesting exclusion areas’ which make route planning a bit tricky but they are an important part of keeping our resident ground nesting birds safe and sound.
You didn’t mention the ‘in tent’ pool! Oh no wait – the tent was just leaking badly!!!!
I have seen several people with TVs, my family included! I personally love to get away from the bloomin’ thing – hate it!!!
After camping on an August bank holiday a few years ago, we swore never to do it again as it seems to bring out a different breed of camper or should I say glamper. My greatest memory was the girls with their eye lash curlers – whats that all about??? We were camping in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere – why the need to curl the eyelashes????
Buffalo is what you need…
Very sound advice…
Hubby recently purchased a buffalo top and hood and hasn’t been cold since!!! Well worth the money – cheaper in “Camouflage” shop in Preston, Paignton than anywhere else! Great shop – don’t judge a book by its cover!!
It must be a “hubby” thing. Mr Blonde Two has two Buffalos – one is in sleeping bag format and the other is a mountain shirt. We bought Six Foot Blonde one as a congratulations when he led a Ten Tors team.
I guess a Buffalo would be useful in other ways too – lovely cheese and it could easily carry all of your equipment …
I suspect the advice to wear little in a down bag has more to do with with someone’s fantasy than sound advice on keeping warm…
There loads of possible reasons:
Most people live in warm centrally heated environments. We tend not to be acclimatised to the cold or fluctuating temperatures.
Your sleeping bag isn’t as warm as the manufacturers claim. The temp ratings are devised in fairly artificial conditions.
The bag might be too big – if there is a lot of spare space you’re having to warm that up.
You’re nor creating a layer of dry warm air about two millimeters thick against the skin. If your clothing is retaining moisture or air can circulate because there’s dead space in the bag you will feel cold.
If your tent is too large you’re having warm all that space too.
You haven’t eaten well before sleeping.
You’re breathing into the bag, filling it with moist air.
You’re putting stuff on top of the bag compressing it so it doesn’t insulate as well.
You’re not using a (thin fleece) sleeping bag liner – it makes a tremendous difference for some of the reasons above (creating still warm air against the body/ wicking moisture away.
http://andy-kirkpatrick.com/articles/view/maximising_your_bags_warmth
Good comment on sleeping in a Buffalo – particularly if you’ve got the hood.
I was camping in -7degC last weekend – and it was cold! I used a 1.3kg down-filled sleeping bag with silk liner, Mountain Equipment Helium 3.8 mat, slept in tracksters, fluffy socks, merino wool T shirt, Helly long-sleeved top, buff and balaclava. At 2am (quite cold!) I pulled on my down gillet – that made a huge difference, particularly when I pulled the down hood over my head.
I find it very beneficial to keep my head and neck well covered, hence the balaclava and the buff….not very romantic though! Keeping the neck baffles of the sleeping bag pulled tight helps, as does making use of the sleeping bag hood.
I’ve previously used a hot water bottle too, a hot water filled Platy, very nice too! I do worry about it leaking though.
JJ
My coldest night out was about -7/8 at 4500m, and a 4 season down Macpac (it’s orange!) fleece liner, and NZ polypro thermals were all it needed!
I think we have solved Blonde One’s problem. She needs to make sure that all of her kit is orange – right down to her … then she will be as cosy as anything.
I don’t usually go for the hot water bottle idea either, for the same reason. I can’t imagine anything worse than a wet down sleeping bag!
Hubby also said you need “something” to share your sleeping bag with. Don’t know if he was offering?????
“Something” can be in short supply up on Dartmoor – the sheep look a bit manky and the ponies keep running away.
Sadly all too common an experience for us too. Don’t ask much, but it really annoys when the little darlings get straight off the bus and into a car (one notable brother and sister combo used to regularly have a Subway thrust into their hand by mum, rendering them useless towards sorting/cleaning kit/bus) without a word from them or parents.
Grrr.
What you need, of course, is a nice warm dog to snuggle up to – and if it gets below freezing, your k9 chum will simply climb on top of you for his own comfort and keep you non-hypothermic in the meantime. Luvverly.
Thank you to you too Blonde Two. What would I have done without your calmness when students weren’t where they were supposed to be at the right time?!
A common thread here seems to be … Buffalo. Perhaps I will switch my savings from a Haribo jacket to a Buffalo (jacket, not animal!). Thanks for all your advice and ideas. I’ll keep you posted – that’s unless I die of hypothermia over the next few weekends camping!!!!!
Rolf Harris? Flanders and Swan wrote the Hippopotamus Song, and should never be forgotten!
That’s weird, I can only picture Rolf singing it!
I think its just an association between Rolf Harris and silly songs! x
But aren’t these the moments that stay with you forever and make you smile when you look back at them!!!!
Its the PMT that we are sacred of! Can we stop creeping around now he asks nervously!?
Be afraid, be very afraid!
I mean scared
Oohh, don’t forget there are very manly “modern men” out here!
Certainly don’t overlook the fact that men suffer more from PMT than women do. That is scientifically a fact and one that women will never understand.
🙂 Carlos
I have my own theories on men and PMT but would be interested to see some “scientific” evidence of this “fact”. 😉
I hope the boys have read on!!! They already have the luxury of a built in hosepipe for discrete wee’s or peeing into a jar (who carries a jar???) in the middle of the night, rather than attempting to be discrete and flashing their pearly white behinds to the world!!! So to understand the other “joys” of being female and the added “complications” this can bring to a long hike/wild camp would prove most educational and then they may realise that bearing the brunt of our PMT is maybe the easy option!!!!!! (Although hubby might disagree after I nearly (I said nearly!!!!) attacked him with a frying pan many years ago!!!!)
I’m not so bad now – walking is a great reliever of stress in whatever form!!!
I am obviously a true fan of all things Dartmoor, but I have to admit that the mud that we encountered on this expedition was not as smelly as Dartmoor mud!
Don’t get me started!!!! Despite being a car driver I generally hate all other car users (well not all!!!). I can’t understand why people drive around so blinkered to anything else going on around them and seem to have a complete disregard for anything using the road other than a car!!! Prime example today following some “silvertop” (no offence other silver haired drivers!!!) in their far too big car who seemed to unnecessarily swerve out into the other lane when cars were sat at junctions and a million miles away, but as soon as we came across a cyclist, nearly knocked the poor guy off his bike as he squeezed between him and an oncoming van.
As a keen cyclist and walker I like to think that I am pretty considerate to walkers, cyclists, horseriders etc that I come across – but I really do feel like I’m in the minority.
A very useful social experiment that you should continue to gain a larger data sample.
My own experience as a runner, walker, cyclist, motor cyclist and car driver, (that qualifies me to make any comment I wish) is that there are distinct categories. Some are related to the size of the car driver.
As a runner, when road running I have noticed that many unfit car drivers will try to get as close to you as they can.. The reason seemingly being that you dare to take up road space. I get my own back when marshaling a road race as with my Hi Viz I suddenly become able to stop all traffic and give runners a safe practice. I have yet to ascertain if marshals can be guilty of provoking road rage?
As a cyclist and like a motor cyclist, drivers get very p****d off when they see you filtering through traffic (you fail your bike test if you don’t) and get miles ahead of the driver who cannot do other than wait in the queue.
As a car driver, I delight in forming a queue behind me when I insist on driving through towns and villages at the posted maximum speed (open roads are fair game). If I really want some fun (particularly in London) I stop for pedestrians at all the pedestrian crossings, especially if there is a taxi or two behind me.
What does puzzle me is that the same impatient drivers realise they must give a wide berth to a horse, but never a person.
Ce la vie
You’re right, you are entitled to make any comment you like (especially here) on the annoyances of car drivers! Incidentally, our group were wearing high viz vests but they still seemed invisible to some!!!
Do you keep a book of memories to remind you of these wonderful people in many years time??? Or is it all safely locked away in your head????
Remind me to send you a copy of “The Blue Day Book” by Bradley Trevor Greive.
And Carlos, you ain’t felt nothing yet!
Sounds intriguing!
Not so long ago on one of the winding Devon lanes I spotted the high blue lights of an ambulance above the next hedge and pulled over so that it could squeeze past. The driver behind me pulled over too – for about 15 seconds – then decided to overtake me despite my efforts to flag him back with one hand. As the ambulance came round the bend at a modest speed, blues flashing, he came face to face with the other car and had to screech to a halt. I hate to think what that must have felt like to the unfortunate patient inside. The car had to reverse back past me to let him through. He’d risked his own life, the ambulance driver’s life and the patient’s life all for the sake of 15 seconds worth of patience.
Incidentally, I clocked a cyclist at 30 miles per hour yesterday while waiting for a good visibility place to pass him – wish my legs would pump me along that fast on a bicycle!
Mr Blonde Two often cycles that fast downhills – I stick behind cyclists because I am such a slow driver. Much to the annoyance of other car people!
I hope you are keeping a copy of your blog!
We have a back-up and a back-up of the back-up so yes, we keep a copy. I will print it all out at some point – we would hate to lose it.
I like to sleep in a tent but I would not like to wear it! I don’t like tent pyjamas! I don’t mind a sleeping bag suit
Sounds like a bivvy to me!!! My dad had a near nasty disaster with a couple of bivviers up in North Wales. He had pitched his mountain tent then driven off to the local pub for dinner. On his return in the dark he went to swing the car into the space next to his tent only to get the shick of his life as he slammed on his breaks to find two people in dark green bivvies in the space he had earlier vacated!!! Although he nearly soiled himself, the two bivvy inhabitants seemed sound asleep and blissfully unaware of how close they came to being squashed!!!
Personally I don’t think I could sleep in one because I get really claustrophobic even in tents!!! I can just about manage a 2 man tent!!!
Remember one guy holed up for a week in his one-man tunnel in some of the foulest camping rain I ever encountered; he had to do everything lying down – well, nearly everything – there was an Elsan on the site. I think he was having first-hand practice at being a worm.
After a week in the rain, he was lucky that the worms didn’t munch him up.
Remember that lovely song about the squishy-squash worm on your pillow at night?
The flashing torch to make me ‘be nice’ has since been discussed on numerous occasions to much hilarity! I’m beginning to think that i’m grumpy quite a lot lately!!!
Do you think they are warmer than bigger tents? I forgot to mention in the ‘cold’ blog that i have also bought a smaller tent in an effort to stay warm, but it’s not that small.
I also hate map cases!! Hubby seems to love them, so he has his map in his and I carry my laminated map “out in the open”! Our youngest has really got into navigating recently so also has a map case (after stealing her dads one too many times!) but I tend to scan and print the section of map we need (haven’t been walking very far recently!!!!) and put that in her map case!
Anyway it doesn’t matter how you carry your map becasue you can guarantee that wherever you are it will ALWAYS somehow fall on the fold in the map and involve you needing to turn the map over at least once in your journey!!!!
What a hardy pair of Blondes you are that’s all I can say! Im a Mister Soft when it comes to cold!
Hope you had/have a perfectly splendid weekend Ten Tors-ing! Had my own private challenge today, playing an organ that was intermittent on all of its F Sharps. It’s like climbing a hill with a left foot that is only occasionally attached to your left ankle.
Wow!
Glad they went well-equipped; one night on Haystacks I thought I would watch the sunset from the summit. I left my little dark green tent pitched about 250 feet below the summit. Even with a head torch, coming down I simply could not find it; it took me ages of wandering from boulder to boulder and oh boy was I glad when I finally crawled inside; now, I take a spare red flashing led light and leave it clipped on to the tent if I go out at night. It weighs very little, and saves a lot of trouble.
Tent lights are a very good idea – saves embarrassment when you try to get into the wrong tent on a busier camping spot too!
Ah but I found you through a link on twitter…got to love technology!! My friend has just started a blog but just can’t find her at all!! x
The fire engine goes very fast and makes a lot of noise about it and gets the glory but you wouldn’t want to own one!
The V W camper van is probably one of the slowest vehicles on the road but it gets there, its reliable and gets much respect!
It is probably the coolest vehicle on the road and everybody would like to own one!
The V W camper is a real dude!
Much respect for the rear bringer
Always been deeply grateful to those lovely, deeply patient, true team members who have had the kindness to wait for me to catch up – theyare the true team builders. But a good team also needs those who stretch it and the happy in-betweens. Have fun – it always sounds as though your teams have learned to care about each other, so they will probably be there for those who don’t make it.
You are right – a team needs all sorts, that must be why we are all different!
Love to start my day with a read of your latest exploits or observations. Keep on walking.
That is a great encouragement – thank you very much!
I think all outdoors geeks have a fascination with clouds and probably own a “Cloud Book”!!! I am still very much a child and try and spot faces, animals, castles etc in the sky. Hubby is getting worried about me now though as I told him recently that I don’t just see faces in the clouds now, I see them everywhere including in the carpets and curtains!!! Ooo, theres a knocking at the door – I think its the men in white coats!!!
I remember as a child walking in the Swiss Alps and being very excited as we were about to walk into a cloud – oh my disappointment when I found out what the inside of a cloud is actually like – I was expecting candy floss!!!!
I love clouds! And am a member of of the CAS – Gavin PP’s book is really good. One of our Silver teams did clouds as their aim for their expedition last summer, which was a really good one. Althought they did spend much of Day 2 inside one…
Maybe we should write “The Cloud Walkers Guide” for those who spend a lot of time on Dartmoor.
The best cloud I’ve ever seen was the one that Blonde Two cultivated on her hat! It was amazing!
That’s a sad story!
This Anthony chap wouldn’t by any chance have anything to do with the stile you were talking about the other day would it?
If this is the guy who stood up poor Betsy then lets hope he ended up marrying a real battleaxe who made his life a misery! She surely would have made a good wife!
I think everytime that stile is crossed we should stop and think of Betsy and say ‘ Shame on you Anthony!’ and hope that he fled Dartmoor!
Well we will be there again on Saturday and then the fortnight after so we will get plenty of opportunity to shame naughty old Anthony!
Spooky! What a wonderful tale – I’ve never heard it before! Is it a blonde tale?
It may or may not be a Blonde Tale. It came to me in the middle of the night so maybe Betsy whispered it too me. Nobody else seems to know why Anthony’s Stile is called that so I think it is worth sticking with.
The Peak District is amazing. I went there many years ago now, but remember it well. We stayed on a campsite where the angle of slope averaged about 45 degrees! We had a caravan at the time (a what???) and remember the front legs propped up on blocks while the back end touched the ground! I was terrified of waking up to us hurtling down the hill!!! I also remember us winching several peoples cars out of the filed at the bottom – they thought this was the sensible place to pitch until the rain came!!!! This was in Youlgreave near Bakewell (yes we did have a tart!).
I remember Dove Dale with fondness especially hopping over the stepping stones! I also remember Dad taking me climbing up the side of a waterfall which was awesome!
We are planning our own adventure to the Peaks next year – we have the maps and Mr F has bought us a rock climbing guide for the area too. Lets hope the knee is up to it!
Maybe we’ll have to compare notes! Kinder Scout or/and Mam Tor are bound to feature there somewhere though! Dartmoor brilliant but its also great exploring new areas!
Nice place; busy but well worth a visit!
Edale is ideal. It has a Youth Hostel a short distance away; the campsite (can’t remember the name) in the village, next to the pub, is pretty good it’s at the start of the Pennine Way. Kinder Scout is a short easy scramble away.
Peak District is great – most folk start the Pennine Way from Edale Youth Hostel, which I remember as being quite a big one . Kinder Scout is a hard awakening in wet weather – peat hags – deep ones. Dovedale is lovely and also has a Youth Hostel I think – Ilam Hall – with attached campsite, When teaching in East Midlands, I used to nip up to Dovedale before school on my birthday, climb Thorpe Cloud, and drive back like the dickens to be in the classroom by 0850. Used to set out about 0430, hee. There is a good big car park at the ntrance to Dovedale and a farm campsite on the road down to Ilam, and one at a place further up the Dale – posibly called Millbeck? I will have to look it up on the map tomorrow. I think there was a coffee shop there too, with biccies and things.
Rach, those lovely old stepping-stones were given a revolting coat of some concrete stuff a few years ago when some idiotic official decided they were too uneven and someone might trip on them. Philistines!
Oh my god, thats health and safety gone insane. That’s part of the joy of stepping stones – the fact you might trip or slip and take a swim!!! Lets hope they don’t ever come and start assessing our stepping stones on Dartmoor – there always seems to be a dodgy one or two in the set!
Maybe I should go and visit the concreted stepping stones and overcome my stepping stone fear. That chap would have had kittens at some of the Dartmoor ones!
Might make your life easier if they did the same on Dartmoor!!! Don’t agree with it personally – might aswell just put a bridge in! x
No, I would hate that if they did it on Dartmoor. I am happy to walk around or even swim – just not balance!
Its got to be a blonde tale. Manor houses don’t have children. They are inanimate objects. So don’t be too hard on poor old Anthony – he was probably very kind and built a most useful stile for everyone.
All legends started off as Blonde Tales – we have just started a new one. All I need to do is tell our kids and they will tell their kids …
Pretty cool! Are there cosmetic and/or medical benefits from a Dartmoor mud wrap?
hehehehe
x
If there are cosmetic benefits then they don’t seem to be working on my wrinkles!!!
You are dipping the wrong bit of you in the mud!
Is that why my feet aren’t wrinkled then?!
You will have to ask Mr Blonde Two about that!
We may need to add some waterproofing to the handwarmer bra design then???!!!
I have never made it to Sittaford either. I have planned to many a time, setting off from Postbridge and taking in the East Dart, Grey Wethers etc but its one I feel requires a nice sunny clear day and somehow my walking plans and sunny clear days never seem to combine! Its an “on the backburner” walk at the moment – I imagine the terrain isn’t easy and am sticking to flatish “kind” walks at the moment!
Sittaford is indeed a lovely tor. It usually has some lovely people there too! Blonde Two would fit in well.