Blogging at 21:40 on Saturday 29th June from N 54.25714°, W 02.12418° / http://maps.google.com/maps?q=loc:54.25714%2C-02.12418
Well, we did Whinlatter Forest parkrun and it was every bit as hard as its reputation. It's on typical hardpack forest tracks for the most part, with a bit of looser-surfaced singletrack thrown in for good measure. It's not the quickest of surfaces but the really hard bit comes from the elevation. There's about 650 feet of gain and, also, the finish point is about 250 feet above the start. About 85 people did it and most of them (as is the case every week, it seems) were first-timer 'tourists'. The event is clearly becoming a bit of a thing. It's a good life-tick, but most definitely not a course to aim for a PB.
After the run we bumbled slowly back to the Dales via Sedbergh and made it to the Semer Water area about mid afternoon: a place that holds some memories for me. It's one of the few places in England where people are still seemingly free to recreate in and on an inland water body complete with a bit of a shingle beach. It was being put to good use today with a few camper vans dotted around, a couple of barbeques underway and quite a few people swimming / paddle-boarding etc.
I'm not sure what the ownership status / politics are with the place but it's certainly more like something you'd find in continental Europe / Scandinavia than England. Oddly enough, personal responsibility was evident and no one seemed to be in mortal peril.
I had a potter on the bike (pic) from here - if 25% climbs can ever constitute a potter - and found the spot at the coordinates shown where were going to kip. It's on a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT), one of a few dotted about here and the second we've trucked along this afternoon. We're at about 450m and amongst the upland birds. Curlew, lapwing, meadow pipits, skylarks and oystercatchers are in constant voice.
Tomorrow we're planning to drop back down to Semer Water, ride bikes (taking in a cafe stop), then pootle back home.
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