Over The Contours

This is one I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Lancaster was my second-home in 2005/2006 when Abigail was doing her Masters up there and I quickly warmed to the city. What I didn’t realise was that the Lancaster Parkrun takes place in Williamson Park around the impressive Ashton Memorial. I only discovered this a few days before whilst working out how to get from our hotel to the Parkrun. Anyway, on a chilly and rainy October morning, I finally made it to the Lancaster Parkrun. During my warm-up run I knew I was in for a tough one as the start (next to the butterfly house) is a good 100m-150m higher than the lower parts of Williamson Park. After a very friendly run briefing and a ‘cosy’ start line gathering I was off; within seconds I was descending down the the wide tarmac paths that spiral around the Ashton Memorial. The paths are wide enough to find some space and to get into a comfortable position.  The sharp descent at the start is a little unnerving though, especially o...

Looking down into Ennerdale whilst descending from Starling Dodd. A bit of unfinished business this one. I'd intended to run Great Borne and Starling Dodd earlier this week as part of my loop around Mellbreak and Hen Comb. As I mentioned, the tail end of Storm Brian was still lingering and it made for quite a challenging run, hence why it was cut short. So, with much improved weather conditions, I re-plotted the route and headed out early to bag another two Wainwrights. Parking at the National Trust car park beneath Bowness Knott at Ennerdale Water, I ran briefly up the road before taking a sharp right and heading up the steep path to the Knott and Rake Beck. The path is relatively comfortable to run, minus a few steep sections where I had to slow down to avoid large patches of mud and/or bog. At 230m I reached Brown How, where the path takes a sharp left and becomes unrelentingly steep and considerably more challenging. I followed the path over the narrow contours, keeping...

I've long been fascinated by the outlying and less frequented Wainwrights. I fancied doing a run that didn't require a long drive early in the morning and one that was a little more forgiving given that my legs were still suffering after the previous day's activities. Fellbarrow and Low Fell stand alone next to Loweswater. To me they've always looked a bit geographically isolated and not as attractive as their larger cousins across Lorton Vale. Nonetheless, they're there to be climbed/run. I parked the car at Waterend at the head of Loweswater. There's a decent little car park by the roadside there. Immediately opposite the car park I began my run heading up Grange Lane, a little tarmac road leading to a public bridleway. I headed north on the bridleway. The bridleway is flat and relatively mud-free for the time of year. After approximately a mile, I took a sharp right to the east, following a steep, but clear path up Smithy Fell. The path gets a little lost...

Mellbreak - photo by Michael Graham This was a tricky and frustrating bugger of a run. I'd originally planned to run over Mellbreak, up to Starling Dodd, along to Great Borne and then down and over Hen Comb. Annoyingly, the arse end of Storm Brian was still loitering and the visibility was quite poor. The journey started badly as I hit a rock the size of a football and dragged it beneath the car. In the dark and pissing rain, I used the torch on my phone to check for damage underneath the car. All looked OK, but it still put me in a bad mood. I parked in Loweswater next to a farm gate at Church Bridge. Following a cobbled track south, I was soon heading up Raven Crag and White Crag. The wind was a shock to the system, taking my breath a few times. In fact, as the path up Raven Crag became narrower and steeper, and the gusts got stronger, I did wonder about aborting. I carried on and the ascent soon became easier as the path flattened and the northern summit of Mellbreak app...