Back in the hills

It's no good, the workaholic in me has been winning for too long.  I am tired!

We need to deliver a beer to the Old, so sod it, I am off to the lakes for a couple of days.  The weather forecast was iffy, but as usual, I don't care.  By the time I get to the campsite, it is dark, and i cursed the useless outwell tent as I pitched it for only the fourth time, and some of the seams are separating.  I will get soaked if it rains.
I dropped the beer off at the Old, and stopped for a few pints.  It was a quiet Tuesday evening, but to sit quietly and have a couple of beers and a chat to some people was all I needed.
Wednesday morning and the sun was out, with lots of white fluffy clouds that had not yet turned black and ugly.  I lit the stove for coffee, then realised I had no cutlery with me.  I had two cups of coffee hand poured and stirred with a mostly clean tent peg while I waited for the shop to open so I could get a spoon, and book the campsite for the up coming folk festival, and it was great to bump into Jilly, who is now working in the shop.

The weather was a bit uncertain, and it has been a few months since I have been climbing, so I decided to stick to the well known Stickles.

Part way up Mill Gyll, where the bridge used to be, there is a construction site where they are building a hydro plant.  There is a huge scar across the landscape from the road they have built to get the diggers up here, and the place is a mess.

  It will take a long time for the landscape to recover (if it does) and I can't see that the scheme will be worth it in the long run.  Like so many of their recent barmy schemes, I think the National trust have well and truly lost the plot.

As I continued up the ghyll, the empty threats of occasionally dark clouds made the view even more stunning.

I reached Stickle Tarn without collapsing in a heap, so decided, as I hadn't done it for a few years, that I might as well do Jakes Rake.

The views got better and better as I completed the climb to the top of Harrison Stickle.

The problem with having a camera with a battery that seems to last ages between charges, is that you never leave it on charge.  Either that or my camera was overwhelmed by the views, as it shut down completely just after my first photo from Pike o stickle.

You can see Scotland from here - I wonder if that will be another country soon...

Food at last!

Once the new lights were fitted then the ceiling was primed...

   ..and a coat of antique white satin, and the kitchen is looking so much brighter.

It may seem like sacrilege to many out there that I am painting over nice wood, but I have looked at many boats that have varnished wood, and I find them dull and gloomy.  Wood is ok, but too much is too much.

I finally got all the gas connections finished, and to test the cooker I made cheese and toast and fish finger butties for everyone in the boatyard.

If nobody dies over the next few days, then I can be pretty sure the freezer is working as well!

Calder Valley

 I brought a token bunch of southerners up to Leeds, then across to Hebden Bridge to see what real pubs were like.  Hebden bridge is probably one of the best looking stations, as railway stations go, and this is one of my favourite valleys, beutiful countryside intermingled with industrial heritage, as the road, river, railway and canal continually cross each other as they wind through the valley.

The first stop was the Stubbins Wharf.  Slightly hidden off the main road, the pub is a great place for beer and food.  I had a wonderful hot beef baguette, and managed to eat it without getting covered in gravy, which is a first!

The pub is situated below canal level, so out the back of the pub you have to go up some stairs to reach the beutiful and vastly underrated Rochdale canal.  I would love to moor my boat here, but the moorings are few and far between - aka expensive.

Next was the Fox & Goose, which is a very old building in need of a bit of TLC.  This pub has recently been bought by the community and will be done up as funds permit as a great community pub.

Just a couple of minutes by train, and we were in Todmorden, where the Queens is right across from the station.  This is a grandious old station hotel, with huge rooms and high ceilings.  Good beer and an interesting menu.

Just down from the Queens is the White Hart or the Todmorden "spoons".  The beer was ok, but the layout of the pub is very confusing.

Back on the train we got to Mytholmroyd, and the Shoulder of Mutton.  I think this pub has recently changed hands.  The food looked good, but the beer was stale.  I will probably give this place a miss in the future.

Last stop towards Leeds was Sowerby Bridge. This too is a very industrial looking town and we went to the "works" which is an old mill that has had the ground floor turned into quite a contemporary bar.

Last stop was the Jubilee Refreshment rooms, the bar on Sowerby Bridge station platform.  A great pint, and locally made pork pies finished off the day nicely.

Back to Leeds, to see the foreigners off back "Dahn Sahth", and a quick reminder just how good Granary wharf is these days.

Back at the boat (remember the boat...)  I have decided to ditch the chaep and nasty ebat downlights...

  ..for some of a much better quality that I found in an electrical suppliers in Bury.